We are all free. We are free to make up our own minds. We are free to make our own decisions. We are not free from the consequences of those decisions. For example, I’m free to try and rob a bank, even though that’s against the law. When I get caught afterwards (bank robbers always get caught) … Read more
Cycling around the world We all would love to go cycling around the world, but life has a way of putting obstacles in the way. Most of us will never go cycle touring around the world. You can choose to see that as a terrible thing, or you can accept the reality of the situation, … Read more
We all like a freebie, don’t we? Well, during 2022, I’m doing 12 freebies! That’s right – I’m doing ONE T-shirt giveaway per month. How to enter Entering is simple, but requires a Twitter account. Just follow WillCycle on Twitter, then browse through the T-shirt designs available and pick your favourite. Next, click the link … Read more
Cold-weather camping I’ve been forced to delay a planned winter camping trip on Dartmoor by a combination of having to do out-of-hours work over several weekends, and the severe weather we’ve been having for a while. Seriously, going camping in such a remote spot as I was planning to, while there were 80+mph gales blowing, … Read more
“I learned the truth at seventeen That love was meant for beauty queens And high school girls with clear skinned smiles Who married young and then retired” These are the lyrics to a beautiful, if rather sad, song called At Seventeen, by an artist called Janis Ian. I included the YouTube video at the bottom. … Read more
I’m setting up the WillCycle Adventure Fund, which will be a crowdfunded annual award of (hopefully) £250. Applicants to the fund will need to submit their request as a comment to this post, detailing why they should receive the money. I will publish all the applications in a future post, and ask you to vote on your … Read more
Adventure, or conquest? Once upon a time, explorers set off from Europe with a view to “conquer”, and that Eurocentric view persists in some form or another to this day. If I was to ask you who discovered the Victoria Falls in Africa, you’d probably answer that David Livingston did. If you answered that, you’d … Read more
Different people measure the start of spring in different ways, so I expect there will be a fair few who dispute that spring is here. Sure, storms Dudley and Eunice hammered the UK this past week, but that doesn’t alter the fact that spring has arrived early. Look around you: the obvious signs, like daffodils … Read more
Crossing England from sea to sea The island of Great Britain is longer than it is wide, meaning there are lots of opportunities to cycle a “coast to coast” of some sort, crossing the island (mostly) from east to west, or vice versa. There are many well-known cycle touring routes that cross northern England, with … Read more
I thought I’d spice things up a bit for you, by setting you a monthly challenge, starting this month. These challenges will vary considerable – some will involve cycling, and some will involve walking. Most would involve being outside, but certainly not all. Why should you do it? Simple: to add some fun to your … Read more
Do you remember the sense of freedom you had when you were a child, and you could hop on your bicycle and pedal off on adventures with your friends? Have you wondered if you can ever experience that same sense of freedom and enjoyment again? Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to … Read more
…and we must answer As I’m sat here, writing this, the weather is grim outside, with rain and 50 mph winds. Raindrops streak like tears down my office window, and all the birds have gone into hiding. Originally, I was planning on riding out to Dartmoor and camp overnight, but after a very fortunate escape … Read more
There is a whole wealth of debate to be had about the benefits (and there were at least a few) versus the evils (of which there were many) of the age of colonialism. This post is NOT that debate. However, I will point out that one of the things that always stuck me about that … Read more
I’ve partnered up with John Devoy, the author of Quondam – Travels In A Once World, to give away a signed copy of the book. In case you’ve not previously heard of it, I’ve done a review of it here, and it remains one of the very best travel books I have ever read. I … Read more
We all like a freebie, don’t we? Well, during 2022, I’m doing 12 freebies! That’s right – I’m doing ONE T-shirt giveaway per month. How to enter Entering is simple, but requires a Twitter account. Just follow WillCycle on Twitter, then browse through the T-shirt designs available and pick your favourite. Next, click the link … Read more