Over the last 8 weeks I’ve had to cut back on riding to allow my temperamental S5-L1 back joint to settle down. It means riding less intensively, but not stopping all together. Psychologically it can be a bit of a blow when you feel like your fitness is on the up, weather’s getting warmer, tan lines starting to get sharp, and then you have to back off. But I’m not new to back pain, so I’m trying to learn how to stay motivated to get out and ride even if it’s not fast, just for an hour or two.

One of the ways I do that is to stick my camera and mini tripod in my pocket, put the GoPro on the handlebars and see where my front wheel takes me – the goal being to find the beautiful roads and views that I can share in another little film. Capturing hills in a static shot always means at least a few hill repeats, but it’s totally worth it. I loved the bright sunshine contrasting with stormy dark horizons that we had last weekend.