March 8, 2017

Should You Try Crossfit? How I Got into Crossfit.

Back in February, some friends who were ‘Crossfitters’ offered to me to go and try and try a session with them. I was sceptical at first. In hindsight I’m not sure why. However, let me try and explain.

Crossfit Corby

Training evolution

I consider myself to be quite fit. In the past I’ve done some epic, hard, long, steep, trips, journeys, adventures, races, blah, blah, blah… I have always done something through my life to keep up my fitness. However, I’ve had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, for quite a long time (years) that I’ve reached a plateau.

February 5, 2017

Who was Sir Francis Younghusband?

David Klein, a mountain climber, from Hungary, who we stayed with on the original Ride Earth bike tour, bought up Francis Younghusband as a British figure that he respected. He mentioned it in passing, but I wondered - who was this guy?

An Explorer

Younghusband was a noted figure and explorer in British India, born in 1863. In 1886-1887, on leave from his regiment he made an expedition through Manchuria, crossing the Gobi Desert and pioneering a route from Kashgar and India through the uncharted Mustagh Pass. He was elected as the youngest member of the Royal Geographical Society and received the society’s gold medal.

February 5, 2017

The pros and cons of programming as a career

I’m self taught coder. It is the best way I have found to make money and it interests me. I like computers and I’ve always had a talent for doing things with them. Here I detail some of the pros and cons of making a living from coding, programming, web / app development and related sectors.

Pros:

Money
Space to think
Creative space over how you achieve things
Programming is a useful skill to know as it can earn you money but it can also be helpful to be able to understand gadgets and machines that can be programmed
Participate in an emerging technology
Intellectual challenge
Get to meet intelligent people

Cons:

Screentime
Still a very poor wider understanding of what programmers do by rest of society (and the scope of the work behind the scenes).
Too male dominated
Usually office based and not physically active
Nascent technology means it is continuously developing
Niche technologies means its possible to get pigeon-holed by technology
Legacy systems
Time-consuming
Gap between ‘ideas’ and technical barriers to delivery
Technical debt - Legacy or poorly designed systems that have to be worked with
Often stuck in the same office
Doesn’t involve a lot of travel

Conclusion

Douglas Adams once said that each era has its new technology and if you can make a living from it then good for you.

February 4, 2017

Buy Cheap or Expensive Clothes?

Everyone has to buy clothes. With the prevalence of department stores like Primark that sell cheap clothes, the question is whether it is false economy to buy cheap.

More and more brands, even ‘higher end designer brands’, are producing clothes in the same dodgy factories and there have been numerous stories of poor industry practices that have shown stores up. For example, this story demonstrates the use of sweat shops by some of the best known high street stores.

January 22, 2017

The Performance Lab - Conditioning, Strength and Martial Arts Training Youtube Videos

I am lucky enough to have been able to train with Stewart Lovejoy for the last couple of years. He is a long term martial artist and fitness expert and really knows his stuff. He has started a Youtube channel and shares his conditioning, strength and martial arts training exercises and routines.

More available on the Youtube Channel

October 23, 2016

Which Jobs Combine Tech and an Adventurous Lifestyle?

As someone who has mostly made a living out of working in tech, but who loves the outdoors I have questioned the kind of existence that comes with “screen based work” - framing it as something that is at odds with an adventurous lifestyle. Here are some kinds of work that could combine the two.

Capturing media and stories from spectacular places.

The adventure content producer is someone who uses modern media capture technology - film, audio, written word etc to create stories which include company product placements. The media content may have value in its own right and can be sold as exciting adventurous stories to inspire armchair travellers and enthusiasts. Reaching consumers via stories instead of adverts is popular. Some companies employ a content team that goes out and specifically produces action-sports clips with their products - think Red Bull, any big outdoor manufacturer or consumer gadget with an outdoorsy audience. Shooting, directing, editing, and producing video content are all valuable skills.

October 23, 2016

Kitebiking - Wind-powered Biking Without Pedaling

Adventure cyclists always complain that the power of wind is the worst problem or best feeling on a bike. Either a headwind pushing you back or a tailwind pushing you along. What if you could harness the full power of the wind with a bike? Luckily its a thing.

Kite-biking involves pulling yourself along whilst sitting in a wheeled vehicle using kite power.

Requires wind so you need a back up if it dies down
De-power the kite if wind gets too powerful
Wide open space with space overhead for kite
Kite manoeuvring skills
Manoeuvre the kite whilst controlling the bike and avoiding obstacles
Training from an experienced practitioner

Bikes

PTW Cougar 2.5
Peter Lynn folding,
Libre V-Max
Flexifoil bug

Kites

Ozone kites
Jojo race kites

References

October 23, 2016

Ultimate Job? Job of the Week: Windsurf Tester.

Can you imagine spending every day testing out a new windsurf rig sailing off a sandy palm tree-lined beach? That is my job of the week. Read more tests at the Boards magazine website.

A hut on the beach with a variety of gear.
New gear being sent weekly.
The chance to test out all the gear over a prolonged period of time.
Know what is the best fit for you and to become a master of your craft.
Scratch under the surface of new set ups.
Modify aspects of the set up to make improvements based on different user cases.

By definition gear is very personal. You can buy one windsurf sail and board for the conditions that suit a place and ride it every day to find out that its near enough the best tool for the job for you. Any gear reviewer normally doesn’t have the luxury of being able to long term test equipment. Often equipment is on loan for a short period of time and then it has to be returned.

October 23, 2016

Pros and Cons of Making a Creative Living in the Adventure Travel Niche

When I decided to go cycle touring back in 2007, it was because I wanted to have an adventure. I had no intention of making a career of it. When I found a film company to help make a podcast of my journey, it changed things. Now there was a company who wanted to sell a film involved in the process. Add more companies, friends with ambitions and the rest.

October 23, 2016

Where should I live?

Moving to a new place is an important place and requires plenty of research.

Affordability

Living comfortably and within your means should be your first concern.
Prices of consumable goods, housing expenses, fuel, utilities - electric and water, and taxes.

Taxes

Rates of state and local taxes vary.
Tax credit or exemption benefits.
local sales tax, income tax.

Employment

Research the job markets - analysing quality employment.
Income levels for jobs.
Availability of opportunities in your industry.

Work