Hello again.

It’s been a little while since the last process / behind the scenes update, so it’s a good time to look at what’s happened, and what’s coming up soon.

There are 2 main thoughts i’m battling with at the moment. Consistency, or the lack of, and taking small steps vs jumping fully in.

I’ll explain more in a bit, but first, the numbers.

Current status:

Instagram

• Posts - 23 (up from 14) / reels - 9 (up from 8) 

• Followers - 27 (up from 20)

• Following - 142 (up from 128) 

Youtube

• Youtube videos - 2 live, 1 in progress

Each post I'll add those numbers, and maybe some others, to keep a record of how things grow and change. 

Some deep dives:

I ended the last update with a plan to keep training on the bike, take more photos, and attend a couple of events / races to combine all of those skills.

I’m happy, and a bit surprised when I look back, to see that I actually have done most of the things I set out to.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the feeling of not doing enough, or not moving fast enough.

These reflections help me look back and see the progress and effort i’m putting in to building this and making it happen. (I still could / should / would like to do more, but I guess you can always say that).

In August I went to the Breisgau triathlon to practice taking pictures at an event. I don’t think I nailed it, but I came away with one or two good shots.

The following weekend, the Deutschland Tour came through Freiburg. I was super excited to take pictures at such a big event, and see what I could come out with.

I did some prep work the week before the event - an evening ride scouting the route they would take up Schauinsland (1200m), that would be the final push of a 140km race for the riders of the tour.

The idea was to find the best location for shooting on race day.

Since I would only really have one opportunity as the riders came past - I wanted to give myself the best chance possible.

And this prep work became a reminder about ‘making your own luck’.

On the way up the recon climb, I met another cyclist and saw that he had a gopro on the front. We got chatting and turns out he had ridden the whole course that day, creating a video about it for the local newspaper (btw I ended up in the video).

Of course it was lucky that we crossed paths, the timing worked out.

But, what’s not lucky is that I intended to be there, to do that preparation.

“The universe will align and give you blackberries for breakfast”.

That’s a quote from Richard Grieve - we met part way through his bike tour from the UK to Italy. I was so happy to meet him and hear about his adventure so far, and to be able to document and share it.

This is what I want woowoo to be about!

Sharing stories from real people, doing the amazing things that they always wanted to. To talk about highs, lows, lessons - and how we can help even more people get out there.

Richard was talking about the mindset of setting off on this kind of trip - about the doubts and worries before you go.

But he was reassured, and rewarded for ‘jumping in and going for it’, in his case - he got fresh blackberries for breakfast. And in my case, I met the freelance creator riding his bike up Schauinsland.

When you get out there, you will meet the right people to help you go further.

Maybe woowoo will become a library of people being rewarded for getting out there. A list of reasons why you (and I) should continue going out and doing the same.

In September I did my first wild camp / hike combo.

3 of us hiked around 35km over 2 days, and stopped at a wild hut for the night. It was my first time using my tent and sleeping equipment, and sleeping in the ‘wild’.

It was really cool to tick this one off and get it under the belt - it’s the first of many more to come.

Next was the bohemian border dash - a bike packing festival / camp at the Sächsische Schweiz, on the border between Germany and Czech.

The main event of the weekend is a 300km race (which I didn’t do because I don’t think i’m ready).

Whilst that group are off racing, there are numerous other group rides and activities planned, along with food and beers at the camp site.

I went with the aim to not only do my biggest ride ever (160km with around 2600m elevation), but also to make a short trailer movie recapping the weekend - that could be used for a promo of the event.

The idea is to keep making those kinds of films, so one day it could turn into a job - or be part of the package that ‘woowoo’ could offer.

That trip was also the second time I did a night-ride.

I was scared on the train.

Arriving to an unknown place, not 100% sure about what I was getting into, or exactly where I was going. It was around 15km from the last station to the campsite, following a single, unlit road up into the fields.

I’m glad to say it went well, and gave me the confidence for the rest of the weekend and future challenges.

The next big event was a 24 hour bike challenge.

Inspired by Red Bull Time-Lapse, a 24 hour event where you cycle as far as possible within the time limit, as a solo rider, or relay team.

The challenge for me, was about seeing how far I could go over a full day, to test night riding again, and cycling back to back after a long, hard day.

I set off at midday, thinking it would be a good amount of time to complete a big day, but still have enough sleep to get up and go again on day 2.

On day 1, I did my new biggest ever ride of 200km. That was a big goal, and i’m really happy to have achieved it.

It was tough, and definitely made day 2 harder - but at this point, I was very happy and any added distance on day 2 was a bonus.

That’s the work-in-progress video, which will be live on youtube soon.

All that, a couple of sunrise photo hikes, and that pretty brings us up to date...

So…

Looking ahead

I’ve signed up for Seven Serpents, an 800km bike race through Slovenia in May 2023. This is really ambitious.

I’m scared. I need to train.

I’m comforted knowing that if it doesn’t work in a race format for me, then I can just complete it at my own pace as a bike packing holiday.

I no longer have a full time job.

I was laid off from my company at the beginning of November. So now I have some time to figure out what I want to do next, how woowoo fits in with that, and if I can fully jump in. And figuring out what fully jumping in even looks like.

And since I have some time off - i’ve decided to travel to Vietnam for a backpacking month.

Why Vietnam?

I’m not really sure. It’s classic Alex logic. I’ve been talking about it for a few years - based on a snippet of a book I remember reading. I don’t have a better answer than that.

I guess it’s mostly about the unknown, about doing something different. Putting myself out there and seeing if I get blackberries for breakfast. Why not?

Well. That’s it for this time.

Go and take one step closer to your own woowoo! And tell me about it.