The ME marketing office is now deserted and with everybody
else either at or on route to the massive Friedrichschafen trade show in
Germany I thought I’d take advantage of the peace and quiet to write one of my
rare blogs. I fly out on Friday morning to
do my bit showing our Spring/ Summer
2013 kit to the many buyers and journalists roaming the vast halls searching
for ‘the next big thing’. It’s a gear
freaks dream with every brand you’ve very heard of, and a lot more besides,
showing off what’s coming in a years time. We’ve got some fantastic new products coming
out across our range and I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on a few of the
samples to climb in this summer, I’ll give them some abuse and get back to you!
I say ‘summer’ but if you’re in the UK at the moment you’ll
know it’s actually the monsoon season.
It seems to have rained for some part of every day for weeks now and even as I write this the rain is bouncing off the windows in Kendal. Getting any climbing done at all has required serious dedication with even the
fastest drying crags up here in the Lakes damp and seeping. Routes have been snatched between the downpours
but when it’s wet at Shepherds and even the Malham catwalk is dripping you’re in
trouble! In an attempt to stay positive
and with my upcoming Alps trip in mind I’ve been back on my winter bike after
work, mudguards and all, hammering out the road miles to stay fit and going to
the wall far more than is acceptable in
June and July. After wasting the whole
of last summer being ill I’m pretty keen for some results in the Alps this
season, nothing too ambitious initially but hopefully once the cobwebs have
been blown off I can’t start to up my game again in readiness for some bigger
projects.
The majority of my trips to the bigger hills beyond the Alps
have been spent working on commercial expeditions and, whilst they were
brilliant experiences, it’s not the same as going away with just a partner and an objective. I’ve been properly inspired by Nick and Andy’s
recent adventures on the Slovak route on Denali and, whilst I’m not going to
jump straight on that, something big and adventurous is definitely calling
before too long.
I’ll fill you in on my adventures when I’m back in a few
weeks time but if you’re in the Alps and you see a man in a futuristic looking
orange ME smock then come and say hello!
Rich
