Rider’s Lens: Karl Millett’s Illustrations

Hey, I’m Karl, a London-based illustrator. I was born in Northampton, UK, and have been drawing since I can remember. It’s a passion that has taken me all the way from doodling stickman comics in my school diary to studying illustration at Camberwell University. I still live around South East London, spending my time across different freelance illustration projects, tinkering with and riding bikes, and working at a local brewery.

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I mostly draw digitally, as I love the flexibility it gives me. I use the apps Procreate and Adobe Fresco on my iPad, and it still blows my mind how powerful this lightweight device I can just chuck into my backpack is. That being said, I’m currently really enjoying going back to traditional mediums. I’ve been doing a painting course and also co-run a life drawing course in Deptford, London (find us on Instagram if you’re in the area!). Whilst thinking of what to write for this and reading previous Rider’s Lens features, I’ve found people’s travel sketchbooks super inspiring. So, I think next trip, I’ll slip a sketchbook into the panniers and see what I come up with!

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Recently I’ve been having fun merging two of my interests: drawing and cycling. Capturing the freedom of travelling on two wheels is something I’ve come to really enjoy in my work. I’ve created posters for local events, such as BabyLdn’s Richmond Ride and LBS Seabass Cycles Surrey Hills Ride About. I’m currently working on some really cool upcoming projects with Emanuele of Kole Cycles, so follow him and stay tuned for more!

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I’ve travelled to some amazing places by bicycle. Some favourites that come to mind are wild Camping in the Hebrides, Normandy (Dieppe > Fécamp > Le Havre > Rouen), Devonshire c2c, and Burgundy wine region (with a quick stop to spectate Le Tour in Troyes). Those are some of the longer ones, but I’m always looking for a good weekender to escape the city. I’ve taken inspiration from a few BIKEPACKING.com routes. Last year, we did the New Forest Gravel Taster and the Norwich Overnighter, both of which were great fun! My current stable is my Brother Kepler, which I use for longer tours, and my trusty 1991 Trek 930, which is my commute and rig for shorter trips.

Fixing up bikes is another past-time of mine, from the early days of maintenance necessity to buying a cheap ’90s MTB and stripping them to the frame. It helps that there’s a great local scene where I live, which brought me to Babyldn Bike Shop, probably London’s closest answer to US bike co-op culture. Wednesday and Saturday workshops with Marlon and the regulars have become a staple. 

Featured Illustration

This piece below is based on a moment on tour in France, with my friends Brad and Jimmy. After a long day in the saddle, travelling through the Parc Naturel Régional des Boucles de la Seine Normande (who said Normandy was flat?!), we arrived at our planned stay at a municipal campsite. These are often not manned, but even so, it quickly became obvious it was closed for the off-season—with the toilets/showers locked and no running water. 

Still, with no other campsites in sight, plan B came in the form of HomeCamper, a website that’s popular in France where people allow you to camp in their gardens. Monique’s place was a 20-minute ride away, so we fired off an email, got going, and ended up knocking on her door before she’d even had a chance to read it. Luckily, she was very understanding, and it ended up being one of the most memorable spots of the trip. 

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We stayed in a beautiful cliff top garden overlooking the Seine, formed of steps quarried out of the rock face in the production of lime. The quarry had long been overtaken by nature, and from our tranquil viewpoint, we cooked our camp meal, drank box wine, and watched boats large and small sail by. My drawing is my best attempt to capture that moment, whilst sitting in my London flat in the depths of winter, thinking of summer adventures to come. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of my work!

You can find more of Karl’s work at KarlMillett.co.uk and on Instagram.

Further Reading

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