Some things that we can do in life make us feel more alive than others
These activities are things that make me feel alive:
By Andy
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Posted in Constructive Ranting, Mountain Biking, Run-up Diary
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Also tagged Art, Dancing, Eating, feel alive, Inspiration, Life, Motivation, Photography, ranting, self-development, skiing
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Tom emailed me last week and to tell me he was going to follow an old man on a horse to a hot spring at 3000m. That sounded like my idea of fun so I decided to go to Yerevan and do it.
I went to the bus station in Ortachala in Tbilisi at 9.30 am [...]
By Andy
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Posted in Armenia, Asia, Expedition Journal, Mountain Biking
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Also tagged Adventure, Andy, Armenia, biking, caldera, church, Curry, dolma, epic, explosif, kona, Mountain Biking, Mountains, retro, snow, tom, Wild, wildnerness
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On 24th October cyclists, walkers and skaters gathered outside the Philharmonia theatre in Tbilisi to parade down Rustaveli as part of Climate Week combined with the ‘Tbilisoba’ or Tbilisi’s day- a yearly traditional celebration.
This is the first post in a while to the Ride Earth blog because I’ve not been cycle touring recently.
I returned via Public transport back from France to Tbilisi at the end of the summer. I met Tom in Venice and we spent a long and strange evening sleeping on a bench drinking wine with [...]
I wanted to write something more about my experience in Iran. At the time I didn’t write much on the blog. But I did write a lot in my diary which will appear in a book in the future.
Some experiences stay in my mind in particular. They started at Agarak, the Armenian-Iranian border. I remember [...]
By Andy
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Posted in Expedition Journal, Georgia, Iran
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Also tagged bam, Couchsurfing, culture, desert, history, Iran, isfahan, kerman, memories, Philosophy, south iran, yazd
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On Monday I received a shiny new Kona Caldera aluminium hardtail mountain bike frame from Kona. They supported Tom and I with our Explosif frames. However, my frame came a cropper in New Delhi when it snapped near the rear dropout (after 16k of riding loaded with luggage). I was able to get it welded [...]
By Andy
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Posted in Expedition Journal
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Also tagged aluminium, Bike, bruce lee, caldera, frame, kona, mountain bike, Mountain Biking, quote, red, review, shiny, sponsorship, steel, Wisdom
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Long time since I wrote, I know. In fact I’ve been spending a lot of time in front of a computer. I’ve been writing every morning and now have written 95000 words of my book. I met one of my sister’s friends a couple of days ago who has just finished writing a book she [...]
By Andy
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Posted in Climate Change, England, Europe, France, Georgia, Mountain Biking, Switzerland, Turkey, writing
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Also tagged 4HWW, andrew welch, biking, boat, CENN, Climate Change, creativity, critiscism, Dancing, dave allen, demonstrations, design, effectiveness, England, Environment, folklore, freedom square, Georgia, georgian, georiders, greece, GTD, Motivation, Mountain Biking, ngo, parliament, Photography, portfolio, public transport, rustaveli, saakashvili, saburtalo, swimming, Tbilisi, Timoty ferriss, travel, Turkey, uk, Websites, writing
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I’m now 55,000 words into my book’s first draft and I’ve learnt a few things which I thought I’d share:
Get up early in the morning to write. e.g. 6 am. I tried writing late at night and got into a counter-productive routine of falling asleep at 10.30 pm, waking up at 2 am and working [...]
I’ve been working a lot on creative stuff recently. My profession is in the field of web design. I’ve been posting artwork onto the Ride Earth flickr photo album, and other creative nuggets of inspiration and perhaps they don’t belong there.
In response to a Youtube video: ‘Is cycle touring becoming boring’?
Last week it was the Holi festival where people throw colourful powder and drench each other with water. I took a cycle ride through the Mehrauli area near the Qutab Minar monument just as the festivities were peaking in the morning.
I arrived last night in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. The country holds great intrigue for me and my initial impressions do not disappoint.
Kathmandu is a relaxed and historical place which, I get the inkling, has a great deal to offer for those who are willing to hang about and dig deeper below the surface [...]
By Andy
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Posted in Nepal
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Also tagged Borders, Buddhism, Bus, Chay, Cities, Clothes, Crafts, Enlightenment, Extrawheel, Filming, Foam, Food, Gaffer Tape, Getting Lost, Happiness, Historical, Improvisation, India, Internet Cafe, Intrigue, Kathmandu, Lethargy, Mental State, Negativity, Nepal, Pedalling, Photography, Physical State, Relaxed, Risk, Silence, Stomach Bug, Street Food, Trekking
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I was taking photos of a beautiful sunset after a long day’s ride when I chanced upon a couple of Hindu nuns who were standing outside their school / orphanage.
By Andy
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Posted in Expedition Journal, India
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Also tagged Ashram, Bike Shop, Buffalo, Children, Dharma, Donating a bike, English, Hinduism, Meditation, Motivation, Orphanage, Photography, School, Self-sufficiency, Students, Suburbs, Sunset, Temples, Varanasi, Volunteering, Wheels4Life
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I feel a bit like I haven’t been telling the full story through the blog in terms of what’s been going on. This is mainly because I’ve had to do everything from internet cafes and time and expense are a factor.
December involved a decision to get off the main highway and spend some time exploring [...]
By Andy
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Posted in Expedition Journal, India, Scotland
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Also tagged Agriculture, Banana Plantations, Bharoch, Expense, Get Off the Highway, Hinduism, Internet Cafe, Pedalling, Photography, Pollution, Religion, Rest, Time, Towns, Villages, Wild Camping
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I’ve had a strange last week. The urge to use some of my newly rediscovered lateral thinking skills has been bubbling to the surface. I found Edward De Bono’s book Lateral Thinking in a book shop in Quetta and through reading it, I’ve found inspiration to find new challenging adventures and varied experiences.
By Andy
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Posted in Expedition Journal, India
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Also tagged Acupuncture, Adventure, Almond, Aroused, Bhaji, Bizarre, Cake, Challenge, Cricket, Daughtered, Dhaal, Diet, Dogs, Eating With My Fingers, Edward De Bono, English, Experience, Fingers, Good Decision, Grandfather, Gujarat, Healthy, Hinduism, Hospital, Husband, India, Indian Culture, Inspiration, Jainism, Language, Lateral Thinking, Limit, Main Road, Massage, Meat, Milk, Milling about, Mothered, Noise, Passion, Physical, Process, Procrastination, Quetta, Reading, Relaxing, Religion, Rice, Rolling Pin, Rural, Saddhus, Satisfying, Side Road, Smiling, Solutions, Soup, Spice, Spoon, Strange, Tasty, Temples, Thali, Thighs, Touring, Variety, Vegetarian, Villages, Wedding, Wild Camping, Zone
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Youtube video: Is cycle touring becoming boring? April 9, 2009
In response to a Youtube video: ‘Is cycle touring becoming boring’?