They came during the night. We were two, but they were many – possibly eight or nine. They couldn’t have been older than eighteen or younger than fourteen. It was a Sunday night and, by the smell on their breath, they were drunk. At the time, I was cycling with a Swiss friend, Sven, [...]
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Rapture and Relief
I was loving the sounds of flowing water, the smell of vegetation and the shade of trees. Two weeks battling the desert is enough for anyone to see things in a new light. I had made it to Urumqi – a place that claims to be both at the geographic centre of the Asian Continent [...]
READ MORE »A day of extremes
It started waking up under the road and ended camping in a far flung desert in a remote part of far Western China. As with the journey, it was what happened in between that defined it. The previous afternoon, I had rolled my sleeping mat out in the confines of a concrete culvert. It was [...]
READ MORE »Familiarity
My return to China was flooded with a kind of reverse culture shock. The dirty, run down city of Kathmandu had cows shitting in the street; the rivers ran full of rubbish; chaotic traffic spilled in all directions around every corner and intersection. The tangled cars often sang in a symphony of horns. In contrast, [...]
READ MORE »24th September 2011
Friends of the Cycle Strongman: Remember this date. A few days from now people all over the world will come together to say enough is enough. We want action on Climate Change and need to make our voices heard. This expedition is about helping foster the inspiration needed to make this change. And that change [...]
READ MORE »Lady Luck
Everything happens for a reason. At least, that’s what I’ve come to believe. Actually, without trying to sound arrogant, I don’t actually believe I sort of ‘know’. That’s not to say it makes things any easier; it’s not part of any great philosophy to simply become apathetic. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Perhaps [...]
READ MORE »Delhi Belly
India was a dead end. I had the world to cycle and nowhere to go. Sure I could have flown directly to Iran but, apart from contravening the low emissions lifestyle that I’m trying to encourage through the Expedition, it would be self defeating. Besides, where was the adventure in that? Things very seldom go [...]
READ MORE »Fighting against a surging tide of pessimism …
I had exhausted just about every option. A bureaucratic roadblock stretched from the Indian Ocean, 3500 kilometres northward, all the way along the mighty Indus River to the highest peaks of the Himalayas. This was a hurdle that, no matter how much strength I could muster, would be difficult to overcome. There’s only one way [...]
READ MORE »Sweeping Generalisations
Perhaps one of the prerequisites for visiting India should be a question such as, “Are you prepared?” It would be a good question. “For what?” they would naturally reply, to which there is no answer worth explaining. If you say “Yes”, you get the visa. India needs to be felt to be experienced. It [...]
READ MORE »Shame on me. Shame on you.
When the guy pulled a gun and placed it on the table, I snapped! “Is that a gun?”, I demanded, looking him in the eye. “Did you just pull a gun on me?”, I demanded again as I bent over the counter to confirm my suspicions. Our previously courteous misunderstanding was reaching a climax. [...]
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