I filmed this on my Fujifilm XH2S and got a free loan of the new 16-55mm lens from Fujifilm to test out. The lens was great. This was my first attempt at doing a 4k HDR film so a bit of a learning curve, but all good.

Play: the video

I can’t believe I actually finished a jumper not in summer for once.

This is the #everyday_sweater pattern by @atelierknits_strandsoflife knitted for Min.

I used two yarns held together:
🧶 No Waste Wool @knittingforolive in chocolate (RWS certified, 50% recycled wool, 50% extra fine traceable non-mulesed Merino) from @myivoryroom

🧶Titicaca by @holstgarn in Frv. Mahogany (100% alpaca)

I was initially going to knit it with a contrasting hem, but I didn’t like the look of it. I made some test swatches and decided to go with a two-colour fisherman’s rib with the more orangey yarn at the front and the deep brown at the back. It looked quite good, but I kept making mistakes and having to undo huge chunks, so in the end I just went with the standard 1x1 rib, which l think looks great anyhow.

As per usual, knitted with @hiyahiyaeurope circular sharps and moral support by the @knittingsos crew.

New finished object… Nice big, soft, warm jumper for me. Already packed away for a triumphant return in cooler weather.

Pattern: #whatamansweater by @nynneeh

Yarn: Pura Lana + Cashmere Lace by @gepardgarn from @myivoryroom - thank you Valentina for help with yarn selection

Needles: @hiyahiyaeurope sharps

Coffee and chat: The @knittingsos crew

I’ve written a detailed account of my attempt at riding the 2022 Transcontinental Race on a Brompton, which you can find here:

https://www.jameshouston.com/tcr/

Make sure you click on the lolly at the top of the homepage :)

A simple blue cardigan. This is the #yourscardigan pattern released this week by Naoko Ogawa @atelierknits_strandsoflife

It’s very comfortable and will be perfect for the cooler Autumn days. This is the first time I’ve done test-knitting (knitting a pattern before it is published) and the process went really smoothly. Test knitting also gives a deadline for motivation to keep knitting.

Knitted with West Yorkshire Spinners Exquisite wool/silk blend in Regal 438. Size 6, on HiyaHiya needles.

In the early hours of last Friday morning, in Burgas, Bulgaria, I succesfully completed Transcontinental #8 ultra-endurance bicycle race. I arrived at the final checkpoint 25 days, 5 hours, and 43 minutes after setting off from Geraardsbergen, Belgium.

It’s a long time, and a long distance to be cycling, and inevitably the race brought many challenges and rewards. To summarise the challenges:

• Used my ‘third’ choice bike after hitting issues with the first two, which meant quickly getting it into a good condition after I’d used it for racing the Pan Celtic Race the week before
• Replaced headset 5pm the night before leaving
• Lost my wallet the day I was leaving for Belgium
• Bottom bracket slightly loose on arrival in Geraardsbergen
• The frame broke on the third day
• The rear tyre developed a split 2/3 way into the race
• Numerous punctures - I got through all 5 spare inner tubes that I’d taken
• BB and headset both started deteriorating from about halfway into the race
• Cycling on a lot of fast roads, often sharing the roads with trucks and fast cars.

With the broken frame taking a day out of my schedule, I had to push hard to make it to Control Point 1 within the time cut-off. This was tough, but it was fun to race against the clock. I reached it ok, but I’d burnt a few matches in the process, and wouldn’t be able to make CP2 within cut-off. I transitioned my efforts to doing my best to make it into the Transcontinental Finisher category. My race had really only just begun. I set myself four goals:
1. Stay safe
2. Have fun
3. Embrace adventure
4. Get as far as possible

With hard work, decisions made by experience, and a dollop of good fortune, I made it to the finish.

I enjoy riding my bike, so challenges aside, I had a great time. I visited countries I’ve never been to before, and really enjoyed seeing the towns and villages on my route. I had good encounters with locals and visitors, and I received lots of nice comments along the way, from friends and also strangers invested in my progress.

That’s all I have time / space for now. I just wanted to say, thank you for following me on my journey!

Also see: https://www.jameshouston.com/transcontinental-race-on-a-brompton/

On Saturday at 5pm, I finished the Pan Celtic Race 2022 ultra endurance bicycle race.

I really wasn’t sure how it would go. My training had tailed off in the 3 months prior to the race. But I got the bike ready and packed the same as in the previous races - with a lot of spares and tools in case of mechanicals - as my top goal was to finish the thing.

