We all leave footprints The only difference is what kind of footprints. By now you will know that I’m a huge fan of wild camping and cycle touring. Like everything else, both those activities can and do leave footprints. Some footprints shouldn’t last When wild camping, the number one rule is simply this: Leave No … Read more
A cycle tourer’s dream What’s a Bampton Cycle Shelter? Is it a new kind of cycling infrastructure? Well, yes, and no. Many cycle tourers, like me, prefer to wild camp when touring. Wild camping brings with it some challenges: for starters, in England and Wales, more often than not, wild camping is trespass. Though I … Read more
Did the PCSC Bill turn wild camping into a crime? Such a deceptively simple question, but it turned out to be rather difficult to get an answer to it. Well, at least a straight, reliable answer. I’m a huge fan of wild camping, and personally find the UK’s new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill … Read more
An alternative to camp sites I only recently became aware of Welcome To My Garden, and I already think it’s a superb site. So what is it? That’s easy to explain: much like Warmshowers offer overnight accommodation to cycle tourers, Welcome To My Garden offers a camping spot for the night in people’s gardens. In … Read more
Mental health? Are you having a breakdown? There’s so much more to mental health, and it’s not a binary thing. Just like physical health, you see. After all, there’s middle ground between perfect physical health and lying in an induced coma in an intensive care unit. Some physical ailments, such as having a cold, is simply … Read more
I want it, Daddy, and I want it NOW! If you ever watched the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (the Johnny Depp remake isn’t worth watching!) then you will be familiar with that phrase, uttered by Veruca Salt. It’s so easy to dismiss her character as an obvious exaggeration, from a humorous children’s … Read more
We all live in fear The difference is what you fear. Some people fear the dark, some unfortunate souls fear open spaces. Many of us fight Imposter Syndrome on a daily basis, and fear being found out. Some fear being inadequate. Most fear death. A surprising amount even fear success. Almost everyone fears failure. And that … Read more
Near where I live the daffodils – harbingers of spring to many people – often start blooming in mid-December, so they are clearly not a (locally) reliable indicator of when spring has started. And talking of spring, there are several different ways to interpret the seasons, including spring, of course, but I tend to go … Read more
Think carefully about what you really want I get it – you’re busy. You go to work, perhaps have family commitments and more. There’s always something demanding your time and attention, right? I do have some questions for you though, beginning with just this: what exactly is it that you want from life? Do you want a … Read more
Cutting your transport costs by 14% (on average) sounds great, doesn’t it? So, what do you need to do to achieve this? That’s easier than you think! Simply don’t use any kind of car transport for one day per week. Literally, just a single day less! I’m not asking you to radically change your life, … Read more
All good organisations need a manifesto! Here’s mine! Life is short. Dreams fade. Reality intrudes. Everyday drudgery saps the very essence from your soul. Your 9 to 5 life is not living, as such – it’s merely existing. You wake up, get ready for work, go to work, work, go home, do some chores, watch … Read more
Don’t you find it ridiculous how you’re expected to make New Year’s resolutions, as if the difference between 31st of December and 1st of January is enormous? Regular gym users groan, as during January the gyms will be filled with people who all signed up for lengthy gym contracts, yet stop going to gym after a … Read more
Peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind I make no secret of the fact that I’m not a big fan of Christmas. Sure, it’s great for younger kids, although you do need to question the sincerity of a religious festival that involves – by default – lying to children: “Why, of course Father Christmas … Read more
2020 was a bastard! There’s no way of pretending it was anything else – so how did 2021 measure up? Obviously, ’21 remained dominated by COVID, and as I’m writing this, upward of 146 000 people have died from COVID in the UK alone this year. Undoubtedly vaccine rollouts have massively reduced deaths, but as … Read more
Cycloffee is like a treasure hunt, but with coffee shops For full details of the original (and national) Cyclofee game, please read this post first. Not everyone will want, or be able to participate in a game that’s deliberately spread across the whole UK, and from the outset I figured there’d be room for city-based … Read more