Manly Day in the Northamptonshire countryside

A couple of days ago I went with Tom over to the house of my mate Dan Martin who is an extreme athlete and adventurer planning a trip for next year where he will swim the Atlantic, cycle to Alaska, and then run to New York and then probably have a rest.

You might think he is a superhuman nutcase but Dan is a normal human being with an extraordinary dose of  energy and he won't allow anything to let that energy get sapped by the more banal 'perceived' duties and practices of everyday life hence his great idea to have a manly day in the great outdoors and get away from computers and other indoor activities like being a woos.

I woke up at 5.15am in the morning with a bout of man-flu (and gout), but I was too manly to notice because it was man day. Looking out the back door I saw that it was caking it down with snow so I grabbed my army boots, a cheese sandwich, a flask of tea, and then at the last moment decided to put some clothes on and left the house just as Tom was arriving in his dad's fetishistic boat-sized car.

The road was thick with a crumbly-cheese-like layer of fresh snow and I was already starting to  imagine people collectively getting into the nearest wardrobe, putting on all the clothes they own and stuffing their heads into a large ball of cotton wool rather than leaving the house.

I was thoroughly excited about the day ahead; chuffed to pieces at the prospect of doing some real manly work. We arrived at Dan's place and  he emerged with an axe which he handed to me and I instinctively wedged between the straps of my rucksack to carry it like I carried an axe around normally.

We trekked through nearby fields, and talked to some cows, until we reached a forest which looked like a good place for shelter with plenty of firewood. We set about building an immense fire to cook breakfast over.

We cooked sausages and bacon in a tin tray, deep fried in butter. The fire was so hot that I think I aged a few months being next to it or at least it added to my manly leathery-faced complexion. It was great to sit beside the fire and chew the fat whilst watching the fat sizzle.

Eminently more fun than watching any screen, a fire has depth, which is something  they have been trying to achieve with television for ages but it's always going to be flat isn't it? come on now, get rid of that flat screen and get yourself a good blazing fire. A fire has all these different layers of interest, and it's interactive too, the smoke comes round to you and reminds you that you're looking into a fire and that you should move at some point to turn the sausages.

It was simple fun; playtime for grown ups. I gathered a section of tree trunk to sit on and we sat and shared stories which  got the mind working. Dan talked about his plans for after his next journey whilst cooking toast for the sarnies using a branch propped over the fire.

The resulting toast was crispy, slightly smoked, with a dark oak colour and satisfying crunch. It was extremely special toast. Some of the bacon was crispy and some was deep fried but it tasted great and might I add with no additional sauces to mess with the flavour. A break from the norm, because I pretty much always have ketchup in a bacon sarny.

So far so good. We collected the axes and dismantled the fire. As we were leaving the snow started getting heavier and everything got a nice coating. Tom was mentioning about the benefit of going outside the house rather than just going by what it says on telly in order to decide whether to leave the house.  Some people would rather look at the telly to see what the weather is like than go outside - how absurd.

We put the axes back at Dan's. Dan told me about his plans to set up an energy and food self-sufficient home for himself after his next trip with a natural water supply, gardens for vegetables and various methods to generate electricity to run his electrical gadgetry which he wasn't planning on sacrificing.

We started the trek over to Tansor which was a  lengthy walk. The landscape was now cloaked in white including the trees. We traversed a frozen river, using a log to pole-vault across. The walk got the blood flowing round the system properly. I'd been indoors the last couple of days and I needed to get out. Being outdoors was a great beneficiary to improving my general mood and health. Dan commented about how years ago the doctor might have prescribed a couple of days at the coast as a remedy to a cold. Has this kind of thing been allowed to be replaced by something else like a chemical drug equivalent? Or has it?  Has anyone ever been prescribed a trip to the coast as a remedy for something in recent years?

We crossed over the A1. The road was a nasty break in the calm landscape. The cars flew past. It felt like my mind had slowed down and now I was faced once again with the pace of modern life in the form of the traffic.

The village of Tansor was quiet and looked pretty deserted and once we reached the river nene, the water looked a gloopy and impenetrable.

Dan went in first then I realised I had forgotten my trunks so I went in my underwear. As I was swimming they came off, which I found hilarious but didn't really have the chance to laugh  because I needed to swim out of the water. I was very conscious of the absurdity of the situation.