But I pushed quite hard on this one, with more of a race mentality. So I maximised my day lengths by sleeping less, trying to be efficient at stops, and went at as reasonable pace as I could sustain.

View my photos I took during the race here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jameshouston/albums/72177720309492378/

I will be taking part in the Pan Celtic Ultra Endurance Race from 10 July 2022.

Dot watching

You can review my progress here (I’m rider #077 following the blue line):

Social Media

The Pan Celtic organisation team are all over social media! So if you want to see race updates, help yourself to one of these links:

Strava

Anyone using Strava can get my daily ride data here: https://www.strava.com/athletes/2075000

Another finished object! This one’s special as it’s for me 😂

Karin at the brilliant Beautiful Knitters yarn shop in Pimlico kindly gave me her own pattern for a tie, which I’ve knitted up in Positive Ease pure merino using HiyaHiya sharp circulars.

I followed the pattern mostly, but inadvertently went a bit off-piste for the main front section of the tie, as I didn’t add end-of-row purl stitches. It turned out ok as it gave those edges a rounded finish which I think looks quite nice.

The yarn has a really great (but difficult to capture!) colour and shine to it, and has a good weight and elasticity to it when knitted, so the tie hangs nicely, as well as being soft and silky.

I haven’t blocked the tie yet as I rushed to get it finished in time to wear to an event.

It was the 50 year anniversary of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars record release yesterday, so I thought it was a good time to visit some of the places in London with Bowie connections.

Thanks Andrew for joining me in this enjoyable quest, which ended up in Soho, where we enjoyed Simon Goddard’s enjoyable and informational ‘Bowie Odyssey 72’ book launch at 21 Soho Square.

The more you read, the more there is to know. I need to do some more research and then will revisit!

1. Bowie mural, Tolworth
2. David Bowie’s birthplace, Brixton
3. Group photo, Bromley
4. Recreation of same
5. Bowie bandstand, Beckenham
6. Book launch
7. Ziggy album cover
8. Recreation of same

A woollen sweater, nicely timed for summer 😅

Inspired by Icelandic Afmæli patterns, in blue representing Shetland, this design by Barbara Cheyne is the first piece of Fair Isle knitting I’ve done. I was drawn to this Vegar Jumper design as I think it looks elegant, especially in the cool blue and grey colours.

Pictures of the process are available in the story highlights on my profile.

If you have any suggestions for future projects, please get in touch.

Pattern: Vegar Jumper by @cheynebarbara via Shetland Wool Adventures Journal Vol. 03.

Yarn: Shetland Spindrift from Jamieson’s of Shetland

Needles: HiyaHiya sharp interchangeables

Gold! I was looking for a colour to match this black raw lacquer frame, and I’m pleased with how the gold turned out on these new rims. Surprisingly subtle, and a good complement to both the frame and the brazing.

Last weekend I took a class in machine knitting with Timothy Andrews at Knit Works London and knitted this scarf. It was really enjoyable, a good pace, and I learned a lot of the basic techniques in just a few hours. Soo much quicker than knitting by hand! I’m now very tempted to pick up a second-hand machine and get some experience.

I finished my first pair of socks. The knitting pattern is #dearbjörnsocks - designed by @fibre_creative - knitted in LYC Sock yarn from @londonyarncompany.

This was my first time cabling. Each knitting project I’ve chosen has included something I haven’t done before - I’ve continued to challenge myself, hoping to learn and improve.

Dunwich Dynamo - an enjoyable unorganised overnight trip to the seaside last weekend. Had some nice encounters on the way out, had a swim in the sea, bumped into old friends, and got a good soaking cycling back through thunderstorms.

From Sunday 4th July 2021 to Wednesday 14th July 2021, I took part in the Pan Celtic Ultra Endurance Race.

Podcast

I took part in Chië’s ‘Talks Around The Coffee Cups’ podcast and talked a bit about the race. You can listen to it on Spotify here:
Episode 13 Coffee with James

Photos

My photos for the trip can be found here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jameshouston/albums/72157719548723259

Sponsor me!

