When I am cycling round in London, I see many different types of bikes but which is the best for riding in the city?

Single Speeder

Many people  go for a single speed option. Single speed bikes, like the name suggests, have no gears.

Pros:

• Easy to maintain
• Simple and relaxed ride experience
• Strong and durable (thicker chain, no rear mechanism)

Cons:

• Tough on the hills; spinning out on the flats or downhills
• Can be bad for your knees if you aren’t used to it
• Not so good for long distances and touring (e.g. excursions out of the city)

I like single speed bikes. I ride one I and I would recommend one for the city. The main down point is I can’t use it for weekend tours because I have a high gear setup so on the flat and downhill I am spinning out.

Writing a book can be quite daunting but once you’ve finished it is a significant achievement. Here are some of the reasons why writing a book is important to me.

1. I have done something interesting enough to write about and written about it.
2. Achieved a significant goal and produced a finished product.
3. It means a great deal to share a story to inspire others.
4. I have learnt what it takes to construct a book and publish it independently.
5. Create something with no profit driven reason.
6. I collaborated with others, like Pete Moffat who designed the fantastic cover and got and insight into his process.
7. I can draw on the discipline that produced the book.
8. Reflect on my experiences.
9. Come back to the story in years to come.
10. Discovered a passion for writing and editing.

My books:

This post is from 2009 when I had just started writing Weave of the Ride.

My writing is going well. It is a new challenge and I’m enjoying it. I feel my writing has become less stylised. I am hopefully writing something that will have a wider appeal than my travelogue-style blog posts.

So far I have written an introduction which covers where the idea for the journey came from and the memorable, important, and notable events from the build up to leaving. I am finding the process to be very addictive.

1. Get up early in the morning to write. I usually write between 6.30am to 8.30am. I tried writing late at night and got into a counter-productive routine of falling asleep at 10.30 pm, waking up at 2 am and working for a couple of hours. Maybe that’s your ideal time to write but I’ve found the morning best for me.
2. Give yourself the chance to write the ‘rubbish first draft’. You might craft it down and only use a tiny fraction, but in order to get it all out you should not restrict yourself. No matter what you will write, you’ll have to go back and do plenty of crafting and editing anyway.
3. Create a place for writing. This might be a mental space or a favourite cafe. I like a clean, tidy place, with good lighting and no distractions.
4. Music. I’m fussy with what I listen to when I write. Music I haved listened to whilst writing: Chopin’s piano sonatas, Vangelis, Stravinsky, Mike Oldfield’s ‘Music of the Spheres’, and Hans Zimmer’s ‘The Last Samurai’ soundtrack (I have perculiar taste). If it goes too epic, cheesy, choral, floral, frenetic, catchy or whatever then I generally turn it off. Its all about whatever works at the time.
5. Read, read, read. I’m presently reading ‘A Walk in the Mountains of Georgia’ by Tony Anderson.
6. Take notes and keep a detailed journal whilst you travel. I kept a journal throughout my journey. It’s been absolutely vital for remembering details. Reading it triggers further memories and has allowed me to weave the storyline and I am able to research further into stories and information I picked up at the time as if I was retracing the route.
7. Look at photos and video media. I took many photos which are great for taking me back to the moment and to what I was thinking and feeling. After all, a picture tells a thousand words.
8. Don’t try to do too much at once. I write for a maximum of 2.5 hours.
9. A rest is good. Sometimes its good to take a couple of days off and come back to your writing refreshed and enthusiastic.
10. On the contrary, sometimes its good to plough on and force myself to keep writing because I am often being over critical or over analysing which is holding me back. For me, it takes a short while to get into the zone so I try to suspend judgement and keep writing until I’m sure I am going to stop.

Good luck with your writing process.

I have, in my hands, a book that contains stories of a myriad people and places, woven together to animate and illuminate a section of life-lived. I can open the book and read about my own sense of idealism and energy. I am excited again by the place names that are familiar yet exotic.

Each line I read evokes a new response to that event. “Those were the days”, “Hmmm…. maybe I don’t see it like that so much any more.” Each story that I wrote, image painted in my mind’s eye, is repainted each time it is read with new experiences attached to it.

I usually keep a daily diary anyway but when I travel it captures all the details of that day. I have then been able to read back through my diary and write it up into a fully fledged travel book. The story evolves from the events.

Writing an entire book can be quite a daunting task. Going over the experiences that you are writing about provides huge personal value. If you do little and often, eventually you will have a full manuscript.

Buddha

Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads you to wisdom.

Jocko Willink

Don’t count on motivation, count on discipline

Anon

Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.

You can’t expect to get brutal honesty if you are not brutally honest

All living systems create themselves

He who has two women loses his soul. He who has two houses loses his mind

Bruce Lee

It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

Arthur Ashe

Start where you are. Use what you can. Do what you can.

Anon

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

“A year from now you will wish you had started today.”

“News is something someone, somewhere is trying to suppress. Everything else is advertising.”

Bruce Parry

The (King) of the Suri Tribe - We are one, we all have ten fingers, we have two eyes, we have two ears, we have one stomach, we are all one. Remember me

Sherlock Holmes

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains however improbable must be the truth

Ice T

After leaving high school, he joined the U.S. Army. He has stated he did not enjoy the experience, explaining, “I didn’t like total submission to a leader other than myself”.

In 2010 I did a trip to Mongolia. After travelling there by the Trans-Siberian train, I cycled 1000km across the open steppe. Having been back in England for 1.5 months now I shared some of my reflections about Mongolia.

People

There aren’t many people in the rural areas but you’re never far from a settlement of some kind.

The people are thoroughly nonchalant on the one hand and thoroughly curious on the other regarding foreigners - they would make good poker players.