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About

July 30, 2015

I started blogging in 2005 to document my bicycle travels. Over time it evolved as my travels concluded and studies and work in a technology career followed. The blog still exists as an archive of my travel articles and a space for new content that is publically accessible. There is a question mark over it's existence but in an era where social media platforms have taken over I still think there is inherent value in having my own platform that is owned and controlled by me.

If you are interested in the back story, read on. Travel has been an important chapter of my life experience and I have written plenty about it. After a bike trip across the Highlands of Scotland in 2006, I wrote up my journal from the trip. This sparked an ongoing interest in travel writing.

In 2007 I went on a round the world cycle tour with a couple of friends, writing a blog, shooting film and photography. The process of documenting whilst travelling meant I acquired skills in digital media and editing. Our journey didn't quite make it round the whole world but what happened instead was arguably equally interesting. This was due to our approach to travel, which was to accept every invitation for hospitality. This lead to an incredible number of wonderful side adventures.

My bike travels led me to Tbilisi, Georgia in 2008. The need to earn money to continue travelling led to an entreprenerial spirit. In 2009 I met a local guide and we partnered to run mountain bike tours. Additionally, I used my technical skills to make websites and do photography to earn some travel money.

After a massive off road bike adventure in Mongolia in 2010, I returned to the UK and studied a Masters in Design Critical Practice at Goldsmiths in London, due to a long-held desire to study the arts and an inspiration for further learning from the travelling. This study experience also influenced my writing and thinking as I was introduced to new concepts such as design thinking. It felt like I was following a thread as I had picked up a book on the topic in a shop in a remote Pakistan town.

Whilst in London I met an artist, Luce, who put me in contact with the Joya Arte E Ecologia artist residency in Spain. I left London in 2014 and went there to volunteer as artist and technical coordinator. In 2015 I did a water-themed expedition, Bajada, walking a dry watercourse from mountains to the sea to raise awareness of climate change. After that, I spent further time in Georgia on the mountain bike tour project and in 2016 I returned back to live permanently in the UK where it's certainly not been a quiet time with family life taking over.

Books

I've written a series of books about my travel experiences

## Travelogue books - [The Only Man to Cycle from Stoke Albany to Kathmandu](https://amzn.to/3oNHRVM) - special edition version including cycle tours across Europe and Asia - [Weave of the Ride](/weave-ride-book-about-cycle-touring-across-europe) - [Between Worlds - The Promise of the Road](/between-worlds-book-about-cycle-touring-asia) - [Scotland Bikepacking '06](https://amzn.to/39wD0Gn) ## Guidebooks - [Prepare, Pack, Pedal - A Practical Guide to Cycle Touring](/prepare-pack-pedal-a-practical-guide-to-cycle-touring) - [Open Wilderness Guiding Book](/open-wilderness-guiding-book) - [Mountain Biking Routes in The Republic of Georgia](https://amzn.to/3s3Qr77) [There are more... View all books on Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/~/e/B00HQG4JZS)

You might be interested in the following links for further reading:

• Journeys
• Adventure Cycle Touring
• Gear

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Monetising

I have got affiliate links next to some of the gear. If you do buy anything after clicking through these links, I might get some kind of commission and that is an incentive that helps keep this site going free of charge.

Topics

Advice section

Below is a list of topics that are covered in the advice section of this website.

Health, fitness & safety, Creative, Politics, Travel / outdoors, Bike mechanics, Digital /technology, Making sense / reflection, Work / money

Reviews Section

Below is a list of links to topics that are covered in the reviews section of this website.

Rear derailleur, Bike, Grips, Tent, Pannier rack, Mountain biking equipment, Bikes, Bike Components, Camping Roll mat, Headtorch, Hammock, Dropper seat post, Hiking shoes, Power bank, Handlebars, Multi-tool, Book, Shoes, Backpack, Bike light, Tyres, Phone case, Beer, Bike frame, Base layer, Trousers, Headset, Drone, Chainring, Suspension forks, Documentary, Headphones, Luggage straps, Hubs, Socks, Voice recorder, GPS, Walkie Talkies, Solar panel, Battery charger, Camera lense, Walking poles, Trailer, Sunglasses, E-bike, E-bike motor,

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A Caucausus Mountain Bike adventure in Khevsureti

November 10, 2009

Tom, David and I went for a bike ride into the Caucasus mountains of Georgia. I'd been planning it for a while and I wanted to get some proper riding in before the snows descended.

Tom arrived on the Sunday but leaving was delayed until Tuesday. To pass the time we decided to build up my new Kona Caldera frame, ate Khinkali (Georgian dumplings) and deejayed in Tbilisi at a cafe at the TV tower.

On Tuesday evening we rode through the streets of Tbilisi to the bus station where David negotiated putting our three bikes and kit in the back of one of the old Soviet buses. The bus trundled the 35km to Zhinvali where we would begin our ride and where we would stay the first night with David's grandmother. We were dutifully plied with armfuls of freshly picked apples and ate plates of lobiani (bean stew) and then got an early night ready for an early start the following morning. Anyway, there were no lights in the house and hadn't been for an entire year because another local resident wouldn't pay their electricity bill so all the street's supply was cut off.

More bean stew for breakfast and then we made tracks, following the highway for 5 km to the turn off for Shatilli. From there it was a mixture of poorly maintained, pot-hole covered asphalt and dirt-track. We passed chickens and cows being herded along by a farmer and people popping out to get fresh puri (bread) from the local baker.

The first eye-popping vista of many was at the man-made Zhinvali lake. The expanse of deep-emerald water stretched far away into the distant valley, white horses dancing briskly over the water's surface.

Evidence of the changing season could be seen everywhere; bright autumnal shades of red, yellow and brown created a visual feast like paint daubed onto a canvas. The lush foliage was like an elixir for the soul. I felt glad to escape from the 'data' of everyday living into soothing natural surroundings. The beauty of the surrounding valley was about as idyllic as I could hope for. Auburn-coloured trees on steep brown valley sides were interspersed with vein-like waterfalls, deciduous trees shed their leaves and clung onto the lower hills.

A majestic river flowed along the valley bottom and gradually became thinner, rockier and faster flowing as we progressed. David said there were some big fish in the waters. I imagined a dinner of mountain salmon sizzling over a fire.

We rarely saw a soul on the road. Occasionally we passed a man on a horse or a donkey or an old soviet van bellowing grey smoke.

Not used to the loaded bike I struggled to get into a rhythm and knocked the wheels clumsily over rocks with misplaced steering manoeuvres. A bus drove past and threw up a cloud of dust as school kids waved and shouted out of the window at us.

Before the ride began, I decided to switch to SPDs (Shimano clip-less pedals) which would allow my boots to attach to the pedals for efficiency of pedalling. But I began to get knee twinges, an old injury that had come back to haunt me from the end of my last trip to India.  I had to stop to make adjustments to try to find a sweet spot in the positioning of the cleat but with every change I made the pain would start to creep back. I couldn't get them right and would have to concede that my knee needed to be allowed more flexibility only afforded by using flat pedals.

David was free of luggage and rode ahead and Tom, finding the pace a little fast, dragged behind. He cursed his fitness but could hardly be blamed after his recent wedding celebrations.

Tom's mindset when he visits Georgia is to consume as much delicious Georgian food as possible. As lunchtime neared, bowls of steaming Ostri (a traditional spicy Georgian beef stew) could be seen rotating round in his eyes. Unfortunately the restaurant in the next village was closed so we settled for chocolate bars and some puffed rice crisps, that didn't really warrant the effort of eating which was rather disappointing.

We stopped at a shop to buy cheese. The lady pottered off to her house and returned with an entire cow's cheese, two kilo's worth, so we bought half. The cheese was strong and pungent. Tom described it as both 'wrong' and 'on another level'. David bought a couple of huge loaves of bread from a farm. I asked him how much they were and he said 1.50 lari. I replied 'that's expensive compared to the normal 70 tetri'. Then I saw the bread; two huge, heavy loaves that reminded me of the Trabzon loaves in Turkey.

Sharing the same camping area were a group of student alpinists who had been living there for a month doing expeditions into the mountains and a drunken shepherd who seemed mostly concerned with consuming vodka and pilfering cigarettes from anyone who would donate. In exchange he would offer a tale or twelve.

David built a huge bonfire and released the pyromaniac within. He claimed, with a great sincerity in his eyes, that it was to ward off giant red wolves. Not convinced we settled down to a dinner of potato, pea and noodle stew accompanied by dried fish, hunks of bread and gas-inducing cheese washed down with beer.

It a cold night but I had no idea, tucked up in my -25 sleeping bag and slept wonderfully. However, David emerged in the morning shivering from his thinner sleeping bag.

Shortly after leaving we stopped to investigate the entrance of the big derelict concrete tunnels at the foot of the off-road mountain climb.

It was another beautiful sunny day with no sign of snow clouds in the sky as yet. As we emerged up through the tree-line, the white and black mountain peaks could be seen clearly. David explained he could also see the same peaks from his village near Gudauri to the west.

Tom increasingly needed rest stops and David increasingly crept ahead which started to cause a bit of interpersonal bother, culminating in a point at which they both said they were ready to go back to Tbilisi.

A bit of diplomacy and compromise meant we tentatively continued. The terrain certainly wasn't easy going with loaded bikes and steep rocky tracks; more masochistic than fun.

Hills with steep grassy banks lead up to into-thin-air cliff sides as we passed a village nested beside the river in the valley bottom, guard dogs barked at us from the houses. Other singular houses, lonely up on the hillside, made me wonder who lived there and their lifestyles; houses cobbled together from any building materials available.

We saw a couple of trucks loaded with supplies for Shatilli, probably helping to stock up before the road passes were snowed under and impassable.

The hillsides gradually became more sparsely vegetated as we passed the tree line and you could feel the temperature dropping. Sheep and cattle grazed lazily whilst shepherds and their dogs watched wearily from afar. Occasionally David would stop to chat to a local and ask about the weather.

For the last section of the climb, the process of pedaling had become very painful for Tom, who was complaining of knee problems, and had slowed to a crawling pace.

We reached the pass at about 5.30pm. The overriding positive outcome of the journey, so far, was that Tom and David had managed to settle their differences and we all stuck together; a reminder of the perils of group expeditions.

At the pass, there was a table for a supra (a traditional Georgian toasting session), along with a single memorial cross, some candles and a bottle of vodka. I took a couple of swigs to toast the dead, the liquid was raw and strong and seemed a fitting addition to the remoteness and wildness of the location.

A decision making process ensued about whether to descend down to the village of Shatilli or to head back. It was about to get dark and we couldn't camp where we were because David didn't have a warm enough sleeping bag. It would definitely be into minus figures as we were at the snowline. Descending down to Shatilli would mean repeating the 25km 1200m climb the next day, which Tom didn't want to do so we made the slightly difficult but correct decision to descend back down the way we came

I was determined to get some good film footage but I now had little time to do it before darkness set it. I filmed David speeding down the track flying across the environment. I put the camera away and followed. Not quite as fun with a bike loaded with stuff but still thrilling.

The darkness gradually set in, the sky was purple, mixed into pale orange and blue as the last remnants of the sun's light filtered through the atmosphere. Tom laying on the ground and filmed David and I skimming his ear with our knobblies kicking dust into the camera lenses silhouetted against the backdrop of the mountains.

The rest of the descent was by the light of our combined head-torches. Thinking back, it's astonishing that it's possible to descend 20km in the dark on a thin track with a shear drop to the side without light. We were chased by a pack of Caucasian hounds which whined, barked and bounded along at our ankles. It was comforting not to be able to see them.

We safely made it back to the campsite. We sat around the campfire and he told me stories about his meetings with Russian girls going skiing in Gudauri and other tales.

The following morning we found that we had befriended a dog because in the night it had raided our rubbish and food leftovers. Once we began cycling, it bounded along behind us. After a while it  probably regretted the decision as the only thing I had to feed it was the repugnant cheese. However, we protected the dog from other packs of wild dogs by throwing stones.

We returned to David's village and completed the ride with a feast of Khinkhali (meat dumplings) and Katchapuri (cheese pizza), washed down with flagons of beer.

It was a good introduction to self-supported off-road trips. Next time I plan to minimise the equipment further and the Extrawheel trailer could be combined with a  full suspension bike for more comfortable off-road riding. I think the Extrawheel a better choice than panniers for off-road trips because it reduced stress on the bike frame and provides better bike handling.

I really enjoyed the trip, the off-road, and the tranquility of the mountains. It was important that we managed to overcome the differences between the different members of our small group. There is a deeper communication that exists between humans and the environment that can only be connected to when you get out into the true wilds: Peace in the complexity and wonder of nature which is calming and life-affirming.

A photo essay of places that I have slept on my travels

February 02, 2018

In a forest in Georgia after a rave.

On a riverbed in Mongolia after pushing the bike 25km along it.

In a yurt in Mongolia.

Next to Lake Khuvsgul in Mongolia.

In a car park by a beach on the Atlantic coast of France.

In the Khevsureti region of Georgia.

In my flat in Tbilisi.

In a random forest in France.

In my flat in Tbilisi.

With my Couchsurf hosts in Delhi.

At a police station in Nepal.

On the roof of a petrol station in Pokhara, Nepal.

In a forest in Nepal.

The  upstairs of a shop near Kathmandu, Nepal.

In a temple, near Delhi.

In a wooden shack in Gokarna, India.

In a temple in India near Surat.

On a roof in Jodhpur.

With the police near Jodhpur.

With a Couchsurf host in Isfahan.

With the Red Crescent in Iran.

Next to a motorway in Iran.

In a mosque in Yazd, Iran.

On an operating table with the Red Crescent, Iran.

In 'Hotel Deluxe' Quetta, Pakistan.

In the Akbar Guest house in Bam, Iran.

On a roof in Tehran.

In a mosque in Iran.

Next to a lake in Armenia.

In a forest in Armenia with a group of Estonian cycle tourists.

Another flat in Tbilisi.

In Tehran staying with Couchsurfer, Karim.

Mongolia Photo Essay

February 04, 2018

Tom pedals through a stream at full speed.

Gnarly route down to the river for a dip and a wash.

Epic skies every evening.

That particular evening I watched a huge storm approach us only to be blown right past and descend onto the adjacent valley = lucky!

Unbelievable sight to wake up to camping next to Lake Hovsgul.

Pedalling across the Steppe. Fun at first, but grew tedious.

A man mends a 'Ural' Soviet motorbike complete with sidecar

Asking for directions from locals. Tom is non-to-pleased with the navigating and pretty cheesed off with the mosquitoes

Our first contact with a meandering Mongolian river- perfect for a wash and a dip.

The frame of a Mongolian Ger in the process of construction

On baby duty

We work with children and animals

Cycle Touring through Nepal - A Photo Essay

February 09, 2018

Unfortunately this post got corrupted so I still need to put the photos back with the captions. Coming soon...

• Pondering the map before setting off on the road in Nepal.
• A mosquito is interested in reading my diary.
• Stunning statues at a temple along a busy street in Kathmandu.
• Some friendly street children pose for the camera.
• An impressive tree in the botanical gardens in Daman in the Himalayan foothills.
• The peaks of the himalaya seen from Daman floating above the haze.
• A tea maker in a roadside restaurant eyes me with curiousity.
• An old lady carries an incredible about on her back. Its so incomparable to the western where such effort is avoided. Here it is necessity.
• I was cooking my dinner and this bus went past with workers going home for the evening.
• Picking up some supplies by the roadside I met these children who looked like they were preparing for a halloween party with their vampire teeth.
• Above a deep river valley on the descent down to the terai.

Cycle Touring in India - A Photo Essay

February 09, 2018

Unfortunately this original post got corrupted and I was left with only the captions! TODO: Photos coming soon....

• Two guards talk at the ceremony at the border between India and Pakistan.
• The Indian crowd cheers the ceremony - India and Pakistan don't see eye to eye but the ceremony is a tradition and good natured.
• The Golden Temple at Amritsar at Dusk. The temple had an amazingly calming atmosphere.
• A group of wise men chat by the Golden Temple.
• A colourful sari.
• A man bathes and prays at dusk toward the temple.
• Volunteers cutting up potatoes for the food at the Golden Temple. 45,000 people a day eat a simple meal of dal.
• Folding up colourful fabrics at a back street shop near to the Golden Temple.
• A delicious breakfast of fresh yoghurt, cheese and Aloo Paratha- curry filled bread on the road in the Punjab region of Northern India.
• I'm flagged down for an interview for Chandigarh television.
• An amusing advertisement for the circus.
• An overloaded truck. An intimidating sight trundling up the road.
• One evening I stayed with the police in the Rajasthaan region. They provided me with a curry as you can see here. It was delicious with roasted chillis, a large dish of pickle and the bizarre but wonderful combination of radish, lime, onion and lemon.
• I was on the way to Mumbai and I remember feeling intimidated by that sign evening though 1414 km was not THAT far, I was tired and a little lonely.
• A beautiful wall painting in the fort at Bikaner.
• After a visit to the fort I saw this guy selling street food. The fresh stuff is the best!
• A visit to the camel centre outside Bikaner would explain the options on the menu at the cafe.
• Sacred rats tucking into sweets at the rat temple between Bikaner and Nagour.
• My first masala dosa eaten at Jodhpur. I was introduced by an English guy called David. Watery sauce but spicy!
• The Meharanga Fort at Jodhpur.
• The Meharanga Fort at Jodphur has unbelievably high and impenetrable looking walls. The grand building seemed strange next to the chaotic city below.
• This is my guru who I met in Bharuch north of Surat. The town was really dirty but at least you could buy guava on the streets.
• I attended and filmed meditation sessions in Bharuch which were enlivening and good for the community spirit.
• I managed to crash a wedding at a village near Surat. The groom had attended a university in London. This is one of his cheeky relatives. I was treated like one of the family.
• Wearing the traditional Rajput headwear and sporting a huge beard. It was quite tight round my head (the scarf not the beard).
• Some serious roots on a tree in Mumbai. I was surprised by how it was surviving.
• A boy fly a kite on a roof in Mumbai. There was something deep about wanting to escape the clutches of the chaotic city.
• Unusual beach residents in Goa. I was amused by the reactions of the tourists.
• I attended a Theyyam ceremony in Karnataka
• The drumming was spectacular
• Kerala is a socialist state.
• Jack Kerouac - The Dharma Bums
• A market stand selling bee's wax.
• A view over Hampi. Somehow it looks like a model with the huge boulders. It would be interesting to know more about the Geology in the area.
• Monkeys playing on a telephone wire.
• A man in a traditional kayak in Gokarna. I envied his freedom to set out into the water..
• The sun setting over the coastal hills along the coast from Gokarna. It was a magical experience to stay there but I had an impending feeling of gloom as I desired to find a slightly more meaningful existence rather than existing in constant transience.
• A traditional fishing kayak on the beach
• A temple at Khajaraho
• The colour, hustle and bustle of Varanasi.
• A cobra on the rocks by the Ganges.
• Repairing a boat by the Ganges.
• Daily religious rituals.
• A family washing in the water.
• An exuberant child swims in the waters
• Samosas served on the pages of an old school book.
• The drummer at a concert by Mouse on Mars in Delhi.

Photo from

Photo Essay Demonstrations in Tbilisi

February 10, 2018

I arrived back in Tbilisi in Georgia just in time to witness a demonstration in a similar mould to the one Tom and I witnessed when we arrived for the first time back in January 2008. 50,000 people gathered on the main street, Rustaveli, outside the front of the parliament building.

There is a large stage with a banner proclaiming the purpose of the demonstration 'Saakashvili for Resignation'. Saakashvili has been president since he came to power through the 'Rose Revolution' of 2003. This was the bloodless revolution that displaced president Eduard Shevardnadze. The reason for the demonstration is because of the Russia-Georgian war that occured in August 2008.

Nino Burjanadze - former temporary president and Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia

Riot police waiting in the parliament

Protesters waving flags for opposition parties and victims of the war

Typical Georgians chatting

Riot policeman waits in the parlimentary courtyard

Adventures with bikes and mountains photography part I

September 19, 2018

Inverness to Fort William off-road tour.

Scotland waterfall.

Mark on a tricky path in Scotland.

Morning after staying in a bothy in the Highlands.

Vineyard in the foothills of the Swiss Alps.

Camping in the Swiss Alps.

Pitching camp in the Swiss Alps.

Another pitch in the Swiss Alps.

Cycling in Germany in the Black Forest.

Village in the mountains of Romania.

Reservoir in the mountains in Romania.

Cycling through the mountains together with Tom and Maria.

Cold winter cycling along the Black Sea in Turkey.

Tbilisi old town in the snow.

Mountain pass on the road to Lake Sevan in Armenia.

Pitch by the roadside in Yerevan on the way to Tbilisi.

Georgian accordion player

Site of Georgian folk song concert next to the north border in Georgia

Singing Georgian folk songs with French and Georgian band near the north border in Georgia

Interesting rock formations on the road cycling in Armenia.

Cycling in Southern Armenia on the way to the Iranian border.

Camp pitched lakeside in Armenia near the Iranian border.

Morning mist on the lake in Armenia

Highway riding through the desert in Iran

Taking some shade just after Quetta in Pakistan

Hill top fort in Jodhpur in India, view from my hostel rooftop

Bouldering in India

Switchback roads in Nepal

Opal blue river in Nepal

Prayer flags in the mountains in Nepal

Steep sided river gorge from the road in Nepal on the way to the Indian border.

Jumping self portrait at the Dune du Pyla in France

Rocky outcrops in Georgia

Lake in Georgia on the road to the north

Cycling to Khevsureti in Georgia

Long switchback in Georgia

Mountain biking in Armenia

Mountain biking north of Tbilisi near Lisi Lake

Rocky outcrop cycling through Mongolia with Tom

Meeting a motorbike traveller in Mongolia

Wide open spaces and what counts as a road in Mongolia

Lake Khovsgul in Mongolia

Dunstable downs cycling down to London from Northamptonshire

Fribourg in Switzerland cycling with Scott Bikes Engineer, Joe

Picture postcard Swiss Alps

Pump track at Scott bikes HQ

Hiking in the Brecon Beacons

Adventures with bikes and mountains photography part 2

September 19, 2018

Exploring the dry landscape in the Sierra Los Velez national park in Spain

Starting my "Bajada" dry watercourse hike in Spain

Steep sided gorge in Spain

My backpack on "Bajada" hike

Morning sun on my camp hiking in Spain

Spain

Sierra Los Velez national park hills, Spain

Sierra Los Velez national park hills, Spain

Mountain bike guiding in Georgia north of Tbilisi

Walking in Georgia near Gudauri

Mountain biking in the mountains around Tbilisi, Georgia

Mountain bike guiding in Georgia

Soviet statue in Georgia

Mountains on the way to Tusheti in Georgia

Waterfall in Georgia near Tusheti

Switchback on the road to Tusheti

Mountainside village in Tusheti

Run up, cycle down race in Georgia

Mountain bike guiding in Svaneti

Late Night Lightroom - Caucasus

November 06, 2018

Aurelian on the Guitar, knew how to sing and play some old French classics to the delight of anyone who happened to be around.

Big old Soviet cars like the Volga, a common site in Tbilisi at the time. Worked well in all weathers, but broke down often.

A fish seller on the road in Georgia, with the catch of the day. Drunk of course and perhaps more suited to theatrics then fish selling.

A power station in the middle of nowhere in Armenia driving on the way to a natural outdoors hot spa. Who knows if the spa was powered by the station?

A strange man met on the road cycling into Tbilisi in the middle of the night. He was riding a chopper bike.

Sunlight through grapevines against the window of my flat in Tbilisi in the morning.

A party before leaving in Yerevan with our friend here from LA.

Lights from the balcony of the flat in Yerevan, glowing warm lights against blue and grey with long exposures.

Making my contribution to the underground tunnels of a resident of Yerevan.

Singing lessons. Accompanied by drinking.

Easter at Church. Everyone walks around the church holding candles.

My Bikes

November 20, 2018

Year in Review 2018

January 03, 2015

Year in Review 2015

January 03, 2015

Year in Review 2014

January 03, 2015

2014 has been an interesting year. After leaving a very good full time job at MTV in Camden, London after 2 years, I left my overpriced warehouse accommodation in Manor house and travelled to Spain to Cortijada Los Gazquez, a stunning house in the Andalusian countryside.

Into the Earth

I walked for 8 days following the ‘dry fluvial system’ to the sea. Calling the project Bajada, I wanted to get close to the land as a channelled meditation; the physical channel representing an internal focus of attention.

It was intense, in the heat, carrying the pack, sticking to the watercourse, wading and hacking, over bone dry lakes, exploring derelict farmhouses and underground water flows.

I returned to Los Gazquez, assembled my photos and gave a talk at the Encuentro International event- a gathering of artists, scientists, ecologists around the shared interest of the environment and deeper values of community.

I stayed for a further month doing a spot of landscaping.

Collective Culture

A friend invited me to stay in Valencia for two weeks. There, I attended a contemporary arts festival, dérived around the city, participated in an exhibition of photography and enjoyed an a Indie computer games event.

Taking to the Trails

Georgia beckoned as planned. My first return in 2 years. On my arrival a day ride mountain bike tour was booked with an Irish guy, Tom, on the trails local to Tbilisi, followed by a week long tour with two lovely Australian cyclists, Louey and Sarah.

Time to Be Creative

Over the next few weeks James, Dato and I had meetings about the business.  I picked up a job as an English teacher in a summer school. I helped the students to learn English and allowed me to teach the subject matter -  globalisation, technology, sustainable living, literature, sport.

I spent plenty of time watching the World Cup, hiking in the mountains, swam in mountain lakes and visited Batumi where I went to a Bootsy Collins concert.

I played ultimate frisbee, met up with the guys from Jumpstart, helped out with an artisanal alcohol making process in a village, went to an Edgeryders event, camped at Tbilisi sea.

I met a guy who had walked from Krygyzystan with a horse. I participated in a downhill mountain bike race.

I went on a soviet era ferris wheel, picked and ate fresh fruits.

