Category Archives: off the road

A brief update

You’re probably wondering how it went, aren’t you? Unless you were following my Twitter account, in which case you’ll know that I pulled out on Day 8, after ending up in hospital in Ljubljana with mysterious chest pains. They turned out to be nothing fatal, and although I didn’t end up finishing the race, what I […]

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August 20, 2015
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The writers’ blessing

I’m going to issue one of those typical blogger complaints/apologies: that, in trying to live as interesting a life as possible, in order to create entertaining blog posts (as well as for personal enrichment, etc.), I have left myself very little time or energy actually write them. I have, as you may well have guessed, […]

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April 5, 2015
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Loose ends

Notes on finishing a journey. ‘It is not the goal but the way there that matters. And the harder the way there, the more worthwhile the journey’ Wilfred Thesiger I am all out of order at the moment. That’s to say, things aren’t happening in the sequence that I expected or assumed they would. This […]

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March 30, 2015
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The dog race

The day after I was taken in by Judy and Richard was more or less a rest day. Breakfast, a groaning banquet of bread and eggs and meat and fruit and yoghurt and cake and cereal and coffee and juice, stretched on till almost midday, as we all sat back in our chairs, napkins crumpled […]

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February 28, 2015
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On the eve

Just over 24 hours to go. And, just like when I was waiting impatiently for my last big adventure to start, back in 2011, I can’t wait to get going – not so much because I’m excited, although I am, but because the waiting has become intolerable. I won’t go into too much detail, because […]

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December 24, 2014
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Nesting, and other pre-trip neuroses

Long ago, during the summer of 2011, as I counted down the weeks and days until I set off on my Big Round-The-World Adventure, I noticed that I was spending a lot more time at home than you’d expect, given that by rights I should have been rushing around making the most of London and […]

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December 14, 2014
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Legs

You know what? I absolutely love my legs. They’re amazing, and I’m so lucky to have them. No matter how unreliable my tyres, the weather, the road surface, my brake pads, the nerves in my hands, my route-finding, my nutritional input or my strength of will, my legs just keep on going. I have never […]

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December 10, 2014
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Winter in waiting

On the other side of the world, you pass the moon to me, like a loving cup, or a quaich. I roll you the sun. (Carol Ann Duffy) We don’t seem to get winter in London any more. Last year the weather stayed so mild that I carried on wearing my fingerless gloves all the […]

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November 25, 2014
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On doing well

I’m not depressed any more. And hopefully I won’t be for a very long time, although I won’t be so naïve as to claim that I’ve beaten the disease into submission forever. And life with all of its colours and its contours restored is a very lovely place indeed. But it’s not all plain sailing. […]

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November 18, 2014
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Sponsorship: is there an alternative?

I am quite often approached, at networking events for wannabe explorers (like Explore at the RGS next weekend), or in emails via this website, by people who are planning a big ride of their own and, as well as building a bike and planning a route, are trying to figure out how to get sponsorship for […]

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November 6, 2014
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