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Jon Sparks - © Jon Sparks 2006

I am a professional photographer and writer based in the little town of Garstang in the beautiful English county of Lancashire. I’ve been riding bikes virtually all my life but really became passionate about them as a student in Cambridge (the one in East Anglia, not Massachusetts) - first as a means of escaping the city to find country pubs, then touring and ultimately racing.

More recently I have ridden on the hallowed boards of the Manchester Velodrome and in complete contrast I am a relatively recent but besotted convert to mountain biking. I aim to write about all these aspects of cycling, and anything else connected with it too.

As well as all things bike, I’m keen on other outdoor pursuits, especially walking and climbing. Basically I can get fired up by almost anything that’s powered by wind, water, gravity, or muscle, and doesn’t mess up the great outdoors. In the last few years I’ve experienced ocean sailing, snorkelling, kayaking, canyoning and cross-country skiing. It’s nice to slow down too, which is where the more reflective pursuit of pure landscape photography comes in.

I’ve been a full-time freelance for over twelve years. In that time I’ve done all sorts of photographic assignments and have written for a wide range of publications, including High Mountain Sports, Adventure Travel, Cycle, TGO (The Great Outdoors), mbr (Mountain Bike Rider), Wanderlust and Observer Sports Monthly. I’ve been a regular contributor to Outdoor Enthusiast magazine since its inception. I also supply photographs to global libraries Corbis and Alamy.

I now have my name on sixteen books - for some I provided the photographs, for some the words, and for some I’ve done both. You can see a full listing of these books, along with lots of my photographs and much more, on my personal website

I won’t be covering the pro racing scene directly - that rightly belongs in Suite101’s Sports section - but of course I’ll touch on it from time to time. One of the great things about cycling is that we can all ride on exactly the same roads as the pros. And I certainly will be looking at anything and everything else in the world of cycling - where to ride, what to ride, how to ride, who else is riding - you name it, and I hope you will. Please suggest topics you’d like to see me tackle, or share your own thoughts and experiences - join in the Discussions or email me.