I helped a friend clear out his basement, got sick and got too new scar on my elbows from going on the handlebars of my friends bike.

In hindsight I could have fitted in another job / project. It wasn’t easy to strike a balance between earning money for day to day living and being able to work on a business so I did give myself more time and space than I needed. My business partners both juggled other jobs and projects so our meetings had to fit in around that.

Tbilisi Dynamism

Georgia attracts people who want to build projects of their own and have the freedom of a country which welcomes foreign interests and is agreeable to live. However, it has an epidemic of NGOs and other ‘aid' organisations. I had meetings with a few organisations and what struck me is that in many cases their existence is nothing to do with demand but with plentiful external funding often from foreign banks. It is a complicated set up and could do with more of a unified strategy and more grassroots Georgian-led activities.

I was offered land rent free to start a permaculture project because I had been talking about the opportunities for agriculture in Georgia. I wrote a full scale plan for such a project, and had some conversations about it, but I’m looking for interested parties to take it further.

Walk, Don't Walk

Tbilisi is a polluted city and the traffic is loud and dangerous. Public transport is ageing and desperately needs improvement. I did a fair bit of walking in the summer heat which wasn’t always fun. Temperatures can get up to 45 degrees and it can be humid so sensible people escape to the mountains.

Couchsurfing

I hadn’t planned any accommodation before arriving in Tbilisi. I was offered a place for the first week staying with a friend, then another who had a spare room. Other friends gave me the keys to their house whilst they escaped to the mountains in the midsummer. Catching up with old friends was priceless. However, my strategy as a guest is to be  organised, clean and tidy and to fit in with the host which overall is probably a beneficial experience but arguably there is a restriction in freedom. Next time I’m planning to rent a place so I can host more meetings and other travellers.

I spent some time in Armenia, visiting lake Sevan.

The Most Incredible Mountains

Our Tusheti tour in September went well and set us up well for 2015 season. There is absolutely no replacement for getting experience by doing something in order to improve it, find out if you idea meets up to reality and judging 3rd party enjoyment of a product you’ve put together.

Returning to the UK early due to a family bereavement, I soon started looking for jobs locally whilst living at home. Initially I looked in London, using online sites and Linkedin.

Back to the Dirt

I switched my strategy to using agencies and started to get a lot more enquiries. I picked up a job as a landscape gardener for two weeks. Part of my strategy to get experience of different kinds of jobs. It was a good experience to do physical, simple work, locally and improve my craft skills.

Following that I was in lieu for a couple of weeks before I started working at Leicester College on their website. This role should run into the new year. Whilst commuting to Leicester I’ve used my morning walks to do urban photography with Instagram (www.instagram.com/weaveoftheride).

Since being back in the UK, I’ve taken the time when not working to:

• Upgrade my road bike from single speed to 8 speed (having moved out of the city)
• Clear clutter by selling things on eBay, giving them to charity, or recycling them
• Get into a routine of exercise and meditation everyday
• Experiment with a routine of daily social media posting
• Do deep cleaning and meditation instead of procrastination
• Walk across fields
• See old friends
• Spend time with my family
• Work hard

2015

I’m 32 years old. This year I will be 33. 2015 will be similar to 2014 in the sense of continuing ongoing projects in Georgia and the Caucasus, experimentation with different jobs roles. There may also be involvement in a project in Sweden and possible travel plans further afield.

Please following my existing projects at:

www.wandermap.org

www.designmethodsandprocesses.co.uk

www.codebloc.co.uk

www.georidersmtb.com

on Twitter:

@andrewwelch5

@betweenworld5

@weaveoftheride

@codebloc

2016 in Review

February 05, 2017

This post is a bit late now as we are already into February 2017. To be honest, it wasn't that easy to summarise the year as there were no great trips or plans. This is to a certain extent a deliberate strategy. Whilst in 2015 I knew I would go to Georgia in the summer, in 2016 I decided not too for various reasons - I am preparing a long format blog post about my experiences running bike tours in Georgia to come soon.

Finance knowledge

In 2016 I deliberately spent time improving my financial knowledge. Overall I consider this to have been a fruitful exercise. I had not spent much time before concerned with the world of finance, but it now seems much less 'black box' to me (and even interesting). Highlights include reading 'One Up on Wall Street' by Peter Lynch and started listening regularly to the Investors Chronicle podcast.

Coding Knowledge

I continued to work as a web developer both on freelance projects and as a contract and started my own company. As I have picked up more experience, my frustrations have reduced as I've been more productive. I will eternally battle with the screen work vs outdoors work until something better arises. However, I have noticed a shift towards mobile working and the idea of 'hot desking', for better or for worse. I'm not sure quite whether the hoped for cost reductions will outweigh the unknowns in this area. I am quietly happy at the dismantling of the office reality, whilst on the other hand wondering how workers will cope. It needs to be dismantled brick by brick rather than with a wrecking ball. People tend to be pretty resilient and resourceful though.

Business

I realised after starting a company that I have very little knowledge of business. After contracting I spent a couple of months this year attempting to build an actual business, by building my own work portfolio, finding leads, setting up meetings etc. However, it is hard by yourself and it takes time. I had a really valuable learning process, found new clients, did different kinds of work. Then I did some gardening again and then back to contracting. So swings and roundabouts in some ways. That illusive app, project, thing may happen but I certainly don't know what it is yet. My academic, philosophical writing interests are still on the back burner. However, focus is the order of the day, so I do one thing at a time!

Visited Basque country in Spain and surfed

R and I drove around Basque country for two weeks. I managed to do a lot of surfing which was a long held desire. It was awesome. The basque country coast is incredible I recommend visiting. I don't recommend hiring a car from Avis though.

Cycled with the Wakerley Wheelers

Northamptonshire is not exactly a mountain biking mecca but I needed to get my fix of mountain biking after there was a void left from not going to Georgia. Luckily that void was somewhat filled by joining the Wakerley Wheelers club and riding around the Wakerley/Fineshade woods (in the dry). I had been riding there before but riding with the locals (usually between 10-20 people) opened my eyes to the possibilities and more routes.

Swam a lot

I took up swimming in a big way this summer. I went from not really remembering how to swim or breathe properly to being able to do 70 length drills. I watched Youtube videos to help with the breathing and techniques. Corby swimming pool in the twilight hours of around 3pm almost guarantees a free lane.

Built a cheap touring bike

Hoping to get out for a few touring weekenders I realised not having a bike was holding me back. Whilst renting a local office space, I built up a touring bike from an old mountain bike, put the panniers on and off I went. I got a few 50 milers in round the local area which is fantastic for road biking. I tested a Surly Long Haul Trucker, which is on my wish list (the disc version) as a potential purchase.

Improved my blog and increased the traffic from 200 hits per month to 1200

My blog started as a travel blog years ago. Started as Ride Earth, then Slow Quest, then it went to seed because I was doing a master which meant I ended up philosophically analysing everything I had done which didn't make for a coherent blog. I didn't know anything about maintaining websites. However, I decided to try to really put some effort into writing and do some long form reviews and that has paid off as the traffic is now back up again.

Walking / biking

Discover where I am is an enduring motto and I'm slowly discovering new walks and bike rides locally (and joining them up). Numerous trips to the East Coast of the UK meant early morning cold swims in the sea, long coastal walks and Adnams beer!

Others

• Brewed cider
• Ninpo grading - lots of good training with club
• Spent loads of time with family

Cons / Improvements

• I still didn't finish my bike film!

The future

• Multi-day epic walk / ride
• More focus
• More fun!
• More prosperity

2017 Retrospective

June 09, 2018

Better late than never. My retrospective on 2017 which I'm aiming to do each year. Read last year's post 2016. 2015 (fail). Read 2014.

This is a late retro of the year.

Crossfit

I started doing Crossfit in February. Crossfit is a mixture of different activities including weight and strength work but also plenty of cardio, usually more in terms of interval training but with some running and rowing endurance stuff as well. It has given me the opportunity to exercise and socialise as well as up my awareness of my own fitness.

Italy

A visit to Padova in Italy near Venice to visit friends was interesting as I got to see Venice from a different perspective and discover a smaller town in Italy from a local's point of view. The town has a lot of impressive architecture and beautiful open park spaces and is buzzing in the evening because of the local student population and market.

Ascot

In June, I went to Royal Ascot with my partner's family. It isn't an event I would have previously identified myself with, but there is something about getting dressed up in a morning suite, the immaculate powerful horses and seeing the queen.

Local biking

Throughout the summer whilst in the UK, I used the flexibility of my work to get out on my bike and explore the local area. Admittedly, the area around Wellingborough isn't known as a beautiful location, but the point is more for me about understanding the flows of the day- when I'm most productive and when I might as well be outdoors because it would be pointless me looking at a screen. I would often get up at 6.30 and work until about 12 then go for a ride for a few hours and do a bit more work in the evening.

I got over to Wakerley woods a fair few times on summer evenings for rides with the Wakerley Wheelers, but as I now live in Wellingborough the drive is longer so not been as many times as the previous year. The club is going strong though and in the summer the trails are dry so the wider network of trails is accessible which in the winter are too muddy.

New York

In the summer we flew over to New York for a week. The taxi to downtown from the airport decided that he couldn't be bothered to take us all the way because of the gridlock traffic so kicked us out a fair distance off so we had to get a second taxi.

We stayed in the Hilton which overlooked Ground Zero. Each day we walked. Highlights were the Brooklyn Bridge, swimming at Coney Island (and going on the big wheel), going up the Chrysler building and Empire State at night. Mainly we both enjoy walking to discover a city.

Ireland Taikai (Ninjitsu)

September took me to Ireland for the Genbukan Ninjitsu Taikai which was also the celebration of the 70th birthday of Sensei Shoto Tanemura. We stayed on Campus at Dublin University and trained each day. Genbukan Ninjitsu is a formal martial art based on traditional Japanese techniques. It is not a sport but a martial art and not about beating an opponent.

The feeling is more like you are part of a community of people who are learning how to develop themselves physically and mentally. The feeling is very much about discipline and attention to detail with techniques. It was great to get away with friends from my dojo and it was an inspiring, confidence building and meditative experience.

Work

In work I got to build a fairly big project where I was the lead on it. I got to learn a lot more about 'Agile in theory' vs 'Agile in reality'. Sometimes there is a hybrid approach that works a lot better. I also continued my learning experience working in the public sector.

Towards the end of the year I got my contract extended and worked solely on a web application for wellbeing assessment. This is an interesting approach to a real problem helping people to become more self aware of their situation and put less pressure on the GP.

I spent a good amount of time tidying up my portfolio of work - on paper as well as digital work. I wrote a few posts which proved to be popular such as buying a dropper seatpost.

2018 Plans

Ultimately my focus this year were stability and allow adventure into my everyday life.

My plans for 2018 were to:

• Plan more stuff in advance
• Reduce and simplify
• Prioritising
• Fix up a bike for an off road trip

Travel post timeline

Unknown Date

2005

Croatia

Adventure Mountain biking on the Island of Korcula, Croatia

My Daily Mountain Bike Guide Itinerary, Croatia, 2005

2007

Austria

How I Almost Got Struck By Lightning in Vienna

Turn on, Tune In and Pedal On - Getting Used to Life on the Bike

Getting Used to Cycling Every Day

Romania

Roaming Around in Romania

Getting Romania in View

Turkey

What to do Whilst Waiting for Wheels to Arrive in Istanbul

Looking East and West in Istanbul

How I Ending Up Staying on the Turkish National Skin-Diving Instructors Fishing Boat

Cycling the Black Sea Coastline of Turkey in the Dark

Cold Nights and Notes from Sinop

Cycling Across Europe - Weave of the Ride Photo Essay

From the Archive: Making a Stove and Camping on the Black Sea in Turkey

2008

Georgia

Why Was Tbilisi Such a Beautiful City in Deep Winter?

My First Impressions of the Georgian Language

Armenia

Discovering Armenia - A Gem in the Caucasus

The Marshrutka Experience Will Stay With Me For Life

Travel Twists Space and Time And You Need To Experience It

Loosing a Ski at the Top of a Mountain in Armenia

Georgia

Earn Money and Stay Longer in One Place to Deepen Your Travel Experience

When War Comes Too Close for Comfort

Media Coverage of War is As Confusing as War Itself

Finding Real News These Days Is Not Easy But Its Important

Will I Get My Bicycle Back From War-Torn Georgia?

Iran

Overwhelmed with Wonder in Armenia and Iran

Path, direction and large floating triangles of rock

Mesmerising Landscapes and Tragic History of Bam

Crossing the Border into Iran and Sleeping on the Roof in Tehran

Staying with Fellow Cyclist and Couchsurfer Karim in Tehran

Cycling on from Tehran Alone and Staying with a Family

Through the Desert to Isfahan

Staying with a Stone Mason in Yazd and Seeing Zurkhaneh on the Way to the Pakistan Border

Pakistan

Dealing with Air Pollution and Cultural Habits Whilst Travelling

Is Pakistan a Step Too Far for A European Tourist?

India

You Should Go To India Just for the Golden Temple

Gujarati Thali is a Metaphor for Indian Culture

A First Hand Experience of Extreme Indian Food Served by The Police

Ups and Downs at the Mount Abu Hill Station

Deploying Lateral Thinking Techniques Whilst Cycle Touring in India

Getting a Massage With A Vibrating Dolphin in an Indian Temple

8 Days at an Ashram in India Changed My Life

Reflecting on my Indian Travel in Bombay

My Bicycle Has Become More Than Just a Machine

12 Months Lost Travel Photos Induced Nihilism

A Route Through India and Why Not to Use A Guidebook

Dealing with The Dilemma of Making Travel Destination Decisions

Arriving to Varanasi on India Day in Thick Fog Eating Jelebi

Donating a bike on behalf of Wheels4Life to Help a Nun Get to Work

2009

Nepal

Putting A Bike On A Bus to Kathmandu

Cycling Out of Kathmandu

Visiting a School in Nepal

Staying with Laxman the Botanist in Nepal

Meeting 5 Saddhus on a Pilgrimage to Parvati

Cycle Touring through Nepal - A Photo Essay

India

How to Stay Positive During the Frustration of Visa Bureaucracy

The Challenge of Border Bureacracy with a Self-Imposed No Fly Travel Policy

Waiting in Delhi for Border Bureaucracy

Holi is Indias Most Amazing Festival Experience

How not to get an Iran visa twice But Why You Should Still Try

How With Decision Made The Travel Process Can Continue

What does cycling round India feel like?

Cycle Touring in India - A Photo Essay

Georgia

Teaching English in Georgia using the Subject of Climate Change

Everyday Life in Tbilisi and Helping an NGO Plant a Vegetable Garden

Notes from BBC Northampton Radio Interview

Two Months in Tbilisi, Georgia off the Bike

Protestors in symbolic cells in Georgia

Photo Essay Demonstrations in Tbilisi

Getting involved with the Local Mountain Biking Community in Tbilisi

Crazy Tbilisi weather and the Roof Falling in

CENN presentation on Climate Change

Motivated to Progress Creative Projects

Bus to France with Georgian Dancers

Wisdom from a Cold Winter in Georgia and Armenia: Outtakes from the Caucasus

Armenia

Weddings, unlike lightning, strike in the same place twice...

Tom's Wedding in Yerevan

DJing at Raves in Georgia and other Updates from Tbilisi

2010

Mongolia

Taking The Trans Siberian Train To Go Mountain Biking In Mongolia

Soviet Mattress Suspension And Ulaan Baatar

Bikepacking Mongolia - A couple of Morons go off the beaten track

Wind-Powered Pedalling And Diving Into Walls Of Dust Just For Fun

Frozen Lakes, Mosquito Infested Bogs, And Riding Down Rivers

Mongolia Mountain Biking Adventure - Some Thoughts In Retrospect

21 Observations About Mongolia - Tips For The Mongolia Traveller

Mongolia Photo Essay

Switzerland

Weekend Mountain Biking in Switzerland with an Engineer from Scott Bikes

TODO: What happened after Mongolia?

Wales

Mountain biking at Afan

Hiking in the Brecon Beacon Mountains of Wales

2011

TODO: Ireland, Cycling to Ireland

Dubai

Working and Travelling in Dubai, UAE and why it blew me away

2012

-

2013

-

2014

Spain

An Art Festival in Southern Spain: Encuentro Internacional de Arte y Ecología #2

Sakartvelos: Living in the Amazing Republic of Georgia

2015

Georgia

Back to Tbilisi for Mountain Bike Tours and Fun

Running Mountain Biking Tours in Georgia and Keeping it Interesting in Tbilisi

Tusheti, Georgia Mountain Bike Tour

Churchela, Georgian Sweets arrive in America

Svaneti, Georgia, Georidersmtb Mountain Bike Tour with Guests from Boulder, Colarado

Gudauri’s New Mountain Bike Trail Hit or Miss

Permaculture in The Republic of Georgia

5 Mountain Bike Routes in Georgia on Strava

Mountain Biking in Georgia Video Edits - GoPro / iPhone

Reasons you need to put Georgia on your travel must-see list!

Vegetarian Georgian Food

Producing Absinthe in Georgia

Armenia

Have you Traveled to Armenia?

2017

Poland

Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz - Birkenau

2017

Wales

Gower Bikepacking Part I & II

2018

England

Peak District Mountain Biking

General Travel

Late Night Lightroom - Caucasus

Adventures with bikes and mountains photography part I

Adventures with bikes and mountains photography part 2

A photo essay of places that I have slept on my travels

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Map

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Adventure Cycle Touring

July 08, 2016

Before cycle touring, I'd done a lot of mountain biking day trips but the first time I did a multi-day "adventure" trip was in Scotland in 2006. The trip turned out to be a big challenge, but it sowed the seeds of later ideas about "travelling by bike".

Bicycle touring - a definition

A bicycle tour is when you decide you are going out on your bike but instead of looping back you stop somewhere and then the next day you cycle a bit more.

Bicycle touring means self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure and autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Touring can range from single to multi-day trips, even years. (Wikipedia)

Equipment

You don't need much to go on a bike tour. You just need a bike, kit for sleeping, eating and repairing the bike. You can be as minimalist or prepared as you want but either way you're going to have to carry it all!

For a sporty cyclist you could ride fast. Your bike will reflect this by being light and minimal. On the other hand you could plan to go slowly and then the weight of your bike matters less. Going slower means you will probably see more and meet more people.

Bike

Click the links below to view related site content:

Handlebars, Lights, Grips, Frame, Forks, Suspension, Wheels, Brakes, Disc, Spokes, Tyres, Rim, Pedals, Saddle, Panniers, Bags, Gears, Chain, Trailer, Bike,

Top traits to look for in an adventure touring bike

• Steel-framed
• Rack mounts
• 36 spoke wheels

Clothing

Click the links below to view related site content:

Helmet, Hat, Sunglasses, T-shirt, Waterproof, Shorts, Socks, Shoes, Gloves, Breathable, Coat.

Camping

Click the links below to view related site content:

Mat, Stove, Tent, Cooking, Shelter, Hammock, Headlight.

Top tips

• Stay hydrated
• Ask for help, directions and water
• Avoid urban areas at the end of the day to find a secluded camp spot

Top posts

Preparation

• How to build expedition bike series 1
• How to build expedition bike series 2
• How to build expedition bike series 3
• How to build expedition bike series 4
• What Kit Do You Need To Go Adventure Cycling?
• Bicycle Touring: Reliable fundamentals
• Useful Links When Preparing To Go On A Bicycle Tour
• Expedition Preparation Tips
• Bike sizing
• How To Choose A Saddle
• Lee Firman's Lightweight Touring Kit List
• The Biki - A Wiki for Our Cycle Touring Research
• An interesting take on buying a new bike versus building your own bike from scratch
• Prepare, Pack, Pedal: My Ebook
• How to Get Sponsorship
• Long Distance Cycle Touring Kit List
• Day hiking kit list
• Short bike tour kit list

On the Road

• Updated: Ways To Travel On The Cheap
• Travel Philosophy: The Basic Rules Of The Road
• What Essential Bike Maintenance Is Needed Whilst On A Cycle Tour?
• How to Lace Up a Misshaped Brooks Champion Flyer Saddle
• Steps for Road Cleat Adjustment
• Staying safe when mountain biking
• Top 5 Bike Upgrades
• Advice For Putting Bikes On Public Transport In Europe And Beyond

Comms

• Self shot travel filmmaking manifesto
• Travel Filmmaking Pre Production Tips
• Travel Filmmaking What to Shoot and How to Shoot
• Travel Filmmaking Post Production Tips
• Travel Filmmaking Quick Tips
• How to Make an Adventure Film So Far
• How to Observe and Document Evidence of Climate Change
• Digital tools for Productive Nomads
• What is the Best Photography Workflow

Return, reflect

• Most Common Questions Asked About Going Cycle Touring from Weave of The Ride
• Advice For Cycle Touring In Zanzibar, Africa From Seasoned Expert Pete Gostelow
• 10 Benefits of Cycle Touring In Europe to Inspire Your Trip
• Why is bicycle touring the best way to travel through Europe
• Utility Cycling And Long Distance Cycling

You might be interested in these books

## Travelogue books - [The Only Man to Cycle from Stoke Albany to Kathmandu](https://amzn.to/3oNHRVM) - special edition version including cycle tours across Europe and Asia - [Weave of the Ride](/weave-ride-book-about-cycle-touring-across-europe) - [Between Worlds - The Promise of the Road](/between-worlds-book-about-cycle-touring-asia) - [Scotland Bikepacking '06](https://amzn.to/39wD0Gn) ## Guidebooks - [Prepare, Pack, Pedal - A Practical Guide to Cycle Touring](/prepare-pack-pedal-a-practical-guide-to-cycle-touring) - [Open Wilderness Guiding Book](/open-wilderness-guiding-book) - [Mountain Biking Routes in The Republic of Georgia](https://amzn.to/3s3Qr77) [There are more... View all books on Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/~/e/B00HQG4JZS)

Journeys

July 08, 2016

jour·ney (jûr′nē)

n. pl. jour·neys

The act of traveling from one place to another, especially when involving a considerable distance; a trip.

A distance to be traveled or the time required for a trip: a 2,000-mile journey to the Pacific; the three-day journey home.

A process or course likened to traveling, such as a series of trying experiences; a passage: the journey from addiction to recovery.

View a list of all travel related posts in timeline format

Races

• Numbplumbz Mountain Bike Marathon (100km) 2024
• Shires and Spires Ultramarathon (57km) 2024
• The Beasting, The Quarry, Cranford 2023
• Irthlingborough Parkrun 2021
• All the WODs Charity event, Panic Crossfit 2019
• Rustavi Hill Climb Duathlon 2015
• Tbilisi Sea Mountain Bike Race 2015
• Tbilisi Mountain Bike Duathlon 2015
• Dunwich Dynamo 2012
• Dunwich Dynamo 2011
• SIMBA National Points Series Dalby Forest 2003

Day Hikes

• Wyre Forest Hike, England 2021
• National Forest Hike, England 2020
• Ben Nevis Hike, Scotland 2019
• Pen Y Fan Hike, Wales 2018
• Carrauntoohil Hike, Ireland 2011
• Dubai - city walking 2011

Multi-day adventures

• Peak District week of MBR Epic rides, England, 2019
• Gower bikepacking, Wales, 2018
• Spain 'Bajada' Watercourse hike 2014
• SW Coast path, England, 2011
• Cycle to Ireland, 2011
• 24 Hour Microadventure Loop of Zone 1, London, England 2011
• Bikepacking tour, Khevsureti, Georgia, 2009
• Bikepacking Inverness to Fort William, Scotland, 2006

Micro-business

• Georiders mountain biking tours Georgia 2014, 2015

Creative journeys

• Georgia / Armenia - hiking, filmmaking 2012
• Kerry, Ireland - hiking, filmmaking 2012

Massive adventures

• 1000km - Mongolia off road cycle tour 2010
• Ride Earth

• Ride Earth Cycle Tour Eurasia 2007 - 2009
  • 6000 km England - Tbilisi
  • 2693 km Tbilisi - Zahedan
  • 3478km Zahedan - Mumbai
  • 1000 km Jhansi - Kathmandu
  • 1500km Kathmandu - Delhi (with Adman detour)

What are Extreme Sports and How Do They Differ from Traditional Sports?

October 21, 2016

The following list contains the main traits of an extreme sport:

• A high level of inherent danger
• Speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear
• Participant is subjected to natural or unusual physical and mental challenges such as speed, height, depth or natural forces and where fast and accurate cognitive perceptual processing may be required for a successful outcome
• Tend to be more solitary than traditional sports
• Beginning extreme athletes tend to work on their craft without the guidance of a coach
• Differ from traditional sports due to the higher number of inherently uncontrollable variables
• Environmental variables are frequently weather and terrain related, including wind, snow, water and mountains
• Often evaluated on more subjective and aesthetic criteria.
• Reject unified judging methods, with different sports employing their own ideals
• Evolve their assessment standards with new trends or developments in the sports
• Considerable skill and/or physical ability
• Poor execution of the activity has to result in considerable risk of serious physical harm to the participant
• Marketing
• Put the participants outside their comfort zone
• Often done in conjunction with adventure travel
• Commitment
• Often derivative of traditional sports but emerged as a result of innovation

The challenge, self-reliance, environmental variables, more subjective / aesthetic judgement are the most interesting aspects. They reflect type of high consciousness learning experience or educational process.

Extreme sports may be seen as being particularly male-dominated or inaccessible to people with disabilities, age or economic background. However, this is not the case as there are many examples where a wide range of demographics are represented.

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.

Photography

February 08, 2017

My photographic practice began in 2007 when I bought my first proper camera- Nikon DLSR D40x to take photos on my cycling journey around the world.

Favourite things to photograph are architecture (places, Buildings, Interiors, features), documenting journeys and people.

Cameras

Zenit was bought in a market in Tbilisi.

Nikkormat, bought on eBay.

iPhone 5

Processing

Take photos, after shooting, discard technically bad ones immediately. Pick 'Keepers' and 'Marginals'. Use photos for something, print them or exhibit them somehow.

