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The Spirit Of Adventure
The weather seems to have turned for the better, with temperatures rising and lots of sunny days forecast. After the record-breaking rains of the past four months, I bet you're as happy about that as I am.
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This edition has a competition (the clue is the image above)! Simply reply to this newsletter, telling in in no more than six words why cycle touring is great, and you'll be in the draw to win a signed copy of my book, Wild Camping The Wild Atlantic Way. Entries close on the 26th of April 2024, so you have plenty of time to respond. Also, I'll pick a winner at random, not on the words you suggested, so if you're not a wordsmith, don't worry about it.
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The book is printed on demand by Amazon, but Amazon UK doesn't ship to Ireland. As a result, I set up some PayPal buttons here, allowing anyone to purchase a copy directly from me. If you wanted a signed copy, that's also the way to go about getting it.
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One of me recent posts, Upgrade Is The New N+1, touches on rampant consumerism, which is the primary reason why I decided to not buy a new bike, but rather spend time, effort, and some money, on getting my current bike to the state where it'd be almost like a new bike.
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What are your plans? Will you be buying a new bike any time soon - sometimes, that's exactly the right thing to do, by the way - or will you also be upgrading your current bike?
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In other exciting news, I'm planning on building a cargo bike, roughly based on the Harry v Larry Bullet cargo bike's design. That will involve getting a steel bike frame (I'd like a step-through frame for this) and a fair bit of welding. I'll also need to get hold of a BMX I need to cut up, as I'll need the headset part, and the forks. When I start this project, I'll do a post on WillCycle, but I'll share some details in here before then.
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May all the traffic-free routes you cycle always be blissfully free of crowds!
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The Blast From The Past button is quite straightforward: with every edition, I link a random old WillCycle post to it. If you click it, you will see what old WillCycle post it takes you to.
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The button will only ever point at WillCycle.
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The Good News
In a little-know, but ground-breaking court case, the ECHR ruled in favour of climate activists, against Switzerland, and found that Switzerland's failure to act to protect its citizens against climate change breached their human rights.
This case will have enormous repercussions, as it means any state subject to the ECHR's jurisdiction can be taken to court by climate activists in that country, and the state will likely lose. Slowly, the tide is turning, and politicians will learn the hard way how extremely important it is to urgently act on climate change.
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Did You Know...?
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A comet smells like rotten eggs, urine, burning matches, and… almonds. Traces of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide were all found in the makeup of the comet 67P/Churyumove-Gerasimenko. Promotional postcards were even commissioned in 2016 carrying the pungent scent of a comet.
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What Did You Miss On WillCycle?
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My bike is, as I'm writing this, eight years old, and has carried me over many thousands of miles. As you'd expect, it took a battering over that time, including a few crashes. Most cyclists know the supposed formula of N+1 to determine the ideal number of bikes to own. In that formula, N equals the number of bikes you …
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Peace of mind when solo cycle touring
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A 70 year old reader of my newsletter, The Spirit Of Adventure (you are signed up, aren't you?) emailed me, explaining health issues he overcame, and asked the following: "So the question I have is, while venturing out alone, whether cycle camping or touring, what would your top ten tips be for planning a trip and keeping safe along the …
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Book review - Wild Camping the Wild Atlantic Way
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Every traveller's journey is unique to them, and is a snapshot in time. This book tells the story of when I cycled the bottom half of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way. If I had to cycle exactly the same route today, I'd end up with a completely new, and different experience. This is my adventure, and when you go cycle the …
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WillCycle Supporter
WillCycle is mostly funded by me, with ad income almost covering the web hosting costs. I get that most of us don't like ads, and browse the Internet with an ad-blocker. However, because WillCycle is so reliant on ad-revenue, I was forced to block people visiting the site with ad-blockers running.
If you really wanted an ad-free experience on WillCycle, you can sign up as a WillCycle Supporter.
WillCycle Supporters can browse the site while running ad-blockers (while logged in).
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Random Internet Link
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Ever had a tune stuck in your head, but you didn't know from which song it was? That can be intensely frustrating! Fortunately, help is at hand. This site allows you to even hum, or whistle a tune, and it;ll try and identify it for you.
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And Finally...
I spend considerable amounts of time producing The Spirit Of Adventure, and you receive it for free. Please do me a favour and forward it to someone else who you think will appreciate it?
And if you received this newsletter because someone forwarded it, you can subscribe quickly and easily at www.willcycle.com
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