It was my second time in the water as we'd met Dan last week for a swim. For me, psychologically, it was a case of getting over beginner's luck and going in the second time when I knew what it would feel like. I had wondered if I wanted to feel like that again.

When I got out I was cold but I felt a lot more confident and as if I had begun to find a comfort zone. However, swimming in such cold water is not something that you play too far with. Even Dan wasn't staying in for much longer that 30-45 seconds.

Tom managed a good stint and looked a lot more comfortable than the last time.

Afterwards I chucked on my clothes and we downed a few cups of tea before trekking over to the pub at a village called Warmington. It's a lovely part of the countryside with some nice bridleways, picturesque forests and impressive churches.

It was superb to get a pint of London Pride and sit beside the open fire in the 'Red Lion' pub. It was made even more sweet by the fact they were just about to close so we got in at the last minute.

Then we walked over to another pub and played cards and then went back to Dan's.

It was fantastic to be out in the open air, and remind myself of the worthiness of taking a day to just get out there for the sake of it.

thanks @danielmartinadv and @rideearthtom

Dan has also written a quality post on the day

and Tom's done some nice photos

Fitness, The Experience of Travel, and Barriering your Time

When we started Ride Earth we did research on planning a long distance bike tour. Travel insurance is one thing that is essential to have and you will probably need more than basic travel insurance.

Adventure cycle touring takes you out into the unknown, in the elements and closer to life which is a good thing. We often end up spending a good portion of our time couped up in vehicles or offices in perceived safety.

Royal Geographical Society Explore 2010 - Expedition Planning Seminar

The annual expedition & fieldwork planning weekend is taking place at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore,
London, SW7 2AR on Friday, Saturday & Sunday 12 - 14 November 2010.

Lectures, workshops, and exhibits cover the planning and undertaking of research projects and expeditions in a variety of environments and disciplines. Over 100 leading field scientists and explorers will provide contacts, inspiration and research about expeditions and adventure.

Tom and I attended Explore in 2007 and it made a huge impact. It was incredibly inspiring and gave much needed clarity and credibility to our ideas. We were able to attend brilliant lectures from inspiring speakers and chat to people with experience of travelling and expeditions. We made loads of contacts and were given vital inspiration which helped to turn our ideas into a tangible expedition.

Can I help you?

Recently I have met up with people who have called upon me for advice about bike touring, travel advice -and whatever else they get from me as an added bonus ;) .  I have had some positive feedback from these meetings and I have also got a lot out of them myself.

I would like to extend this invitation to anyone who might be planning a bike trip or adventure-related project or fancies a chat about anything I've been writing on this blog. I would be happy to meet up.

Possible future adventures

I am always brewing new ideas for adventures even though recently I have become city-bound in London. I know that if I don't capture these ideas and plan for the future they won't come to bear, because I will have to set a date for them to happen in the future. Since I have done some travelling now and got a bit of experience some of my wanderlust has, shall we say, become more focused. I no longer feel that to not travel every country in the world before my death would be disappointing in the sense that there is an opportunity cost of doing anything because of our limited life spans; Average life expectancy data for UK.

Twitter, Baby Boomers, Safety Nets and Recent Tweets of note

Travelling by bus in Europe

I did the overland journey Georgia - England, there and back, two and a half times; about 15000km in total. Overland travel in Europe has it's ups and downs but is generally efficient and reliable. The trains in Eastern Europe are generally well priced and run on time but some of the the older routes, like the Balkan Express are quite slow. Trains in Western Europe are generally faster, have less character (think curvaceous lumps of grey plastic and retro-futuristic design) and are more expensive.

How to Lace up a (misshapen) Brooks (Champion Flyer) Saddle

I have a Brooks Champion Flyer saddle. Before beginning the ride I bought it because it had the reputation of being the most comfortable saddle for long-distance touring. After the initial break in period of about three months the saddle moulds to ones' posterior.

The saddle is very comfortable indeed. However, early on in the journey the steel bracket which supports the saddle nose widened outwards and dislodged from it's position. This caused the saddle to tilt slightly to one side and over time the problem worsened.

Kona produce Mongolia video trailer

I was incredibly happy to see this video created from some of the footage that Tom and I shot in Mongolia.

In order to organise your thoughts and your time, perhaps whilst preparing for a cycle expedition or for any project you want to achieve, try the super-minimal ZTD approach (adapted from Zen Habits). Trust me, the following will profoundly affect your life:

Bicycle touring equipment kit list

Good design, when it’s done well, becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done poorly that we notice it.