2007 - 2009

Shoot photos, upload them onto Flickr, backup onto CDs.

2009 - 2010

Tried using Picasa to organise

2010 - Present

Moved all photos to Lightroom

Wandermap - City Walking

February 26, 2017

Wandermap is inspired by the Situationists movement of the Dérive and Psychogeography. You experiment with maps to create inventive and unusual ways of navigating the city space.

There are quite a few benefits but some include:

• Physical exercise of walking
• Getting closer to natural surroundings
• Getting closer to other people
• Experience the surroundings differently by looking differently

References

Psychogeography and the Situationists

Psychogeography is an approach to geography that emphasizes playfulness and "drifting" around urban environments. It has links to the Situationist International. Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as:

"the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities... just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape."

Hand drawn maps

Here is an example of a hand drawn map from a walk in Peckham Rye.

GPS and Mapping

May 13, 2017

Garmin GPS

I have used the Garmin Etrex Vista HCX. Etrex Vista Review. I bought it for the Ride Earth trip. I put it on to record a track log of the route. I didn't use it for navigation until the Mongolia trip. Although now it looks a bit old school, Garmin still does this kind of product.

Garmin has an app called Basecamp for route creation. How to open maps in Garmin Basecamp.

You can get maps to import from:

• http://talkytoaster.co.uk
• https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/
• http://download.geofabrik.de/index.html
• https://alternativaslibres.org/en/index.php

Free from Open Street map

• http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/AllinoneGarminMap
• https://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/4592/basic-guide-to-download-osm-to-garmin-gps
• http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSMMapOnGarmin#CreatingYourOwnMapsfromOSM_Data

OS Maps

I pay for the OS Maps subscription. I regularly use the app on desktop to create routes.

On Android I have used the Guru maps app for open street map maps

Other interesting stuff

• http://openmtbmap.org

GPSBabel converts waypoints, tracks, and routes between popular GPS receivers such as Garmin or Magellan and mapping programs like Google Earth or Basecamp.

• http://www.gpsbabel.org
• http://www.mountguys.com
• TPC 1/500 000 Military Mapping Series

Books

July 25, 2017

Whilst travelling I picked up new experiences and I kept journals each day. I decided to share them in the following books and guidebooks.

## Travelogue books - [The Only Man to Cycle from Stoke Albany to Kathmandu](https://amzn.to/3oNHRVM) - special edition version including cycle tours across Europe and Asia - [Weave of the Ride](/weave-ride-book-about-cycle-touring-across-europe) - [Between Worlds - The Promise of the Road](/between-worlds-book-about-cycle-touring-asia) - [Scotland Bikepacking '06](https://amzn.to/39wD0Gn) ## Guidebooks - [Prepare, Pack, Pedal - A Practical Guide to Cycle Touring](/prepare-pack-pedal-a-practical-guide-to-cycle-touring) - [Open Wilderness Guiding Book](/open-wilderness-guiding-book) - [Mountain Biking Routes in The Republic of Georgia](https://amzn.to/3s3Qr77) [There are more... View all books on Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/~/e/B00HQG4JZS)

Covid 19 Pandemic

March 01, 2020

Covid pandemic

• Weird news conferences
• Not allowed to leave home
• Working from home
• Staying fit from home
• Home food deliveries
• New baby to look after

Run the Jewels - Ooh La La

December 06, 2020

This is a great tune. {{< youtube Sff7Kc77QAY >}}

The Dunwich Dynamo

Unknown Date

The Dunwich Dynamo is an annual semi-organised, through-the-night bicycle ride from London Fields park in Hackney, London, England to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. The distance is approximately 112 miles (180 km).

It is free to enter and quite popular. The last time I participated there were over 1000 riders.

People gather at London fields and then set off when they are ready. Some people are treating it like a race and trying to get the distance done in the fastest time. Most are just going at their own pace.

It's a great ride. Lights and lanterns lined the roads at certain points. There was an early morning rest stop in a village hall somewhere in Suffolk.

It was just the right distance, not to hilly, quiet roads and a nice gradual change of scenery from the city to the countryside.

Full English in the morning at the tea shop on the beach.

A swim if you are brave.

Geocache Round London

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Tom and I met up for a spot of Geocaching in London. Geocaching is when someone hides something and puts the GPS location online then you go and find it.

Searching round the back of this statue for the package.

Reading the rolled up paper with notes from previous finders.

A closer look.

Adding our message to the list.

Then we replaced it back where we had found it. Its good wholesome fun and gets you out of the house.

The Port Elliot Festival

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The Stromatolite crew took a long drive down to the Port Elliot festival in Cornwall. We camped in the grounds of a stately home.

We roamed about the festival listening to talks (like about foraging, see below), enjoying live music and recitals. The most memorable was the poetry of John Cooper-Clarke.

Foraging workshop ran by Robin Harford at Port Eliot Festival 2012 as part of the Idler Academy http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/

migrated from WeQuest research blog August 3rd, 2012 4:34am:

The idler academy is a ‘school’ based in West London. It was founded by Tom Hodgkinson and is an alternative organisation that offers classes in a range of sometimes unsual subjects. For example, you can learn Ukulele for Beginners or Ancient Philosophy.

I visited the Idler Academy at the Port Elliot festival and participated in a presentation about limericks by John Cooper Clarke, a foraging workshop http://www.eatweeds.co.uk, and a presentation about slow travel by Dan Kieran.

I found the whole set up to be a lot of fun. It had a laid back atmosphere and the aim was more on encouraging people’s curiosity and interests to emerge themselves rather than through learning techniques that tend to prescribe information.

I thought that its old fashioned style, slightly tongue-in-cheek was endearing although perhaps detracted a little from the potential of this kind of organisation that attracted a great deal of attention at the festival and was a joy to attend.

TODO: insert idler festival leaflet 28620388084.jpg & 28620444990.jpg

migrated from WeQuest Research blog August 3rd, 2012 6:19am:

I went to the festival weekend and realised that the architectural structure of a festival perhaps matched well the kind of physical structure manifest of the digital structure of the weQuest app. Like the internet the space of the festival is 1 level, no hierarchy, but with hubs of interest and popularity. Anyone can pitch up with a tent, in the camping area, just like anyone can start a website or a blog, but getting some web hosting on a server. There are facilitators behind the scenes that enable the space to exist: either the developers on the internet versus the landowners at Port Eliot in St Germans. Zizek’s criticism of the space of the internet as ‘common space’ now being owned.

“What Marx did not take into account is the possibility of re-privatising this knowledge. This is why Bill Gates is the richest man on Earth.”

http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2703/stories/20100212270310400.htm

Bruno Latour had a similar criticism in his talk at International Seminar on Network Theory Keynote http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj7EDMRJrbU.

Of course this is only if we choose to recognise private property even when it is ethically questionable, which of course, organisations like the Occupy movement, challenge.

Putting this small fact aside though, Port Eliot festival was as near to a utopian situation that it would be possible to imagine. If only it was possible to turn up and start your own stall and the festival went on indefinitely. I received some information from attendees of the recent Paris Hothouse seminar about the Urmadic university to suggest that the Urmadic university would turn up and make camp around a problem area and solve it this way. I would extend this metaphor and suggest that instead of flying there, the urmadic university travels there by slow means- perhaps a bicycle bus, or a flock of pedal ornithopters, or even just by public transport. The problem with turning up by plane is to bring the consciousness of the place you were, with you, particularly then if you shut yourself off in hotels designed for expats.

I did some actor network theory research on the festival and sketches. Interestingly actor network theory is about how knowledge emerges from these kinds of meshworks or assemblages. Knowledge being well and truly at the essence of ##banned word## 'education’.

The best places to take young children in Northamptonshire

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NOTE: This article is a work in progress. Apologies if it is a bit rough round the edges.

Irchester Country Park, Wellingborough

A Little Known Gem of a Park

A historical, 200-acre area mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland with access for walkers and cyclists to a network of trails. There are plenty of family facilities, such as an adventure course with zip lines and a large play area. It has waymarked, surfaced, and singletrack paths and some interesting history about the quarrying that was done there.

There is a cafe that has recently been refurbished after being shutdown during the Covid lockdowns. There is plenty of parking. If you park on Irchester side, then a loop round the park is about 5km and will take you about 45 minutes to walk.

An excellent park

Wickstead

Barnwell

Cornwall

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Video made from phone footage, shot on Cornish coast. No zooming, short static clips and borrowed (attributed at the end of the video). Capturing a range of scenes and landscapes from beaches and waves to cliff tops and fields. Purely for fun to capture the typical holiday scenes but also the textures, light and the weather.

Stoke Albany to London Cycle Commute

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Returning back from the Mongolia trip on public transport, I arrived back into the UK via Calais. I decided to cycle back home from there.

Cycling long distances for utility purposes in in the UK was not something I had considered before. However, with my cycle touring experiences, it now was normal for me to cover hundreds of miles by bicycle. I just needed to have the time.

After that trip I needed to go down to London a few times and I decided, instead of taking the train, to cycle. It became a kind of commute for me, 100 miles each way.

Blackberries for some sugar energy.

Soaked trainers.

More sugar.

Things to Do On a Weekend Trip in London

February 03, 2018

A Weekend Trip to London: Your Ultimate Guide

Planning a weekend trip to London? You're in for a treat! London is a city bursting with culture, history, and modern attractions. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you make the most of your weekend getaway.

Day 1: Saturday in London

Morning: Greenwich Park & Observatory

Start your Saturday morning with a visit to Greenwich Park. This expansive green space offers breathtaking views of London. At the park's observatory, you'll find the Prime Meridian, where east meets west, as well as insights into astronomical history.

Late Morning: Walking Along the Thames

Head back toward central London and stroll along the Thames. From Shad Thames, walk towards Tower Bridge and enjoy the iconic views. Visit the Tower of London to witness the historic architecture and poppies installation. Continue your walk across the Millennium Bridge to reach St. Paul's Cathedral.

Lunch: Exploring Southwark and Borough Market

After walking across the Thames, you're in the heart of Southwark. Explore the area and stop by Borough Market for a variety of food stalls offering local and international cuisine. The Southwark Cathedral is also worth visiting for its beautiful architecture.

Afternoon: Art and Museums

Cross the Millennium Bridge to reach the Tate Modern, one of London's most celebrated modern art galleries. After exploring its exhibitions, continue south to the Royal Festival Hall and the British Film Institute (BFI), where you can find an intriguing lineup of films .

Evening: Theatre and Entertainment

London's theatre scene is vibrant and diverse. Consider catching a show at the Southwark Playhouse, the Old Vic, or the National Theatre. If you're a fan of experimental performances, check out Barbican's theatre events.

Day 2: Sunday in London

Morning: Exploring the City and Museums

Begin your Sunday with a walk through the City of London. Visit Lincoln's Inn Field, a historic area in Holborn, and explore the British Museum in Bloomsbury. It's a great way to immerse yourself in history and culture.

Late Morning: Parks and Attractions

Take a stroll through Regent's Park, which is perfect for a leisurely walk. From there, head to the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. These museums offer interactive exhibits and unique collections.

Afternoon: Soho, Trafalgar Square, and Beyond

Soho is known for its vibrant culture, so walk through its bustling streets and discover eclectic shops and eateries. Continue to Trafalgar Square, a landmark with statues and galleries nearby. You can also visit the Serpentine Galleries in Hyde Park to experience contemporary art exhibits.

Evening: London's Oldest Pub and More

Wrap up your Sunday by visiting London's oldest pub on Fleet Street for a drink and some traditional British pub fare. If time allows, explore the Barbican Centre for more art and music events .

With this guide, your weekend trip to London will be filled with memorable experiences, from exploring historic sites to enjoying modern art and theatre. Enjoy your adventure in one of the world's most dynamic cities!

References

Museums and Galleries - Tate Modern - Victoria and Albert Museum - Science Museum (Hyde Park) - Hoxton Area Galleries - Royal Festival Hall - Barbican Centre - British Museum - Serpentine Galleries - Whitechapel Gallery

Landmarks and Parks - St. Paul's Cathedral - Lincoln’s Inn Fields - Tower of London (Poppies) - Walking along the Thames (Shad Thames) - Millennium Bridge - Southwark Cathedral - Greenwich Park & Observatory - Regent's Park - Hyde Park

Cultural Venues - Southwark Playhouse - Old Vic - National Theatre - BFI (British Film Institute)

Historic Locations - Oldest pub on Fleet Street

Online Resources - BFI - What's On - Southbank Centre - Mirror City - The Fourth Revolution: the global race to reinvent the state - ICA - Authenticity: Real Bodies - ICA - Citizenfour - Serpentine Galleries - Saturday Talks - Canada Water Culture Space - Blind - Royal College of Art - Events

Hiking Gudauri

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Walks around Peckham and Dulwich

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My first flat in London was in Peckham, about half way along the Rye. I explored the area by bike, walking and running. I was doing a project about psychogeography and was often trying to pay attention to my emotions whilst walking about. I was also looking for whatever caught my interest in the environment and capturing it in photo stories.

Tesco sign takes on an ominous feel next to the sinister looking spike-topped fencing.

A neon sign with telephone number offers a splash of colour and intrigue.

I captured a story per walk consisting of a series of photos and, for me, this kind of exercise, resulted in a portrayal of the place that had an increased richness.

I possibly wouldn't have captured the place in the same way if I had gone there and taken only photos of what was considered to be nice or an attraction for shoppers or tourists.

I had previously done similar kinds of walking photographic studies on my travels but now I connected it to psychogeography and it started to take on a bit of a life of it's own. Part of the appeal came from the fact that this process seemed to make my environment more exciting and interesting. It also helped me to break out from my preconceived ideas of my surroundings and look more closely.

Hiking Lagodehki

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Working and Travelling in Dubai, UAE and why it blew me away

November 01, 2011

On the 5th October I flew to Dubai, UAE to work on exhibition stands at the Gitex technology trade-shows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I returned to Dubai on 27th.

This was a great opportunity to finance my Goldsmiths university course, get a change of scenery and be paid to travel somewhere. At first I would have thought Dubai wouldn't appeal to me but there were many reasons to be intrigued. Travelling there, I at first considered to be a means to an end but it turned out to be a really memorable experience.

My employer offered to fly me out and back then out again because there were 2 shows and a 2 week gap between them. I said to him that I would stay out in Dubai and find Couchsurfers to stay with which added a bit of challenge and excitement.

The initial impact of Dubai was of awe and amazement at the unreal-looking architecture. Everything looked so futuristic compared to London. The monorail public transport was like something out of Bladerunner.

The first week I stayed in a hotel, the IBIS hotel in Mall of the Emirates with my colleagues and we worked on the show. Then went out for food and sampled some of the nightlife. Later on, I stayed in Uptown Mirdiv and JBR downtown Dubai.

After going to a club one evening, I tried to walk back to the hotel. After walking for a while through a residential area, I found myself at the side of a motorway behind a large advertisement board. There appeared to be nowhere to cross so I had to call a cab.

I was easily able to find local Couchsurfers and meet some other travellers too. With my first host Vijay, we had an intense and fun time. We went to the beach and to restaurants, sampling a variety of international foods. Actually the entire time I ate in restaurants which did start to cause me to look forward to some home cooking and exercise after a while. We smoked shisha and kept the caffeine levels up, fending off tiredness with iced-coffee.

We visited the old and gold souk and the fish market. There were many Indians working and living there.

We went out partying and met up with other Couchsurfers. There were many good times shared. I felt like my experience was made many times richer by my interactions with people I met through Couchsurfing.

The environment of Dubai was very compelling to me. It was a thrill to be working there and I had a lot of fun. From an architectural point of view, there is so much glass and some of the structures are so impressive and unusual that it boggles the mind as to how they were built.

I was aware of how much I was charmed by the place. It was easy to get swept along with all the flashy sites, cars and experiences. I could basically leave behind my life at home and just focus on enjoying the little bubble that I found myself in.

However, the whole time I was aware that as spectacular as everything is and, as appealing as it was to me as a Westerner, it was a totally different culture and belief system underneath.

It was important to keep that self-awareness as there are stories of Westerners stepping out of line and feeling the consequences. With a bit of reframing it could be possible to see the place in a different light. As I was there for such a short time and I needed a break from routine and some fun, I didn't dwell too much on that.

Ironically, could Dubai be an example of how to build a city after large areas have been turned to desert due to global warming?

Giant aquarium in the Atlantis hotel.

Hiking in the Brecon Beacon Mountains of Wales

October 14, 2018

Up at 5.30am I took the train from Peckham Rye over to Victoria. I took the bus from Victoria (booked in advance £6.50 a single). I felt self-conscious with my rucksack wondering if people thought I was a tramp, although I am kind of a nomad so it's not really a strange feeling as I watched all the commuters on the morning train. I met a friend from my course, Esta who is studying environmental design and creating a 'living sustainably' kit as part of her work, and also a big fan of hiking, and we got on the bus at Victoria coach station.

I read some of Catherine Malabou's 'What Should We Do with our Brains' (a paper from my course reading list about neuroplasticity) whilst on the coach, torrential rain outside didn't look too promising weather-wise. I was glad I brought my waterproofs.

At the bus station in Newport, I we hopped onto a stagecoach bus buying an 'Explorer' ticket which cost £6.40 and took us all the way to Merthyr with one stop on the way in Blaenavon. The rain unsurprisingly was ever present in a lively Merthyr. We bought a few items of food from Iceland which is probably the weirdest supermarket. It sells entirely frozen food with an additional narrow selection of packaged foods. The aisles seemed designed, so you got wedged next to other shoppers and have no choice but to browse frozen chickens while you wait to free yourself.

We left and were directed by a local to 'Spoons' for a crap meal accompanied by a lovely pint of 'Bledynn' ale at around 6%. Esta, having recently moved from Venezuela, wasn't that familiar with Wetherspoons, so I took it as my duty to introduce her to it. We donned our waterproofs and began the walk out of the town.

I used my compass to navigate out of town. This worked well - we crossed over a large A road and were into muddy hills north of the town. We followed along 'the Heritage trail' along an old mine and then beside part of the Brecon Beacon's railway up to the Pontsicil reservoir.

We were planning on wild camping, but I knew that in Wales it's not necessarily allowed so I was interested to see how it would pan out. We had been informed earlier by a local lady, when enquiring about a place to stay, that one side of the lake was private property, and we would have to walk the other side of the lake and that we could ask in a pub in the village about accommodation.

We decided to walk into the forest a bit and then I veered off into the undergrowth pushing my way through and emerging onto a bit of moorland where we pitched the tent in a sheltered spot. The tent went up nicely, with the pegs going into the soft mossy ground. During the night water dripped off the tree noisily onto the tent but it was great to be sleeping outdoors.

In the morning it was porridge with extra nuts, cooked over the stove whilst the sheep came over to investigate hoping to get fed by the farmer. We packed up the tent, cleaned the groundsheet and continued walking through the forest adjacent to the lake on a fire-road, listening to little waterfalls and the damp forest dripping and rustling.

Unfortunately, the route followed onto the road for a while. We headed towards an area on the map with some waterfalls and the beginning of a trail called Craig y van which led up onto the high ground. We walked along nice and slow and meditatively. I love the process of walking slowly and being aware of all of my movements and then turning and looking at the mist covered landscape and then continuing with my meditation.

On the top of the hill, the temperature dropped, and we were up in the mist. We followed a rocky path next to a steep drop on one side and on the other peaty, boggy moorland which reminded me of the Yorkshire moors. We didn't have much of a plan other than to walk. My pack was quite heavy with all the stuff in although it was quite bearable. Occasionally the mist would clear and reveal a stunning valley beside the path. It felt cold and remote and there is a feeling of humbleness and fragility that comes with that kind of environment.

We descended down to the Neuadd reservoir it was satisfying to return to a slightly different ecology. The view was made of straw-coloured grass, dark green conifer trees, and the mysterious looking lake, accompanying lodge and surrounding shrubs and vegetation all shrouded in mist. It was the first time I had been in that kind of open landscape since travelling in Mongolia and it was nice to be back in the wild. The Neaudd reservoir is privately owned and used for fishing. It was strange for me, living in Georgia, that a lake could be restricted from use as it just wasn't the case there. Any lake could be swam in and you could camp anywhere within reason.

We found a nice camp spot beside the far end of the lake and found a secluded spot. There was a guy walking around with a flashlight before we bedded down for the evening, but he didn't seem to see us although he did flash the light directly at us quite a lot. It made for a little exciting moment of anticipation whether we would be found.

The following days walk took us down the other side of the reservoir in the forest following beside a river which tumbled through the valley. We walked on a rocky and boggy path amidst soaked greenery and moss-covered trees before stopping to make a ginger tea and eat some nuts and dried apricots. The track took us back down to the road where we then walked to a bridge which took us over to the other side of the reservoir.

I could hear the noise of the Brecon Beacons steam engine and horn sounding which was incredible in the mist. The next part of the walk took us along some winding footpaths up a lovely track passing through an area of old growth forest covered in lovely bright green moss and the trees joined over the path to form a tunnel. It felt like real 'Lord of the rings' territory. The path crossed a fire-track which was not on the map, but we followed it anyway and walked through a rather depressing burnt out around of black tree stumps before going back into the forest, and catching the train passing again.

After getting lost briefly and wandering into a farmyard we found our way onto a road which led us back to the original dam and to the train station for the railway. It was getting late and I considered places to sleep; in the forest, next to the reservoir visitor centre, on the moor, but we decided to head to the pub for warmth and to involve some others in the process.

The pub 'The Red Cow Inn' was lovely. I had a nice pint of ale and chatted to some of the locals who started talking about London and prisons. We were given permission to camp on the playing field in the village, so I pitched the tent and we returned for some pub games, sandwiches and an open fire.

Our bus back was the following day in the evening so after getting a good night sleep we walked back down the Taff Trail into the town of Merthyr. It was good to see the transition slowly of the different altitudes and rural to urban landscape. We caught the bus back to Cardiff and then over to Newport. It was surprising the difference between Merthyr and Newport. In Merthyr people looked youthful and happy and in Newport people looked rough.

Before catching the bus in the evening, we wandered about the streets and watched the activities of the youth of Newport; a group of teenagers were doing backflips off a memorial and a bin practicing their Parkour. Another group were drinking, and smoking and various cars went through with loud music playing.

Later on, we saw groups of short skirt clad girls in high heels running about going out on the town. It reminded me of my local town of Kettering on a Friday night. We ate sandwiches and caught the bus back to Victoria. It had been a good, if short trip.

Back in my flat it felt really good to have got fresh air and tested my body in a different way to cycling and leaving London had given me a fresh perspective on the city on my return.

Kit:

• rucksack
• army boots
• tent
• stove (I tested out my stove and found that it desperately needed cleaning and made a base for the stove made out of an old tin.)
• sleeping bag

(reedited from the archive, originally written 2011)

Downhill Mountain Bike Race in Tbilisi

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A mountain bike race was held at Mtatsminda park in Tbilisi.

The location was ideal for the race because above it is a mountain with trails and then the race ended at the park where people were watching.

All ages and levels could be seen participating. The only downside was the weather. It was wet and made conditions a little bit slippy.

Trail Ride at Cannock

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Mountain biking at Cannock Chase. 32.56km over 3hrs 42 mins. 1400 calories burned. 886.2m climbed.

• Spring foliage everywhere.
• Cannock bike shop is well stocked, has helpful staff and is conveniently located
• Great place to ride trails
• Time is squeezed these days so the opportunity to go for a ride seems more special
• Was more aware than usual of the mental benefits of riding = riding meditation

An Unforgettable Mountain Biking Odyssey In Svaneti with Our Phillipino Friends from Dubai!

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Back in September we went on a bike tour in Svaneti with a group of great guys from Dubai - Paul, Serge, Ken and Eugine. Our friends arrived early in the morning about 2 o'clock. We picked them up from the airport with the bike bags and headed back into the city centre to the bike shop. We unloaded and assembled the bikes.

The guests had amazing bikes and I was really excited to see how they would ride them! They were very friendly and really keen to have an adventure. We left that morning to get on the road early and miss the traffic. On the way we picked up some hot sweetbread from a street seller.

The drive to Svaneti is long but very scenic with many mountains which gradually rise up. Our first stop was the village of Mazeri. That evening we took our intrepid friends to a hiking trail which led up to some spectacular waterfalls. We only had a few hours of daylight left for the hike so we quickly made our way.

The ancient forest all around us and mountains in the distance covered with waterfalls was brilliant to see. We passed a dramatic bridge over white water and climbed steeply stopping regularly to take photos of the amazing valley behind us and the waterfalls ahead of us.

After climbing for some time we decided to head back as the light started to close in. It had been well worth it and a great way to stretch the legs after the drive. We were all ready to tuck into some delicious food. The guest house was very cosy; a large typical Georgian house.

After really good nights sleep in the morning we were up early to prepare the bikes before starting our first ride downhill out of Mazeri to the road to Mestia. We started with a short road climb undulating over the mountains The villages on the road to Mestia are really impressive.

The old way of life is unspoilt and there are many traditional towers and architecture. We arrived, dropped our bags at the guest house and took a road climb to the chairlifts. Serge and Paul got a shuttle and Eugine and Ken rode the whole way!

The chairlift covered the last 4 km up to the summit with amazing 360° views of the entire mountain range. From here after having a drink we traversed along the top to the furthest point in order to get some memorable photos and ride some incredible sections of trail.

With big grins on our face we started the main descent down on dusty singletrack. Unfortunately half way down one of us had a tire blowout so we waited for a few minutes for ‘The Godfather’ Vako to arrive and save the day. We made some repairs and then continued enjoying the ride before heading back to Mestia for lunch.

Before dinner that evening we had a special surprise adventure in store. We drove up switchback after switchback to the summit of a nearby mountain whilst the sun was setting. The views were incredible, the place was magical. It was difficult to believe!

The following day we took the shuttle up a different mountain following some single track and Enduro road for about 15 km beside water rapid rivers and amazing mountain views.

