A year in 20 photographs 15/20 – at home with my dog
Merry Christmas everyone
I love my job. I get to travel around Europe, meet amazing people, and make new friends along the way.
However, without sounding like the Grinch, there is a downside. I spend a lot of time away from home. It averages about 120 nights in hotels each year, which accumulated over the last fifteen years of guiding adds up to approximately five years working away from home. I often comment now that a holiday for me is spending time at home. It is a time when I get to recharge my batteries and prepare for a forthcoming season of guiding.
I have always loved winter and Christmas, but now even more so. It means I get time to spend with my family and, importantly, be at home with my dog.
People often laugh when I tell them I miss my dog when I am away working. It seems inferred that I don’t miss my family. Fortunately, I can keep in touch with my family daily, so the absence is felt less keenly. When my dog lies in her bed watching me pack a suitcase she looks morose. I can only imagine that she is thinking “That human that takes me for all the walks is away again – for how long? I don’t know.”
So, for me, winter is a time of catching up with all those missed walks with my dog in the woods and mountains local to us. I couldn’t pick just one photo to choose for today, so I have shared several from hikes and walks with my dog over the last few weeks.
A year in 20 photographs 14/20 – riding with Olympian Rebecca Romero
Part of my job as a chaperone on the many events I work on is to keep the area around the celebrity rider safe. As we ride we have a full support convoy around us, including motorcycle out-riders, the medic car behind, and a tracking car in front of us with a TV camera facing our direction.
Behind the scenes – a look at Paddy McGuinness riding, from the viewpoint of the tracking camera vehicle
That protective bubble around us is there for safety, and to allow filming. We often get a lot of other cyclists wanting to join us on the road and meet the celebrity. Unfortunately, we need to maintain that bubble as clean as possible, so I often have to ask the cyclists to say a quick “hello”, and then carry on through.
When riding with Paddy McGuinness this year we were heading out of Wrexham when this cyclist rode alongside us. She said she wanted to say hello, then she would keep going. I instantly recognised her as Gold medal-winning track cyclist, Rebecca Romero. I wasn’t going to let her escape with just a “hello”. So I introduced her to Paddy and we had a chat. Her appearance was unplanned, but a wonderful surprise. She was out commuting on her bike and happened to see us ahead, so she decided to catch us.
A golden age of British cycling
Rebecca Romero was the first British woman ever to compete in two different sports at the Olympic Games. In her first sport, rowing, she won a silver medal at Athens in 2004. Then, in 2008 she won gold in the individual pursuit track race at the Beijing Olympics. In winning the gold, she also became the second woman of any country to win a medal in two sports at the Summer Games.
She started cycling, just at the start of the golden age of British cycling that was about to explode. At the Beijing Olympics, Team GB dominated the cycling events winning eight gold, four silver and two bronze medals. This includes the stunning gold win that Nicole Cooke took in the pouring rain at the women’s road race. I remember watching it and marveling at all these riders, knowing that the likes of Rebecca Romero, Nicole Cooke, Victoria Pendleton, Joanna Rowsell, et al, would become household names and inspirations for thousands of cyclists across the UK.
I knew I would be riding with Sir Chris Hoy later that week, so the surprise of riding with another Olympian was the icing on the cake.
A year in 20 photographs 13/20 – Wales to Scotland on a Raleigh Chopper
I first learned about Paddy McGuinness wanting to ride a Raleigh Chopper to raise money for BBC Children in Need in July 2024. At that time, I had to travel to Nottingham to pick up a Chopper then ride it to test the feasibility of cycling any distance on it. One strained back and a lengthy report later, I surmised it was possible. However, any attempt would be filled with caveats.
Paddy McGuinness, a Raleigh Chopper, and 300 miles
Roll on November and I found myself outside Wrexham FC stadium waiting for Paddy to begin his epic challenge: riding a Chopper from Wales to Glasgow in five days.
The documentary makers captured our faltering start. Paddy pedalled out of the stadium, chatting live on Radio 2 with Zoe Ball. Immediately, I got communications in my earpiece that he wasn’t wearing a helmet. As he emerged through the gates, I rode alongside him and stopped the convoy. I didn’t realise this was being filmed and that, embarrassingly, I would feature in the documentary.
A clip from the BBC documentary – Paddy McGuinness Ultra Endurance Challenge
Paddy McGuinness on his Raleigh Chopper succeeded in his challenge, raising an incredible total of £10 million. Thousands of his supporters packed the route. It all became quite emotional and overwhelming, but he was determined to engage with everyone along the way. We also had some amazing surprises: riding with Olympic gold medalists, Rebecca Romero and Sir Chris Hoy; riding with Giant from Gladiators, resplendent in his Lycra leotard that left nothing to the imagination; 80s and 90s chart toppers Black Lace and Chesney Hawkes performing; and Sir Tom Hunter donating a huge amount of money.
