In 2016, suffering deep career disillusionment and a hairline in furious retreat, I cycled a David Bowie lyric, ‘From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads,’ to find the meaning of mid-life, and Life on Mars? The following pictures are the story of this trip.
Ready to roll. Seven miles and one water bottle that rolled under the wheel of a London black cab later and I’m ready to face the biggest challenge of my life - how to dismantle my bike without launching pedals and spanners across the airport.
Not the prettiest way to pack a bike. But for around a tenner you can buy a bike bag from Wiggle, take your pedals off, turn your handlebars and be very polite to the airline staff - and you’re away.
The unmistakable suit designed by Freddie Burretti that appeared in the Life on Mars? video.
Bowie pictured here on the set of ‘Just a Gigolo’ was a keen bike rider. Rumour has it he saved for his first musical instrument, a saxophone, by delivering sausages on a bike for the local butcher in his childhood neighbourhood of Bromley.
Oh, and the timeless video that started it all, directed by Mick Rock.