Category: Living Adventurously
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7 Books About Running
I’ve been getting back into running recently so thought I’d share some books on the subject. My outdoor swimming and cycle touring reading lists are much more comprehensive so recommendations on good running books are most welcome. [divide] 1. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami A book about a…
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Bikepacking and Bothies
This afternoon, after running a workshop at the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, Laura and I are taking our new mountain bikes across the Cairngorms for a week of bikepacking and bothying. Bikepacking is cycle touring without panniers. Instead we’re using tiny, lightweight bags strapped to the frames of our bikes that mean we can cycle off-road…
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What Is The Best Thing About Cycle Touring?
At last year’s Cycle Touring Festival, we asked people: What is the best thing about cycle touring? Judging by the responses we received, as displayed in the image above, most cycle tourists are curious about the world, love meeting new people and have MASSIVE appetites. Hmmm, sounds familiar. As one attendee said: I…
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2016 Cycle Touring Festival Line Up Announced (48 hours to get tickets!)
Tickets for next month’s Cycle Touring Festival are only on sale until Friday evening. Buy them online here ➜ Laura’s been working hard to get a fantastic line up of speakers (see below), all of whom are unpaid volunteers as the event is entirely non-profit. You can see a draft programme of events below too.…
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How To Have An Adventure Without Spending Any Money
The number one thing people ask me about is how to get MONEY for an expedition. And the number one reason for people not completing their expeditions has got to be MONEY. It need not be like that. By the end of this blog post I intend to show you how you can have an…
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Win Everything You Need To Cycle Around The World
Anyone can cycle around the world. There are 121 people that have done it here. And 311 who have done it here. Not everyone has a nice bike though. Or panniers. Or fancy clothing. Or a tent, sleeping bag, camping mat, tools, cookset etc etc etc… You don’t necessarily need to have those things but…
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Discounted ‘Early Bird’ tickets for the Cycle Touring Festival now on sale
This is just a quick post to let you know that tickets are now on sale for the 2016 Cycle Touring Festival. Last year’s event went really well. We received almost universally positive feedback and Laura’s been working hard to make this year’s festival even better. If you buy your tickets before February 19th then…
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Anyone Can Cycle Around the World (121 pieces of evidence)
Here’s a fantastic ‘infographic’ showing the basic details of over one hundred different round-the-world cyclists. It was made by Mads Phikamphon at Icebike.org. Laura and I feature. Aside from being a wonderful piece of art, it also reinforces the single most important message there is to hear about cycle touring. And it’s the same message…
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Is It Possible To Do Real Expeditions Whilst Holding Down A Real Job?
You don’t need to quit your job to do proper expeditions A common message from “adventurers” is that to follow your dream you should quit your job and go on a grand adventure. For some, this will be an inspiration that motivates them to do just that. Great. However, that only caters for a minority.…
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£1,000 Expedition Grant Up For Grabs (not from me this time)
Adventurer Sean Conway is offering up to a thousand pounds for anyone with a good adventure idea. You should apply. It’s called the #FindYourBeard Scholarship – a reference to bold challenges rather than anything to do with facial hair. Although, of course, Sean’s expedition beard is amongst the very best in the business: The scholarship…
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New Adventure Film From Iran
If you like adventures and you like watching telly then you should definitely get a copy of Karun. It’s the latest film from my friends, the adventurers Tom Allen and Leon McCarron. Leon’s a cameraman who’s undertaken some deeply impressive expeditions. His last film, Into the Empty Quarter, was top quality. A great story told…
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Could You?
When I was at school, the “800 metres” was a long distance race. I coudn’t believe it when my friend told me he’d gone to the county games and witnessed “the fifteen hundred”. Could you really run that far? At university seven years later, I ran my first proper race. 16 miles. It was the…