The high point of this ride was reaching a traditional ‘medieval’ village with an amazing quite technical downhill and then double track downhill for a further 15 km; a thrilling adrenaline filled rush.

The trail ended at a village at the bottom where we are able to wash our bikes and made friends with the locals. The day ended in Ushguli with a walk to the ancient ruins of the old queen Tamar whilst the sun was setting. We all agreed it felt like a really spiritual place.

The following day we are up really early ready for the descent to Lentechi. The route was 60 km of varied tracks downhill! (not for the faint of heart) The first 50 km is amazing varied rocky track and undulating flowy trails ending with a leg stretch on the road.

We finished the day with a dip in the river and a feast in a local restaurant before jumping the vehicle and heading back to Tbilisi in high spirits over such an amazing trip. That evening we met up again for dinner and Jazz Karaoke in local bar ‘Jazzanova’! Thanks to our friends Paul, Serge, Ken and Eugine for an awesome trip. We hope you come again.

Mountain Bike Race - Mountain Range Tbilisi

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A mountain bike race at Tbilisi Sea.

Number cards were sticky backed sheets of plastic.

The local Red Bull promo team were there - clever marketing.

Post-race gathering. Cube bike shop sponsoring with flags and gazebo.

It was a really enjoyable route with great views over Tbilisi Sea and the city.

Curry, Dolma and Wilderness Mountain Biking in Armenia

November 15, 2009

Tom emailed me last week to tell me he was going to follow an old man on a horse to a hot spring at 3000m. That sounded like my idea of fun so I decided to go to Yerevan and do it. I went to the bus station in Ortachala in Tbilisi at 9.30 am and cycled practically straight onto a Marshrutka (transit van minibus). This dispelled my fears of being able to take the bike in the cramped little bus. I was lucky this time whereas the previous time I had taken a Marshrutka, I had waited for 6 hours for the bus to leave because there were not enough passengers.

I paid 10 lari (about £4) (haggled from 20) to put the bike in the back seats and the usual 30 lari for the fare. I had the back seats to myself until a broad-shouldered babouska boarded the bus which meant I could no longer sit on my seat squarely and had to uncomfortably perch my back against the curvature of the seat. Marshrutka rides are never supposed to be comfortable affairs.

Read previous blog post  for a description of a typical Marshrutka journey.

The border crossing went smoothly. I need only to pay $10 for a visa giving me 21 days. It used to be a mandatory $50 for 3 months. At lunch time I procured a juicy kebab at the half way rest stop and sat in the winter sun watching the rocky river flowing past. I wondered where the water was coming from, staring up at a dry baron cliff sided valley that the road ran through. Armenian mountain landscape is about as unforgiving and forbidding looking as it comes and I love it.

I arrived in Yerevan, unpacked my bike and said goodbye to the giggling Russian girls at the front of the bus who seemed very amused by my bicycle. I remembered the way to Tom's so I pedaled past Republika square, up to the park passing the tall silver 'Mother Armenia' statue and to Tom's flat. Inside he was adding final preparatory touches to a fragrant curry, before allowing it to simmer away for an hour or two whilst he went for an Armenian language lesson.

Tom told me that the horse-following to the hot spring was off because the hot spring was covered in snow, but we were still going for an epic ride. The next morning we saddled up early and met Tigran, Tom's friend. We racked up the bikes on the back of his car and drove to Garni about 40 km away from Yerevan. We parked next to the Garni temple, which is where we started the ride.

A crisp wintery morning. Mist hung over the hillsides. The strong Asian sun evaporated the morning dew. Some villagers were ambling about sweeping the pavement outside their houses. A truck waited outside the local store, to deliver bread.

We passed through the village and descended down a cobbled track to a spring where we filled up the Camelbaks with clear mountain water. A dark green soviet van clattered past. The driver waved and smiled at us, cigarette hanging from his lips. Shortly after we passed a man on horseback who gave us a cheery 'barevzdis'.

At the valley bottom, we followed the river up the gorge, passing a fish farm with a huge dog tied up beside the road. Thankfully it was very docile and dozed in the mud instead of take offence with us.  I pedalled along avoiding puddles to prevent getting covered in mud at the beginning of the ride.

The land of Armenia is higher in altitude than Georgia. You're already above the tree line so the geography in general is noticeable different. Rocky embankments scattered with hardy shrubs and plants somehow gripping on to the loose dry soil and stone. Although the sun was strong that morning, in the shadow it was colder and I pedalled faster to warm up.

The track climbed up to the gate of the Garni natural park and the WWF Norway funded eco-centre - a very quaint and well-constructed looking building with a jolly looking gatekeeper wearing army-issue jacket and trousers and smoking a cigarette.

Tigran chatted with him for an extended amount of time. Tom remarked that he is a very intrepid character. He is in the process of collecting GPS and GIS data for the area. Tom mentioned that he is in the habit of chatting at length with anyone knowledgeable he meets in order to further his expertise of the area.

I had a good feeling about the ride from when Tom initially mentioned it. I knew when Tigran lifted his bike up off the doubletrack and hauled it up the embankment onto a grassy rocky piece of singletrack sided by heather and wild thyme that I was in my element. Gripped with a layer of frost, the plants and trees looked eroded and weathered, worn out by a struggle to survive in difficult conditions – little rain, freezing winters and scorching summer sun. Now well into autumn, winter was just around the corner, offering no respite.

The track trundled delightfully along, through little ruts, and strewn with metamorphic baby-head sized boulders. My legs brushing passed the fragrant shrubs. The path reminded me of paths I used to take on rides in the Yorkshire Dales. Moorland carpetted with low-lying heather. Shale-sprinkled paths which looked like they had formed as naturally as the plants. Perfect for mountain bikes- varied and grippy.

Up we went and passed a family who later we met again at the ruins of a church on a hill. They were gathered to have a barbeque. They had a fire going and big chunks of chicken were being pushed onto long metal skewers ready to be cooked. I started to think of the Basturma (traditional Armenian salty sausage) sandwiches I'd made for lunch. The taste brought back to the forefront of my senses from the slices I'd slyly eaten rather than put in the sandwiches.

The next section  of the ride was what is traditionally known in the trade as a 'bike-hike'. The path was invisible to the untrained eye. Luckily we had Tigran with a GPS. That however, proved unhelpful so he asked some people which way. They pointed out a route up the hillside and added that it would be difficult.

Unfazed we pushed and crawled with the bikes up a steep rocky path following a wayward gulley full of dry grass, thorny rose bushes, sandy stone with crumbling gravel underfoot. I struggled to find my footing on the loose ground and used my bike as a support. The air became fresher and clearer and the sun felt strong as we emerged onto the top of the first hill. Our altitude now at 1800m above sea level. A dreamlike snowy alpine plateau was visible in the distance it beckoned and awakened my inquisitiveness as if it was the surface of another planet.

We stopped to eat some berries, round red ones with a pithy orange fruit inside and Tigran pointed our some bear poo. He said that bears also like to eat those berries, clearly visible from the seeds in the poo. I tried to remember which bear between the brown and black you are supposed to fight and which you are supposed to play dead, as it might come in useful.

We decided to stop for lunch in the shadow of a weary looking but sinewy grey barked tree with small yellow and green leaves. It reminded me of a giant Bonzai tree. Lunch consisted of Basturma sandwiches, smoked fish, bread, cheese, corn on the cob, chocolates and then a sleep in the sun – perfect. I awoke after 20 minutes of blissful snoozing feeling refreshed and commented to Tom you never realise how much you need to go to chill out in the mountains until you go and do it.

The simplicity of just having enough for the day ride and not bringing camping stuff was a relief whilst pushing and granny-cranking the bike up challenging steep singletrack. We passed along a track barely a tyre's width wide. It was positioned half way down a fairly steep scree slope with a steep loose rocky embankment leading down into the valley on the other side. It was difficult to make out a path at all. The kind of lunacy I tend to enjoy. I flew myself into it, bringing into play the old mantra of focusing on the track and nothing else so not to fall fail to 'target fixation' and tempt my front wheel to point down the scree hill.

The path reached an impossibly rocky doubletrack.  It looked like the boulders had fell there after a impromptu jettison of comets from space. This arduous last major section of climbing was well worth the reward as we reached the plateau and the wonderful tranquil sound of a bubbling mountain stream, stopping to drink and wash the sweat from hot, dusty, and grimy brows atop satisfied facial expressions.

I looked across at the snow on the mountains over the plateau and felt a pull to them but we would not have time to reach them today. We continued on to the edge of a canyon overlooking the Geghard monastery, part of which is built dramatically into the rock. For the next 5 or so km we followed patchy sections of 4x4 track, crossing over boggy pampus grass-patched streams and then off the track across fields with more boulders. After a while I realised it was better to walk than punish the bike as it was akin to riding over corrugated concrete.

Without tracks and landmarks in particular, we were relying on Tigran's GPS and sense of direction. We traversed a shallow gulley. Descending furiously into it, and still pumping from adrenalin I ploughed straight across the river at the bottom as Tom helpfully said- 'it's too deep mate'. I subsequent dabbed my feet, soaking them through- doh!

Tigran would say things like 'we should bare left now if we want to head back' or 'head to that far valley to reach the village'. A discussion ensued about remaining daylight and whether we wanted to end up cycling in the dark. Rather than going back the short route which would have have meant a large proportion of the descent on the road, we headed towards the canyon on the edge of the plateau.

The epic canyon came into view as we approached. The distant landscape descended into the afternoon haze. A river meandered it's way along the canyon bottom. Shrubs and trees clung on for dear life to the side of the rocky crags.

The ensuing descent was a rocky doubletrack following the edge of the shear cliffs which plummeted down to the village below. We scooted and skidded, dodging boulders and rutted gulleys.

At the bottom we ended up, by accident, in the farmstead of one of the villagers, guarded by numerous dogs enraged with the scent of cyclist in the air.  The lady sent us back the correct way and we found the track that lead us through the village and continued descended down into the valley bottom and followed the river.

Tigran told us that 'it was a good village' and one of only a few in Armenia that still doesn't receive electricity.

Late afternoon sun glowed orange upon the upper hillsides which were still catching the sun as I followed the track which would lead us back to the gates of the park. I passed a man walking up the hill. I said 'I don't speak Armenian', he replied in English – 'Armenia, very beautiful country', and I agreed 'yes, very'.

Hungry and by now pretty tired we hauled ourselves back to the car. On the way we met the same green soviet bus that we had seen in the morning. Tigran managed to get towed by it up the steep cobbled road into the village. Tom was determined to ride and cursed as his tyres slipped on algae covered stones. Admirably he managed to ride the entire climb back up into the village. However, his achievement obviously went to his head a little.

Riding along the road in the village, Tigran was chased by a nasty dog that was snarling at his ankles. In response he tried to kick it in the head multiple times. Tom, on a herioc high from the climb obviously thought he would try to aid his friend, and swerved his bike towards the dog. The outcome of this was that Tom somehow managed to lose control of the bike, flip over the handlebars and role along the ground.

The dog, seeing this crazed human appearing to go extreme lengths to attack him/her (sorry I didn't check), understandably dismissed his pursuit, stopped chasing Tigran and thoughtfully wandered off. I imagine it would make him think twice about chasing bicycles in the future, but I doubt it. Tom was relatively unscathed other than a bruised ego, grazed hands and knee.

We headed back to Yerevan and ate delicious dolma cooked by Tenny.

The ride demonstrated to me the potential for mountain biking and the beauty of the Armenian landscape. It also sparked my enjoyment of being in wild places. Inside me, I felt something draw closer to what I was looking for in terms of an idyllic wilderness riding experience. 40 km from a capital city it was possible to immerse oneself in tranquil nature with views of snow covered mountain plateaus. Tracks running across country lent themselves ideally to challenging wilderness treks by bike. No matter what other future plans I make, I feel that the area of the Caucasus, the countryside of Georgia and Armenia is growing more deeply rooted in my mind, and I hope to explore further routes with new found (and old friends). Tigran, Tom and I are planning another 2 day ride before I return at Christmas to England.

Mountain biking at Afan

January 03, 2015

Back in April, I took the train to Bristol to pick up a bike I bought on Ebay, a Kona Hoss, and a Bob Trailer and went onward to Port Talbot in Wales. From there I rode up to the Glyncorrwg mountain bike centre and got kitted out, with new tyres and SPD shoes, in Skyline Cycles, the resident bike shop.

I rode the 'Whites' Level' trail and 'The Wall' on the first day, Whites' Level and a bit of the Skyline on the second day and the Skyline on the last day. The Skyline was a 45m epic and reminded me why I love mountain biking with lots of single-track and custom-built sections hugging the side of the valleys with stunning views.

I am still strong and confident on my bike even though I haven't been mountain biking regularly due to being in London but it took a day of riding to get myself to push the bike forwards into the downhills and keep the momentum going. A first person, present-tense description of the experience:"

I swing my leg over the bike and clip in with a satisfying 'click'. I start the bike in a forward motion, grasp the handlebars with confidence and feel the vibrations from the earth through rubber and aluminium. The bike feels well balanced. I look ahead, super-conscious, widen my eyes and after a few seconds they begin to water.

The trail is rhythmic and I wrestle with it which is a strangely-satisfying, slightly frustrating, but continuous necessity. I clear a rock garden and let the bike flow, monitoring my speed and nerve. I feather the brakes, then hit some huge rocks like weighing scales gone crazy and they slow me right down.

I hit a puddle and crash into a section of loose rocks, which bounce the bike about. Briefly the experience feels pointless, wantonly pummelling body and machine and I'm in disbelief the wheels don't implode at any moment.

I wonder 'why?' and the answer is, in a nutshell: brilliant fun, combined with just the right amount of challenge."The mountain bike centre serves fried breakfast and Welsh rarebit. There is also cheap camping at £5 a night and shower and toilet facilities. Support mountain biking in Wales.

Tusheti, Georgia Mountain Bike Tour

June 11, 2015

We made a trip to Tusheti last week with some six guys from Israel. After a late flight in we hit the road with the 4x4 cars loaded with the trailers with the bikes.

On the way we picked up lunch, changed money, and headed for the Gombori pass, Kaxheti and the roads to the high mountains of the Caucasus.

Our guests were experienced bikers. In Israel mountain cycling is very popular. There are many trails and on the weekend the trails can be very busy.

The drive to the high mountains is impressive across the plains of Kaxheti and then begins the Abano Pass. The road requires jeeps to cross unless you are biking it. You need expert drivers for this route.

Recently there have been a lot of improvements on the road and we came across some roadworks on the way. The views on the road are incredibly impressive; white-water rapids, lush forests, rising up above the tree line.

We reached the pass after many switchbacks, unloaded the bikes, threw on biking kit, ate snacks and I led the way. The switchbacks traverse the mountainside and then drop down at the turn. The ride is a challenge but a very enjoyable one.

After crossing the river at the bottom of the switchbacks, the road undulates beside the river, passing through a couple of villages, the ranger station. After about 25km riding we decided to put the bikes into the trailers and drive the remaining amount to the village as the light was closing in.

We got to our guesthouse, our guests found themselves comfortable in their rooms, whilst dinner was being prepared, the rest of us pitched tents and we then enjoyed a delicious spread of food. It had been a long day with the drive, and we were all looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep for the next day.

The following morning, we walked up to the famous towers in the village. These mediaeval stone buildings traditionally protected villages from invasions throughout the centuries. From the towers there are amazing views, if you look closely you will spot an eagle on the thermals and you can see back across the plateau and the rest of the Valley.

Following on in the direction of Dartlo the road climbs and then descends on switchbacks before climbing up past a guesthouse, where we stopped for a bit of maintenance. Then the road climbs and descends along the valley into the village. There were a fair few hikers and horse riders, but we were the only bikers.

The descent down into Dartlo is a real pleasure as you can temptingly see the village from a distance. it is such a magical place, unlike any other I’ve experienced. The buildings built in the traditional style are examples of expert craftsmanship and a testament to the skills being passed on down the generations.

After checking into a guest house with views over the village, we hiked up to another village on the mountain behind, which had been abandoned. It is a very special place to visit.

The single-track switchbacks and views over two houses perched on the mountainside makes you wonder why people live such a simple lifestyle the only routes to get supplies is to climb up and down the mountain otherwise they are self-sufficient. An old way of lifestyle is preserved there. We don’t know how long it will last but for the moment is possible to visit and to exist in a place which is such a contrast to our modern cities and lifestyles.

The guests were happy to have a change of pace to save some energy before the following day’s ride. We were up early with a ride down the valley to the border point at Girevi. The ride out is a slight climb following the river but an enjoyable ride. Along the way we visited the villages, listened to the sound of the river, and gazed up at the tall mountains towering above us.

After lunch of the we followed our way back down the valley with a slight downhill which made for a flowing ride. Grins all round could be seen whilst we enjoyed a beer on the balcony. That evening we ate great feast Georgian food prepared by our hosts in the traditional way cooked over an open fire. We exchanged stories of the day, next to the warmth of the fire, under the clear stars in the sky.

An early starts and breakfast, meant we could leave early in the cars drive up to the pass and then have plenty of time to navigate down the road out of Tusheti. We kept together in a close-knit group, stopping halfway down to visit the hot spa baths. The ride down was a great challenge, and something that can be looked back on and told as a story for many years to come. It is a great accomplishment.

On the last day we did a walk around the main sights of Tbilisi, the local markets, historical spots stopping for a feast before our guests made our way to the airport.

Originally written September 2015 for the Georiders website.

Churchela, Georgian Sweets arrive in America

July 31, 2015

Much esteemed guests from Boulder Colorado who enjoyed our Svaneti tour last year have been dabbling in some Georgian cooking. 

The valiant project recreated the world famous ‘Georgian Snickers’ champion sports food ‘Churchela’, made from walnut pieces on a string generously dipped in Wine Molasses. 

Rumoured to hold more energy pound for pound than even the most high tech sports supplement and last for an entire season in the guiding backpack this delicacy is guaranteed to catch on Stateside and beyond.

Jonah’s production is so good that we were wondering if he is secretly a Babushka in disguise.

Svaneti, Georgia, Georidersmtb Mountain Bike Tour with Guests from Boulder, Colarado

August 31, 2015

We went off to Svaneti on a bike tour. I’d been staying at James’ place for a few days after arriving in Georgia. 

Our new friend Vako driving in his suped up Delica 4x4 van and his bike trailer arrived we loaded up the bikes and drove over to the Hotel. On the way, I enjoyed sitting high up in this crazy vehicle with the tyres making a noise like the Batmobile. 

We picked up our guests - an American family from Boulder, Colorado and got on the road, driving out of Tbilisi towards Gori, the birthplace of Stalin and beyond to the West of Georgia. We stopped at lunch and caught up with Dato and his family in his car who was also joining up for the trip.

After lunch it was a good journey onward and we arrived up in the mountains with the mist drawing in. As we unpacked the bikes some road workers offers the guests beer for toasting to the beginning of our ride. 

The ride began taking the road for about 30 km to a village called Mazeri and staying in the Grand Ushba Hotel. The guests were impressed the the beautiful accommodation backed by the mountain. I pitched my tent and then the storm rolled in. After a hearty dinner with cheesy dumpling, lasagne and more, I realised that such was the torrential rain that my tent wasn’t going to be an option and I joined Vako sleeping in his truck.

In the morning the weather had happily cleared and we took the vehicles part way up a shaded trail through pine forest and spent a couple of hours hiking up to some waterfalls and glaciers. On the way we met some border guards ‘looking for bears’.  

The trail back offered the chance to ride. Vako created a makeshift attachment for his Go pro to film himself doing a river crossing. We rode ahead on a jeep trail down to the village stocking up with snacks at a village shop and then hitting the road for 20 km of road riding until the impressive town of Mestia. 

In central Mestia is a mineral water with the elders of the village sitting and chatting. We met there and then checked into a local guesthouse where an incredible supra feast was laid out for us with wine plenty of opportunity to replace lost calories. Our guests were developing a taste for the local food and culture and enjoying the ride. 

In the evening a surprise trip took us up by jeep winding on jeep track as twilight and nightfall closed in. Eventually we emerged to a breathtaking mountain vista and a ski run! which we took the vehicles up to the ski station and top of the chair lift to survey the entire mountain range including Mount Ushba. It was a special moment for us all to behold. 

After we jumped back in the vehicles a huge thunderstorm began to bear down which added to the atmosphere as we returned to the guesthouse and a well earned rest.

The following morning took us on a visit to the local Museum of Svaneti with a  knowledgeable guide who showed us around and explained the impressive collection of historical artefacts that had shaped Svaneti. The museum has been refurbished and is a really worthwhile place to visit and we all enjoyed it.

After the museum we jumped back into the vehicles and climbed up towards the road pass out of Mestia. The weather started to look a bit grim as the clouds circled and the wind swirled. We jumped out near the pass, donned warm clothes and waterproofs and took to some single track riding through and past drifts of snow, trickling streams and heather (a landscape that reminded me of Yorkshire).

Then descending down through pine forest on switchbacks to a stream crossing, mountain side traverse with incredible views and a descent through the valley down to the village of Adishi; sharing the track with a band of horse-backed villagers.

We past by above the village on rocky single track with a top down view over the amazing towers that can be found in this medieval village.

The downhill through the village saw us meet some locals and see the old way of life, tilling the fields, working with old tools and being amongst what felt like a film-set, before rejoining the vehicle for a puncture repair. Once up and running again the downhill continue for many more kilometres on wide jeep track following the bloated river, splashing through streams, hopping small slabs of rock jutting out of the mountainside.

Wide grins gradually filled with grit and streams splashed the bikes with dirt. After an hour or so we reached a village where our driver was relaxing eating yoghurt with the locals. James and I washed the bikes with a hosepipe coming from the ground whilst we made friends with some dogs, pigs, and other livestock wandering around. 

We put the bikes in the car and continued by jeep track up into another valley, riverside, gradually climbing. Our destination was Ushguli, the highest inhabited village in Europe, an outpost, surrounding by high mountains and glaciers. A thunderstorm rattled the skies.

Our American guests were fully in adventure mode by now and enjoyed the scenery - people working the fields, the stone-built houses, people on horseback, the Svan towers, wondering who lived their and why they chose to stay in the mountains rather than move to the city. Something kept this strong community there; this place was full of heroic stories and you could feel it.

Our guest house and wonderful host laid out a full spread of food and wine for our group of 11. Many stories and reflections from the days were exchanged. One of our guests owned a bike shop and we talked about vintage bike parts and expensive hand built custom frames, or the biking scene in Boulder, Colorado where they do biking in school! 

Hot showers were welcomed and our cosy rooms were lit by candlelight, due to the electricity being currently off. After dinner, I took some time to look at the stars, bright in the sky, with no light pollution; a mesmerising sight.

After breakfast the following day we hiked up the valley towards the glacier and Dato and Vako went to check out the Zagharo pass as we’d heard it was no possible to cross, still snowed in. The hike was perfect- a beautiful mountain valley, following the river, passing wild horses, through meadows filled with flowers. 

It was indeed impossible to cross the pass so we jumped in the vehicles and headed back to Mestia for one further night. The road took us back towards central Georgia on the way to Tbilisi and we called into Gori, the birthplace of Stalin, to visit the museum, railway carriage, house of Stalin and Stalin Square and reflect on the life of the notorious dictator and the recent turbulent past of this provincial town.

Feeling triumphant after a brilliant tour the tyres hummed on the road into Tbilisi as the sun set in the wing mirror, following the Mtvari river into the city, the noise and chaos of the city seeming totally at odds with the peace we had felt in the mountains. We were back in 'civilisation'!

The following day we did a day trip city walking tour taking in many sights in the old city before wrapping the week up with a feast on the balcony reflecting on the week and speaking of our guests onward stop over in Istanbul on the way back to the states. 

The week had been full of great stories and experiences and a real opportunity to learn and improve the service of Georiders to continue to allow guests to have an adventure and discover Georgia.

Originally written in 2015 on the Georiders website

Gudauri’s New Mountain Bike Trail Hit or Miss

August 31, 2015

The new mountain bike trail in Gudauri opened on the 9th August with over 50 riders turning out to take advantage of the free gondola up lift and enjoy the newest bike trail to open in Georgia. I went along with a friend Lado, the owner of the Cube bike shop in Tbilisi, to see how the trail rode. My expectations were high as the build was done by a professional trail building company from Slovenia with the help of local downhill champion Luke Elioshvili.

Taking the Gondola up to 2700 meters we could see the trail weaving down the slope below us, all 5000 meters of it, with riders a plenty enjoying the twisting trail. After a fairly quick gondola ride affording fantastic views of the surrounding mountains we arrived at the top and rode to the trail head just a few meters from the Gondola.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of grading at the trail head, typically used to indicate the difficulty of the trail so that riders can asses before they ride it, whether or not they are capable and have the correct safety equipment. It’s an internationally used system just like the system used for skiing. Green =easy for beginners, Blue =medium difficulty for more experienced riders, Red =hard for very experienced riders and black =very difficult for downhill riders. Each trail grade should conform to certain standards with corresponding length of trail, height of drops and jumps, types of obstacles to expect and so on.

Having no idea of the grade of a trail makes it very difficult to know what exactly to expect on the way down so for this reason I was very cautious on my first run. The trail itself is a great width of single track on smooth soft but packed dirt which twists down the mountain offering great views of the surrounding scenery.

It starts fairly smooth with a slight gradient downhill. Quite soon into the ride the first jumps and rollers come up which are fairly easy before it’s starts twisting and turning, most of the corners are well banked with nice low but well shaped berms which you can really throw the bike into gaining speed as the trail gets tougher. Then start the higher jumps which can be rolled over at a lower speed start to pop, quite frequently. It’s difficult to carry speed in the mid section of the trail as the jumps hit you thick and fast, some going into berms, some coming out of berms and many lined up in between.

