Steve Bate

Olympian, Sonder Rider and Alpkiteer

Steve Bate

Olympian, Sonder Rider and Alpkiteer

On the 14 June 2011 I was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition, which made me re-evaluate my life. It made me realise there is so much to see and do, before I will no longer be able to see at all.

I guess I’m a climber by trade, but have been known to ride a tandem too. I’m passionate about being outside with my wife Caroline and dog Murphy. I’m happiest in wild places having adventures testing my physical and mental boundaries.

When i’m at home training, I enjoy little micro adventures around the Calder Valley to keep me sane. My day job is a para-athlete with British Cycling and ParalympicsGB, but this gets in the way of fat biking shenanigans!

The Number Crunch:

  • Being Ginger!
  • El Capitan, Lurking Fear 4 days, Zodiac 33hrs?(with Andy Kirkpatrick), Zodiac solo (6 days).
  • Rio Paralympics x 2 gold medalist, bronze medalist, World Record holder.
  • Adventure cycling in Patagonia (Carretera Austral, 770 miles)

Entries from the Mountain Journal

Is an Endurance Road Bike the One for Me?

Is an Endurance Road Bike the One for Me?

With such a range of bikes on the market these days it can be super confusing which bike to choose for your upcoming epic days in the saddle. It’s ...
Second City Divide Part 1

Second City Divide Part 1

“Just another half hour”, I tell myself. It's pitch black, my head torch is sending a blurry white light into the driving rain and mist. It’s three...
Second City Divide Part 2

Second City Divide Part 2

ICYMI: Read part one before you continue... I was awake before my watch alarm startedvibrating on my wrist. Four thirty am. My Alpkit sleeping sy...
Steve Bate wins the Rovaniemi 150

Steve Bate wins the Rovaniemi 150

The Rovaniemi 150 kicked off early Saturday morning with 108 competitors going for the 150 km distance, either by foot, ski or by bike. Alpkiteer S...
Back in Black

Back in Black

A recent wild idea has sparked an old fear, something I gave up long ago due to the diagnosis of losing my vision. Like giving up my driver’s licen...
Preparing for Rovaniemi 150

Preparing for Rovaniemi 150

I look at the forecast, it reads -19. All sorts of thoughts run through my mind about what it will feel like on the start line in just under a week...
Searching for the Mountain Haggis

Searching for the Mountain Haggis

On June 14th 2011 I was diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa and given a worst case outcome of blindness in five year...
Lisbon to Malaga: A Bikepacking Adventure

Lisbon to Malaga: A Bikepacking Adventure

I look back to see if the chase is on, and it is. Coming at me like a rocket is a Portuguese street dog. Black and tan hackles up, teeth and a bark...
Wild About Argyll

Wild About Argyll

It was quite a challenge to convince Ibrahim to head to the south west coast instead of the north west, like we usually do for adventures in Scotla...
A Calling to the Arctic, part 2

A Calling to the Arctic, part 2

We see snowmobiles in the darkness, parked off the trail, and then head torches suddenly blind my poor night vision. Check point 5: the furthest po...
A Calling to the Arctic, part 1

A Calling to the Arctic, part 1

I tell Ibrahim to turn on the GoPro, and I turn my head and watch bikers, skiers, and runners disappearing past us up the frozen river in the flat ...
An Arctic ski adventure

An Arctic ski adventure

This year, Ned, Rob and I decided to break out of our old skiing habits and go somewhere slightly different. You’d normally find us heading to Whis...
Ride Across Britain

Ride Across Britain

As my eyes struggled to focus on the road in the dark, driving rain and bright head lights, I remember thinking to myself that I was grateful to be...
Double vision

Double vision

Setting goals for myself is something I started to do when I left a life of carpentry and began gaining qualifications in the outdoor industry. I’d...
The Beast

The Beast

As I descended from the Widdop Reservoir on what should be a trail, although it seemed more like a river, my feet were swimming inside my waterproo...