The idea is to design your bicycle touring equipment kit list so well that you don't even need to think about it when you go on your cycle trip. To begin with you will have to get used to being on the road and living out of your panniers but you should soon get used to it and good system going which allows you to concentrate on the experiences of traveling by bike without your equipment distracting you. It should not be a distraction or frustration.

As soon as Tom and I set ourselves the goal of doing a massive cycle trip, it became apparent that we would have to consider our equipment carefully. We would need the right clothing, bike equipment, camping and survival equipment for life on the road.

We are both essentially mountain bikers which is why the kit we decided to take leaned towards mountain biking rather than skinny-tyred road touring. The list here reflects that. In hindsight I would recommend tailoring your personal kit list to the type of touring you will be doing.

Ideas, Limited time, and Making a plan

When I go on a cycle tour I feel that I am opened up to a huge amount of possibilities and have the perceived freedom to go and do whatever I like which is an inspiring way to think.  Perhaps it's the flood of endorphins from riding a bike all day, the numerous daily meetings with people or the new and exciting scenery and things to take in.


Travel triggers lots of ideas. From the initial conception of the idea there is a process required to choose which idea is worth pursuing which can be a difficult process. It's a worthwhile one, though, because we have a limited time on the planet (with present technology and cosmetics) and there is a certain amount of time needed to do projects properly and dedicate time to the ones we really care about.

How to Cook Georgian Khinkali - list of recipes.

One of my favourite foods of all time is Georgian Khinkali. Here are some links to recipes:-

Britain in Tandem, length, height and width of the UK - the Video

Congratulations to the Britain in Tandem team for completing their length, height and width of the UK for http://www.enaikishomi.org/. Read more on the site here: http://www.britainintandem.com.

Magic Mongolian Moments

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="335" caption="Tom pedals through a stream at full speed."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Gnarly route down to the river for a dip and a wash."]

Interview with Tim Moss from The Next Challenge

I recently began following Tim Moss on his website The Next Challenge which aims to help people to be more adventurous in their everyday lives. I find Tim's approach inspiring because it focuses on the fact that you can have adventures wherever you are and inexpensively. What comes across strongly is Tim's energy to consistently get out there and do exciting things and inspire and help others to do the same.

I heard about Tim through one of his recent challenges to run the length of all the tube stations in London. I also enjoyed his blogs on wild swimming and doing mini-adventures on the cheap, but hang about here for the moment. I wanted to know more about the man himself so I asked if he would mind being interviewed for the Ride-Earth blog and here are the results:

[caption id="attachment_1053" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Tim- Cycling in Norway"][/caption]

An Armenian Couchsurfer and a selection of wise quotes

I continue to edit the travel book of the journey from England to the Caucasus and the experiences of living in the Caucasus. I am finding myself removing quite a lot of content which would better suit the blog.

These are some quotes that I scribbled in my diary, taken from a book I found at the house of a Couchsurfer I stayed with in Armenia.

They are selected based on my thoughts and feelings at the time so to read them back makes me wonder whether I chose them for a reason.

I like maxims because they trigger ideas and they inspire. I am aware that I interpret them in my own way.

• A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty - Rudyard Kipling.


• The only one who is wiser than anyone is everyone - Napolean Bonapart.


• Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from imdomitable will – Mahatma Gandhi.

Portable Drum 'n' Bass using a bicycle on the streets of London

Cairo to Cape Town to raise money for cochlear implants for children

I just recently got an email from these guys who are planning to do a bike ride through Africa, Cape to Cairo, to support an organisation called Hear Us which raises money to sponsor cochlear implants and provide deaf children with the gift of hearing.

Normally funds are raised per individual operation. Our goal is to raise a large sum of money and place it in a trust, the interest raised off the capital with sponsor 1 operation per year initially. As the trust fund grows more and more operations will be possible. This is a sustainable initiative and lies close to my heart as my brother was born deaf (and incidentally received his cochlear implant a little too late in life to provide full benefit).

Weekend in Switzerland, Scott, Moulton, and 'The Ride' Journal

I recently spent a fantastic weekend in deepest Switzerland; near to the city of Bern with an engineer at Scott bikes who has just recently finished work on the new Scott Genius LT full suspension bike which is the most advanced do-all mountain bike available on the market today with suspension travel settings that allow the bike to behave like a fully rigid, cross-country or near full-on downhill bike.

