Tales of adventure tend to fall into one of two camps. The first is about the adventurer who sets out to overcome an impossible challenge. Setting forth from familiar surrounds, he (it’s almost always ‘he’) regales us with impressive-sounding escapades that take place in worlds of decreasing…
I don’t normally dedicate entire blog posts to a single event, but this is one that deserves special attention. Because there aren’t many events in the UK calendar that deal specifically with the planning of long overland adventures. HUBB UK, however, is one of them. Spawned from the hugely…
A lot’s happened since Janapar’s premiere at Raindance last year, but one of the nicest moments was winning one of the top awards at Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, one of the UK’s main fixtures in the adventure & outdoor festival calendar. It was particularly rewarding given the…
In the summer of 2007, my best mate Andy Welch and I set off from my front door. We’d called our expedition ‘Ride Earth’, and were all set to cycle round the world. But the experiences that followed changed all we thought we knew about, travel, adventure and cycle-touring. Weave… Continued…
The best gift I’ve ever received on the road is this; a stove made from nothing but a discarded drinks can. In this video we’re going to learn how to make it (with a little help from my friend Armen). You can get your raw materials from the trashcan, make… Continued (17 comments) →
As you’ll know if you’re a regular reader, my goal for 2013 is to become fluent in Farsi (Persian) by the end of the year. A big part of this attempt, I previously wrote, would be done by totally immersing myself in the language on trips to Iran, a country… Continued (6 comments) →
Get a bicycle. It doesn’t really matter which one, as long as it’s comfortable, but you won’t get far without it. Quit your job. You’ll need a few years for this, so write a letter to your boss explaining that you’re sorry but there’s something you have to do. Leave.… Continued (14…
There’s a 90-day visa in my passport, my bags are packed, and I’ll be leaving for Iran in the next couple of days. But before I go, I’ve promised quite a few people a write-up of my experience running a successful Kickstarter campaign. Here goes… Last year I took a… Continued (22 comments)…
So I’m back in Yerevan, my Iranian visa application is filed, and I’ve a week to kill: a good opportunity to look back before the madness of travel descends. It’s been an eventful few weeks with much food for thought. I’ve toured all over the UK and Ireland, attending 12 dates… Continued…
Today I leave on a new journey, exploring language-learning in Iran. I’ll be on my way to the airport by the time this is published. But yesterday I was invited to join presenter Ben Jackson for an extended conversation on my local radio station, BBC Radio Leicester. They were kind… Continued (2…