John Pilkington – A stroll through the axis of evil – Lebanon, Syria, Iraq & Iran
Photographer, documentary maker, traveller but above all brilliant lecturer on his travels around this wonderful world of ours and in doing so gave an excellent, entertaining slide show on his latest trip. “A Stroll Through The Axis Of Evil” A play on George Bush senior’s words of a few years ago…John’s route took us through the Euphrates, the Caucasus and the Valley of the Assassins to finish on the Persian Gulf.
To read more about John & his travels visit his web site at http://www.pilk.net/
Dick Curtis – It all started in Kashmir ….
Former London meetings organiser, Wasps rugby union number one fan & all round personable chap Dick took us back to an earlier point in his life and explained what first set him on his travels and his subsequent adventures in Kashmir. Many of the audience appreciated Dick’s standpoint and in listening to him, remembered their own experiences of independent travel…an excellent compliment to John’s engaging first half.
London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.
There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.
For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.
If like me, your idea of a long distance cycle trip is a mountain bike ride around Richmond Park, then you might wonder whether Stephen Lord’s “Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook” is for you. My review copy sat with me for six months, waiting for me to find a way in and to answer that question…
Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook, Picture courtesy of TrailBlazer Guides
See TrailBlazer’s web site for more details of this updated edition including ordering information, reviews & excerpts to browse –
And for more of an insight into Stephen Lord, trying reading this interview with him by the Travelling Two web site http://travellingtwo.com/5032.
I should have had no fears about tackling “Adventures Cycle-Touring”…its narrative is ‘full of get out there and do’. Consequently I felt myself drawn into this particular long distance world. Through both the Globetrotters club & the Royal Geographical Society I have met & talked to a number of long distance cyclists but I was never sure I understood their drive & reasoning. Now by sifting through this hardcore almanac of matters cycling I can shine some light on what motivates these ultra travellers…
On a general level “Adventure Cycle-Touring” had me reminiscing about my early days of planning my round the world trip – full of possibilities & differing uncertainties. It is absolutely crammed with help, facts & anecdotes…at times its detail could overwhelm nervous travel planners J There is an absolute bank of information within…what to look for in a bike, what you need to know about maintaining the bike & your fitness and what you should pack for your very own epic !
New travel names also help to widen the possible enjoyment & reach. Bill Wier writes engagingly on India & China…how can a reader not got charmed by his opening paragraph on the sub continent as it reads – “Exotic, enticing, though sometimes exasperating, India will entertain you like no other country – and cycling provides the best way to experience it!”. Or Tom Kevill-Davies as he adds a culinary taste to adventure cycling via his alter ego ” The Hungry Cyclist” from page 233 onwards. These guys show us the diversity of adventures to be had…
As with any review it is not easy to succinctly critique what you read and still convey the subject matter in such a tightly packed review. So as pointers for potential readers I thought on some of the following:-
What I Liked ?
· I enjoyed reading about cyclists such Peter Gostelow or Alastair Humphreys…people who have a wider, more well known public appeal and yet are keeping true to enjoying what set them off in the first place. These hardy souls get back into their saddles almost immediately their current trip has finishes, searching for new challenges that they can take on & then recount to attentive audiences.
· Inserts throughout each of the chapters – giving a people perspective across a whole range of experiences, whether about routes travelled or the mechanics of a trip. I particularly liked “Planning Schedule” on page 12, the “Trailer Alternative” on Page 54 and “You cannot be said in Sumatra” on Page 172 – they are neat encapsulations that give the reader the sense that they can also dip into this text, as well as work their way through it.
What needs a touch more polish ?
· Whilst there are continental route maps, there is a lack of useful, detailed maps to illustrate journeys described within each unfortunately. Admittedly readers might buy their own or use internet based sources, but having all this information in one space builds up the reading enjoyment and usefulness of the guidebook.
· The final chapters of the guidebook seem to suffer from ‘packing too much in syndrome’. For example the glossary of terms is just a single page and the Appendices are neither overview or detailed help.
· A couple of final nitpicks that if resolved could help deliver an even more authoritative handbook. One being…do females not travel as long distance cyclists and/or they less publicised ? And the best is not made of all of the colour photographs, as some are not placed in context of the chapters they refer to – it would make for a stronger use of the images if they all illustrated their relevant stories.
Martin Wright, a Globetrotter who unfortunately died whilst in the saddle, covered much of the globe in a style that this handbook reminds me of – lightly impacting his surroundings, not rushing and engaging all experiences with an open mind. Overall Trailblazers Guides are up there with the best of the guidebooks on the travel guides market – they are for independent travellers by independently travelling authors. They are not glossy or hotspot orientated…they get you travelling. Long may they be on the road…
Competition time – the first person who can tell me who first cycled round the world & when, then they can have my review copy of this handbook for free ? Send your answers to theant@globetrotters.co.uk and announce the winner in a following edition.
This time round Mac recalls time in Hong Kong & Macau…
“I made several trips by boat to Macau from Hong Kong and when I was there they had several casino boats for gambling but no elaborate casino or hotel…
There was a “noodle” priest in Hong Kong that from donations of flour from the US & Canada he had noodles made by I believe Canadian nuns in Hong Kong. It was better to give noodles to the poor in Hong Kong rather than sacks of flour as they could just dip the noodles in hot water.
