28 October 2005
I'll write something decent soon (there's a lot to write about) but right now, life is flying by at a hundred miles an hour (and it's 1am). In the interim, I'll leave you with the fabulous Ethan Zuckerman's prolific blogging from PopTech last week.
— Filed under Rumination
26 October 2005
25 October 2005
19 October 2005
18 October 2005
Tony and I had our first rollerski coaching session yesterday morning in (an unseasonably warm and sunny) Hyde Park. As I basically ski for a living, it felt slightly awkward admitting that my skate ski experience (Wikipedia has a nice article on the differences between classic and skate, or 'free' XC-skiing) was practically nil.
Thankfully, Tony and I took to it like a couple of (fairly unstable) ducks to water and Iain, our coach, had us whizzing around the park in no time. It was easier to pick up than I had at first feared, but at the same time I get the impression it's one of those sports you could still be mastering years after taking it up. Much like dragging a sledge through an airport, you get tons of funny looks and it's a great conversation-starter. What's more, even our modest beginner's session proved a good workout, and if you live near one of London's parks and fancy something different to the usual sweaty spinning class, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it – www.rollerski.co.uk.
On a much sadder note, two of my heroes (both cyclists) died recently. Zak Carr was knocked off his bike yesterday morning, and John Ibbotson passed away at his desk (aged 27) a few days ago. The thing is that I'd admired them from afar – John spent a few hard years as a pro cyclist on the continent (one of my unfulfilled childhood dreams, and one of the toughest existences imaginable) and Zak was one of the 'testers' or time-triallists that make British cycling so unique; out racing alone, against the clock on windswept stretches of road, week in, week out, when most people are still tucked up in bed. Both were true role-models for Britain's kids – not for them the overnight Pop Idol 'success'; these guys knew what it was to follow their passion, to slog their guts out chasing goals that often seemed elusive and unattainable, and to share the passion they had for sport, and for life, with everone around them.
I'm in the States for the rest of this week, at the (incredible) PopTech conference in (the equally incredible) Camden, Maine. I'm not speaking this year, but I'm looking forward to chilling out for a few days in some very esteemed company.
13 October 2005
Ace photographer Tim Gasperak is in Iceland right now, and he's taking some stunning pictures (1, 2).
— Filed under Aside
12 October 2005
I've recently switched to doing all of my training first thing in the morning (unless I'm travelling, in which case it gets squished in where/whenever I can) as it's a) a great way to start the day, b) a huge incentive to get to bed before midnight and c) most of Richmond Park is closed to car traffic until 7:30 am. I went out for a blast on my road bike first thing this morning (see crummy cameraphone shot) and it was glorious. The deer, a few other cyclists (each one flashing me a knowing grin, or shouting a polite 'morning!') and I had the place to ourselves.
Today's speak-athon actually went rather well, and although I'm pretty frazzled now, it was a great opportunity to tweak bits of my presentation, and to play with a few new ideas. The afternoon flew by and the audiences I spoke to (mostly PC World employees) were fantastic, with many of them queuing up to shake my hand afterwards.
Anyway, I'm off to pump up my tyres for a few laps of the park tomorrow morning, before a train ride to the Lake District for another talk tomorrow night.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking."
—Arthur Conan Doyle
— Filed under Cycling
12 October 2005
The boundaries between athlete Ben and speaker Ben are about to become very blurred this afternoon. I'm writing this from the Hilton Metropole hotel in Birmingham, where I'm about to give no less than seven consecutive twenty-minute talks at a conference.
I remember reading once that Tony Robbins used to relish giving dozens of presentations a week when he was an up-and-coming speaker. Right now, I'm feeling a little spaced-out; life recently has been so incredibly hectic that I'm wondering when I'm going to have the chance to catch my breath (or write a book, for that matter). If this sounds like I'm whinging, I'm not – at some point in the last fortnight, I seemed to have reached my own personal tipping point and some of the opportunities that are whizzing my way are mind-blowing. Exciting times. More soon…
— Filed under Rumination
10 October 2005
10 October 2005
9 October 2005
A long overdue update on what's happening in Ben's World, in easy-to-digest, bullet-pointed format…
On on!
— Filed under Miscellany
7 October 2005
Wahey! It looks like the website's finally working again. I'm at the Hotel Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice (which is, er, nice) for a speaking gig right now and I'm late for dinner, so a full-on post on what I've been up to recently will have to wait until later on this evening…
(Thanks Pete!)
— Filed under Rumination
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