Thoughts and feelings

I left Andre at the ferry terminal, he gave me a hug and his address, I was grateful for both. I mentioned if I turned up at his house in France he may not be in. He replied with smiling eyes that his front door is never locked and I can just go in, occupied or not. He pedalled off towards Norway, not a care in the world. As yet I have no map, so I got on the cycle path and headed Eastish. I ended up in Haarlem, bought bananas and dates and then it was on to Amsterdam, really well signposted and the cycle path was virtually empty. Once I hit the City centre it was a completely different story. It was a perpetual motion of cyclists,  hundreds upon hundreds. It was a challenge to learn the 'rules'. Once I joined this dance you just got swept along in the flow of it all. There was no stopping and no slowing down. It reminded me of a revolving dance floor in Newcastle - I couldn't get off that either. Anyway, I made it to my campsite. Booked 2 nights to give me a chance to have...

I arrived at the ferry terminal at 1:30pm without a ticket to cross over to Holland. For some reason I was hoping to find somebody I could share a cabin with. To save money. 10 minutes later a man walked over and said he was also cycle touring, he was French and he'd been in Scotland for 5 weeks. We chatted for a while then I asked him where he was going to, he replied to Holland. Once the booking office opened we agreed to share the cost of a ticket. After handing in our passports the lady then said she needs to give them to the police to be checked. I thought this was strange so I asked Andre where had he been? This then led him to tell me he had cycled from China to France, from Alaska to Peru and from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans. All with his wife.  Eventually the police returned the passports, asking my friend about his various travels. We were issued boarding passes and got on the ferry. In the cabin we chatted some more about our travels. His bike trip from New...

I already know that this trip will be all about people. I met a woman walking the Penine Way, on her own, she told me if you ever get lost in life then just choose "Freedom". That is so true. A couple were out hiking and they highly recommended to me Holland and Germany for cycling. He said in 3 years when he retired he and his wife would be travelling all the time. Met a guy from Jamaica outside a petrol station. He was so funny, kept giving me high fives. He said just live your life brother. After he told me he was 50 I said to him that his skin was so  smooth, he replied "Yeah man, black don't crack!" Loads of people on the campsite all walking the Hadrians Wall route.  The lady in the wash area said a group of them are doing it to raise money for some special hospital beds. They have raised 50 thousand pounds already. One of the walkers brothers died from a brain tumour, he was only 40, and now the whole family are on a mission to help people. I absolutely l...

I know it's a cliché that music is a big part of people's life but for me it's true. Buying vinyl as a teenager, reading all the sleeve notes. Having a Sony Walkman on all the time. I listened to The Jam and Northern Soul, I loved the clothes and the energy. All the artists I listened to back then I still listen to now, 40 years later. Paul Weller, Van Morrison, The Blue Nile, Nick Drake, Nick Cave. When I think about it, a lot of the songs are slow and reflective, it stops and makes me think. I've never been into Popmusic,  throwaway stuff. I need to feel it, I want it to take me somewhere.  I can't go out for a walk on the streets without music playing, but if I'm walking in the countryside I don't listen to music at all, I need that connection with nature, with no distractions. As a 16 year old I came across a cassette tape, Into the Music by Van Morrison and I swear, it changed my life. I had never heard anything like it before, it was mystical. And ther...

This was my 7th time of running this event. My training had gone really well, apart from an ache in my groin which I can manage. I know when to take a day off and rest and when it's OK to push it a bit. My alarm went off at 2:15am, then it's a slow get ready, no rush. Bagels and almond butter and sunflower seeds and a banana. 500ml of water. I sit and reflect on the day ahead. There are always nerves, even though I'm just taking part and raising money for charity, it's not as if I'm trying to win the thing. I break the day down into small sections, get to the bus on time and then relax for the 2hr journey to the start. Why do I do these things? In my head I'm trying to master the self doubt. I've trained, I'm fit, mentally I'm in a good place. But it's still 37.5 miles and I know it's going to hurt. Don't go off too fast or try too hard, don't go looking for the pain, let it come and find you. When I sign up for these race...

I've been thinking a lot about social media recently. I'll start by saying these are just my views and opinions on it. This is in no way an attack on other people and how they feel about it, they can do whatever they want, I have no problem at all with others. I realise I'm in the minority.  I just don't get it at all. I'm talking about social media now, not the internet, I'm not that much of a dinosaur. I know it can be  a good way to keep in touch with friends or relatives. Also for networking in a career or a professional path.  But I haven't a career or a big circle of friends. I'd rather just phone  them or arrange to meet up with them, face to face. Social media seems to be this place where perfection goes to live, look at me, look at what I've got, look at my wonderful body/car/holiday and look at how little and inconsequential you are. Why are these people always trying to impress strangers? Sorry, I mean 'followers' Obviously this do...