On our trips to Hong Kong I volunteered to help pass out these five pounds of noodles. Someone would canvas the poor and give them a ticket & told to appear at such a place – then I or some volunteer would give them a five pound sack in exchange. It got to be quite the social in thing for Ambassadors wives etc to be a volunteer for this duty.
One time it was the Ambassador from New Zealand who had a small girl and the three of us did the duty. The girl had taken a Chinese name like Ming Ling which means beautiful and she would answer her Mother only if the Mother called her Ming Ling. I was doing the lifting in the hot sun and I fainted which was embarrassing as here is was this well fed Caucasian handing out these sack of noodles to these thin people !
I did this several trips until the priest (I think maybe he was Italian) invited me to go to Macau where they made the noodles. He had a motor scooter and took me all around Macau on his motorbike and to the border of China where Chinese soldiers were looking over at us. He said they sometimes fired their arms in the air to let us know they knew we were watching them through binoculars.”
The night in Macau made it look more like Las Vegas than I experienced it but maybe it has been built up since. One time getting on boat to go Macau the Chinese lady next to me got sea sick and was ill on me..we hadn’t left the harbour yet.
Macau must have changed since I was there but then the whole world has. Hope you get a chance to enjoy the wonderful Chinese…
· David Stanley at Avalon Travel Publishing has just issued the latest edition of Moon Tahiti…a well received series of travel books. See more details athttp://www.southpacific.org/tahiti.html
·Greetings from Bike the Earth:-
Dear Globetrotters
Wonderful to get your news as we are in mid Australia on BIKE THE EARTH –http://www.biketheearth.net (Please check out at least the first page of our website).
We have done 3500 km, connecting communities, inspiring initiatives, on ABC Television, on the radio, and in the media, with some great testimonials for the work we are doing!
If you enjoy writing & travelling, why not write for the free Globetrotters eNewsletter ! The Ant would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 15,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotter eNewsletter.
Email The Ant at theant@globetrotters.co.uk with your travel experiences / hints & tips / questions. Your article should be approximately 1000 words, feature up to 3 or 4 jpeg photos and introduce yourself with a couple of sentences and a contact e-mail address.
November’s edition see’s us gathering some global miles/kilometres as we catch up on our world of travel.
As you can see we have the return of Mac to enjoy, feedback on Doreen Tayler…the club’s travel award winning BBC guest speaker and highlight’s from London’s latest branch meeting. A good solid travelling starting to these darker, wetter months for us in the northern hemisphere J
South Africa & the USA are covered in no less detail both from quite an adventurous perspective…perhaps inspiring future trips for any of us? And all rounded off with a dash of travel news & web sites to give some breadth.
What else is happening across the wider travel world ?
The Adventure Travel Show returns to London in January 2011, http://www.adventuretravellive.com/, where the club’s very own Dick Curtis will be organising a travel advice stand once more. Hopefully the volunteers can continue to help would be travellers make sense of all the possibilities the exhibitors highlight J
Hot on the heels follows London & Birmingham’s Destinations Travel shows – http://www.destinationsshow.com/, where more mainstream travel options get their airing as well
That’s all for now, enjoy the read and keep sending me more of your stories, adventures and articles J
Denise returned to the London branch and focused on one of her many Cambodian passions the role of dance & its cultural impact on the country’s history. Starting at Angkor Wat intricate temples and moving up through the ages to Pol Pot’s regime, Denise led us knowledgeably & enthusiastically through why she is so fascinated by her subject matter ! Now I’m not a dance person but I found myself listening intently to all that she had to present to us.
Paul Archer – The It’s on the Meter Expedition: Hard Hearted Hannah – the Meanest Gal in Town!
The second talk was such a contrast on a number of levels three university friends Paul, Johno & Leigh are driving their black cab Hannah from London to Sydney, in aid of raising much needed funds for the British Red Cross charity and having as many adventures as possible. At the moment the guys are learning to repair their cab, be safe in challenging locations and ensuring that Hannah can look after them for eight months ! As Paul says “The planned route travels through some of the most inhospitable and beautiful regions in the World covering four continents, thirty-nine countries, ten time zones and over 35,000 miles”.
London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.
There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh in September.
Saturday 27th of November is our next meeting and again and we have two fabulous talks lined up for that day, the first one is by Don and Eve, who have spent time travelling through the outback in Australia. They will have lots of information on the “must see” list and what to avoid, places to stay and help for travel overland.
We will have our usual break where everyone can swap stories and relax over a nice cup of tea or coffee and biscuits.
Then after the break Madeleine is going to introduce us to the Great Wall of China and in addition going off the beaten track into Inner Mongolia.
We started a year ago with our Chester Branch of Globetrotters and we really have appreciated your support over the last 12 months, but it is essential to maintain attendance at the bi-monthly meetings to make Chester Globetrotters a viable society and therefore hope you will support us again in the coming year so that we can continue with our success and enjoy the benefits of a travel club locally.
This time round Mac recalls time in Hong Kong & Macau…
Denise Heywood – A Cambodian Odyssey Part 2
Paul Archer – The It’s on the Meter Expedition: Hard Hearted Hannah – the Meanest Gal in Town!