In a nutshell, The Life Cycle tells the story of Rawles’ 8 000 miles ride along the length of South America. However, that’s only a fraction of what the book is about. As a dedicated environmentalist, Rawles’ bike ride was more than a sigh-seeing trip. Along the way, she diverted regularly to meet local people … Read more
I’m absolutely sick to the back teeth about yet another company “upgrading” their product to be “enhanced” by AI! The Luddites In the UK there’s a description often incorrectly used to portray someone as anti-progress, or anti-machine. That’s done by calling them a Luddite, but the Luddites weren’t any of those things. Instead, the Luddites, … Read more
I’m often puzzled by the reaction of cyclists when it comes to sustainability in the bicycle industry. While there are signs that things are very slowly starting to change, the global cycling industry remains overall stuck in a business model of designed obsolescence. Designed obsolescence? Absolutely! And Shimano is one of the biggest culprits here, … Read more
With climate change comes the reality of hotter days. When cycle touring, that has real-world implications for you, in multiple ways. You No matter how advanced we may think of ourselves as a species, the fact remains that we’re still only mammals. That means our bodies like to remain with a core temperature of around … Read more
All your life, you were taught to be striving for more. More money, more respect and recognition, more achievements, and yes, more consumption. I’m not here to lecture you, but I want to ask you some pointed questions. No, you don’t have to share your answers with me, or anyone else, for that matter. However, … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 climate … Read more
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, … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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. … Read more