Introducing Spoke & Arrow: Bows, Bikes, and Getting Outdoors
If you’ve arrived here via something security-related or a post about 3D printing, this might seem like an unexpected detour. Bear with me.
Spoke & Arrow is where I write about mainly the two hobbies that most reliably get me away from a screen, archery and cycling. Both have been part of my life for a long time, and while they don’t have an enormous amount in common on the surface, they share something I’ve come to value: they both reward patience, consistency, and a willingness to be quietly terrible at something until you’re marginally less terrible at it.
The Bow
Having studied medieval history, and completed a post graduate looking at re-enactment I had not taken a step into the past. I had tried once, while at University to get into Historical European Martial Arts, but a lack of resources or anyone else willing to let me swing a sword in their direction put paid to that. I thought it even less likely that I would be able to keep a horse, let alone find one that would be willing for me to ride it in armour!
Work took over and life moved on. Around 15 years ago, I saw a group of archers shooting in a local country park while out for a bike ride. I thought, I wish I could do that, in short order I had contacted the club, completed by beginner course and got myself a bow and some arrows.
Keeping with the historical theme, I shoot a longbow. I haven’t been tempted by a recurve or a compound bow, instead traditional longbow is the one for me. I do have other bows, but the longbow scratches the Agincourt, Robin Hood, Welsh Archer itch.
Traditional archery is a humbling discipline. There are no sights, no stabilisers, nothing mechanical standing between you and the target. When it goes well, there’s nothing quite like it. When it doesn’t, you retrieve your arrows from places arrows have no business being and have a quiet word with yourself about technique and do it all over again.
I shoot at my local club, which is genuinely the proper way to get into archery. There is nothing like standing in a field with a group of like-minded people. If you’re thinking about taking it up, a club is absolutely where to start. No doubt I’ll write more about that in a future post.
The Bike
Cycling has been a constant for me since I first learned to ride. I’m not a competitive cyclist. I don’t track watts or follow a training plan or enter any events. But I do love being out on my bike, and if it is somewhere you would expect a bike to be, all the better!
With Afan Argoed, or Afan Forest Park as it is now, more or less on the doorstep it would be rude not to take advantage of it. I ride gravel and adventure mostly, the kind of riding that involves questionable route choices, more climbing than you remembered agreeing to, and if your lucky little of no hike-a-bike, or not atleast not that you’d admit to on Strava. There’s road riding too, loops around the local roads, a canal path or a cycle path. But if I’m honest, I’d rather be on the gravel, rethinking my life choices as I drag myself up a hill that is too steep and too long but has wonderful views. And then there is the down, earned in sweat and swearing which always makes it worthwhile. I ride because it clears my head, because I live in a beautiful place that should be enjoyed, and because the alternative is not riding, which is objectively worse.
What to Expect Here
Posts in this section will cover kit, routes worth riding, archery sessions or the odd competition where I make up the numbers, and the occasional equipment review when I’ve bought something and developed a strong opinion about it. Nothing too serious.
If you’re into either of these things, welcome to the right corner of Purpleboar. If you arrived here for the security content and have somehow ended up reading about longbows and forest trails; I hope it was at least an interesting surprise and who knows may have caused a spark of curiosity.