I've done a fair bit of motorcycle
touring and camping in the past, from weekends away somewhere to
tours around Europe, and it is an experience I really miss these
days. The sense of freedom is immense as the pressures of the daily
drudge are replaced by a liberatingly simple and care free existence,
an aspect aptly summed up in the title of the book mentioned here.
Just you, your wheels, and yourself to please.
I no longer own a motorcycle, but the
idea of a cycle tour, a bit of bike packing or even a sub 24 hour jobbie
perhaps, appeals greatly as well of course, but due to my
circumstances health wise I doubt I'll be able to manage even the
single night out of an S240. So I make do with reading about the
adventures of others, usually in book form of course, what with me
having a bit of an Amazon habit and all. I've read a fair old number
of cycle touring tomes recently then, and as you'd expect, some are a
good read, while some I just don't connect with and put down after a
few days, never to be finished.
Definitely in the former group though
is Eat, Sleep, Cycle by Anna Hughes, and the story of her 4,000 mile
solo ride around the coast of Britain.
Anna is less fond of the
camping side of touring, preferring a proper roof to kip under but
I'll forgive her that as this was a cracking book that I fair whizzed
through – always the sign of a good tale told well, and a
recommended read.
It therefore follows that my fingers
are well and truly crossed that there will soon be another volume to
dive into, as Anna is off on her travels again, and I can only hope
she is experiencing better weather where she is today than we're
having down here in Cornwall. It's minging out.
But yes, she's off again, this time
doing Lejog – Land's End to John o'Groats, and I'm just sorry I
missed her talk and book signing appearance at a local bike emporium as
she passed through early on in her journey. It also would appear she
is embracing the delights of the tent on this trip as well, so I'm
looking forward to reading about how she gets on under canvas, or rip
stop double walled ballistic hydrostatic nylon or whatever it is these days.
Anyway, whilst waiting hopefully for
the book, we can still keep up with her adventures via her web site
and her Lejog Blog.
I just hope this boisterous breeze
that's tossing the recycling bags down my street right now is behind
her.
No comments:
Post a Comment