Get more information about the Scott Genius LT here

I was lucky enough to go for a couple of lovely morning rides with Joe and got to ride last year's Genius frame- a carbon, full suspension beauty.


[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Switzerland"][/caption]

Wisdom from the Dalai Lama 'Ancient World, Modern Wisdom'

[caption id="attachment_1015" align="alignnone" width="148" caption="bixentro /Creative Commons via flickr"][/caption]

Whilst cycling I read the book 'Ancient World, Modern Wisdom' by the Dalai Lama and I wrote down a list of maxims in my diary:-

1. Develop patience
2. Inner peace arises within the context of others
3. Happiness is closely connected with the happiness of others
4. cultivate positive qualities
5. Sopa means patience or 'able to bear' in Tibetan.

Strange bike designs and the experience of cycling

In the past my mind has wandered onto alternative types of bike design particularly in the context of expeditions. Would a four wheeled 'quad' bike be feasible. Perhaps it would offer the ability to carry more luggage or be more suitable for certain types of terrain. Perhaps two people could ride the same quad - a quad tandem...  The two wheeled bike is the most popular design for a reason - it is tried and tested!

However, Tom joked when we were in Mongolia of a cycle powered bus! Joke he may, but someone already beat him to the idea. Looks like a lot of fun!



Picture from http://jagadees.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/busycle-a-zero-emission-vehicle/

David Bryne - the Bicycle Diaries, Cycle touring as a narrative and a way to understand the 'real world'

I recently read some of David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries; his observations by bicycle as his primary mode of city transport during his career as a musician and artist.

[caption id="attachment_1001" align="alignnone" width="255" caption="David Bryne with one of his bike racks in NYC"][/caption]

In a conversational style, Byrne talks about the thoughts inspired by what he sees whilst riding his bike. I recently listened to a podcast of 'the Bike Show' on Resonance FM. There was a feature about how when you cycle, your brain is in an alpha-wave state, your conscious and unconscious minds are slightly better linked and thoughts are more easily able to bubble over from one into the other. This is interesting because I feel that when I am cycling I can think more clearly and I often have a lot of ideas when cycling.

The Collective - Roam - Six million ways to live, choose one.

This is a fantastic mountain bike video with a great soundtrack. I particularly love the shot at 2.18.



enjoy.

21 Observations about Mongolia - tips for the Mongolia traveller

I've been back in England for 1.5 months now. What is sticking in my mind about Mongolia? 21 quick fire thoughts for the prospective Mongolia traveller.

1. There aren't many people in the rural areas but you're never far from a settlement of some kind.


2. Steppe is beautiful but it soon gets tedious to look at.

Seth Godin on the Tribes we lead

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Expedition Web design - Ben Saunders' Website, Dieter Rams, and Lewis Pugh

I am inspired by the design of Dieter Rams, famous for his design commandments, two of which are: 'design is thorough down to the last detail' and 'design is as little design as possible'. Which incidently are ingredients for successful expeditions. The second one certainly applies to bicycle expeditions, in terms of minimising weight.

Ben Saunders is a polar explorer who I have been following since I met him very briefly at Explore 2006, the Royal Geographical Society's expedition planning seminar. He was giving a talk about using technology on Expeditions and in particular blogging. In 2006 I don't think anyone had heard of Twitter (for the record).

Britain in Tandem - the height, width and length of Britain in 15 days

My cousin, James Peach, is partaking in an admirable challenge to cover the the height, width and length of Britain in 15 days.

Xmind - Mind Mapping Software for Planning Expeditions

I recently used a program called Xmind for planning the Mongolia expedition. I have always been interested in mind-mapping. It is like brainstorming but somewhat more focused on the 'associative' way that the brain structures information.

'Pedal' Documentary about bicycle couriers and bicycle courier racing in New York City

I first came across the bicycle courier scene in New York in a documentary called Pedal .  The documentary investigated the lifestyles of the couriers and the sorts of characters who end up in that line of work. I was impressed with the way that the majority of it was filmed by a guy following the couriers on a skateboard with a camera fitted with a wide-angle 'fish eye' lens .

I was reminded about the documentary when I came across this video of a seemingly suicidal cycle courier race through NYC.