I found it hard on the arms on the first run but enjoyable in most parts. There are step up table tops which are jumpable and a set of doubles and triples. The doubles are jumpable but it’s difficult to get speed up for the triples so maybe next time I’ll give it a go. The trail eventually spits you out at the gondola station after about ten or 15 minutes ready for another up lift and ride. My first run on it was a little tough but that’s usual with an unknown trail, but by the third run I loved every minute of it. It was becoming more familiar by then and the jumps didn’t seem as harsh as on the first run.

It definitely tests your skills all the way down and pushes you to your limit if you ride it flat out, but there’s also the possibility to take it easy if you’re not so experienced and have just as much fun.

There were men and women, young and old all riding down on hard tails and full suss bikes. I asked a couple of the slower riders what they thought of it and they were all saying something similar, it was hard for them but great fun.

As for the grading it’s hard to say. There are easy section, hard sections and everything in between. On the whole it’s a great trail and as it gets used more and lines worn into it will only get better. So I for one can’t wait to get back up there. If you want to stay up in Gudauri for a couple of days there are plenty of restaurants and cafés, hotel’s of all price ranges and standards along with plenty of as yet uncharted natural trails to discover form the top of the gondola. But be aware that the gondola is only running at the weekends at least for the time been until this becomes a more popular summer destination.

Gudauri’s sister trail at Bakuriani has since opened too so we’ll be taking a trip up there soon and will post a blog with our thoughts soon after. Early reports from the riders who’ve already been are very promising and it looks like mountain biking in Georgia is finally getting the investment and input it deserves. So well done to The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of the "Mountain Resorts Development Company" and the National Tourism Administration for their efforts and vision and of course Luka Elioshvili for his part in making the first purpose built MTB trails in Georgia, let’s hope there’s more to come.

We will be putting enduro tours together for next summer to incorporate both the Gudauri and Bakuriani purpose built trails along with some superb natural trail riding in the surrounding areas so watch out for news in the next weeks.

Originally Written 2015 on the Georiders website

Transboundary Mountain Bike Trail in the Caucasus

April 25, 2016

I wrote this doc in 2014 and took it round to a bunch of NGOs in Tbilisi with the aim to getting some assistance to build it. Friend Tom Allen is currently travelling to the Caucasus to create a hiking trail so thought I would put it out there as part of the awareness raising about the benefit of these kinds of projects.

Note that mountain bike trails are generally different from hiking trails. At the least mountain bike trails should be of a rideable gradient (up and down). Of course you can take a mountain bike anywhere and there is now such a thing as bike packing which is mountain biking with frame luggage and not minding hike-a-biking sections but its even more niche.

The other end of the spectrum, custom built trails purely for mountain biking require:

• Earth works equipment
• Dedicate team of trail builders
• Knowledge of trail features such as berms, obstacles, jumps
• Knowledge of use of gradient to enhance the trail flow
• Drainage
• Armouring (hard pack surface) to avoid mud churning
• Money
• Prolonged periods of time and maintenance

Georgia has an ever growing community of mountain bikers and appetite for mountain biking and other extreme sports. It will not be long before there are many more serious trail creation projects all across the Caucasus resorts.

Transboundary Trail

Mountain biking tourism has become a large industry. With reduction in snow levels seen in the Alpes there is a real opportunity to get a head start and create something extraordinary in the Caucasus region.

We are excited about the Transboundary Trail project because it will offer the opportunity to not only provide a geopolitical connection between countries in a very positive way but also be a symbol of action to raise awareness and educate about the environment, geography and cultures in the area.

It will send a message to the rest of the world that the Caucasus countries have a very progressive programme in place for the outdoor tourism and mountain biking.

With the right expertise this project will not be difficult to implement but it will have a significant impact both in terms of publicity and long-term economic benefit through tourism.

It will provide a blueprint for future trails in the region. Currently there are projects to create bicycle trails in Georgia, but they are not well informed, managed or implemented and therefore the value created is in danger of not fulfilling its potential.

If we look at reports about trails in Wales, UK (£18m spend in 2009 contribution to the Wales economy [^1]) and Oregon, US (\$400m [^2]) we can see how mountain biking trails and a well thought out design can also provide significant economic benefits through tourism.

Potential route

We can look to a trail such as the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in the US[^3] as a long-distance mountain bike path which is successfully used year in year out and features an annual race which attracts many competitors and a great deal of publicity and business.

An in-depth study would need to be conducted to choose a route that includes many sites of interest and passes areas of significance and natural beauty and would strategically benefit from the inclusion into the trail.

It is important to be in contact with managers from the National Parks who can offer advice and manage the sections of the route, which will pass through their areas.

Without prior knowledge and research on the ground it is difficult to say exactly where the route will go and which places it will visit therefore we have some initial questions to answer to provide context.

• Which areas are of importance to include on the route?

• Which border crossings will be used?

• What is the definition, context and history of a transboundary trail?

• Who are the interested parties involved in the creation of such a transboundary trail?

• How can it be ensured that said parties work together to create the best possible project, and that credit is given where credit is due, for involvement in the project?

Prototyping the route

My proposition would be to create a few different route possibilities, and to vote on the route, which will eventually be implemented. The route will require significant adjustment as context research is carried out.

I also suggest the creation of a list of necessary sites to be included on the route, listing their reasons for inclusion weighted by priority, based on social, economic, environmental factors. This list can be created via consultation with all other stakeholders.

For example:

• Areas of interest south of Tbilisi

• Which Georgia-Armenia border crossing

• Places and sites of interest in Armenia such as Dilijan, Sevan Lake

• Armenia-Azerbaijan border crossing

• Places and sites of interest in Azerbaijan such as Goygol, Mingechevir Reservoir

• Azerbaijan-Georgia border crossing

• Places and sites of interest in Eastern Georgia

• Tbilisi National Park

Construction of the bike trail

The trail will combine existing singletrack trails, 4x4 tracks, fireroads and in the future potentially custom-made sections for technical mountain bikers.

All users

• Surface needs to be safe and fit for use.

• Surface is maintained to contain enough soil that it is not loose or eroded.

• Trails require maintenance in order to keep them safe and usable particular in technical areas and areas with high level of use. In Tbilisi, mountain biking is very popular and the trails surrounding Tbilisi require maintenance to prevent them from becoming dangerous.

Technical Mountain bikers

In order to attract technical mountain bikers some additional factors will have to be taken into account. Serious mountain bikers are willing to spend a lot of money on equipment and spend money on travelling great distances to go mountain biking.

However, they expect the trails to be built to European and US standards and there to be provision of services such as bike shops, restaurants and places to stay so that they can focus on the sport they enjoy.

• Variety of terrain

• Inclusion of Singletrack - Thin, can consist of rocks and tree roots.

• Areas of the Trail, which will take greater amount of use, are reinforced with larger pieces of rock.

• Features to make the trail more enjoyable.

• High standard of maintenance.

Leisure cyclists

Leisure cyclists require safety, as the highest paramount because of the likelihood is that they won't be experienced cyclists. They won't want to cycle on technical terrain and prefer to look at nice scenery and visit sites of interest.

• Wide path

• Without loose rock or narrow tracks

• Availability of bikes for rent

• Easy riding

Involvement of Georiders

As the bespoke provider of mountain bike tours in Georgia with Georgian and British ownership and management, Georiders is in a good position to implement this project.

We have a high level of experience in Mountain biking and what constitutes a mountain bike trail that will attract tourists from many different countries.

Georiders are hired as consultants to:

• Research the route.

• Receive information from Stakeholders about sites and attractions.

• Write a proposal and budget for the cost and the potential economic benefit

• Project manage the implementation of the trail

• Use Georiders’ existing network of connections to promote the trail and bring it to the attention of international media

• Extend the agile project management plan, which has been started below, to include the breakdown of epic level pieces of work into user stories and the breakdown of user stories into implementable tasks.

Agile plan

In my proposal for project managing the transboundary trail, I propose the use of agile project management techniques. This involves list of us in themes for the project, which are then broken down into large pieces of work called epics. Epics are broken down into user stories, and user stories are broken down into tasks, which are clearly actionable.

The advantage of using this technique means that the long-term high-level visions and goals of the project are connected with the on the ground tasks and that are necessary for the project to be physically implemented. This technique also allows the project Scope to include a level of prioritisation through the descoping of specced elements.

This process also includes a method, which can be used to establish the likely time and resources required for each piece of work, which can ensure that the project is completed in a timely, and resource efficient manner using Kanban methodology.

The core beliefs for the transboundary trail (themes)

1. Improve political relations between the Caucasus countries

2. Be a beacon for progressive tourism in the area

3. Attract many tourists

4. Be accessible for beginners and advanced cyclists alike

5. Providing educational foundation for interesting sites and environmental locations along the way

Epics

1.

• Build a bicycle trail that connects the three main Caucasus countries

• Create a dialogue between the different countries through the transboundary trail.

• Demonstrate the social and economic value of a Transboundary Bike Trail.

2.

• Create attractive branding.

• Implement a marketing plan.

• Make comparisons between similar successful projects in the US and Western Europe.

• Conduct surveys with tourists

• Make a video documentary to demonstrate the success of the trail.

• Create informational resources to help stakeholders understand the impact and benefits of this project (economic, environmental, social).

3.

• Run a marketing campaign to promote the trail.

• Build a website for the trail.

• Take promotional photos of the trail, landscape surrounding the trail and people using the trail.

• Run promotional events involving stakeholders.

• Advertise the trail in relevant media.

• Get local and regional news to cover the trail.

• Follow a comprehensive media plan targeting all scales and formats of news media.

4.

• When building the Trail consider how some areas will be more accessible to beginners and advanced users.

• Offer the ability to rent bicycles at different locations along the trail.

• Offer informational resources on the website about the difficulty of each part of the trail.

• Include safety information on the website.

• Run promotional campaigns aimed at differentiated market segments- e.g. for families, for advanced mountain bikers, for leisure cyclists.

• Run some events targeted at different market segments.

5.

• Make contact with local experts around the flora and fauna, which can be found around the trail.

• Make contact with local experts who know about the geology and geography of the trail.

• Make contact with educational institutions to consult about the most useful content for the educational signage.

• Create a book that details the landscapes that run along the trail.

• Facilitate new projects that involve the transboundary trail for example with artists, travellers, botanists, geographers, environmentalists, and encourage them and incentivise them to create projects and mythology around the trail.

• Build huts and centres along the way with cafes, restaurants and education centres.

Stakeholders

• Tourists

• Government

• Park managers

• Local people

• Flora and fauna

• Investors

• Sponsors

• Experts (geographers, environmentalists, mountain bike trail builders, scientists, ecologists)

User stories

"As a <role>, I want <goal/desire> so that <benefit>". It captures the 'who', 'what' and 'why' of a requirement in a simple, concise way, often limited in detail by what can be hand-written on a small paper notecard.

As an example of this process I will take one of the epics and break it down into user stories and tasks. This process would then be continued to create a comprehensive plan for the project.

Epic

Build a bicycle trail that connects the three main Caucasus countries

As a tourist I must be able to follow signs for the trail so that I can navigate the route

Tasks for this user story:

• Design signage

• Decide what information to put on the signs

• Create a GPS track

As a tourist, I must be safe when I use the trail so that I can avoid having an accident

• Do a risk assessment of the trail

• Provide safety information for users of the trail through a page on the website / information pack

As the government must be able to be aware of the political benefits of the trail so I can warrant investing and promoting the trail

• Put together an information pack for the government and send it to them

As a park manager I must be aware of the details of Trail project so that I can successfully manage and get maximum value from the trail running through my area

• Contact part managers and inform them of the project and how it affects them

• Put together an information pack about how they can get value from the Trail

As a local resident I must be aware of how the trail effects me so I do not feel any negative externalities from the trail

• Make local residents aware of the trail and forward them on to relevant information on the website

• Create a frequently asked questions section, to counter any objections the trail and provide information about how local residents can get value from the trail.

Conclusion

The construction of a transboundary trail is a very exciting project with a multitude of potential benefits. It is an extremely cost efficient way to bring many new tourists into these areas, and can easily be extended to have an educational and environmental value.

Georiders has the necessary project management expertise, and expertise in mountain biking and business to be to create something extraordinary that will really put the area on the map as a destination for mountain biking and cycling tourism.

Mountain Biking Trail Discovery Ride in Tbilisi

February 04, 2017

Originally written 2009, updated 2017.

Living in Tbilisi, Georgia 2009, I converted my touring bike into a mountain bike and spent an afternoon exploring. I rode rode out of Tbilisi towards Kojori and turned off the road down a dirt track into a gorge with a river flowing down a crease in a huge slab of granite. At some point there had been a road bridge over the river but that had long since been reduced to a crumbling sculpture of red brick invaded by a small plants, weeds and grass growing out of the mortar.

I tip toed across the water with the bike and surveyed the far side of the gorge for a way up to get to the next ridge. Someone had attached a wire to a sturdy shrub at the top of the ten metre high rocky cliff to aid climbing up. Bike on shoulder, I found footholds and handholds to pull myself up. A wrong move meant a fall onto rose bushes and scree. Almost up, I propped the bike onto a jutting piece of rock, and heaved myself and bike up into a tangled patch of heather.

There was a singletrack along the top of the ridge. I made my way along it and saw a snake move away into long dry grass - slow enough that it clearly wasn't in much of hurry. The main gorge was intersected by a smaller one. There had been a concrete bridge at one point but now it was just a rusty iron frame with remnants of the concrete clinging to it. I scrambled up a steep embankment past thorn bushes and low hanging pines and emerged onto the what looked like the maintenance dirt track route for the rusty electricity pylons up the valley. I descended on it, relieved to be going down and using the bike rather than carrying it, hopping over bumps and dips.

The track entered into a park area. I bounced down steps, threaded small sections of single track and then blasted down the road to the entrance, through the gate. I later found out that I had ridden through the botanical gardens. On revisiting I did see a ‘no cycling’ sign so I didn't take that route again, but there were potentially other possible routes.

The landscape around Tbilisi is full of dirt tracks and pathways to be explored and my adventure was one of many to come.

Adventure Mountain biking on the Island of Korcula, Croatia

February 05, 2017

When I was bike guiding in Croatia, there were a couple of guests who came out called Rob and Rachel. On one big day ride we went out and headed east across the island.

At about this time through the season I was starting to explore further afield into the Island away from the normal routes and offered this as an alternative during the day rides as an 'adventure ride' in which I explained to people they should expect some exploring.

We headed off taking in the regular routes, riding trails named 'The Mongoose', 'The Dump' and 'Rock Bush' up to Zrnovo. At the far end of the village we took a double track bridleway which traversed to the top of the ridge parallel with the coast past the entrance of a trail called 'The Tunnel of Love'.

I'd never been beyond this point so we continued with great views of the bay, Pelejac peninsula and Zrnovska Banja to the right.

After a bite to eat, we followed the track over scorched, grippy, boulders and over dirt to what looked like a dead end. The only sign of life was a couple of desolate farm buildings. However, it was possible to continue so we did and the trail became narrower and narrower and more overgrown until it practically disappeared. At some point it must have been in use but now it was almost unrecognisable as a path. We bike-hiked and hacked our way through the undergrowth past spiders and snakes on the dusty floor. It was slow progress but we continued hauling the bikes up a stone-wall, terraced area. After two or these of these, sweating profusely the prospect began to dawn of having to retrace our steps.

I decided to quickly look ahead, leaving the other two nursing scratches and observing the Croatian hedgerow we had harvested on our bikes. After a while I couldn't find an obvious route and I began to consign myself embarrassingly to telling the guests we would have to retrace our steps. Perhaps the heat was getting to us but a sense of adventure pushed us on. A couple more terraces and there was the remnants of a shepherd's trail.

We followed this, pushing our bikes, arms outstretched using the seat as a rather disgusting headrest. The vegetation began to open up somewhat and we arrived a small clearing and vantage point. We were quite near the top of the ridge and could see some disused farm buildings on the other side and a trail heading up, possibly used by the local farmers. We toyed with the idea of heading in that direction (because we could at least see a way), but instead the internal compass said carry on.

After 5 minutes we reached a plateau and I could see a track through the undergrowth. It seemed amazing to me that although it felt like we weren't heading anywhere, something, possibly an internal compass, pushed us on and we managed to rejoin the loop.

This was a lesson for me in listening to my own sense of direction. In hindsight, it could have gone either way and I would have been stuck in the bush with two guests but nevertheless if we didn't try we wouldn't have found out.

Written originally 2005, edited 2017, edited 2022.

Mountain Running Race, Rustavi Georgia

March 04, 2017

I participated in a team race at Rustavi, a city about 20 miles outside of the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. It involved runninig up a very steep hill for about 20 minutes, then passing over to my teammate to rode back down the hill.

It was a good laugh but a hard run. I was blowing by the top. However, it gave me a taste for racing and some experience.

5 Mountain Bike Routes in Georgia on Strava

May 13, 2017

Routes recorded with Strava in the mountains in Georgia - The first 3 in Tusheti are on jeep tracks, the other two are singletrack / mixed.

• Diklo to Shenako | Ride | Strava
• Upper Omalo to Shenako | Ride | Strava
• Girevi to Dartlo | Ride | Strava
• Udzo Monastery Ride Kustba Side | Ride | Strava
• Evening Ride | Ride | Strava

Mountain Biking in Georgia Video Edits - GoPro / iPhone

July 22, 2017

Between 2009 - 2015 I spent time on a project to offer mountain bike tours in Georgia called Georiders. I didn't get around to creating these videos from some of the footage shot, mainly because I found there wasn't a bit of software out there that just let me create little videos on the fly. GoPro's studio software is available as a free download and you can use it to edit not only GoPro footage but footage filmed with other devices.

If your footage doesn't import properly you can also use software called Handbrake to change the format. I'm no professional filmmaker but I it annoys me having footage kicking around on a harddrive with nothing done to it. Here are a couple of edits of footage shot mountain biking in Georgia in 2014/2015 running tours and riding the local trails.

{{< youtube n3o3-vAIcmQ >}}

Offroad Biking in Northamptonshire

January 31, 2018

Not a lot of hills in Northamptonshire but if you look for them there are some. In fact the "Northampton Uplands" is an official hilly ridge that runs west of Northampton.

Offroad biking isn't well provisioned for in Northamptonshire. However there are some popular Facebook communities. The most popular are the Northampton Mountain Bike Group and the Wakerley Woods Mountain Bike group.

The former is mainly about biking at Delapre Abbey grounds and Harleston firs along with trips further afield. The latter is all about biking at Wakerley and Fineshade woods.

Harleston firs

Woodland with off-piste trails and jumps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBYJu93fPyg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipBUto5jIg4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOo7BlSRcE

Wakerley / Fineshades woods

Plenty of off-piste trails but no official trail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ4kFrzVFNc

My Daily Croatia Mountain Bike Guide Itinerary

March 21, 2018

In 2005, for 6 months I worked as a mountain bike guide.

Each day I would make the following speech to guests:

Welcome, I'm Andy. I am the mountain bike guide here. I will be doing a harder ride in the morning at 7.30 am and an easy ride in the afternoon at 5pm. I will also take a guided ride at 2.30 pm if needed.

Please sign up for the rides by putting your name on the boards. You can go freeriding any time taking out the bikes and exploring, we provide all the kit- helmets, gloves, water bottle and a freeride pack with spares and tools. You must be in at least a group of two and back by 5pm. You must wear trainers whilst riding.

Any particular wishes or questions please ask me. The riding here is great and the scenery is fantastic so you're onto a winner. The bike shed is up the stairs and through the door to your right.

These simple instructions formed the basis of the guided ride in terms of safety and expectations. It was important to prep the group about what the experience would be like. This gave a sense of direction to proceedings and to ultimately allowed people to choose if it was something they wanted to do or not.

Bikepacking the Gower Peninsula in Wales

July 04, 2018

A couple of weeks ago I came across an article on bikepacking.com for a route round the Gower peninsula in Wales. I had been looking for a trip to do whilst I have some time off in between jobs. A friend had talked about doing Ultramarathons at the Gower and I used to go there on holiday when I was a kid. From the photos that accompanied the route on the website, it looked beautiful and varied with a bit of challenge in there although pretty doable. It would be a first outing for recently acquired bikepacking gear.

So, I set a date for leaving and spent an hour or so putting together the gear I would take the night before, separating it up into different piles for what I was going to carry on the bike and what was going in the car. I took a trip to Aldi and bought crisps, banana fruit bars, granola biscuits, tins of sardines, 4 2L bottles of water and some bread for sandwiches.

A ran a few checks over the bike and in the morning got everything in the car and left about 9 aiming to just avoid the rush hour. The drive down was relaxed, and I was lucky with the traffic. I passed the Malvern hills and sign for the Forest of Dean, the "Welcome to Wales" sign, passed Cardiff and then the industrial coastline around Port Talbot and then into Swansea.

I planned to street park, but I found a little car park near Sketty Lane and couldn't see any restrictions after double checking. I built up the bike, attached all the luggage, had a cup of tea and drank a 2L bottle of water, applied sun cream and hit the road.

I downloaded the GPS route to use with the app Ride with GPS. This has an annoying feature where it makes a stupid noise if you are going off course, so I fairly quickly turned the feature off. I went to the seafront and then climbed up onto the common above some suburban areas, around the side of a golf course and then joined the main road for a few kilometres, before turning off down to the first detour to "Southgate", where there was a nice opportunity to look out over the cliffs and take some photos.

The next part of the route was described as a bike and hike over the sand dunes, which wasn't wrong. The route turned back on itself up to a golf course and castle ruin before a rocky, loose downhill to a road and then a rocky, loose, long climb up to a campsite, crossing the main road at Penmaen. Then I joined the Gower Way climbing up onto the long hilly ridge, and the highpoint of Cefn Bryn, before turning south and heading down into the village of Reynoldston, across the Green near the King Arthur pub.

I then followed the road for a bit before turning off, climbing up passed a church and getting on a bridleway that runs west down the middle of peninsula to Rhossili. This part of the route ran mainly over agricultural land, so I did my best to avoid horseflies and herds of overexcited cattle. At this point I was nearing around 40km as I descended the road to Rhossili and found the pub just in term for the sunset.

A local surfer kindly allowed me to store my bike in his car whilst I got dinner, watched the world cup and an incredible sunset. I got my bike back and headed down towards Worm's Head to have a look and met some mountain bikers who suggested I camp next to Fall Bay round the corner. The moon now high in the sky casting a reflection on the sea was an ethereal sight. I lay out my groundsheet, mat and sleeping bag and took in the vista of my surroundings before getting a hit and miss night's sleep and waking up at 4.10am by the sunrise, packed my stuff and rode back up to the cliff top with views over to Worm's Head, the causeway now covered by high tide.

PDF of original article from bikepacking.com

I rode back through the village and decided to push my bike up a steep sided hill to the top of the ridge overlooking the sea. I rode the bike along the path on the ridge to the trig point where I took some photos and then took a path down into Llangennith. There I found it a bit difficult to find the path I wanted to follow but eventually rode out the village and then found a path that cut back in and took me onto the heath and Llanmadoc hill.

The route continued with lovely 360 views until I then got a bit lost again and descended on the road (Kyle's Lane) to Burry Green. I followed the road to Landmore then took a wrong turn at Oldwalls and had to retrace my steps. Road riding with the bike tyres wasn't the best of fun but the morning views were great. After Llanrhidian I took the road that goes over the Welshmoor and Penuel which was pretty quiet before cutting inland and joining the B4271 and working my way to the Dunvant road where on my route there started a nice old railway track with detours off into bike trails. This bit was all gradual descent and cool under the cover of the trees.

Conclusion

It was well worth putting together the kit and bike, getting over to the Gower and riding the loop. There is plenty of variety of the peninsula, great food, friendly people and a lot to explore. I'm glad I found the route through bikepacking.com and I would highly recommend the Gower as a place to tour and explore.

My First Impressions of the Georgian Language

Unknown Date

The women I work with at the Georgian school chirp away in the interesting-sounding language that is Georgian. The unusual bold combinations of sounds evoke in me the characteristics of delight, a child complaining about not getting what they want and highly social chitchat. It sounds, to me, sweet at times, ugly at others and has a bouncing rhythm with a very distinct pattern of intonation.

Most Georgians I met seemed to be the loveliest, happiest and helpful people I'd ever met. Apart from when a fight or disagreement happens when all hell breaks look. There is a lot of arm waving and loud, childish-sounding, angry, almost poetic shouting and sometimes wailing. testosterone-fuelled affair, driven by pride and tradition. The old women intervene and try to get the young people to stop.

I was told once about the tradition in Georgia, especially in some of the more remote villages that if a man likes a woman he can abduct her. It doesn't always happen but sometimes the women may not have even met the man, before she is bundled into a tinted-window Merc or Beamer. The she is taken to exile (often the house of his grandparents in the village) until the girl decides whether or not she wants to marry the boy. I am sure it's not quite as simple as that. I spoke to girls, Tamta and Nino in my English lesson about this. They didn't seem too worried as it happens more in the villages. A pretty concerning thing to hear.

Up to the Lake District to Visit Tom and Tenny

Unknown Date

Tom and Tenny moved to the Lake District so I got on the train to go and see them.

Cycling On From Tehran Alone and Staying With a Family

Unknown Date

The ride out of Tehran was a leap into the unknown for me. I had been killing myself worrying about the crossing from Iran to Pakistan and the perceived danger of Southern Iran. Now I was actually making tracks towards that point, it didn't feel that bad. Life was carrying on. No groups of terrorists emerged from the desert. No one tortured me because I was English. No Americans bombed me or water-boarded me. I didn't die of thirst or starvation. I did managed to cycle huge distances through ghostly plains on the edge of the Dasht-e Kavir desert.

TODO: add image Iran Picks - Travelling by Bike October 2008

I cycled past the city of Qom and on to Isfahan. On the way, I stayed with a family in a town call Meshikat. I asked them for a place to camp and was taken into their (extended) family home for the night. I sat in the big living room on typical, patterned carpets. The walls were painted light blue and there were cushions positioned around the edge of the room.

They produced their own carpets and I was shown the carpet weaving process. The completed carpet would sell for $500.

