Talking the talk; Podcasting and pushing boundaries!

I had a conversation recently about the joys of reflection and of looking back through the tunnel of time, especially in relation to cycle touring.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found many times that it’s near impossible to process an experience when you’re actually involved in it, especially a big experience.

Being on a long, solo cycle tour is a perfect example as it often means that you’re dealing with many, many kinds of things at once, physical, practical, emotional, directional (!) and that’s way too much stimulation to make sense of. So, at the time, to get through, we do what we need to to make it through the day and fulfil our basic needs. Everything else, the small observations, the larger feelings, sort of just get filed on the ‘to think about later’ pile. 

But do we ever take time to fully revisit all those feelings and experiences, to bring them out in to the light again and examine them with the benefit of time and distance and if so, then how?

The Secret of Eternal Youth

It is a lesser known but universal rule that, if your birthday falls whilst holidaying in another country, you don’t get any older.

Absolute truth.

How to pack a bike in 103 easy steps

Two things I never learn?

Number 1. When you’re given a time estimate for doing something, never believe it. Double it, add the largest number you can think of, then multiply it a by a thousand.

Number 2. Never, ever, if you can help it, go on holiday carrying a bike

Guest Blog: How do you get a baby on a bicycle?

  This was the question faced by Vick Myers on becomming a new mum.

An avid cylist, from a family of keen cycle tourers, bikes are a big part of Vicky’s life, even down to taking me on my first cycling tour whilst she was a few months pregnant.  Now with a new baby, she wasn’t about to stop cycling…. she just needed to work out exactly how she could ‘get a baby on a bicycle’.

Here she writes candidly and with humour about just how it can be done.

French Reconnection Part II

Continued….

Leaving my haven at Rennes-Les-Bains the next day I nervously set off and upwards towards Bugarach, from there to join the D7/D10 to face the infamous Gorges de Galamus.

These gorges offer the intrepid walker, cyclist or driver the chance to tackle a few adrenalin-filled kilometres of single track road carved out of the cliffs, bordered with low side walls one side and a terrifying drop to the river far, far below.