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Georiders - Mountain Biking in the Republic of Georgia

When I was travelling in India in 2009, I often dreamt of going back to Georgia and doing loads of mountain biking. I wanted to get involved in the local biking community and contribute. Back in Georgia, I was lucky to meet some local mountain bikers. I didn't expect to find them because I thought that the cycling wasn't very popular in Georgia and people seemed much keener on burning about in tinted windowed Mercedes and BMWs. How things have changed though! - at least for the burgeoning cycling and mountain biking community.

Congrats to Simon and Fearghal for finishing their Revolution Cycle Trip

At the start of Ride Earth, I came across the website for 'Revolution' -

Accepting Invitations, Being Certain and Serendipity.

Last weekend I was in London and I was invited to a social event at which I met someone who I had never met before and they invited me to their house for a roast dinner. If this happened whilst I was traveling by bike  I would  accept the offer and attend without a second thought. However, being back in England, I found myself briefly dealing with a few pre-conceptions; perhaps English-qualities? I wondered whether they really meant it. I had never met this person before. Maybe they were drunk?

Utility cycling and long distance cycling

"Utility cycling encompasses any cycling not done primarily for fitness, recreation such as cycle touring, or sport such as cycle racing, but simply as a means of transport. It is the most common type of cycling in the world"

I recently cycled from Dover to London and from London to Stevenage on the way back home to Leicestershire. I then cycled from Leicestershire to London last week. There is something satisfying about biking a route which you have a strong pre-conception of, but in fact have no little idea about the actual reality of e.g. from a cyclist's point of view, travelling slow enough to take everything in. I have always previously traveled the route by car, train, or bus, and therefore paid little attention to places situated along the way. Biking gives you a sense of the places and the geography. I can now visualise the landscape of the areas which I cycled. I have discovered those places on a personal level, they exist in my consciousness and I am reminded how easy it is to 'get into the countryside' and just how small England is.

How to take your bike on a bus or train

When  Tom and I travelled to Mongolia we used overland public transport and didn't pay extra to take the bikes with us. However, it seems that  the guidelines about paying for taking bikes are unclear and require some clarification so here are some of our findings.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="334" caption="Trans Siberian long distance train"][/caption]

Mongolia Mountain Biking Adventure - Some thoughts in retrospect

Yesterday I cycled 140km from Dover to Central London where I now reside. I've had a lot of time to digest the brilliant travel experience I've had in the last 2 months.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Mongolian countryside was epic"][/caption]

The relative shortness of the Mongolia trip compared to previous trips has not made it feel less worthwhile. On the contrary the trip has rejuvenated my interest in cycling and bike touring.

Frozen Lakes, Mosquito infested bogs, and riding down rivers

Tom and I headed from Moron, where we had taken some days off to rest, to Hatgal which is a town on the Southern tip of lake Hovsgol. We  had grown sick of pedalling across the steppe and were in search of a change of scenario (quite literally). We met two Finnish and an Australian cyclist and we joined them in the evening for a meal of fresh Yak over the stove in the ger.

Earlier in the day, on approach to the lake, we had seen that the river was covered in ice which was strange because the last few weeks I was used to being blasted with hot sun. Snow was still visible in places and the lake was frozen and would remain so well into July.

A couple of Morons go off the beaten track

Over the last week of riding Tom and I have hit the off the beaten track after deciding that it would be more interesting. From Bulgan we reached the end of the asphault which was a token gesture as we left the settlement. Soon we were back on the dirt tracks which have made Mongolian cycle touring much more fun. We soon decided that we would take a detour from the work in progress 'main' road to the interestingly named Moron (next biggest settlement on our route) and head to a small settlement called Bayan Agt.

Wind-powered pedalling and diving into walls of dust for fun

Summed up the last week has been a lot of fun cycling off-road tracks through stunning scenery with a generous helping of bizarre weather conditions.

We started out from Ulaan Baatar on a hot sunny afternoon through the gridlocked traffic but were soon in the countryside. We stopped briefly for a plate of noodles with mutton and vegetables (a dish which we would eat quite a few times in restaurants en route).

