Bio: Neil Cottam

Neil Cottam (Nellie)
Neil Cottam, born April 1970, lives in Denby, Derbyshire. Father of one son; Daniel.
He works as a Mechanical Engineer to fund his travels.
He has an unquenchable thirst for off-beat adventures and destinations, and when not travelling the world he likes nothing more than to satiate his adventure fix at home.
Mountain Biking, Climbing, Trail & Fell Running, Mountain Boarding, Snowboarding, Slacklining, Karting, Hiking, Carp Fishing, Kayaking, Whitewater Rafting & Scuba Diving are a few ways of letting off steam. 

 Neil is a Jack-of-all-Trades, Rock-n-Roller adventure seeker who moves to the beat of his own drum; mostly because that's just the way he his, but occasionally he might be deliberately obtuse - maybe he's just an old school rebel.

 His itchy feet have taken him all over Britain and Mainland Europe; Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, Norway,  Latvia, and Malta. Worldwide he has travelled to Kenya, Morocco, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, U.A.E, Sri Lanka, Israel, and Nepal.
In recent years he has spent a lot of time in Nepal. He has trekked The Old Expedition Route to Mount Everest Base Camp twice, Competed and/or officiated in The Yak Attack six times - The highest altitude mountain bike stage race in the world.
In 2013 he assisted his old friend Wilco Voulon in leading a party of trekkers for The Tenzing-Hillary Mount Everest Marathon, completing it himself in a decent effort.
He also assisted a party with an attempt at Mera Peak.
He has also visited the eastern and western extremes of the country via mountainbike to discover new trails and destinations.
Neil once lived near the town of Vitry La Francois in the Champagne Region of France for two glorious Summers in 2003 & 2004, managing a small but beautiful Carp Fishing Complex for Anglers holidaying from the UK. A Busmans holiday of sorts!
In November 2014 he headed to Sri Lanka with his son Daniel for a month of bicycle touring, during which time he took part in "Rumble in the Jungle", a mountain bike race in the new Yak Attack Series (and again in 2017).
In 2018 alongside his friend Phil Evans they rode the length and breadth of Sri Lanka on local singlespeed bicycles to raise funds and awareness for Helping Paws Worldwide.
Most recently he hiked the entire coast of Malta in six days.
He admires the great adventurers of our time including Scott & Shackleton, Mallory & Irvine, Hillary & Tenzing, Ranulph Fiennes, Ed Viesturs, Reinhold Messner. And other adventurers like, Mark Beaumont - The man who cycled the world or Loretta Henderson from Canada who solo bicycle toured around the world for charity (she's very funny, you should read her blog). And let's not forget his all time favourite - Evel Knievel. And Biggles. And Asterix the Gaul. And The Wombles...
He is an avid reader of Biographies of interesting characters, usually Mountaineering, Cycling, Running, Fishing, or Travel based.
Don't take anything he says too seriously, he's probably winding you up for his own amusement.
Neil thinks we should plant more trees.

 Neil is currently a trustee on the board of two charities - Helping Paws Worldwide based in the UK and supporting the plight of street animals in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and Empower based in The Netherlands, a foundation that helps to develop confidence and life skills in autistic children through the medium of sport & recreation.

 Neil is a Brand Ambassador for Alpkit (The Akpkiteers) and Aqua-Xtreme (Kayaks/Packrafts/SUP's).
You can also follow Chase The Rainbow here:


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Consume less, live more. Plant more trees.
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