I found the link to Tim Gasperak's photos that I posted yesterday on Jeffrey Veen's blog (I don't know Jeffrey or Tim from Adam, by the way). Tim emailed me out of the blue this evening to thank me for linking to his site, BigEmpty.com, and to tell me that he lived in Iceland a while back and used to know the seriously accomplished climber/polar adventurer Haruldur Olafsson. How cool is that?
It's nice to be reminded that there are generally great people behind great websites.
NB. I've just discovered the Blue Earth Alliance, via Tim's about page, and I'm sure there's some way to involve them with my next expedition (to Antarctica). Like I said, cool.
edit: it looks like Blue Earth have already sponsored a project on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
— Filed under Miscellany
In a bid to hush the butterflies in our stomachs (I'll come on to that bit later), Tony and I chucked the bikes in the car and headed into the Surrey hills for a couple of hours' training this afternoon. I'd heard horror stories about the Ballbuster Duathlon (8-mile run, 24-mile bike, 8-mile run – '…it should be treated with the utmost respect… many fail each year!' says the website, enticingly). The Ballbuster ascends Box Hill a total of five times, so I thought it'd be fun to check out the course. Good news: the hill itself isn't that bad. Bad news: this probably means I'll be entering the race.
As for the butterflies – they're kicking up a fuss because rather a lot is hanging in the balance of a 30-minute meeting tomorrow morning. Essentially, it's about whether or not Serco will sponsor the next expedition (I've been keeping the plans half under wraps until plans are more definite, but it's a *huge* project). They've been a dream sponsor so far and I have every finger and toe crossed. I'll let you know how it goes…
— Filed under Cycling
Gorgeous cycling photography, brought to you by Caroline Yang and Tim Gasperak.
— Filed under Aside
Enough's enough. I've been playing around with the design of this site for yonks, and I've finally settled on a design I'm happy with. I think. I've also uploaded the final round of holiday snaps, from my 2001 North Pole expedition with Pen Hadow (fourth link down on the gallery page).
The 2001 expedition was my first time on sea ice and I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. Nearly everything that could have gone wrong on that trip did. Bear attack, frostbite, equipment failure, hunger, hypoglycaemia, and when I got home, depression. The photos don't really do it justice.
On a different note, the Guardian chose this site as today's 'Top Blog' . They suggest I might end up as 'prey to tall poppy syndrome'. In hindsight, I suspect emailing them yesterday to nominate my own site probably swayed their assessment slightly…
Note to self: less shameless self-publicity, more self-deprecation.
— Filed under Other expeditions
Wahey. National Geographic Adventure magazine are featuring me in their October issue's 'What it Takes' feature, detailing 36 of the world's toughest challenges. I'd not seen the magazine before (I think it's published in the US and Canada only) but they've been great fun to work with.
Anyhow, the challenges are rated on a numerical scale:
'Numbers indicate level of difficulty, on a scale of one (might break a sweat) to ten (might break the laws of nature, a few essential bones and your mother's heart.'
Of the 36, Mike Melville (63-year-old pilot of SpaceShipOne) scores a richly deserved 9.9, and I'm in second place – skiing solo to the North Pole scores a whopping 9.5.
I'll be dining out on that one for a while…
— Filed under Rumination
Luke (my running partner & all-round top bloke) is off to the jungle any minute now. I think you'll be able to follow his progress on EventRate.
— Filed under Aside
By popular request, the famous air guitar photo from my solo North Pole expedition this spring, in desktop wallpaper size (ideal for practical jokes, frightening small children, etc.)
— Filed under Aside
Our mountains are being stripped of their awe. (Great comment piece by Simon Jenkins in the Times last week.)
— Filed under Aside
I was stood on my doorstep a few days ago, fumbling in my back pocket for the keys. I'd been training on my bike and was kitted out in lycra shorts, cycling shoes, skin-tight blue top, Giro helmet and mirrored Oakley shades. A lady was wheeling a pushchair past and I heard the kid call out 'look, mum… it's Superman'. Perhaps they were on the way to the optician…
I've been tinkering with the site's design this afternoon – I'm going for the 'less is more' look and I've stripped a few elements out of the design. Any thoughts?
— Filed under Miscellany
I've long been into what British book shops tend to lump together as 'self-help' literature. It all started when I was 14 or 15. I had a Saturday job in a bicycle shop (most of my earnings went straight back in the till), part of a chain of stores run by a young guy called Phil. Phil impressed the hell out of me – he was energetic (bordering on hyperactive), charismatic and most importantly, he owned a bright red Lotus Esprit.
I spent many a tea break gazing into that car's deep red paint and pressing my nose against the windows. One day I spotted a book in the footwell, a copy of Anthony Robbins' 'Unlimited Power'. I can't remember exactly when I bought it, but for most of my teens, I never put it down. Read the rest of this entry »
— Filed under Rumination
Valeria and I hooked up with my brother and his girlfriend to watch the last stage of the Tour of Britain today. It was a pretty cool way to spend a summer's afternoon and (to my mind) bike racing is always a spectacle, regardless of the setting. I was lucky enough to see the Züri-Metzgete World Cup race this time two weeks ago, and there were a few interesting comparisons with the Tour of Britain… Read the rest of this entry »
— Filed under Cycling
The flight to Glasgow is laughably short – take off, fold down table, eat, coffee, rearrange plastic cutlery in tray, fold up table, land.
I sat next to an old chap with a pot belly, liver-coloured spots on the backs of his hands, a hearing aid that kept squeaking and one of those copper bracelets that turn your skin green. When the stewardess offered him tea or coffee, he nodded and smiled. I saw his wife pop their two little chocolate mousses (the pudding that came with our meal) into her handbag for later. I stared out of the window at the beautiful summer sky (cotton wool clouds, patchwork landscape, hot air balloons) and felt happy and sad at the same time.
The next morning I spoke to pupils at the Wishaw Academy Primary School. I've done so much corporate speaking recently that I was worried about switching back into 'kids' mode, but the slew of questions I fielded at the end showed that I must have communicated something. They were a fantastic audience and a few of their questions really got me thinking.
- Favourite question: 'Did your beard keep you warm?'
- Most thought-provoking question: 'If you could go on an expedition with anyone, who would it be?'
- Most left-field question: 'Do you live in London?' ('Yes.') 'Near Croydon?' ('Erm…')
The pupils talked a little about the personal challenges they had set themselves after following the expedition – one lad (10 or 11 years old) plans to ride his bike 30 miles in two days. How cool is that?
NB. You know you're living in the 21st century when kids take photos with their camera phones rather than asking you to autograph their exercise books. Blimey.
— Filed under Schools/Education, Speaking