The family had a collection of pigeons on the roof in two big cages which they bred to sell. It was strange to be invited up to the roof and then see cages of pigeons which most people regard in England as flying vermin.

At first I thought they were for eating but pigeon breeding is an Iranian traditional. For example the Iranian Highflying Tumbler is bread for endurance flying competitions.

The women of the family prepared food in the kitchen and only showed up for sleeping.

I managed to get in a thank you in a sort of shuffling, embarrassed way when one was hastily passing through the living room.

I ate a delicious meal with the whole family. At prayer time everyone stopped what they were doing and prayed.

I was given sheets and a luxurious pillow and slept on the carpet .

TODO: add image Iran Picks - Travelling by Bike October 2008 (4)

The Iranian people were always very helpful and hospitable. They would say it was part of the Iranian culture and it is but perhaps it is so strong because of the history of nomadic peoples and the culture of hospitality related to that.

Through the Desert to Isfahan

Unknown Date

The emptiness of the desert spaces was in it's way very beautiful with nothing to distract and nothing man-made. With no input it felt very meditative. Long trains of thought went through my head, which kept me occupied and sometimes I recorded them into my dictaphone.

My bike was set up really well and I had a strong feeling of flowing with little effort, completing long distances. It became the norm to start early, push big gears and put in a long day. I started reliably planning when I would be at the next place based on 150km days.

I arrived into Isfahan weaving through the traffic to the Zayandeh river where I was presented with the stunning Si-o-se Pol bridge softly illuminated in the dusk light and buzzing with people. I grinned to myself that I was there and felt thankful for my continuing adventure.

I met Couchsurfing host, student Sharim and stayed with him and flat mate Omid. That evening, we went for a night walk along the river side. Isfahan is a beautiful city, where I felt soaked with history and culture. People were continuously wandering over the bridge, meeting, taking photos and enjoying the atmosphere. We walked along to the Khaju bridge where there were a group of people singing. However, my friend wasn't keen to hang around as the police had been stopping people from singing old songs which weren't in line with the current regime.

TODO: add Iran Picks - Travelling by Bike October 2008 (6)

The following day I took a trip to the Hasht Behesht, A palace from the Safavid era, and the Jame Mosque. Although I didn't get in to the mosque because they were just closing for prayer, I did get a glimpse of the big court area.

The beauty of the mosques in Iran was awe inspiring. Some had a design that seemed to me, close to perfection. With greenery and water fountains within the dry, arid mountains and deserts, the mosques' appeal was amplified.

TODO: Add Iran Picks - Travelling by Bike October 2008 (5)

The government in Iran seemed to occupy a strange place in the minds of people who weren't decisive about whether the existing regime was good or not. Everyone I spoke with on the topic seemed happy to go along with things as they were even if they didn't like all the rules.

People always spoke to me with a strong sense of culture and history and will to protect that. For me that seemed to be the defining identity of the country. The legacy of history was too long and rich to be hidden by negative moments in modern history.

TODO Add Iran Picks - Travelling by Bike October 2008

Visiting a School in Nepal

Unknown Date

I met a man who was playing a type of table top hockey. He asked me to go and visit his school. Inside, the children were attending their lessons. The school was a project of 'Room to Read', the local community and the Nepali government. Architecturally the building looked good and with a nice paint job on the outside at least.

The teacher took me onto the roof and said 'we don't have equipment for our school - no tables, books, and no money to buy them'. I replied 'it's not a school without materials, it's just a concrete shell'. 'A foreigner, a German came last year and donated 50,000 rupees and we were able to build the roof' he told me. I got the impression that they were relying on another beneficiary to turn up out of the blue and make a considerable donation.

I had a small amount of money and spent 150 rupees to buy 33 pens. A pitiful donation, but I was only carrying 650 rupees. I was left feeling frustrated that perhaps they were not being proactive enough to generate funds. Why did the organisation 'Room to Read' (I saw the HQ next to the UN HQ in Patan side of Kathmandu) leave the school so under-equipped?

I had met an American guy in Varanasi who had to come to India to volunteer and had devoted three months to help in a 'microfinance' company in Tamil Nadu. Couldn't this school do more to make contact with people who wanted to volunteer?

A foreigner who wanted an experience from his travel would be gladly accepted and taken in. A native English speaker, person with high school or graduate qualification would probably be better placed than the teachers there to teach English or any subject. The English teacher couldn't really speak English. I took the address and if anyone wanted to make a trip to Nepal to volunteer in the school there, I can provide the contact.

Crossing the border into Iran and sleeping on the roof in Tehran

Unknown Date

At Agarak on the Armenian-Iranian border, I remember cycling next to the border fence. I felt scared continuing over the river bridge to the border crossing. Guards looked down on me from towers above, guns in hand.

After tentatively pedalling across the 'No man's land', I entered the administrative building. The border officers tried their best to nullify my visa by claiming it was fake because it read 'Great Britain' instead of 'England' and 'Ireland' which wasn't England either. Anyway, I felt relieved to be through and was rewarded with an incredible descent along a windy valley surrounded by steep-looking mountains.

On the way to Tabriz, based on past experiences in Turkey, I decided to hitchhike through a nasty, long road tunnel. A friendly chap in a pick-up truck offered me a ride. The truck had special holders for chay glasses. After the tunnel, I asked him where he was going and he was going to Tehran so I thought, why the heck not and he was happy for me to go with him. We arrived after a few hours drive.

Whilst the man was waiting in a queue to get fuel, I met two students, who I asked about a place to sleep. They were really eager to help and said they knew a public garden where I could sleep. When we arrived at the beautiful park with fountains and neat flower beds the security guard said the police would clear me off if I slept there. Luckily, my new friends took pity on me. This was just as well because I didn't really feel like being alone at 11pm in a Tehran suburb without knowing the city at all.

My host, after a phone call to his dad said it would be ok to sleep on the roof of his building. Thus, I found myself eating traditional Iranian food next to my pitched tent on a dusty apartment block roof, overlooking the lights of Tehran.

I stayed on the roof for a further 3 nights!

I went roller skating as one of my hosts was a roller skating coach. Tom and Tenny (my former cycling partner and his new partner) arrived in town, and we had an interview at a glossy Iranian travel magazine. We also met the editor of the biggest newspaper in Tehran and one of the leading environmental scientists to get some interesting insights into the effects of climate change on Iran.

What happened after Mongolia?

Unknown Date

After Mongolia, I returned the UK. Moving to London was a different kind of adventure. London, I realised, was a good place for cycling and walking both for utility and exploring. There were numerous trips out of London between 2010 and 2014 when I left London.

A major elephant in the room after Ride Earth was the lack of an output of my filming. Tom was able to complete the Janapar project. I had expected a different outcome, more focussed on the travel rather than the love story. I was very happy for Tom that such a professional film was made, but I was now faced with the daunting project of creating a film with my own vision.

This involved retrieving my footage (and rights to the footage) and shelving it all for at least until I finished my Masters. Being back in the UK brought real costs and between working for money and my masters there wasn't much space for anything else.

All my travels inspired a lust for learning. They also made me realise how much I loved "being creative" in some form or another. I wanted to know more about how to be good at it.

My studies allow me to do this with some really well defined design projects. However, in terms of my own practice things remained somewhat in flux. I was convinced that I didn't want to be pigeon-holed as a coder but even when I worked with other designers I tended to end up working either on the vision or more technical things. During my studies I had found some work as a freelancer, but that dried up a bit, so after my studies, I took a job as a developer at MTV.

Whilst at MTV, on the side I started to take Georiders seriously. This was an idea that had come out of being in Georgia, meeting local bikers and seeing an opportunity to run bike tours. I collaborated with others to create new branding, a new website and started working with another partner in Georgia to create the tours. The next couple of years I did a couple of seasons in Georgia but eventually it dawned on me that the model was wrong and needed to pivot and that included not being so Georgia-focussed. In addition, other things such as family life were started to draw me back to the UK.

Its not 2022 and I still think about a possible next step for Georiders, but it is on the back burner.

I think cultural changes meant that between early to mid 2000s and 2010, attitudes to travel changed. The economy has gone from being very product focussed to more experience focussed and people increasingly demand experiences. Tribes around interests have formed, driven by Facebook groups.

Whereas travel used to be analogue, it is now digitised. People who travel, Instagram it, use digital maps, have location tracking on and are always connected. This has changed the face of travel.

In 2022 travel again is totally different from what it has been and deserves a fresh look. The question is, with all the issues facing the world today, is what has changed and what has stayed the same. What does travel mean and why is it important?

Ups and Downs at the Mount Abu Hill Station

Unknown Date

Experiences are so varied and often unique to anything I've experienced before. For example, being on a holy mountain, meeting an ascetic smoking opium with his colleagues then giving a packet of pineapple biscuits to Jain pilgrims speed-walking up the 22km climb to Mount Abu (they actually overtook me cycling at one point).

I was in awe of the exotic palm trees and tropical plants, watching the monkeys frolicking by the road side. I became utterly euphoric at the solitude and feeling of freedom, slowly crawling up the road, high on caffeine, fresh air, stunning scenery and Richie Hawtin. A man wearing an orange sheet, driving a tractor, waved at me whilst puffing on his pipe.

On arriving, my bubble of serenity was burst as I realised that the Indian hill station of Mount Abu was not what I expected. There were Buffalos lying in piles of rubbish, a river so polluted that it looked like treacle with paint chucked in for good measure. There were begging children, dirty and wild, with tangled matted hair asking for shampoo and reams of touts asking me if I wanted a room in one of many ugly hotels. One hotel looked like a miniature office block. I've never seen anything look so out of place with big reflective red windows!

Upon further progress along the strip, the sun was setting on my hopes of finding a quiet place to put my tent next to the holy lake Nakki which was apparently scraped out by the fingernails of a god. Feeling annoyed, confused and unsettled, I asked at the police station. This resulted in a free hotel room and meal in a fancy restaurant. The meal involved a Gujarati Thali which is a plate with around 8 dishes on it consisting of sweet sour vegetables, salty cake, chutney, chapati, rice, chocolate brownie, soup, daal and aloo sabzi. As soon as I made a dent in the food it was immediately refilled with a joyful-efficiency.

The restaurant owner was friends with the police sergeant who put in a good word for me. I ate until I realised that if I ate any more I would vomit. Then I realised I could not allow myself to waste food. I had been so greedy. Relatively rich tourists, like me, thought nothing of consuming food and cooing over the different dishes, exotic flavours and the shear range of stuff. I felt guilty.

I had seen children who looked so hungry. Some of the child beggars were half naked and I look at them with complete inability to process what I am seeing. It was like I was watching Oliver Twist at the theatre. I had seen sights like this on television. How do I react to television? Do nothing. Turn it off. Where’s the standby button? I wanted to rid myself of these - too realistic - visions.

There were people fasting for their own reasons and people working hard just to make a few rupees to seemingly to buy food for survival. My moral compass had been knocked out of alignment. That was another facet of the Indian experience: bringing out and confronting your your inner demons and idiosyncrasies. In addition, the sheer number of humans was still something that I found hard to cope with. Tolerance is an essential requirement in a country with the second largest population after China at just over a billion.

Deploying Lateral Thinking Techniques Whilst Cycle Touring in India

Unknown Date

I've had a strange last week. The urge to use some of my newly rediscovered lateral thinking skills has been bubbling to the surface.

When I was in my late teens I found an early website online of design methods. I forget the name of the guy whose website it is (I think his first name was Martin), but its long been taken offline. However, it introduced me to concepts such as lateral thinking and Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies.

I was amazed to find Edward De Bono's book Lateral Thinking in a book shop in Quetta and I've found inspiration to use the techniques whilst travelling.

Cycle touring is well suited to being a physical manifestation of a lateral thought process. For example, cycling along the main road mid-way through the day, I turned onto a smaller road which was immediately clear as being a good decision.

Rather than the truckers, roadside restaurants, and dirty belching diesel lorries I was presented with quiet tree-lined homes, agricultural land and buffalo in courtyards of rural homes with local people. I soon cycled past a colourful wedding. Fireworks were being launched into the street with loud bangs reverberating my cranium.

An Indian wedding is an event I've learnt to either avoid or rock up to on my bike, depending on whether I feel like having a mind whirling adventure into Indian culture. On this particular occasion I decided to cycle away to savour more of the quiet rural roads and pleasant cycling.

Whilst pedalling I get into the 'zone'. Time is distorted passes more quickly. I pedal, feeling contented, observing my surroundings and listening to music. After 2 hours, I stop, I've gone through 3 albums, 3 towns, 50 km and I'm ready for a nice big Gujarati Thali (a resplendent 8-dish Indian meal).

If I had stayed on the main road, choosing not to take a lateral thinking diversion, the experience would have been a lot less interesting and enjoyable. I probably wouldn't have been able to get into that preferable "flow state" so easily. Anyway that is my theory :)

Cycling to Ireland, Travels Round Northern Ireland

Unknown Date

I'd never been to Ireland before and so Siobhan and I decided to cycle there. I'd convinced S to buy a bike for commuting in London and now I had the chance to introduce her to cycle touring.

I planned a route and I got my dad to drive us to Tamworth to miss out the first bit in the midlands. Then we made our way via smaller roads through Staffordshire towns and villages into Wales, to Llangollen and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and onward to Anglesey.

At Anglesey we got the ferry over to Ireland, took the train up to Newry. We visited the Carlingford Lough, the Mourne Mountains and then drove over to Donegal.

That area feels like one of the most ancient and special places I've ever visited because it feels remote and the landscape is familiar but slightly different and adventurous.

Staying with Laxman the Botanist in Nepal

Unknown Date

Onward I went up through the mountains, through little villages, and clay shacks by the roadside. I decided to continue to cycle in the moonlight and arrived in the town of Daman at 2330 m at around 7 o'clock. I went into a Dhaba which was a building made of branches with a thatch roof, a small clay oven. There were two ladies. One was smoking a pipe whilst cooking by some pans on a stove.

A voice spoke in good English, 'yes there is food, sit down here', 'do you like mutton?'. Laxman was the head of the botanical garden in Daman. We made our introductions over dinner with a glass of Roxy (the locally brewed rice wine). Then we sat, warming ourselves by the fire. He invited me to sleep in one of his rooms in the green house at the garden.

I slept wonderfully in the cosy room in my warm sleeping bag on a bed surrounded by thick whitewashed brick walls. I had dozed off to the smell of wood smoke from the clay oven in the next room.

The quiet was wonderful compared to the din of diesel trucks and traffic on the highway. I discovered that they normally took the other route down to the plains to missed out the mountain pass. It gave me the opportunity to soak up the sounds of the night which included crickets, bird calls, and monkeys 'whooping'.

The next morning I got some breakfast, a Nepali Thali which was similar to the Indian version but with more sour tasting pickled vegetables, and a different type of chutney). I decided that it wasn't quite as tasty as the Indian version but it was very healthy and sustaining nonetheless.

Laxman took me for a tour of the garden and showed me different plants and their uses. There was one plant which is exported to America and used in a drug for cancer. I filmed his tour and tasted some different herbs. There was one which he told me was often used in toothpaste. The taste started off sour and fruity but ended up fizzing on my tastebuds.

He told of how during the Maoist insurgency, when the village was evacuated, the Maoists used to take refuge during the night in a lodge down in the garden. During the day they would roam in the forest, being tracked by the government's army.

That was 5 months ago and now the peaceful Nepali people are very happy that things are back to normal. Especially because the trouble was causing tourists to be weary of visiting Nepal.

Staying with fellow cyclist Couchsurfer Karim in Tehran

Unknown Date

Couchsurfer Karim has been hosting me for the last 1.5 weeks whilst I waited for my Indian visa. He had previously cycled from Tehran to Scotland. His mum was Scottish and dad Iranian. His dad had worked in construction, building roads in South Iran.

We got on like a house of fire, having rambling conversations about just about anything, but particularly cycle touring and future adventures.

He was also an incredible cook, and I was treated to daily feasts of delicious rice, bowls of Osh (chickpea soup), and Chello kebab.

Karim's home also had the coldest swimming pool I've ever experienced. It felt impossible to swim more than ten lengths. No matter how hard I swam I ended up shivering. It must have been very refreshing in the mid-summer but it was a little chillier when I was there.

I felt a little too comfortable at Karim's, making a good friend very quickly. I was afraid that it would just make it more difficult to leave. Karim and I took a bike ride up to the red-coloured hills above Tehran. The bare mountains had a certain magnetic appeal about them that seemed to reach deep into my psyche. The transition from the stillness of the city outskirts back to the centre was an intriguing experience because it was such a strong contrast.

Meeting 5 saddhus on a Pilgrimage to Parvati

Unknown Date

From Daman on clear day, you could see 18 Himalayan peaks. Unfortunately visibility wasn't good, but the peaks of Ganesh Himal, Annapurna and Machappuchre were a mystical sight floating atop the whispy clouds and haze.

I passed the 2400m summit point feeling spiritually rested from being in the quiet mountain area surrounded by glorious wild nature. The downhill was long and ponderous. I regularly stopped to take photos, film travelling shots, and otherwise record my thoughts as they occurred via dictaphone. I stopped briefly in a house where a large old woman with a crinkly face sat with her young grandson propped against her knee and her daughter.

The daughter made me cups of chay and I shared my biscuits with them. The girl's face was very beautiful but her hands and feet were weathered and looked leathery, I supposed, from arduous daily work. She was about my age and it made me think what she would be doing had she been from a rich family. Perhaps she would have studying for something.

It appeared that it was her responsibility to look after her ageing grandmother and brother. I took some photos, donated a few rupees and was on my way. The road continued passing through lush vegetation and the settlements I rode through got gradually larger.

I followed a large river through a valley. I noticed a couple of temples as I passed and thought that given the choice between becoming a holy man or living a regular village life, you can see why the holy men might take that path. You get to live in a beautiful temple to live in next a huge river. You are given respect and money from the locals. You take adventurous pilgrimages, host other interesting saddhus on pilgrimages and it looked to me like you had a fair amount of freedom from authority.

I met 5 saddhus doing a pilgrimage to Parvati in Kathmandu. They asked me for a donation to their cause and offered me to smoke some cannabis. I refused both. Instead I set up the camera and cooked them dinner and heated up some coffee.

Eventually they declined the dinner, but we drank coffee and they invited me to sleep at the temple that we had passed earlier on. They seemed to gradually leave me to my own devices and stopped treating me as if I'd been a gulible tourist like at first.

I'm a wild foreigner on a bicycle from distance lands, with no glint of awe of these ascetic traveller as 'holy' but instead a respect and excitement about their pilgrimage walking adventure. I thought walking barefoot for a month was a great adventure. They seemed to expect me to feel sorry for them, but I said 'what a great adventure', 'you have the really hard task walking, I've got it easy with a bicycle'.

I asked them questions 'are you happy?' to which their spokesman said 'no, we are not, we can't take a wife, we have nothing', I said' but you have friends', he said 'no, not friends'. 'But you have company' I insisted, 'these are just other Saddhus' he replied. They were clearly friends and got on well. They had the basic ingredients of a successful mission in a group - common interests,  a shared goal, a  plan to walk to Kathmandu.  They had guaranteed food  and money donations from people along the way and temples to stay in.

They are very lucky to be able to make a journey like that and have experiences which regular people cannot -which I guess adds to their 'holiness'. Although, all this said, one of them produced an ID card, and I got the impression that they had day jobs as policemen and had taken time off for the pilgrimage.  That's great, I thought. Imagine if that happened in England- people taking extra time off work for a mind-expanding adventure, instead of relying on getting pissed every weekend for escapism. Perhaps the Santiago-de-Compostella pilgrimage route in Europe could be a candidate. Indeed many holy men and holy works seem to come out of journeys or pilgrimages.

For example the journey made by Siddhartha or that of Tulsidas (the poet who translated the Ramayana into the local language of the people -so they could read it- from Sanskit). Google or Amazon these for more info. The next days were spent on the Terai. The plains of Nepal where 80% of the population lives. These are mainly flat and intensively cultivated. Very similar in appearance to Uttar Pradesh being the southern adjoining Indian state I cycled through to get to Nepal. A couple of days of boredom, dusty hot roads, and the having to contend with seeing a dead body smeared with blood lying at the side of the road who had been hit by a wayward truck. It felt nice to cycle with my bizarre bike through the morbid crowd that has descended upon the seen, I felt like a glimmer of light amidst the chaos and self-destruction.

On leaving the Plains I pedalled hard into the dusk along a dusty valley road aside a wide emerald river. I watched children diving down huge white dunes in the sandy beaches created by the meandering erosion of the river. The sights there were from a fantasy world. Smokey shacks on terraced hillsides, steep mountains and bare black trees, a temple perched on a steep cliff at the river tributary junction amidst thick autumnal forest. That evening I camped with the Police in the town of Mugling.

On arrival I had bought some vegetable and some diesel for the stove (unfortunately petrol wasn't available - much less black residue). The police were friendly and interested (as usual) in my stove and tent. In the morning I left the station and went to buy breakfast, sitting with some school children who were do their English homework. I went to get money from my wallet to pay, and all but 5 rupees out of 3000 was gone.  This was a strange situation because I thought it unlikely that a pick pocket would take my money then replace the wallet in my pocket and the only time my wallet had been away from me was for 20 mins inside the police station campus in my bar bag whilst I prepared my dinner. I told the police about the situation in the morning. I said I wasn't accusing them but explained the above. The chief policemen looked almost in tears and ordered me to leave saying 'we are all policeman here, you cannot accuse us'.

The occurence made the morning a bit miserable as I had to rid my mind of the negative thoughts . It was also raining which didn't help. I was listening to 'Tales of night - Air' and 'the John Peel Festive Fifty 1984 - Cat's Caravan'. By the afternoon the sun came out, and I put the 'lost money' down to an unavoidable law of averages with travelling. It was a hard day of climbing on a fairly busy road and the last section which I cycled an hour into the darkness was along a straight road through sprawling suburban housing which made me think of an American style of housing(co-incidence or cultural transfer?).

I reached Pokhara around 8 and slept on the roof of a petrol station. The next morning I found a guesthouse and spent 2 days resting, washing clothes, visiting the buddhist world peace pagoda, doing some mountain biking in the surrounding dense ancient forest and eating food. I was glad to leave the tourist bubble of Pokhara, and decided to leave a mountain trekking adventure to another time. I was making a beeline for Delhi now on my way back to my girlfriend in Georgia. However, you can't rush in the mountains and I always try to focus on the moment.

In pleasant sunny breezy weather I pedalled up and own twisting mountain roads with the Himalaya in the distance. My only quibble was that my knee seems to have changed since I spent 3 weeks off the bike walking at Christmas and now I can't pedal with a right cleat. I've spent many frustrating moments removing my boots, rotating the cleat 2 degrees left or 5 mm forward and such like, then putting it back on, lacing up the trekking style laces, only to still not be happy and feel like my knee was being twisted.  I've now given up on them and I pedalled the last 200 km to Delhi without cleats.

From the Siddharta highway, I was back down on the Terai heading East. There was a mountain section to cross near Lamahi and after that a couple of days of fun riding in undulating wild lands of forests, wide dry riverbeds and little villages. I was able to wild camp on a couple of occasions and this freed me from the reliance on other people which was a nice feeling, but I also like to make contact with people as I'm travelling alone so either way doesn't bother me in terms of finding somewhere to sleep.

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I watched monkeys playing in the road and passed long sections of quiet road through Bardia National Park and the Royal Sukla Fhanta National Park. A few days ago I passed back into India and it's been pretty spirit crushing pounding the tarmac just to do the km's on the highway back to Delhi. But as always it's an experience and it's been interesting to see India again after leaving and returning with refreshed eyes (it's been good food for philosophising).

Cycling the South West Coast Path

Unknown Date

Got the train down to bournemouth and cycled along the coast path. Full story to come...

How I Almost Got Struck By Lightning in Vienna

June 11, 2007

Sitting on a park in Vienna after a huge thunderstorm, I find a moment of tranquillity and reflection.

Turn on, Tune In and Pedal On - Getting Used to Life on the Bike

June 28, 2007

Another day on the road. I drink a large coffee, pack the trailer, panniers and start pedalling. Each new experience is challenging my preconceptions and leaving me exciting, anticipating the next adventure.

Getting Used to Cycling Every Day

June 30, 2007

It’s been six weeks now and I'm settling into the lifestyle. Each day is a mind-expanding experience. Creature comforts such as a shower and comfortable bed that I was once used to are now an occasional luxury. Each day is limited only by our own decisions in each moment, leading us off down pathways of chance meetings and opportunities.

The next morning, after too little sleep, we were having breakfast and by chance met Verena Lepre, an eight year round-the-world-cyclist. She took us in, and we absorbed her emotive and fascinating stories. We were captivated by the awe-inspiring photographs from her trip. From there, we travelled across Switzerland, living cheaply and managing to spend only twenty pounds each for the entire country.

We interviewed some people about climate change when the opportunity arose including the ex. Editor-in-Chief of the 'Neue Zürich Zeiten' newspaper and near Interlaken we interviewed a truck driver who told us about strange weather conditions in the area causing floods and landslides. In particular he spoke of a freak storm with golf-ball-sized hailstones that had smashed car windows and ruined crops.

Near the Swiss-Austrian border yesterday morning, Tom woke up to a health warning sign by way of an excruciatingly painful right knee. On consultation with the doctor, and an X-Ray, he was advised to rest for three days.

Our next destination is Vienna along the Danube. I feel I am learning to take the experiences as they come. I am excited about the now near prospect of heading into Eastern Europe.

(During the trip I was raising money for the Wilderness Foundation. Please do check out their website for more information).

Roaming Around in Romania

July 25, 2007

The first few days in Romania were mentally tough. We donned full wet weather gear and ventured onwards. It was overcast, drizzly, cold and miserable. The road away from the border was full of lorries, one after the other, spraying bucket-sized quantities of water over us. In the morning, we cooked a huge meal at a bus stop and washed pots in a puddle next to bemused-looking people waiting for a bus.

