Thoughts about a ZYCLING trip on and off the saddle in Cuba and Costa Rica.  I’ve always fancied a visit to Cuba and experience life in a socialist country that has had such a complete revolution, not like some; what comes to mind is the one of 1776. According to Gore...

German Blues--Dutch Treat -- Family treat--Swiss ReTreat --Loads of Books .......  January 2014 When I returned from Germany in September I came down with a bang. I think it may have been something to do with my slight obsession with WW2 , and my perception that some Germans are suffering from...

This is important when cycling on ordinary roads, but on routes like the www.eurovelo6.org and www.kartographie.de (an amazing mostly traffic free route from the Atlantic at St. Nazaire, France, to the Black Sea, Romania), you are able to forget the busy world and manic cars. But watch out for the Lycra-clad ‘Furters being more than...

So, finally we arrive at another biggy- going away by yourself. Not having someone to share that wonderful market, or spectacular view. But don’t worry – there will be moments when you meet up with others to share the adventure, and you won’t fall into the trap of using your companion...

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms  There are a number of lists for this organization, eg. WWOOF UK , WWOOF independents, which covers a more world wide farm network, and Australia and New Zealand have their own lists. I imagine this would be true of the US though I haven’t visited their farms. Though...

SERVAS was initiated in 1949 by Bob Luitweiler, a United States’ conscientious objector. While traveling in post-war Europe he grew to believe it was possible to build a foundation for world peace by creating opportunities for people to meet and learn through visits in each others’ homes. During his travels he...

I have included in the package a book, called The Teachings of a Buddhist Monk. I got to know Venerable Ajahn Sumedho about fifteen years ago, spending time on retreats and when I was visiting one of my sons in New Zealand, I bumped into him at the monastery in Wellington....

  Traveling around India with a Brompton in the winter of 2012 I heard these awful stories about the corruption which is so rife, and in the very inadequate schools for the poor, the teachers often don’t turn up as they are so poorly paid. So when I met Jon Ellis...

  MAG Saves Lives. Builds Futures. A couple of years ago I arrived in Phonsavan, Lao, and visited the Plain of Jars, a still unknown mysterious ancient civilization that was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. It happened to be on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  25% of it’s villages are...

  Britain’s National Cycle Network In the late 70′s a small army of committed volunteers spent three months constructing the first five miles of an old disused Midlands Railway track  into a cycling and walking path, which with many more route marked quiet country lanes became over 10,000 miles of pleasant cycling...

This is a strange one as we are so brainwashed into achieving. How many miles have you done today? How long did it take to get up the mountain and did you walk? What! You put the bike on a train!?"I must have the state-of-the-art machine and equipment." (The world renowned...

This is a big one. As soon as we are away from our comfort zone, we experience a form of fear which often drives us back to a position of the familiar. Now if you’re traveling in Canada and you see a bear up ahead,Or if you’re in the depths of...

To teach longing, the longing to live in community, is an easy enough task because many people already carry this longing within themselves. This book can offer support on that path from longing to realization. There are many people who are entirely unaware that there are differently oriented groups which come...

  Cycle routes Most of us in the UK have no idea of the truly amazing cycling route development that is happening in Europe. With the support of EU grants, local government funds and the goodwill of land owners. An astonishing network of Long Distance trails is mostly traffic free and...

This is the contrast to precept 3. The idea is not to keep silent with a vengeance, but to retain a degree of conviviality. So if someone shows interest in your equipment or wonders where you’re from, be open and friendly. If you meet a poet along the track (this...

When I’m not cycling, I find myself being over-sociable, and generating too much interest and excitement. But on the bike the need to chat falls away as I focus on those points in precept 2. A passing wave or smile is all that’s necessary.

What we are trying to create is a sense of being in the now. This requires as little outside stimulation as is possible. One then notices one’s habitual tendencies and those familiar distractions. So one’s attention begins to focus on the slowly passing surroundings, bird sound, smell of the crops, changing temperature,...

So as you cycle along mostly traffic free routes or very minor roads, even though you may have considered some kind of destination (e.g. camp site, staying with people, a city or town, even a railway station), try to avoid the tendency to constantly check the time or the distance to...

Please join me and take a few calculated risks and go beyond our every day comfort zone and experience through the joy of cycling our health, heart and humanity. To meet and share our life with a variety of others that we wouldn’t normally meet. I invite you to look...