There were so many standout moments. Riding up Shap through the mist, to cycling into Glasgow with streets lined with thousands of people cheering Paddy on. It is difficult to choose one image. However, the key to the challenge was Paddy and his Raleigh Chopper, Patch, so the picture I’ve chosen is the one of us meeting hundreds of other Chopper riders and riding in convoy along Blackpool esplanade.
A year in 20 photographs 12/20 – Mollie King’s Pedal Power Challenge
BBC Comic Relief March 2024
Scot Tares and Mollie King arrive in Leeds at the Day 4 finish line
As a proud member of Generation X (not Billy Idol’s first band of the same name), I can say with certainty that it’s been a long time since I have listened to Radio 1. Thus, when I was asked to be part of the team supporting Radio 1 DJ, Mollie King, on a charity cycle for BBC Comic Relief, I had to do some Google research to find out who I would be riding with.
I now know that Mollie was a member of The Saturdays, then a semi-finalist on Strictly Come Dancing and has now been a Radio 1 presenter since 2018. As the week progressed, I also discovered that she raced for Great Britain as one of the youngest team members in the British Ski Academy.
I also learned that she is an incredibly lovely person; kind, generous, and down-to-earth. You would be forgiven for thinking, after seeing the list of accomplishments in her career, that she would be flush with confidence.
Scot Tares, Mollie King and Tracy Corbett at the finish line of Mollie King Pedal Power Challenge for BBC Comic Relief and Red Nose Day
I first met Molly as she pedalled out of BBC Broadcasting House in London. When she crossed the start line of her 500 km, five-day Pedal Power Challenge, I rode alongside her and introduced myself. As we talked, she told me she would be delighted to reach a total of £10,000. She was wildly underestimating her target as, by the end of the event, she had raised an incredible £1.3 million.
Cycling through challenges with a smile
Over the coming week, we chatted a lot. It was clear that Mollie’s lack of confidence in her abilities was a contributing factor to her humility and fantastic personality. She went out of her way each day to engage with the public and to thank her support team, the amazing Behind the Scenes team directed by Paul Collin. Throughout the week, even during the toughest moments, she always had a smile.
The fantastic team at Behind the Scenes supporting Mollie King throughout her challenge
It is always an honour to be on a support team, but these events are tough: 4 am alarms; thirteen-hour days in the saddle; wet and cold weather … Being part of a great team always makes this easier; riding with someone as kind and genuine as Mollie King makes it a pleasure.
A year in 20 photographs – cycling on Mont Ventoux
Mont Ventoux in Provence is one of the mountains where I most love to guide and support other cyclists. I have ridden it numerous times from base to summit on all three sides. Many ascents have been in the dark, arriving at the top with the sun just rising behind the Alps.
My first ever visit to Mont Ventoux was when I worked on a trip with a colleague and friend, Merv. Sadly that trip was the last ever trip I would do with Merv as he passed away early the following year. That first year on Ventoux was when I made my first sunrise ride to the summit. Every year I have worked there since, I have made a pilgrimage to the top and had a moment remembering Merv as the sun rises.
The first one up to the top. Nearing the summit of Mont Ventoux
Leaving the hotel in Malaucène on the way to the summit of Mont Ventoux
Mont Ventoux is also one of those mountains that just seems incessantly photogenic. And so it was again in 2024. One of the riders on that trip has been on numerous other trips with me and we have become good friends over the years. He also always seems to be in the right place at the right time for a photo opportunity. So much so that my colleague on that trip joked that the rider was like a photogenic muse to me. I had taken one photo of him in 2023 on the Col du Tourmalet (see below). That day, I had taken numerous pictures of other riders. None of them had turned out the way I wanted them to. But then I got this final shot.
Again in 2024 he was in the right place and I managed to get several great snaps of him on his ride up to the summit of Mont Ventoux from Malaucène. The light was perfect, the road was quiet and as he emerged through the mist and cloud, I took the shot. I didn’t think I’d managed to get anything special until I checked later and realised I’d got a great photo. I’ll be back on Mont Ventoux with more riders and looking forward to another sunrise ride and more great photo opportunities.