The geography was flat and featureless, the weather unforgiving. However, it was culturally and visually different, which kept me intrigued. I could often see a shepherd with a herd of sheep and dog by his side drifting across the land, a horse and cart drive past or small farmstead that looked like it was from hundreds of years back in time.

Workmen moped about around half-finished building projects. Bleak industrial yards chugged and ground away as we cycled past. I felt like I was in a George Orwell book or a David Lynch film.

Our bikes and luggage frequently attracted looks of complete disbelief from car and lorry drivers and people we passed. It was difficult to find good campsites in wide-open spaces of flat farmland and plains with little shelter. We resorted to staying the night in a cheap motel, where we took the opportunity to wind down after the stressful border crossing, wash ourselves and clothes and do some guerrilla cooking with the MSR. We treated ourselves to a spicy curry and some well-deserved beers, which had markedly dropped in price since Western Europe, as an added bonus.

Refreshed, we were eager to put some miles in with the stubborn weather giving us no reason to hang around and the beckoning of the distant hills. I had little idea of what to expect of Romanian culture, but I was starting to get a taste.

Villages would have a mixture of buildings in various stages of construction and random pieces of wood cobbled together for farm outbuildings. Usually, the houses were fronted by a gate from which, an old lady or man would be looking out upon the world, moving by or selling some of her vegetable produce.

By the side of the roads, domesticated animals were often wandering about, seemingly without an owner. Hens, geese, goats, cows, horses, all grazing the grass under the shade of apple and plum trees lining the roads.

We made good progress and cycled into progressively hillier terrain, with a plan in mind of visiting a thermal bath in the mountains. However, the rain closed in on us again and we were enamoured to once again try to ignore the weather by pressing on.

We followed a road, which, from the map, looked like it would be tarmac. However, we soon found out that in the Romanian mountains this particular type of road, actually meant a fist-sized-rock-covered, heavily rut-filled, dirt track. Equipped with our Kona Explosif mountain bikes, Tom and I were enjoying the challenge of the terrain, our Extrawheel trailers tracking along behind us.

I could barely believe that Maria, on her 25-year-old racing-tourer-hybrid managed to cycle at all. However, she possesses an ability to kind of float over anything, I have come to discover. With barely any brakes at all on wet rims, she often resorted to white knuckle, freewheel, downhills using wet thorny bushes and shoe-floor interfaces to slow down.

In one particular instance Maria had been filming Tom and me. She then followed us down the downhill. We waited at the bottom to see her come speeding, like a wailing banshee, directly toward us, shouting "I can't stop, I have no brakes," to which Tom and I shouted frantically "use the bush," pointing off the track, hoping to avoid being included in a collision which would result in a tangled pile of bikes. Luckily, Maria landed perfectly square in the bush, emerging with a big smile on her face and fits of giggles, and much hilarity was had by all.

That day was hard, and we all were soaked to the skin. However, news emerged that the weather was to improve on the weekend we planned to head into the mountains. Magalie re-joined us, taking a train from the UK to meet us in Sebes - a grey place with one large road through the middle.

After cycling 50km off-road in the wet and cold, a random stranger at a petrol station offered us accommodation. We followed him to his house in the outskirts of the town in a rundown part of the neighbourhood. We were taken in, given hot coffee, fed and a bed for the night. The next day we were offered showers and washing clothing. This didn't materialise initially, but then the girls headed off to the house belonging to the mother of the wife in order to shower and do their laundry.

While they were gone, Tom and I were left with the host. He beckoned us to sit down with him at the table and produced a piece of paper, which he started scribbling down various numbers and additions. Complaining that he had no job and money to buy food, he signalled hunger by running his hand across his stomach. He asked us for the sum of 200 Euros for our stay at the house. I initially felt angry that we had been asked for money after believing we were being looked after through generosity and kindness between human beings. We hadn't been told we would need to pay.

We explained firmly and calmly that we had a very small budget for our trip. We gave him money for food and quickly left. In retrospect, I don't blame the guy for trying. We had expensive bikes and cameras. We may well have had money to throw away. It was a one-off occurrence.

We were glad to leave and head once again into the mountains. We picked up some secondhand clothes from a charity shop, which was having a sale. Every item was the equivalent of around 30p. The mountains immersed us in a sense of calm and security. That night we were invited into a villager's home and, in the morning, fed freshly picked, deep fried, battered wild mushrooms.

Crossing the mountains, the beauty and wildness of the countryside exceeded my expectations. The road degraded into rough dirt track. There were only a few cars and regular logging lorries stacked up with freshly felled timber. We noticed a number of logged areas, which were the only eyesores on otherwise beautiful areas of untouched forest. We ascended to 1700m. The downhills on the other side were breath taking, winding through forest-covered valleys in glorious sunshine.

We met a farm manager and his wife who we stayed with in Pitesti. The farm happened to grow grapes, so there was plenty of the local alcohol flowing, and we ate a traditional Romanian dish which consisted of, I must admit, a variety of different types of meat. We exchanged stories and began to get a little more insight into life in Romania.

The following day we cycled 101km into Bucharest, making it our longest day so far. We slept in the airport that night, feigning that we were going to fly out the next day. In the morning, the security guards looked on confusedly as we removed our luggage from the trolley and reassembled it on the bikes.

We then visited WWF Romania after cycling through crazy traffic in Bucharest. They are working to educate timber companies that logging can be both profitable and sustainable, if done in the right way. In a situation where a country has a lot of resources available and wants to trade them to drive economic growth in the post-communist era, NGOs like the WWF have a lot of work to do to encourage implementation of sustainable environmental strategies and protect the environment. We also discussed how the traditional community ways of living and farming that still exist in Romania are being helped to be preserved.

Our timing was again impeccable - we arrived in Bucharest on a national holiday of the foundation of the city and the start of European Mobility week. The central main road was closed off and many cyclists, rollerbladers and other motorised modes of transport could be seen using it. We used Couchsurfing.com to find a place to stay, and are stopping with Radu, an environmental science student who has been a fantastic host.

He showed us around the city and helped us to sort all our administration out. We have also stayed with another Couchsurfer called Alex, who is a professional violinist. We are looking forward immensely to watching him in concert tomorrow in the mountains.

The lifestyle is offering an incredible experience at the moment. I am really looking forward to seeing Istanbul in a few weeks. It is in the back of my mind that the weather will be growing colder. However, we have extra clothes, and we can choose to head south more quickly if we can pick up visas in Istanbul instead of Ankara.

Please tune into the podcast, and if you have some spare cash lying around, why not donate it to our supported charity, The Wilderness Foundation, using the link on the top right of the front page.

Updated 2022.

What to do Whilst Waiting for Wheels to Arrive in Istanbul

September 25, 2007

Staying with a family on the way to Istanbul.

We arrived in Istanbul after cycling along a dangerous highway, through 75km of suburban sprawl, which was a traumatic experience. We rewarded ourselves with a gourmet kebab that we couldn't afford from a small place full of old men drinking, smoking and chatting.

It had grown dark in the city after watching the sunset on the cycle in. We needed to get to our accommodation with a Couchsurfer, which was about 25km away, in Besiktas the other side of the Golden Horn. Tom and I were both tired, so we decided to split up to find it.

I met Maria at the ferry port and followed her past the Ottoman palace. It looked amazing lit up. Large trees lined the main street in Besiktas with Turkish flags hanging between them. It was very atmospheric but we needed to keep going to just to get to our destination. The city lights became a blur as we took turn after turn, but eventually we did get to our host and I sunk into bed that night and slept very well after a very long day.

The next couple of days were spent relaxing. We moved over to the Asian side and stayed with another Couchsurfer there. Then again we moved back over to the European side, staying in Mediciekoy, near Taksim, for the next ten days. I took the opportunity to get some clothes washed, do some reading and eat some good food.

In the evening, we sampled the nightlife in Taksim, watched some films and watched a Champion's League football match where embarrassingly, Liverpool got beaten by Besiktas. I wasn't actively supporting Liverpool then, but I had in my childhood.

We have sampled a number of kebabs since we have been here. We have had them in the local style bread and wrap form but are yet to see one in the traditional English pitta. The best one so far was a wrap which contained delicious pieces of meat, lightly spiced and fragrant. I don't think they understood a cyclist portion, however, no matter how much we tried to explain it.

Another guest, Simon from Vancouver in Canada, moved into the house a few days later. He had cycled from Amsterdam to Istanbul via France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. En route he had spent a month in Barcelona. He had stayed with people he had met along the way and wild camped. Simon told us about his involvement back home in bike polo, which is like usual polo but with bikes instead of horses.

I met a Couchsurfer and we took a trip to the Istanbul Biennial art exhibition at the Modern Art gallery. I enjoyed the photography of Hannah Collins, the 'Moments of Chance' pictures by Omer Orhan and the video installation on urban development by Solmaz Shahbazi. I also visited the Antrepo gallery next door, which contained a mixture of contemporary works in an open-plan space, so the different pieces interacted with each other in a slightly chaotic way. I enjoyed a piece by Taro Shinoda, which was a close up of the moon.

There were a few bike related pieces, which was nice to see. One included a guy who filmed himself from above cycling around the streets. There were also a couple of concept bikes including a full suspension mountain bike by Mercedes and a folding slingshot bike by Puma (the downtube was a piece of wire). Both were intriguing, shiny things that enticed me to ride them, but I managed to restrain myself.

We moved to stay with some other friends in Mediciekoy. Ben, from String Films came out to do some filming. We went to the Prince's Island of Kuniliada and filmed some interviews on the beach. On the way back we got some nice shots of the sun setting behind the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia. It was good to see Ben and interesting to hear what he had to make of the video footage we had sent back.

Tom, Esra (a friend) and I visited the Blue Mosque to do some filming, take some photographs and absorb the atmosphere of the magnificent mosque. I took my shoes off on the way in, amidst reams of other international tourists snapping away with their cameras. The floor was covered with soft, ornate carpet. There were impressive main dome and spires. The walls were covered in decorative patterns and Arabic writing. It was an incredibly serene place to be. Even in the hustle and bustle of the many visitors, people went about their normal daily prayer.

All the visitors were moved back outside once the main call to prayer happened amplified from the speakers on the spires. It is very atmospheric and exotic sounding to me although I have started to get used to it. For the last few days, we have been staying in Kadikoy with an Art History student and now an English teacher.

We have taken the opportunity to sample the local Hamsi fish, which are small fish fried in batter and very delicious, bought from the local fish market. Kadikoy is the oldest part of Istanbul and it is steeped in history. It is quieter and less stressful than the European side. There is the market street with fish, spice and vegetable stalls and the bar street with a number of small characterful bars and clubs.

That's it for the moment. We are really looking forward to leaving now but we can't go without our parcels and without my new wheels, which is quite frustrating. Time and patience will, I'm sure, resolve these issues.

Getting Romania in View

September 26, 2007

We arrived in Romania a couple of days ago. We crossed the border and had a long night after realising we had crossed at the wrong place and had to return to the official crossing and cross there. It was dark and wet; lightning was striking around my feet and the officials were stroking their moustaches with intent.

We have the addition of a new member of Ride Earth called Maria who we met in Budapest. She is cycling along on an old touring bike we picked up for twenty quid from the local scrapyard.

Last night we found a beautiful campsite on a hillside overlooking the vast plains, that we have spent the last few days travelling across. Romania, so far, is a feast for the senses; beautiful, serene, wild, and moody.

Small farm holdings dot the land and shepherds roam around tending to their livestock. We have met a number of friendly people, which we managed to communicate with, despite the language barrier.

Romania promises a whole new adventure for Ride Earth. It is a vast country with a range of geography, from imposing mountains to endless plains. We plan to cross the Făgăraș Mountains in around a week’s time.

You might be interested in these books

## Travelogue books - [The Only Man to Cycle from Stoke Albany to Kathmandu](https://amzn.to/3oNHRVM) - special edition version including cycle tours across Europe and Asia - [Weave of the Ride](/weave-ride-book-about-cycle-touring-across-europe) - [Between Worlds - The Promise of the Road](/between-worlds-book-about-cycle-touring-asia) - [Scotland Bikepacking '06](https://amzn.to/39wD0Gn) ## Guidebooks - [Prepare, Pack, Pedal - A Practical Guide to Cycle Touring](/prepare-pack-pedal-a-practical-guide-to-cycle-touring) - [Open Wilderness Guiding Book](/open-wilderness-guiding-book) - [Mountain Biking Routes in The Republic of Georgia](https://amzn.to/3s3Qr77) [There are more... View all books on Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/~/e/B00HQG4JZS)

Looking East and West in Istanbul

October 24, 2007

I am in Kadikoy on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. We have reached Asia by bike! Today commences our third week in Istanbul. It is a multi-layered and vibrant place; enough to make one consider staying longer.

However, the open road and adventure beckons once again. Crossing a whole continent is a significant milestone in the journey. Reflecting back, the feat seems equally absurd as it does real. I feel like I have lived a lifetime in the last 4 months. It has been a great learning process. Random occurrences have been commonplace and becoming accustomed to living with uncertainty is a fundamental theme.

I've been soaked, frozen and scorched and slept in a myriad of strange places. Gradually I am starting to break away from the usual routine, taking opportunities as they arise, and this is rewarding me with greater freedom, options and possibilities.

Europe has surprised us at every turn. In Western Europe we were getting used to the cycling and the lifestyle but many aspects of the places were familiar. Nevertheless the people we met and adventures we had were completely unpredictable and remarkable.

Eastern Europe has been full of surprises. We have cycled through and stayed in major cities, initially to relax from riding, then to spend some time absorbing the culture. We have glimpsed into the lives of a cross-section of different people, their aspirations and expectations. We have tasted the nightlife and had me longing for a good night's sleep in my tent.

Travelling around cities with an unloaded bike has been a pleasurable, cheap and efficient way of getting around. I weave my way through the traffic in Istanbul making much faster progress than most of the motorised transport. A fellow mountain biker nods and carves past. I feel part of an exciting, underground-feeling transport movement. I leave queues of traffic for dead at the lights with a huge grin on my face and the endorphins pumping. Bikes are excellent mode of transport, it seems so clear to me, but I still get funny looks as a cyclist on the streets of a big city. If I asked someone for directions in a city they would normally direct me to the metro or to get a taxi. Getting there by walking or cycling seems to be rarely considered.

I have been confronted with myself more than ever in my action and reactions to situations, travelling in a group, meeting people and seeing myself on camera. My ego has been torn apart and rebuilt on many occasions.

However, the experience has been resoundingly positive and I am now ready to move on again. What lays ahead, I may as well ask the Persian cat sitting next to me. We have a vague route and the prospect of some cold wintery weather. I am preparing by mending the hole in my ski socks. I expect to be wearing all my clothes all of the time. Seriously though, we have prepared well, which is why I can joke about it. I'm not averse to a little cold weather and you never know I might see some snow this Christmas. I'll send you a postcard...

How I Ending Up Staying on the Turkish National Skin-Diving Instructors Fishing Boat

November 13, 2007

Although people are helpful and friendly, we often get looked at like we have three heads. I find it funny, and it's completely harmless and utterly understandable. Two bearded English men turn up. One is wearing a fluorescent sock on his head and looks like a traffic cone; the other is wearing a ridiculous helmet with go-faster-stripes, and Klingon-esque air vents. Why would someone on a bicycle want to wear a helmet anyway? They don't go fast enough, there's no engine. Both weirdos have multiple yellow luggage bags attached to their bikes, and one bike has three wheels.

The old grey-haired man in the petrol station emerges from his office as Tom approaches. He waves his hand negatively, put his thumb to his mouth in the universal hand gesture for beverage, says chai and kahve, and gestures up the road, waving his hand, side on, forwards and backwards in the direction of up the road.

Tom is ill, clutching his stomach and wearing a face like a wet weekend in Desborough. He wants to sit down on a fake leather upholstered seat outside this petrol station, but instead he grumbles 'thanks a bunch' under his breath, walks a few metres away and sits down on the cold concrete forecourt.

We have just cycled out of Sinop, halfway along the Black Sea coastline. Iskembe soup, a Turkish delicacy, made from tripe and sheep stomach, is trying to resurrect itself back into the land of the living. I am nibbling on a handmade gingerbread walnut biscuit that Tom was given by a friendly fisherman. It was delicious.

The next day, after staying the night in a farm worker's dormitory, I pass an old man wandering along the road. A gaggle of ugly construction machines line the foundations of a new road being built through a picturesque valley.

A group of men in orange overalls are standing about. They wave, laugh and joke to each other as I cycle past. As I slowly climb the hill, a few huge lorries slowly pass, hooting at me. Several cars, 4x4s and other vehicles go past me too fast and too close, my stress levels rise. Driving fast sucks, don't do it. It scares cyclists like me, one momentary lapse of concentration and I'm a goner. This affects and worries my mental state.

I kill off 5km freewheeling downhill. My trailer is heavy because I bought too much food, including a 2kg bag of onions, giving me extra momentum. I remind myself that cars do contain real people though. I pull up behind a parked transit van and notice the driver is leaning out of his window filming with his mobile phone, the long pebble beach, mountains behind, sunlight shimmering on the sea. I get out my camera, prop the bike up, and go and take a photo myself.

Later that day, I'm standing on the side of the road with the bike and trailer leaning against me, nibbling on a huge chocolate chip from a luxurious shortbread biscuit, a bag of which we were bought by the Turkish National Skin-Diving Instructor. It tastes extra yummy because it was free, and I earned it by cycling up a big hill. Awe-inspiring mountains surround me, the sea is in front of me, and the sun is shining. It is warm, but there is a cooling breeze, and I am listening to a cracking mix by Mr Scruff.

Cycling the Black Sea Coastline of Turkey in the Dark

November 15, 2007

The other day I was cycling towards Trabzon.  We cycled in a number of dark, ominous looking tunnels. I'm cycling along, and then there it is, another black hole. My blood pressure rises, the hard shoulder thins and squeezes me off onto the road to share it with the multi-tonne trucks flying past, spraying me with muddy water. I check over my shoulder, hopefully I will make it through, before being chased by the next vehicle.

Each vehicle sounds exponentially louder, like a plane taking off.  I pedal like fury through the tunnel. This is repeated a number of times, then we are about to go into a particularly long 3 km tunnel and an orange van with flashing lights pulls up behind us before we take the plunge. The guy leans out the window. I assume they want to tell us we're not allowed to cycle through the tunnels.

I feign ignorance or deafness and pedal into the tunnel at full pelt helped by a downhill.  After a couple of minutes of pedalling, I slow down and Tom catches up followed by the van shouting 'we have an escort'. I suddenly feel silly for my pre-conception and a little more important for a few seconds.

The tunnel seems to go on for ages, pedalling into the concrete world, illuminated by the glow of the safety lights, fire exits and the flashing lights from the van. I feel my mind drifting away into some sort of trance, pedalling along following Tom's back wheel; a very strange feeling. Back into daylight and downhill to Ordu, the next town.

I have Celtic music on the mp3 player, the album dubiously titled 'Celtic Quest'. The tracks contain sound effects in the background of the sea, birdsong and thunder. Some of the instruments used include bagpipes and fiddles and may be described as jigs or ballads, I presume.

The music is relaxing and evokes images of warm fireplaces, jars of ales, and snow outside whilst cocooned in a toasty warm living room. This is far from my current situation, freewheeling through the Turkish mountains on a grey dual carriageway.

We're making excellent progress recently with good flat(ish) roads, doing around 100km a day, which explains how we are now in Trabzon, and hope to get to Georgia for Christmas day, leaving tomorrow.

Listening to the 2nd track on Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, it's almost Christmas. It makes me reminiscent of a warm restaurant, a romantic atmosphere, with good food, ale and a crackling fire, possibly with female company. Instead I'm in a strange place, which is cold.

People look at me funnily and kids pester me. I think, my wandering mind's visions are arousing memories from my past which I wonder if its a strange survival mechanism, encouraging me to go somewhere warmer and more comfortable.

However, I am happy and the music fits well to the movements of the people, the cars and life. Blissfully living, I observe an everyday meeting between people in the street and their animated body language whilst gesturing to each other.

The leaves dance around on the pavement. A chilling wind penetrating my 2 layers, and I ignore my body's increasingly louder requests to get warmer, bathing in the masochistic moment of bracing coldness. The traffic lights change.  It's 6 degrees - a chilling enough day. Where is Tom? Behind, probably chai-jacked?

Satellite dishes affixed on concrete balconies point in a myriad directions as if they are all specifically positioned to pick up a slightly different frequency. Today we cycled around Trabzon trying to observe the Bayram Islamic Festival where rams are slaughtered.

We didn't know what to expect and thought it would be a public festival in the centre, and the best way to see it would be to pootle around on the bikes. After a couple of hours of walking around mostly dead streets and closed shops, we decided to cycle up to the Ataturk burial place.

Through a chance meeting, we met a friendly 28 year old Turkish man, Alper, at a fruit stall who took us round a residential area where a number of families and groups in the community were gathered around piles of meat from the slaughter.

We came across another family who were about to slaughter a ram, which was tied up. We stood with the bikes and waited chatting to the younger members of the family kicking a football around. It was strange to see the animal there, shortly to reach the end of its life.

An older man came over and we said a passing 'merhaba' and he indicated that the ram would be slaughtered shortly. The process was quick and I couldn't see much as people were gathered closely around. It was a calm and private family affair, but very intriguing and an interesting insight into this unknown ceremony.

Cold Nights and Notes from Sinop

November 16, 2007

I smell pretty terrible but I’ve got a fishing boat to sleep on tonight and I have just bought a new blanket which I hope will keep me warm. The nights have been uncomfortably chilly recently.

Normally camping is a perfectly fine option for our sleeping arrangements but I’ve been dubious recently. I’ve been cold in my thin sleeping bag, no matter what combination of clothing and headwear that I adorn. This is important because we don’t have the guarantee of a comfortable bed to sleep in each night but it is nice to know that I will be warm. Luckily the Turkish are living up to their reputation of hospitality; almost every day we have had a warm place to sleep, been fed incredibly tasty food and always offered chay.

Many of the towns we come across along the Black Sea Coastline are busy with tourists in the summer but in the winter they are quieter and most hotels and restaurants are closed. The atmosphere is relaxed and people are genuinely interested and wonder why we didn't visit in the summer. I usually say that we started cycling in the summer, but it’s a long way and we didn't go fast enough.

Last week we cycled into a small village and took refuge from the bitter cold in a teashop. Darkness closed in, as it tends to rather quickly these days. We required somewhere to bed down for the night (hopefully warmer than the previous night). It had snowed and as a last resort we slept in a bus shelter!

It seemed a good idea to head to the beach to find a shelter to camp under. As we cycled along the sea front, we spoke to a man who was standing outside what looked like a closed restaurant. We told him what we were doing and he invited us in. With very little conversation exchanged, we were fed and given a free room for the night. We met his wife and they told us about their children who were at university in Istanbul and Cyprus. We were relieved to have come across such wonderful people and incredibly grateful for their generosity. It was an excellent opportunity to recharge our batteries and have a well-earned hot shower!

We have been sheltering from the cold and wet weather in the ubiquitous teashops. Many old men we met have spoken German because they previously either visited or worked there. I have been using this opportunity to brush up on my language skills.

Earlier this week, after cycling through relentless rain and getting utterly saturated, we sat by a zoba (stove) to dry off and I decided I would try to note down as many German words I could remember from when I studied it at school. I was quite impressed to be able to remember 200 words in one sitting. I have been employing these words on occasion, however my grammar needs improving immensely!

On the subject of technology, I bought a wonderful new camera before I started this trip. It is a Nikon D40x and a very shiny AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5 – 5.6 G ED lens to go with it. Yes, I have no idea what all those suffixes mean (yet) either. It wasn’t cheap and it was by far my biggest outlay on equipment for the trip. However, I am glad I did and I’m really enjoying using it now.

The long zoom range allows me a wider range of composition possibilities and means I can snap images that might be difficult without it. For example earlier today a fisherman was sorting out his net on a boat. It would have been difficult for me to get close enough to frame the composition, as I desired, without needing a wetsuit.

I read recently in a Photography supplement that came with the Guardian newspaper (that I had taken with me from the UK) that it is better to get closer to a subject rather than use the zoom if possible because it gives a more intimate image. I am inclined to agree. In addition, if you have to get physically closer to the subject matter, this is likely to provoke a reaction and possibly an interesting meeting.

Why Was Tbilisi Such a Beautiful City in Deep Winter?

January 23, 2008

When Sylvester, the Polish cyclist we met on Christmas Day in Batumi was explaining that conditions were difficult for local people in Georgia, coping with the cold midwinter, I thought: people in places with extreme weather conditions are obviously tough, live and learn to deal with it.

I also remember thinking, is what we are doing, trying to cycle round the world equally difficult. In hindsight I suppose I was comparing the life of staying in one place to a life on the road which seemed a much more abstract concept.

A life on the road means nothing to most and something completely different to anyone who has done it. It is just a body of memories, a once experienced truth of a moment and part of a process. Memories skew and evolve over time, the mind puts a spin on things, censoring and creating new stories that make sense to you but probably not to anyone else.

What we have done so far has definitely had some difficult moments. We have barely scratched the surface of our adventure; this cycling lifestyle is starting to become my life. Tom and I are getting used to it. We are toughening up to the elements, and hopefully opening ourselves too; dealing with events that come our way. I know there is something deeply satisfying about it, this life, and future prospects for us.

We are amassing a body of extraordinary experiences, memories, documents, pictures and sounds which blend like colours into each everyday adventure, meeting people and seeing new places. For example, today we hitch-hiked to the house of a Georgian cyclist, adventurer called Jumbar Lezhava, who has travelled to 237 countries, spent 9 years travelling by bike and holds 7 world records for push ups- (and he's 68).

Yesterday we met a Georgian painter, Rezo Adamia, in his studio, just round the corner from where we are staying. Each day is as full as I want to make it. I am happy to keep investigating, trying to learn and develop myself. The other day arriving in Georgia where so much is completely new to me, I had a strange feeling that I can only compare to that of being a child again as if from some distant hazy memory.

