In his application for The Next Challenge Grant, German student Hajo Spathe wrote: I have never seen a more beautiful place than the Canadian Rockies! Turquoise lakes like emeralds and the Icefield Parkway Highway is just breathtaking.” Hi... Read more
The ‘TT’ (Tourist Trophy) is a series of motorcycle races that take place on the Isle of Man each year. The route of those races is 37 miles and grant winner George Shelton decided that it would make for a good day’s run. So, earlier... Read more
As well as enjoying the drama of England’s progress through the group and knock-out stages of the World Cup, it’s also reminding me of where I was this time four years ago: cycling across Malaysia. Our time in the country did not jus... Read more
Grant winner Val Ismaili and his friend Mark (pictured above) have recently completed a kayak descent of the Drin River, which runs for 200 miles through Kosovo and Albania. Kayaking the Drin by Val Ismaili This Easter my friend Mark and I compl... Read more
North Korea is in the news a lot at the moment. I’m sure it’s a great place and, who knows, maybe it will be open to cycle tourists one day. But until then, let me sing the praises of its southern neighbour. Laura and I spent three b... Read more
Six years ago, Dan Keeley was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and experienced a dangerous manic episode whilst in Rome. Six months ago, he went back to Rome to exorcise his demons, which he did in remarkable style by running over one thousand mi... Read more
Brothers Ed and Richard dreamed of undertaking an epic expedition, conspiring in the pub to complete a massive triathlon right the way across Scotland. When they woke up the next day, however, they remembered that they had jobs and lives and fam... Read more
Last month I shared a story on this blog about how depression and anxiety almost stopped our round-the-world cycling plans. Since writing about it here, I’ve spoken about it on stage, posted it on LinkedIn and even had the story published... Read more
There was loads of stuff that I wanted to include in my new book, but just could not fit in. Even after editing, there were 20,000 words worth of stories and anecdotes that I removed. The book has 16-pages of photographs in the middle, but that... Read more
After two years of focussed work, I have recently finished writing my second book: With the Sun on Our Right. It has been a greater ordeal than my first book. That is partly because of the nature of the book. My first was a practical guide, with... Read more
This is always my favourite blog post of the year: announcing the winners of this year’s Next Challenge Grant. I am always inspired by the wonderful ideas and warmed by the variety of people that come up with them. We have winners from Jam... Read more
Many people reading this will know that, a few years ago, I set off to cycle around the world. What fewer will know is that the trip almost never happened due to issues with my mental health. Two days into a training ride, I had a break down and... Read more