Arriving at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees
A year in 20 photographs 10/20 – arriving at the top of a climb
Today’s contribution is two photos from our Hebridean Island Hopper tour: cyclists arriving at the tops of the Quiraing and the climb from Kylerhea ferry, both on the Isle of Skye.
Part of the fun (quite a big part to be truthful) of riding a bike is going downhill. However, cycling is an activity that demands payment in effort and sweat before it relinquishes the pleasures of gravity. There are, of course, ways to cheat the burden of gradient. For example, you could go up to the top in a motorised vehicle. But then, as my teachers at school were very fond of saying, “You would only be cheating yourself”.
Being over six feet tall and not the lightest of cyclists, I often feel that my due payment to the climbs can be a bit on the expensive side – smaller and lighter riders may exert the same power through the pedals as I do. Still, their diminutive stature dictates a power-to-weight ratio that means they will get to the summit more quickly than I do. Fortunately, my extra ballast usually means I can catch them again on the way down the other side. Despite the effort involved, the general masochistic nature of a cyclist means they generally enjoy the suffering of going uphill on their bike. Why else would they spend so much money going on cycling holidays to mountainous areas?
Everyone has their own reason for riding a bike. For some it’s for fitness, for others it’s to travel and see the world from a different perspective. Perhaps it’s for purely utilitarian reasons. But often, above all, it’s because it is great fun. Maybe the effort that it takes to ride a bike, especially on an ascent, makes these reasons more appreciable. In my lifetime of uphill efforts on a bike, I have never really worked out why I find so much enjoyment in suffering on a climb.
When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, the mountaineer George Mallory, reputedly replied with the infamous retort “Because it is there”.
Perhaps it is better not to question the why and just enjoy the activity.
A year in 20 photographs 9/20 – phone box in the Outer Hebrides
I often tell people that the Outer Hebrides are unlike anywhere else in the UK or even the world and that travelling along the Hebridean Way is a journey.
There are many similarities, such as a phone box, but these urban familiarities appear incongruous on these windswept, wild islands.
Cycling on the Hebridean Way is a journey through a landscape where humans have had a clear impact.
For thousands of years, people have built dwellings, raised families, farmed, lived, and died on these islands.
The markers are there for all to see, from the hillside scarred by peat-cutting to abandoned and ruined crofts; from the standing stones at Callanish to the chambered burial cairn at Barpa Langais.
All these monuments to human survival on the edge of Europe tell a story of how people have interacted, travelled, and survived through the millennia on the chain of islands.
What makes the Outer Hebrides different from other places is that, even for the oldest of these marks that we have left on the landscape, they still seem fleeting. They convey the fragility of who we are. Nature is there, waiting patiently to claim it all back for herself.
In a world where it is almost impossible to switch off, the Outer Hebrides feel like one of the last bastions of wilderness. One where you are reminded of the true power and indifference of nature towards humanity.
Travelling along the Hebridean Way by bike is one of the best ways to experience this. Not just getting from point A to point B, but a passage through millennia of humankind and the force of our environment.
A year in 20 photographs 8/20 – Amanda Holden takes on a five-day charity cycling challenge for Global Radio Make Some Noise
I took this photo of Amanda Holden in Richmond Park on the fifth and final day of her Big Ride to Work. We had cycled from Bude in Cornwall and finished at the Global Radio HQ in Leicester Square, London.
Amanda Holden’s Big Ride to Work for Global Radio’s Make Some Noise
Our ride through Richmond Park was a highlight of the week. These events are supported by an amazing team working behind the scenes. We have a safety convoy around us when we are on the road. This moment in Richmond Park was around 6:45 am, before the gates opened and traffic was allowed into the park. It meant that Amanda, her Global Radio show producer, and I cycled through the park alone. The sun was coming up, the red deer were out and a low-lying mist added a fantastic atmosphere to the scene. We stopped halfway through the park to soak up the peace before entering central London’s noise and chaos.
Meeting celebrities
I am always nervous before meeting and cycling with celebrities at these events, not knowing how the person will be. I always try to approach these events without preconceptions and often don’t even know who the celebrity is. However, Amanda Holden has always attracted a lot of media attention, usually from the outlets that are more interested in click-bait and gossip, meaning a lot of it can be negative. It was difficult not to start forming thoughts about what her personality might be like. I am delighted to set the record straight that Amanda was extremely friendly, down-to-earth, and an absolute delight to cycle with each day.
It is clear that the media – and by that I mean all forms of it including broadcast, print, electronic, and social, will portray women differently from their male counterparts. Men in the public eye can often be bolshy and forthright. This attitude is accepted and as we know has now led to a lot of men rightly being called out for their behaviour. When women have stood up for themselves or tried to get on an even footing with men they are usually portrayed as ‘divas’ or worse. Misogyny is pervasive throughout society. It is good to see these attitudes are changing, although too slowly.