I’m raising money for London’s Air Ambulance charity. If you want to sponsor me you can make a donation here and the money goes directly to the charity. Thanks so much to everyone who has already made a donation!!
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/james-houston-pcr

Dot watching

You can review my progress here (I’m rider #077 following the red line):
https://dotwatcher.cc/race/pan-celtic-race-2021

Social Media

The Pan Celtic organisation team are all over social media! So if you want to see race updates, help yourself to one of these links:
https://www.pancelticrace.com
https://www.pancelticrace.com/entered-riders/
https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/bikes-of-pan-celtic-race
https://www.instagram.com/pancelticraceseries
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCCaiA87tHCZogFEGoDS-GQ
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pancelticrace
#PanCelticRace #PanCelticRaceSeries #PanCelticRace2021
#PanCelticClan #ClanRider077

My own Instagram account is here:
https://www.instagram.com/jim_london/

Strava

Anyone using Strava can get my daily ride data here: https://www.strava.com/athletes/2075000

As mentioned in my last post, I’ve been dieting to try to shed a bit of weight ahead of the race.

For the couple of months of training I had been doing 1.5 - 2 hours every day before work and a long ride at the weekend, and my weight remained consistent - around 107 kg (16 St 12 lb). Even though I was burning a lot of calories training, I would be getting to work and having cheese and beans on toast or similar - making up those calories.

And whilst I had no issues with that, the weight is definitely more than what I should be, and it would make it more difficult for the race, especially with the amount of climbing involved. Not good for the knees!

So I decided to do something about it, and for about 8 weeks, I have put myself on the Slim Jim Fast Plan™.

Tonight I weighed myself and am 98.8 kg (15 stones 8 lb). I.e. in 8 weeks I have lost 8kg (18 lbs). I’m quite pleased with this as I didn’t expect to lose so much so quickly.

So what is the Slim Jim Fast Plan™? It’s actually really simple. Monday to Friday I skip breakfast, I have a Huel shake for lunch (Black - Salted Caramel is the best, Black / Normal - Vanilla also very good, Black - Banana is terrible) which is 400 kcalories. If I get super hungry in the afternoon I’ll have a snack bar, such as a Nakd vegan nuts & dates bar. And that’s it. Dinners are normal - which is usually a cooked meal at home - sometimes with wine, and sometimes it is takeaway Fish and Chips or Indian. Sometimes there are cheese and biscuits after dinner, or a dessert. I eat until I am full. And weekends I eat normally too, with regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I typically drink a load of coffee (with oat milk) during the morning, and instant decaf in the afternoon. In the office at the moment it’s quite easy. I’m often the only one there, and I just don’t buy any snacks / food, so there is no option for me to have anything!

And whilst I’ve been dieting I’ve also been training less - I’ve been typically going for three training rides during the week and a long ride at the weekend.

Anyhow, with the race just over a week away, I’ll now be eating normally again and taking things easy, so in theory I’ll be well and rested for the start.

More gears

Having ridden with the Sugino double chainring on a long ride, and on a hills ride, I was happy with the performance, but having to change the chain over with either a deft move of the heel (big chainring to small chainring) or using my fingers to manually move the change over is a bit of a drag and a time-suck.

Last night I fitted a front derailleur. It’s not straightforward - there aren’t any Brompton components to acheive this, so it’s a case of getting other components to work. It’s a bit involved, so I will write this up properly, probably with a video, another time.

Anyhow, I’m pleased to say it performed very well on today’s commute. The worst bit was the £4 front shifter - the way the shifter affixes to the handlebar isn’t great and so it’s a little loose. I will try to imprve this. with some packing. I’ll do a few more rides with it, but fingers crossed it continues to behave. It’s great having the huge range compared with the normal 6 speed range (which is good for pretty much everything, but just lacks a little in range for a loaded bike on mountains).

One Week Left

So with a week to go, most people are super organised and ready. I’m still experimenting with gears, and I haven’t thought about packing yet. This is partly because I’ve done it before and so I can just take the same stuff again and know I should be ok. I have a few minor things to buy - such as buying an emergency foil blanket (no idea where my old one went!), check and replenish first aid kit, buy some antihisitamine, paracetomol, ibuprofen, water purification tablets, a small tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, and so on. Considering buying a portable bluetooth keyboard so I’ll be able to more easily keep a diary during the race.

Anyhow, getting excited now as it’s getting close. There is a certain amount of luck in making around, but if I can go in as prepared as I can be, I improve my odds.

There will be a site during the race which monitors all the riders progress, and updates from the Pan Celtic Race team. I’ll publish details next week.