August 4, 2013

Weave of the Ride Officially Launched (so Now You Can Get Your Copy)

On Saturday 3rd of August 2013, ‘Weave of the Ride’ was officially launched on a sunny Hampstead Heath. People turned up from all directions. We shared a picnic, stories and desires for adventure, and there was a presentation and Q&A.

Some questions that were asked included; How did I raise funds for my journey? The answer was that I worked before I left, raised about £3500 and that covered the journey to Georgia. I worked in Georgia as an English teacher, web designer and photographer and that raised enough to fund my onward journey through Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. I mentioned that it is always useful to have a skill or business that can travel with you.

August 4, 2013

Weave of the Ride: A tale told from two points of view

I was happy to have two blog posts written about Weave of the Ride. Tom Allen from tomsbiketrip.com and Alastair Humphreys (National Geographic Adventurer of the Year) wrote about the book and cite the value of a story that is shared from multiple perspectives.

I quote from Alastair’s blog:

This is all background to why I have really enjoyed reading two telling of the same tale. Tom Allen and Andy Welch set out together to try to cycle round the world. They have both written books about their experiences. I enjoyed the books and both of them make a useful addition to the canon of cycle touring literature. But the sum of the parts are greater than the individual parts. (A future idea for them, as both have self-published and thus retain all control, would be a print run of both books in one volume.)

June 25, 2013

Tales of Adventure - An evening of animating stories of exploration

‘The George’ pub founded in 1723 as a coffee house and gets its name either from the proprieter whose name was George or from Georgia III who is depicted on the pub sign (known for his bouts of madness). It is an ideal venue for share stories of unusual journeys and explorations, set against the backdrop of beer-swilling lawyers and other suited workers. There is a special sense of irony in telling such tales of escape in the heart of one of London’s busiest and ‘steeped-in-tradition’ areas near Aldwych in Holborn.

June 12, 2013

Tales of Adventure Talk - 20th June - London

I will be giving a talk about Weave of the Ride and the importance of taking journeys at The George Pub, 213 The Strand, London on 20th June. The event opens at 7pm and I will be talking at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £5 on the door. There will be a raffle for the book, books available for sale and book signing. The events are usually sold out and are first come, first served. There have been many amazing speakers at previous events so I’m very happy to also be participating.

March 31, 2013

Weave of the Ride - A Book About Cycling Across Europe with No Idea and No Budget

Having graduated from university, I was lucky to get a job, but I felt life had more to offer than the daily commute and hours on the computer. I hatched a plan to hit a trail of adventure by combining my passion for cycling with a thirst for adventure. Having enlisted the help of an old school friend, we set about preparing the most audacious trip we could think of - to mountain bike around the world.

March 31, 2013

Weave of the Ride Book Launch Speech

Weave of the Ride is close to me as it speaks about my personal encounters and conversations with different cultures on my journeys.

My travels can be split into 3 major journeys between 2007 and 2010; Europe to Georgia, Georgia to India and Mongolia.

I currently work as an open source software developer and write books and work on design projects.

I live in London but I was brought up in a small Leicestershire village running around the fields having adventures.

March 31, 2013

3 handpicked moments from the Weave of The Ride

From ‘Frozen Lands’ Chapter 60

We departed at sunrise the following day. The bitterly cold air became gradually less polluted as we cycled along the Mtkvari river and out of the city. The snow and ice-laden ground reminded me that we still didn’t have winter sleeping bags. I hoped we would find a warm place to stay.

From ‘A Typical Turkish Town’ Chapter 38

A baker gestured us to stop at his bakery and we watched him baking bread. He strung out and plaited a lump of dough and then placed it in the cavern-like clay oven on a tray with a long handle. Soon we were salivating at the aroma of freshly baked bread. It was slightly crisply on the outside with a soft and fluffy inside. It was delicious: better than French bread.

August 31, 2012

Maker Workshops at Harts Lane Studios

A couple of workshops at a space in New Cross.

migrated from the WeQuest Research blog:

I was preparing the Hart Lane studios space with Rebecca for the Why Make workshop and a guy came in and said he was looking for the person who ran the space because he wanted to help his friend put on a workshop for local residents in New Cross to make their own solar panels.

August 19, 2012

Workshop at uscreates about Future of Bike Touring

I attended a great workshop tonight at uscreates near London Bridge, ran by Jonathon Pye-Finch (pye-finch.co.uk | @jonpyefinch) it was a great opportunity to meet some cool people and discuss ways to get more people bike touring, particularly those considering going on their GAP year travels to persuade them to go cycle touring instead! Many bases were covered including: how do people become aware of the possibility of going cycle touring, what puts people off, how do people feel prepared enough to leave, what you need when you are on the road, and how to make a living, explore and deepen the experience of being open to possibilities and opportunities on the move. Some photos.

July 31, 2012

Occupy Light Box Intervention

Fellow student, created covers for advertising lightboxes at bus stops to repurpose the message.