A year in 20 photographs 7/20 – a cycling holiday on a tandem in the Dolomites
Today’s photo is another from season guiding with Marmot Tours on their cycling holiday to the Dolomites and Stelvio
On this day they were nearing the end of the Sellaronda circuit and were riding in the rain up to the final climb of the day, Passo Gardena.
This couple from the USA were in their late 60s and cycled worldwide on their tandem together. It was amazing to watch them pedal up the mountains together. They were in perfect synchronicity both physically and in their attitude. Even on the steepest climbs, such as the northern side of Passo dello Stelvio, they had a big smile on their faces. The Northern approach to Passo dell Stelvio has forty-eight tight hairpin turns over the 23.6 km duration of the climb. So it makes an interesting challenge when negotiating a tandem around each corner. They took such climbs in their stride and even more surprisingly flew down the descents on the other side with total control and mastery of their machine.
On a bicycle made for two
Riding a tandem with anyone is difficult. Even more so when your riding partner is also your life partner. I can imagine that tandems have been the cause of many an argument between couples. You literally cannot get away from your partner even for a second. The two key aspects to learning to ride a tandem are mastering not falling off, and not falling out. This couple were complete experts at this. When not on the bike with smiles on their faces they walked together hand-in-hand and even held hands at dinner. They had been married for over forty years and still looked like a young couple in the throes of first love.
It seemed they had boundless joie de vivre for their activity and each other.
The tandem is a Calfee Tetra Adventure Tandem with SS couplings, allowing the bike to be folded and easily transported for a cycling holiday.
It’s a phrase that is often rolled out, but do we believe it?
I love this photo. Cycling is an activity that is best shared. It is even better when we share it with those that we love. This couple had just arrived at the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse after cycling the Hebridean Way
Equality, diversity and inclusion in cycling
Equality, diversity, and inclusion is not about taking rights away from the majority to favour the minority. It is about treating and protecting people the same way you would expect to be treated and protected yourself.
Fitting in
Growing up, I was incredibly shy and introverted. Looking around I could see everyone else having fun and seemingly getting on with their lives without any hang-ups. This pushed me further into my own world, one where I didn’t feel different from everyone else. Everything I did seemed to contradict what was the norm for my peers. I hated team sports, but loved going out cycling for hours on end; I listened to music that my friends thought was weird; I dressed differently; I loved horror movies; I wanted to draw comic books; I preferred spending time with my dog than with other people. Trying my hardest to fit in felt completely awkward and pretending that this was my life was exhausting.
I also felt a very keen sense of justice. It pervades everything I do, from what I eat to who I consider friends. A lot of that comes from my own experiences: growing up with an older brother with cerebral palsy and being friends with lots of his friends I saw first-hand how discrimination has a hugely negative impact on every part of people’s lives.
During my secondary years at school I started to come out of my shell. I fell in with others who were like me: long hair, piercings, painted nails, exceptional taste in music, and so on. It was clear that our differences were not the norm and people even told me that I would grow out of this phase (40 years on and I’m still waiting). Society’s expectations meant I was met with varying degrees of dismay: from mild amusement to fear and, on a couple of occasions, I even ended up in the hospital due to violence directed at me.
Skinny Tyres is inclusive and welcomes everyone
Fast-forward a few decades. When I set up Skinny Tyres I was keen to make it inclusive and welcoming for everyone. A safe place where you indulge in your passion for cycling, no matter what your background is.
I wanted to do that, not because it was the right thing to do, nor from any sense of what the media tend to label as woke. I did it because I have a belief, deep in my core, that everyone is different and everyone has a right to be who they want to be, to live their life in any way they want as long as that is not harming anyone else.
It is startling that in 2024 many other people don’t hold this value. Unfortunately, because of this people still need to consider everyday choices, such as where they go out at night, or what they wear. Fear of discrimination, and often abuse directed at them, is a constant companion because of their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and life choices. A friend once told me that they always take time to consider who they are booking a group holiday with. Not for practical reasons such as cost, destination, or such. They want to ensure that who they are booking with will be open and friendly to a same-sex, married couple. They have had so many negative and intimidating experiences that it has now become part of their decision-making process in everything they do together.
Skinny Tyres is proud to be an LGBTQ-friendly business, providing a safe and warm welcome to everyone on our cycling tours in Scotland. Join us on the Hebridean Way for your next cycling tour.
