The Whole Idea....

"So, Josh, what are you plans for after graduation?" This seems to have become the staple topic of all conversations that I have had with friends and family over the past 6 months. I must admit that I am particularly guilty of asking this question myself, by virute of hoping to hear an answer similar to the one that I myself always give: "I'm not really sure".
 

The modern working world has been bombarding me with invitation emails to join Graduate Scheme X or Training programme Y for as long as I care to remember, and quite frankly I have grown tired of it. The offering of a "strategic development programme guaranteed to help me achieve my business targets" does not seem to be making things any better. As such, with some solid and refreshing advice from a fascinating and thoroughly well-lived man called Robert Twigger (more on him later) I have decided that is time to stop dreaming, and start doing.

This blog is the first step to me 'doing'. My dream is to complete a cicrcumnavigation of the globe by bike. I love cycling and I love travelling; and so the opportunity to combine these two things has often been the source of many a daydream. I plan to start this trip in Summer 2013, taking between 8-12 months to complete it, and by writing this blog and beginning to think about and share some ideas I hope that my dream can be borne into reality. Over the coming months I will be documenting videos, pictures and thoughts in relation to the trip, in order to expose to all that a trip of a life-time is a goal worth working for.

By writing I also hope that I can build up an exchange of ideas with those that will read it, so please feel free to contact me with any advice or ideas you may have for a trip. The best advice I have recived recently (credit Robert Twigger again!) is to keep telling yourself: "He's done it, and he's no better than me, so I'm going to do it too." Here's me doing it, wish me luck....

Training time!

I've always been a fan of keeping fit and all sorts of sports having played football, rugby, tennis and athletics for many years. Unfortunately, University and living in Prague for 6 months (where beer is 60p a Pint...) introduced me to the (dubious) pleasures of fast food and the (undoubted) pleasure of beer. This meant that my fitness was placed on hold for a couple of years as I worked on a nice new rotund shape for my belly.

WELL THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!!! 

I recently signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon in the summer, which has got me swimming and running several times a week whilst also getting me out on nice long trips on the bike again. I like to vary my routines as I believe that a good all round fitness will be vital for a major trip so that I can manage a whole range of obstacles I might come across.

For example, as I mentioned I have started swimming and running a lot, which will help increase my flexibility and stamina. In addition to this I have taken up Muay Thai Boxing. This has been a fantastic idea as it has begun to toughen me up. I was no wimp to begin with (well, maybe a little...!) but taking punches and kicks to the body twice a week for an hour and a half has conditioned me to push through any smaller injuries, as well as increasing my pain threshold in case of any accidents. Not only this, but should I encounter any ninjas/Chuck Norris in the desert, I should feel sufficiently confident to roundhouse kick any of them in the face!!!!

And even though I think I would make a terrible, terrible soldier, I have started doing the Army's Personal fitness assessment with my own circuits thrown in. It goes something like this:

1.5 mile run

2 minute sit up test

2 minute press up test

3 x circuit of 10 x tricep dip, 10 x squats, 10 x lunge

10 x Burpies (if you don't know what they are, google!)

6 x 20metre sprint interval

2 minute plank

1 minute sit up test (do a different type from the first test)

1 minute press up test (again, try a different type to get different muscles working)

Give it a go and let me know what you think!

Fitness and endurance are going to play such vital roles in the success of this trip and so making sure I'm as prepared, healthy and fit as possible is all part of the organisation, and of the course the fun (if you enjoy the pain!)

First Big Trip

The furthest I had ever ridden on a bike before last Friday was 60 miles from my house in Bishop's Stortford to Cambridge, and back. However, after (several beers) my friend Andy suggested cycling down to where he lived in Birmingham from our Uni in Sheffield. It took me around half a second to say yes!!!

We used a great website (www.bikehike.co.uk) to plan our route which came to 90 miles. 90 miles I'll admit sounds a lot, but in the world of cycling that is merely a jaunt for most serious guys. We however, aren't very serious. And so, with limited planning and thinking ahead, we set off at 8am on the 30th March down to Birmingham. Our route took us through the Peak District and towns such as Bakewell, stopping for a big lunch in Ashbourne, about 35 miles into the ride. We made some fantastic progress despite the big hills and more than made up for our poor performances going up, by refusing to use our brakes on the way down!

A fantastic part of the journey took in the Tissington Trail for 13 miles, which despite being 'off road' is more than suitable for any road bike as we discovered (it's also a gentle downhill alllll the way, but we don't tell many people that), and I would recommend it to anyone.

Eventually, after 6hr 46 of riding time we arrived at Andy's house to a cold beer and a roast dinner. We were surprised at just how good we felt considering neither of us had ridden that far before, and we put this down to natural athleticism.....!

The whole journey reinforced in my mind the need and desire to complete an even bigger trip than this and my love for being outdoors on the bike. There is something incredibly satisfying about powering yourself from A to B over a substantial distance on the map. The opportunity to create a big red line across the whole world is hugely exciting and has motivated to make sure the trip happens!

Before we set off, I also created a bracket to hold my phone in, which allowed me to create a time lapse video throughout the whole trip. A photo was taken every ten seconds which I then sped up to create the video below. Unfortunately the battery ran out after 70 miles, but I plan to recitfy this problem on my next big trip! Enjoy!

First attempt at film making....

So here is a preview of what I hope can be an introduction for a much longer video after the trip has been completed....I've been advised to get involved with some cycle-related film making to show off my seriousness about the trip, so I have! Here is my first attempt at documenting some of things that I've done over the past few weeks in relation to biking or just general mucking about outdoors (please excuse the poor editing, I'll get used to it eventually) Enjoy, and let me know what you think!