Georgian Culture

The Georgian people love a good singsong and a dance. They have traditional songs to which all Georgian people we met seem to know the words. Each song has a particular dance to accompany it.

On a number of occasions, I have witnessed a Georgian 'feast' in a restaurant consisting of copious amounts of hot fatty food, washed down with lashings of fresh wine (with long-winded toasting, of course), and then the music starts.

Last night, for example, I witnessed a dance where the lady parades up and down with her arms outstretched in a graceful fashion. The man then comes in, arms swinging like crazed windmills, slamming one foot forward and then stepping out, twisting his torso at the same time, repeating on the other side whilst moving around his partner.

It appeared that the objective was for the man to get as close as possible with the violent but well-timed movement without causing severe injury to his partner. All in all, it was a thoroughly excited, energetic and rousing performance. It puts English-ritzy-nightclub arbitrary-jigging-about-after-a-few-pints totally to shame.

Very Cold Nights

Its -18 at night here in Tbilisi. The pavements and roadsides are lethal, covered with a couple inches of ice. Men are dressed in heavy leather coats with flat caps and thick fur-lined caps with flaps covering the ears. Women are dressed in fur coats and high heels navigating the treacherous urban conditions with impressive ease.

The undertones of poverty and difficult social conditions are never far away. On leaving a cafe and walking down the pavement we were approached by a group of begging children with dirty hands outstretched, one manically rasped 'money' at me. It's disturbing and it evokes mixed emotions. I look up and see a 60 ft tall picture of a glamour model draped over a new European style high street development.

WWF in the Caucasus

Last week we visited the WWF Caucasus office in Tbilisi. We interviewed Nugzar, the Conservation Director there. We heard about the new national parks in set up since the collapse of the USSR. We learnt about how the WWF integrates the local populations into the conservation process through talking directly to local people and stakeholders, involving and educating them on use of local natural resources.

Many people in Georgia are still reliant on direct access to natural resources such as firewood. With the work of the WWF, protected areas in Georgia have risen from 2.4% in 1990, to 7.0% in 2008.

We asked Nugzar about how they are observing climate change in Georgia. One phenomenon is a reduction in the size of glaciers reflecting global trends. The Greater Caucasus has 2050 glaciers. One glacier, Kirtisho, has retreated by 247m between 1960-2001, another, Glacier Tbilisa, by 360m. Glacial melt affects the availability of fresh water for local residents, and plants and animals, which rely on it. In the longer term it can affect the level of oceans.

Glacial retreat is a good indicator of global warming. Read more here.

We are leaving tomorrow to cycle to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It's going to involve cycling over some big mountains and the conditions are abnormally cold at the moment. It's a new experience for both of us, cycling in such temperatures, but we're prepared and I'm looking forward to getting back on the road again.

Discovering Armenia - A Gem in the Caucasus

March 15, 2008

I arrived in Yerevan last Wednesday. I have been staying with some wonderful new friends who work at the French Embassy. From the first village after crossing the border into Armenia from Georgia, Tom and I decided to cycle alone to Yerevan. Cycling alone gives one more freedom. I decide when to move, stop, eat, or continue. The decisions are my own without excuses. There is no one else to blame but myself if things don't go according to plan.

I am confronted with dealing with my own company, which might sound strange if you haven't spent time alone before. All the personality traits of being me become apparent. I am responsible for tempering and moderating my reactions, emotions and behaviour, which is a rewarding, experience.

In addition, I only have my own frame of reference or paradigm to rely on to monitor my own behaviour. Which means if I'm acting like an idiot, there is no one else to tell me so. I can’t rely on the rapport of 2 old friends to be lazy in a social situation. I have to deal with all the experiences, and it is more difficult to take a step back, observe and let the other person look after things, which has it's positive and negative sides.

On another note, we both have our own unique experiences so it's great when we are able to share our stories. There is a real stillness and realisation of being in the presence of the great world. This is especially clear when being alone in the mountains travelling to Sevan. I hope to be able to experience this feeling to greater extremes in wilder environments such as Mongolia. This links well to the work of The Wilderness Foundation who aim to protect, conserve and promote the value of wild areas.

Tom and I met up again in Yerevan. We are dealing with more delays concerning picking up our winter sleeping bags, which have been sent from the UK. They have been impounded in Armenian customs and we are seeking help from the British Embassy to get them released. They are important because they will allow us to wild camp again as we go forth into areas with a lower population density and less people to stay with.

We paid a visit to the Armenian office of the WWF-Caucasus on Tuesday. We learnt about the anti-poaching unit in place to stop illegal poaching of endangered species such as the Caucasian leopard. We heard about the WWF and fellow environmental NGO's successful lobbying of the government to stop a highway to Iran, which would have passed through protected conservation areas of high biodiversity. This prevented deforestation and habitat loss. We also learnt about the conflict between the booming mining industry and plans for ecotourism to boost the sector of the economy. The two are mutually exclusive as opencast mining has a highly negative impact on the visual beauty of the land, which is incompatible with attracting new tourists to visit an area.

The first time I cycled passed Lake Sevan on the way to Yerevan I avoided the dogs chasing me, then propped up my bike and took careful steps through the snow down to the lake's edge to take some photos. I had never seen a frozen lake before let alone one so huge. The scenery was stunningly impressive. I took my camera and framed some compositions. The snow formed patterns of miniature drifts blown over the open ice, which naturally lead the eye into the picture.

Ice formations on the shore provided foreground interest. In the background above the snowy mountains high cirrus clouds trailed across a vast and glorious blue sky. I attempted to get some good pictures, but none matched the shear beauty of the vista before me as. I sat quietly for a few minutes listening to the ice, which made an incredible noise like nothing I had ever heard before. It gurgled, belched and cracked as it morphed and evolved under the pressure and temperature changes acting upon it. It made me think of the book I recently read about the great British explorer Ernest Shackleton's expedition in Antarctica aboard the Endurance ice-breaking vessel.

Last weekend Fanny, Maxime, Irene and I visited the lake for a second time. It was possible to walk on the ice, which we were told was a foot thick. I observed a local ice-fishing for "Sig" which I later heard from the WWF is forbidden.

In the afternoon we visited natural hot baths near Hrazdan. On arrival it looks like a ramshackle selection of farm outbuildings. On further inspection we were shown along a snow-dusted path past a large rusty tin hanger and steaming boiler contraption to a room without a roof. A woman was wrestling a rusty broken pipe, spraying high-pressure hot water down to the ground and attempting to hold it in place with two large rocks.

The water was more or less heading into a bath, which long ago had become a natural formation of thick sulphur deposits. The water was a gloriously warm 40 degrees and we periodically ran outside into the snow and back into the water, which was rather masochistic but intensely stimulating. Highly recommended.

I am feeling personal frustration regarding the filming of our trip. Due to a lack of funds the podcast is on hold and hours of (what we think is) mind blowing footage is gathering dust. Hopefully time will iron out the problems and allow the production to reach its full potential.

Armenia has been one of the most beautiful and friendliest countries I have visited. On numerous occasions I have been shown incredibly warm hospitality. However, our stay is being marred by the frustration caused by the time it is taking to get through the bureaucracy concerning receiving a simple parcel. Let’s hope we finally get our sleeping bags soon and can make progress to Iran.

Travel Twists Space and Time And You Need To Experience It

March 31, 2008

I'm in Tbilisi and hopefully this blog will fill in what has been happening with me. As you may know I arrived in Yerevan for the first time, by bicycle, on the 24th January. I met up with Tom in the city, after we had cycled alone from near the Georgian border. Fanny came out to visit me in Yerevan and we stayed with friends, Max and Irene. We had wonderful times which passed too quickly.

Whilst bargaining for sweet and spicy paprika at the market, Fanny and I met an American Armenian called Manoog. He is an interesting person who is very active in the community in Yerevan. We met and exchanged stories and he took us to see some excellent jazz music in the 'Stop Club'.

He helped organise an event at a local NGO, where Tom and I made a presentation and showed our film footage from Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. We were still waiting for our sleeping bags to be released from customs, so I decided to hitch-hike back to Tbilisi. This was partly an exercise in hitch-hiking and partly to spend more time with friends in charming Tbilisi.

I left Yerevan the next morning and hitch-hiked around 150km to a road between Vanadzor and Ala Verdi. I got lifts on an out-of-service bus, with 3 Armenians who were going skiing for the first time, with an Armenian man who had worked as a computer engineer in the Soviet era and with a businessman in a flash Mercedes who drove incredibly fast and then gave me a free lunch at his restaurant. The road after that was quiet and I found it hard to get a lift. Improbably, I managed to flag down a Marshrutka going to Tbilisi which had just 1 space left. I bargained for a reduced price which I wrote in the dirt on the window. This is just one serendipitous occurrence of many so far on this journey. More on that later.

The Marshrutka ride wound its way through the mountains and I arrived in the evening. It was like I'd never left. The people I'd met before in Tbilisi were surprised to see me again. There was much dancing, Georgian food and wine at numerous Supra's (traditional Georgian feast). I spent the time during the day writing, exploring Tbilisi, taking photos, and reading.

Ideas began to germinate about whether to stay for longer, get some work and see the city as the weather gradually got warmer. Fanny and I visited Gudauri which is in the mountains near Kazbegi (the highest mountain in Georgia) and the monastery and lake at Passanauri. There was still a huge amount of snow and the roads were covered in ice. There were 3 metre high snow drifts at the roadside on occasion reducing the road to 1 car width. We visited Gurjaani where Fanny had spent 2 years teaching French staying with her adopted grandma, Nora.

In Tbilisi, I visited the British Council where I took the opportunity to read English books and browse the magazines and papers. I asked about making a presentation and the following week I held a storytelling session with a group of 10-15 year olds. I spent the majority of the time answering questions like 'what do teenagers do in England?', 'do you like England?', and 'do you know 50 Cent?'. Then, it was time to go back to Yerevan.

I did a video diary the day before in high spirits about future plans, but something didn't quite feel right. Now I realise in hindsight that there was a decision to be made, but I think I may have already made it at that time. I sat in the sun drinking tea with Fanny talking about future travel plans. I felt really good, but also very melancholy at the same time - almost dramatically so - that it felt unreal or false. Was I talking myself into something? Was my decision in my control? Was the inertia of the process and the journey carrying me? Did I have the presence of mind to take control? I felt sad to be going but also a sense of happiness and hope.

As the Marshutka pulled away I let the tears run down my face, and that was it, I had left. When I got to Yerevan, I went to Manoog's flat. He was doing his usual 'laid back afternoon thing' and had plenty of new stories to tell me. He asked me if I had seen the email from Tom, to which I replied "What email from Tom?". He proceeded to show me the email Tom had returned to Yerevan to stay with a girl.

I made the decision in a split-second that I was going to go back to Tbilisi. Maybe it would have happened anyway. Maybe it would have taken me to leave, and then to realise I wanted to turn around. Regardless, I thought it was funny that we were in this similar situation. Whilst in Yerevan I met Arvin, a jazz musician, Vako, a Lebanese artist who had opened the nightclub 'Cheers' in Yerevan and Ana who is the president of the Catholicas NGO. She is involved in projects to build community and social services in Armenia. Vako plans to start a music night for young people in Gyumri with the help of Ana.

We drove to Gyumri which is the second largest city in Armenia, to visit her home. It suffered widespread destruction and loss of life following a violent Spitak earthquake in 1988. There I met Arthur, an Armenian cyclist who plans to cycle from Armenia through Europe saying 'Shaorakaloutsoun (or thank you)' to all the countries and people who helped after the earthquake. I was thrilled by his ambitious and noble plan and tried to give him all the encouragement and information I could from my experience.

On return to Yerevan, I organised my kit. I awoke, bleary-eyed, at 6 am on Wednesday morning after a little farewell shindig with friends, to return by bicycle to Tbilisi. I went via Dilijan, Vanadzor and Ala Verdi. The weather was dull and the sky overcast as I cycled up the long hill out of Yerevan.

After hours of pedalling, the clouds cleared, and I reached the 2700m mountain pass before the descent to Dilijan. I had been worried about being delayed at the military checkpoints that I would meet (in place because of the recent demonstrations in Yerevan) but bizarrely I was saluted by the uniformed guards as I rode past!

I became really tired as I crawled up the last hill out of pretty Dillijan, my chest hurt, and I started to feel sick from eating vast amounts of jelly sweets. I stopped and camped off a side road. I swiftly cooked a dinner of pasta, tomato, and butter and retired to the sleeping bag after around 100km of cycling. The next day my bum ached but I set myself the target to get to Tbilisi which was 200 + km away.

I cycled, eating only biscuits for breakfast, past the Russian village of Fioletovo. Then I descended through the ugly Soviet tower blocks of Vanadzor and onto the winding valley road towards Ala Verdi. I stopped at lunch to consume the rest of my food. I had run out of money, so I decided to eat it all and make a push to get there that day. I cooked the rest of the pasta, butter and tomato sauce. The poor quality diesel in the stove clogged it up so it took ages.

I lay back on the grass and took the opportunity to relax and soak up the sun. I felt refuelled after lunch. The abandoned mine near Ala Verdi looked like a set from the film Total Recall or Blade Runner. The huge derelict concrete buildings, rusty iron structures and broken windows were set against a backdrop of black bare trees, ochre soil and copper-coloured mountains. I was moving fast, and I got to the Georgian border at 3 o'clock. I was going to get there, but I had to deal with the pain as the miles took their toll. It really started to hurt on a long straight road next to a rail track.

At this point the boredom was the difficult part. My brain was bored so my body started to complain even more. When I got to the town of Marneuli, a sign read 48km to Tbilisi. It was possible to make it, but I desperately needed food. I remembered I had left some Georgian Tetris (coins) in the pocket of my Puffa jacket. I used it to buy a loaf of bread, some cake and I was given a bottle of water by a concerned shop attendant.

The sun went down as I got closer to Tbilisi. Just before I reached the city there was a steep hill to climb. My body was able to do it. My mind said, 'you have to be joking'. Car's passed and I chose the gravel hard shoulder to ride on. I preferred the dirt to the tarmac: it made it slightly more interesting. I reached the top and got my lights out. It was downhill from here, albeit in the dark. I floated along, not really aware of my speed. Occasionally a car headlamp would ruin my night vision, so I couldn't see at all.

On the way into the city, I met a bizarre character on a bike with big riser handlebars amd many horns and badges attached. He was wearing an old-fashioned leather 'biggles-style' pilot's hat. He showed me some pictures of him with his bike and asked me to take a picture of him and send it to his house. I was exhausted and he gave me some stale tasting chocolate.

It was surreal to enter the city centre. I didn't really acknowledge where I was until I was under the city lights and saw the bizarre twinkling lights on the TV tower. It felt very rewarding to have achieved what I set out to do. I even managed to sprint up through the cobbled backstreets to Fanny's flat. When I got there, I did a video diary. I felt glowing with flow and endorphins, but very tired.

Typically, Fanny wasn't in, but I met Paul, her new flatmate. Fanny returned and gave me 5 portions of noodles and spaghetti which I ate enthusiastically. Since being in Tbilisi I have caught up with friends, continued the Georgian singing lessons, enjoyed having a sense of place and spending time with Fanny. I'm making the most of opportunities here and will be teaching English at the Georgian Scottish House, doing some bike couriering (the only pedal powered courier here) and doing some website work.

The film company are working on a teaser episode of our film footage so watch this space. Going back to Tbilisi reinforced a few thoughts. I wanted to immerse myself further in life in Tbilisi and unique Georgian culture where I had felt good in the situation. I wanted to allow relationships to be given a chance to go deeper than they usually had done on the journey so far. But I'm still looking forward to continuing. My time here is allowing me to reflect on the trip so far and think deeply about future route possibilities and other riding partners. Anyone fancy a bike ride?

When War Comes Too Close for Comfort

August 09, 2008

Today Georgia declared a state of war with Russia. Luckily, I'd left on the 26th of July to come home to England and surprise my family. I travelled by bus and train. I'm planning to start to travel back towards Georgia on Monday. I hope that by the time I intend to get back to Tbilisi (around the beginning of September) - the situation will have quietened down.

I have secured my visas for onward travel into Azerbaijan, Iran and Pakistan, but if I can't get to my bike which is in the basement of my friend's (the architect) house, then I will be stuck and delayed. I am extremely frustrated and angry at the occurrences.

I have many friends in Georgia who I am worried about. Luckily, I can easily get information about the situation through emails and such. Having spent the best part of the last year in Tbilisi, I have a connection to the country, and I feel sad and frustrated that the people become pawns in this game of politics.

It sickens me to hear the familiar language on the news as people scream and flee from bombs and gunfire, and images of elderly people bleeding and lying-in rubble. It's an absolute shame on the perpetrators of this disgusting behaviour. Not only this but the politicians don't have the decency to admit responsibility and the media spews fragments of news giving a confusing picture to the world.

People who live in Georgian villages are mostly poor people who live self-sustaining lifestyles and are still recovering from previous conflict. Tbilisi looks something akin to an Eastern European city but you scratch the surface and realise that the truth is somewhat different.

The images you see on the news of bombed apartment blocks, once the fires have been extinguished, most likely won't be fixed. They will remain in that same state for years as there is no money.

Fragile is a word I would use to describe the situation in Georgia right now. This is a country where I have seen development happening. I met a lot of young people with aspirations and dreams for their country and their futures. It would be sad to see this crippled by stupid political manoeuvres and actions.

Will I Get My Bicycle Back From War-Torn Georgia?

August 22, 2008

Right now, I am sitting in the garden of my girlfriend's house in France. I've just realised that one mosquito has bitten me on my neck, elbow and leg.

I travelled back to England from Georgia by public transport, to visit my family and get a visa in London. It took 5 days and was a great experience.

I've just received a new Extrawheel trailer which I look forward to using when hit the road again. However, I'm not holding my breath about getting back to my bike in Tbilisi.

The main highway West to East is still being patrolled by Russian tanks and it is still a fragile situation.

Nevertheless, I think there is hope. Monitoring the diplomatic situation through the media it seems that most countries would rather not resort to a 'cold war' situation, including Russia.

Diplomats are meeting to talk. I believe they are hoping to avoid further warfare. Working differences out through talking is difficult because it takes wisdom, intelligence, patience and a real desire for a peaceful and progressive outcome.

Have the leaders involved got what it takes to achieve this?

Writing from Tehran, Iran

September 24, 2008

Written whilst in Tehran looking ahead to cycling through Iran in 2008.

Facing Fears

I'm travelling in my head. When I stop my mindset changes. I feel lethargic today. I think maybe I could do with being alone some more. It's pleasant for some time, even satisfying. If I can get a grip of my fear I can enjoy it.

The city is a place where I cannot be still but it is the opposite in the wider less populated places. There is sometimes a glimpse of what freedom might feel life without having it disturbed by others, one's own urges, social conditioning, intellectualising or whatever.

Mountains and scenery are going through my mind like a stack of photos. Kistan and India are technically scary, but this is mostly because of what I hear and read. From my own experience, I can't see a reason to fear them.

I think that human beings have the ability to act irrationally, unpredictably and in a possibly violent way. This can be seemingly for no fault of the recipient but because of something that afflicts them. Most people act predictably and conform to societal norms.

My Host Karim in Tehran

Sept 25th Thursday

My host Karim and I talk about many varied topics. For example, regarding his PC set up he showed me how to "cycle the 'one touch' functionality on his new 1 terabyte hard disc". With 10 terabytes you can do anything apparently. I enjoyed talking to Karim because our conversations flows like we've been friends for ages.

Escaping

Society can be cruel so we try to escape with travel hoping to find something to make it easier. You can rise up and float above things for a while but then something can bring you back down again.

I have lived for 1.5 years with minimal possessions. Hopefully those memories of my past lifestyle are fading by choosing the unknown. You don't escape the way things are but a sustained change is as good.

I've always said to myself that love is very important. It has to be because if you have a family then your responsibility is to them.

One must follow one's heart as Tom said to me the other day whilst on the Tehran metro to the British Embassy to get the letter for the Indian visa.

Confusing News

The world is bamboozling at times. I just watched the debate between Mecain and Obama, talking about sending troops in Iran, Afghanistan and billions of spending one war in Iran.

This geopolitical wrangling feels totally absurd. It seems far too complex for the average Joe to understand. Oil? Terror? Democracy? It's not logical for people from one type of system in modern America to travel 5000 miles to a desert to fire bullets at other humans under a total different system and culture.

Personally being here makes me want to be very humble quiet, passive and careful because there are people who look different and think differently to the point that one feels like a young child learning new things about the world in the presence of others.

Confidence

Sometimes I get distracted. I am my biggest competitor. I'm driving myself to do this. I had a dream of a severed finger. I attached it back and it stayed and my forefinger started working again. I looked it up on the internet. When the forefinger is broken it means that you are worried about the ability to complete a big task.

I saw Tom today and he came round for tea. We still aren't seeing eye to eye. We talked about filming and the trip. I wanted to get away from that. I'm not on a bike ride with a camera or whatever.

Tom told me that him and Tenny were likely going to cycle back through Europe to England.

Keywords

Bored of Tehran, nothing to do. Difficult to get around, huge city, suburbia. Crazy traffic, motorcycles, not good drivers. Chadors restrict vision. Islamic thought council. The odd mosque. Offices, shops, jewellers, banks, flowers, corner shop, hotel, carpet, stationary. Doubts in my mind about continuing. Wednesday end of Ramadan. I've got to think slow and control my brain.

Lethargic, thinking, talking, tired, eating, watching films. Website non-payment problem. Goodness of humans. American economic downturn. Elections 08. Tehran ways new language new architecture. Options, my girlfriend, future, family, work, Muslim cultural restrictions. Girlfriend coming to visit. Travelling. Other options in life. Compromise. Big house. Winter. The ludicrous theatre of life we have created for ourselves. Like the ways we should act, the wards to fight, the life to lead.

Path, direction and large floating triangles of rock

October 16, 2008

Just a quick one this. I've pedalled down into the south of Iran. The weather has been pretty hot during the middle of the day so I'm on the road by 6 to make the most of the cool clear mornings. I've visited the cities of Esfahan, Yazd and Kerman. Esfahan has a river (mostly dried up now) with some fantastic ancient bridges, the huge Imam square, mosques and Persian palace of Hasht Beseht.

I stayed with a family there and 3 students at the university. I was shown around the city by friends from Couchsurfing. I've enjoyed the long stretches of riding in the desert between the cities. In Yazd I was looking at a mosque which was having some refurbishment done and got invited to lunch and then back to the home of the stone mason and his family. He showed me his workshop where his apprentice, an Afghan boy, was making some water fountains.

I met some more Couchsurfers in Yazd and visited the Mir Chaq Ma square, a traditional Iranian strong man competition and the water museum. I learnt about Qanats which are underground water ducts used to transport water from the mountains to the cities and fields for irrigation. I'm excited to upload my photos but Flickr is blocked in Iran so for the moment I cannot. I'm happy and healthy and looking forward to moving on.

Overwhelmed with Wonder in Armenia and Iran

October 17, 2008

Iran has at times been a challenge with regards to cycling alone. I have dealt with this mostly by recording myself talking on a voice recorder, singing, shouting, listening to the Mighty Boosh and occasionally weeping.

However, along with feelings of lonliness which quickly evaporate I am presented with the content and playful feeling that the freedom of decisions and the imagination manifests.

There is a wonderful sense of balance with the surroundings when alone on the road amongst the exotic and mysterious landscape of the stony, dry and dusty plains of the desert reaching up to bare, steep, rocky mountains, floating gently on beds of sand dunes and haze.

As inviting as they are forboding, the mountains serve as a reminder that humans aren't supposed to reside upon them, with the curved and interlocking formations and craggy rockfaces seemingly defying gravity protruding upwards into the cloudless thin dry air. Sand dunes are blown across the bare land and pile up against the feet of their lofty counterparts.

Pedal, freewheel, lean on the bars, sit up, listen to pendulum - in silico, richie hawtin - concept 1, Bach, Bob Marley, Stephen Fry. The mind wanders, laugh - out loud, talking, grumbling, mood plunges. Stop. Drink coffee, eat figs, pomegranite, dates, chocolate. Pump the pedals, smooth and relaxed. Get annoyed with lorries. Good Mood. Waving to people. Stop and chat to a random.

The most difficult thing I ever did was leave my girlfriend behind. I met a French couple in a camper in Armenia near the Iran border. Chatted to them, wished they would take me with them. They gave me 2 apples and a glass of French mineral water. They left and I blubbered with a mixture of desperate sadness and happiness at the freedom with which my emotions were flowing from me.

Armenia was about serious steep climbs, sweating, finally, gladly waving goodbye to the former Soviet union, kind people, poverty and such. Iran has been about kind people, delicious food, introduction to the Islamic way of life, long stretches in the desert, good roads, mud buildings, caravanserais, mosques, qanats, ice houses, fountains, incredible craftsmanship and architecture, tourists, tourists, tourists with a bizarre concept of travelling (by bus from England to Australia??- it was bad enough going to school every day). Thinking of my future, my girlfriend, friends, possibilities. Meeting wonderful ambitious, interesting, driven and exciting young Iranians and a great deal more as you can imagine. And trochaic feet, syllabic accentuation, Bob Fossil, and the synergistic interaction between mind and environment.

I am currently in a nice flat watching the Jazz channel Mezzo and just watched Jeff Mills peforming techno with the Orchestra of Montpellier which might be where I end up living for a bit. Howard (or was it Harry) Moon (or was it Spoon) would be pleased.

Good bye and good life to you all. See you next time.

Mesmerising Landscapes and Tragic History of Bam

October 22, 2008

I cycled from Kerman. I was scared. I'd heard nothing positive about the road after Kerman. Luckily as usual the negative hot air is hyped out of proportion. I met a great guy in Mahan who gave me a huge insight into the Iranian and Islamic way. He spoke good English and we chatted for about 4 hours.

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