Soviet Mattress Suspension and Ulaan Baatar

Tom and I are now in Ulaan Baatar. The bus journey here was arduous. We expected it to take around seven hours  but it took the entire day. However, one day is nothing compared to the four days on the train. The bus had extra springy suspension and Tom and I were lucky enough to land ourselves in the back seats. This meant that we were sitting directly over the suspension (comprised of a soviet mattress) and the engine. I realised we were sitting over the engine when my feet became very hot. I took off my  boots and socks and noticed, when I put my feet down, the the metal fittings in the floor were red hot. Eventually we reached the city and were dropped off in the centre.

Mountain biking across Mongolia – Trans Siberian to Ulan Ude

Tom and I are in Ulan Ude. We spent 4 days on the train and 5600km on the Trans Siberian crossing Russia from Moscow. I came overland from London to Moscow via Eurolines and Ecolines buses. Tom came from Yerevan on trains and buses and took the ferry from Trabzon (Turkey) to Sochi (Russia).

The countryside from the train was mainly forest and the settlements I saw contained houses made from wood with tin roofs.  Further east the countryside was bleaker and the temperature dropped. Snow was still visible in scattered patches. The trees had no foliage on them and in places the grass was burning because it was dry. It was possible to see many black areas of grass which had previously burnt. I don’t know if this is a natural occurence or a controlled process next to the rail tracks.

We have applied for the Mongolian visa and will pick them up this afternoon. Tommorow morning we will take the bus to Ulaan Baator. There, we have a Couchsurfer to stay with, we will extend our Mongolian visas to a three month duration and build the bikes. We will hopefully start pedalling in the next few days.

The route across Mongolia will depend on the quality of the track. We want to be challenged. If the main road proves too easy then we will look for less travelled routes.

I am very much looking forward to entering Mongolia. I have heard only good things about the place; beautiful landscapes and friendly people. Apparently Mongolia usually benefits from being an area with a predominantly high pressure weather system resulting in a lack of clouds and hopefully a lack of rain too.

I have a new Kona Caldera frame, which is a 22 inch 2009 model in a very nice metallic green colour . My bike has a few other modifications including flat handlebars and flat pedals. I will also be using the new Extrawheel single-wheel trailer designed for panniers only. The set-up is good and I’m hoping that I will be thinking about my kit as little as possible and concentrating on enjoying the ride.

Tom and I are filming the trip and will be putting together a video for Konaworld.tv. In addition to the Sony A1 we have a fish-eye lense ‘Drift’ helmet cam (search on google for more info). This should allow for some exciting footage variation.

Until next time. Andy.

Inspiration and ideas for how to get motivated

In light of the financial crisis and the weather and when we're stuck inside working, I thought I would give out let slip some ways that I motivate myself.

Travelling back from Georgia for Christmas

I travelled back to the UK from Georgia by public transport to spend Christmas with my family. The journey was an adventure of it's own. I took overland public transport instead of flying because of the environment impact of flying from carbon emissions. I also find flying quite boring and psychologically disagreeable especially after spending a long time in one country and moving to another very quickly.

The bus from Tbilisi to Thessalonika was a long distance parcel service which went on a tour of obscure Georgian towns, spending up to 30 mins in each, picking up hillocks of parcels and shoveling them into the back of the bus. I helped to carry them onto the bus partly to to speed up the process and partly for the novelty of helping out. In the bus all the parcels were stacked up directly behind me so whilst the bus was moving I had to stop the precarious Jenga towers of parcels from falling on me and my bike.

Looking for 65 people to read a chapter of my book to

/////// Edit:- I'm reposting this blog because it occurred to me that people might be wondering how long a section of my book I would be reading to them just so you don't have to worry about dying of boredom. I have now split my book into 65 chapters and seeing as the book is about 100k words that makes each chapter on average about 1500 words which is not too long. ///////

I am in the late stages of editing my book and I've got some feedback from a few people. Dave Cornthwaite gave some of it a read and suggested that I read it out to an objective listener to see how it flows.

I think it would be an awesome experience to be able to read it out in this way and it got me thinking. I don't think I could find someone who has the time to have the whole book read to them and I think that it would be fun to split it into sections and interesting to get different peoples' opinions.

So I am looking for 65  people who are willing to listen to me read about 1000 words of my book over a coffee, ale, dinner, bike ride, walk, swim  etc. The only catch is that I must get constructive criticism and hopefully it will  give my book project the last boost it needs to get it up to scratch and I can get it out to publishers.

I am currently back in Leicestershire for Christmas but I now live in London. Please drop me an email on andy@ride-earth.org.uk.