Climate change is real There’s no escaping the absolute truth that climate change is real, caused by humans, and accelerating. Equally, there’s no escaping the reality that each and every one of us are contributing to climate change. Yes, even you (and definitely me). You do you and I do me Generally, I’m happy for […]
Wild Atlantic Way series – Sustainable cycle touring
This posts focuses on trying to find the most sustainable, least harmful way of getting to the start of my Wild Atlantic Way cycling adventure. Man-made climate change is real and undeniable. Only cranks and shills disagree with the astounding amount of verifiable scientific evidence. I’m very aware of my personal CO2 footprint, and am […]
The impact of climate change on cycle touring
Did I get the title sequence wrong? Quite obviously, what we should be most concerned about is the impact of our activities on climate change. Climate change is man-made, real, speeding up and is frankly terrifying. Still, for the purposes of this post, I’ll focus on the impacts of climate change on cycle touring. Is […]
Destroying that which we love
So, you love the wild places? I can see why? Who doesn’t like travelling to exotic places, to experience it for themselves. Who doesn’t want to go explore Machu Picchu, go cycle the Ho Chi Minh Trail, or scale Everest? Not to mention visiting Patagonia, or Lake Baikal in Siberia? After all, it’s a beautiful, […]
Policing climate change
Climate change is terrifying During the summer of 2022, the UK (and much of Europe) saw high temperature records smashed in a great many places. In the UK, we saw temperatures of an unheard of 42 degrees Celsius. The latest IPCC report on climate change makes for terrifying reading. Remember, if you thought the summer […]
Footprints
We all leave footprints The only difference is what kind of footprints. By now you will know that I’m a huge fan of wild camping and cycle touring. Like everything else, both those activities can and do leave footprints. Some footprints shouldn’t last When wild camping, the number one rule is simply this: Leave No […]
New year, new you? Bollocks to that!
Don’t you find it ridiculous how you’re expected to make New Year’s resolutions, as if the difference between 31st of December and 1st of January is enormous? Regular gym users groan, as during January the gyms will be filled with people who all signed up for lengthy gym contracts, yet stop going to gym after a […]
Facts and perceptions
There’s a massive difference between fact and perception, but as a species, we mostly operate on perceptions. Add to the mix the fact that psychology teaches us that humans tend to first form an opinion, then look for reasons to support that opinion, and things can rapidly get messy. For many thousands of years, humans […]
But I need to drive…
Have a conversation with the vast majority of people, and you will very soon hear how everyone needs their car. You will be told detailed stories of how they use their cars to collect fridges, couches and more. So much so that I wouldn’t at all be surprised if someone claimed they used their car to […]
No plan ( et ) B
By now, you might be sick of hearing about climate change. After all, didn’t the doomsayers forecast Armageddon for decades now, and yet, here we still are? Surely that proves climate change is just a big old scare story, right? I suppose to some degree at least you may be forgiven for thinking like that. […]
Siesta
Your future when dealing with climate collapse With all the talk around climate breakdown, allow me to give you a very quick glimpse into a future that isn’t simply possible for the UK, but is becoming increasingly likely. The saddest part of all is that this isn’t me being alarmist. Instead, this is a very realistic […]
Burn, baby burn
Hot weather can be lethal This is not a doom & gloom post. Instead, I’m looking at realistic options. Man-made climate change is real, with indisputable evidence backing it up. In real-world terms, we see the effects all around us, in unusual weather patterns, increased flash flooding, and yes, heat waves. As the planet warms, […]
Cycle touring in a new age
COVID has changed the world, probably in a permanent way, but there are bigger changes on the horizon. I am of course referring to man-made Climate Change, which is undeniably real and terrifying. The heart of the matter is transport-related emissions need to radically fall, and that has clear, and direct implications for how we […]
Do electric cars dream of saving the world?
We are painfully slowly heading to the end of the oil era (seriously, if you had any shares in oil companies, which I sincerely hope you don’t, now is the time to dump those shares). Large car manufacturers realise this, which is why you can now buy electric panzerwagons and even electric American “muscle cars”. […]
Green touring
Green touring? As in, touring through a green landscape? Well, no. Green touring is about reducing your environmental footprint while touring. This is the point where people start claiming they care about the planet, always recycle, and what’s more, once wrote a sternly-worded Tweet about a certain supermarket’s excessive use of plastic, and even tagged the […]
“Act as if our home is on fire. Because it is”
“Act as if our home is on fire. Because it is” *These are the words of the incredible Greta Thunberg, a 16 yo climate activist from Sweden, who has single-handedly done more to highlight this extinction-level issue than most politicians combined. That in itself is a damning indication of just how miserably politicians are failing their […]
Sorry
Dear Kids, I’m sorry. I have failed you. As a dad, my job is to try and make your lives as safe, secure, stable, happy and good as I can. I’ve tried to be a good role model (even if I can be a tad grumpy at times, and despite having worked WAY too long […]