In our upcoming series of blog posts featuring Craghoppers ambassadors, you’ll get to know the people that we’re proud to work with on their adventures and pursuits. Whether they venture abroad to snap that elusive award-winning travel photo, or work with scientists to learn more about our outdoor environment and how to preserve it, we will be sharing their lives with you regularly on our blog.
Introducing Tamsin and Craig
Tamsin has been a Craghoppers ambassador for several years, and we’ve been proud to support her in her ventures into the world of motorcycle racing and running her own off-road motorcycle school.
Tamsin started running marathons in her early 20’s, and continued as an elite runner in 1994. She then went on to race Downhill Mountain Bikes at a World Cup level and also became a snowboard guide in the Alps. She moved on to racing off road motorbikes in her mid 20’s and continued to win the ACU British enduro ladies championship 3 times.
The Everest of off road riding is the infamous Dakar rally, and Tamsin finished this on her first attempt in 2010. She has twice been the first woman to finish in the Red Bull Romaniacs extreme enduro – part of the world extreme enduro series.
Tamsin and her partner Craig Bounds have been on overland motorcycle trips in Africa, Australia, India, and Europe, and they now run an off road riding school in South Wales.
We caught up with Tamsin and Craig to find out what a day in the life of a Dakar Rally Champion looks like…
A Normal Workday on the Farm
On a normal workday, my mornings usually start with a wake up call at 6.30am to get the baby ready, walk the dog, and get organised for the day. This tends to set me up for a productive day, and by 8.30 I already feel like I’ve achieved a lot!
At 8.30, I’ll meet the tradesmen up at the farm and whoever else is working there for the day, this usually entails lots of running around a bit to get what they need, then I’ll work on the farm for a couple of hours.
After a couple of hours of grafting on the farm, I’ll head over to the nursery at 12.45 to pick up our baby, and whilst he’s having his afternoon nap then we try and squeeze in as much admin and mechanical work as possible! At about 4pm, one of us will head out for a good run or on our bikes (we take it in turns each day). At the end of the day, we then sit down for dinner together and a relaxed evening after putting the baby to bed for the night!
A Typical Black Desert Workday
The day before our off-roading enthusiasts arrive:
Craig has spent a couple of days getting bikes ready so he loads them in the van with all the spares and tools. I will pack kit and boots, and get paperwork ready as well as make clients lunches for the following day.
Off-roading training day:
Rising at 6.30, we usually make our way straight up to the venue to unpack the van and set up for the day ahead before the clients typically arrive at 9.30. Once everyone’s arrived; we conduct basic training, followed by a spot of lunch. The afternoons generally consist of further skills training and a trail ride, then after all this is finished we tend to pack up and drive home to unpack the van and kit at around 4.30!
At weekends (provided we have a babysitter), we like to take it easy with a walk with the dog in the morning, mountain bike in the afternoon, and then load the motorbikes in the van for Sunday afternoons, when we like to ride off road until about 2pm each week.
Tamsin and Craig are wearing our Response Compresslite jacket; you can find the new season versions here