Some inspiration....

I think the majority of people who have inspired us to go that wee bit further have all had one simple message. Start small, doing what you are comfortable with, and build up to a level that suits you. Not everyone has the desire to cycle as fast as they can, or as far as they can, and many simply use their bikes as a way of getting out into the fresh air and getting some exercise. We avidly watch the Tour de France every year, and enjoy all the technicalities and politics, but have no desire to ever do this kind of cycling ourselves ( I speak for myself at least but am sure Al will agree – although him tackling the Col de Tourmalet has been spoken about very loosely in the past! ).

Mark Beaumont, a fellow Scot from Perthshire, was a first real inspiration when it came to the possibility of cycling longer distances. Mark smashed the Guinness World Record for cycling solo round the world in 2008, knocking 80 days off the previous record, and this involved cycling for 100 miles every day for 180 days, taking only 14 rest days in all this time. Mark significantly raised the bar and inspired two others to subsequently break his record soon after. We enjoyed watching his travels on the BBC, and also reading his book ‘The Man Who Cycled the World’, and then followed him on his next journey from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina, chronicled on the BBC once again. Mark’s new book ‘The Man Who Cycled the Americas’ has just been released. As well as being an all round nice guy – we have been to hear him speak eloquently and informatively about his travels on two occasions – Mark certainly wouldn’t have considered himself an endurance cyclist before his world trip. What he offered us, as fairly avid travellers, was the inspiration that you could use cycling as your primary means of transport to see new places, and that the adventure was as much a part of this as the eventual route or destination. Mark has admitted that he would have liked to have had more time to stop and appreciate the places he was travelling through, but also that he will never try and regain his World Record! ( www.markbeaumontonline.com )

The more you explore the web for inspiration the more you find, but eventually you come across a wee gem of a site that really sets things on fire. Recently, and I mean within the last month, I discovered a website called http://www.travellingtwo.com/  Andrew and Friedel have done the round the world trip, taking three years this time and stopping to smell the coffee along the way, but are firm advocates of starting small as they did many years ago with short trips in and around their home area. This site is absolutely amazing and contains a vast wealth of information for everyone interested in doing a bit more than just a day trip ( blogs, kit lists, advice on so many topics, links to similar resources and sites ). If you’re reading this then I trust you’ll click on the web link and have a look yourselves to see that I mean. Andrew and Friedel are lucky enough to live in Amsterdam, so cycling has now become a really big part of their lives. You can’t help but be inspired by this site.

Through the Travelling Two website I also came across Rik and Paula Bradshaw from Australia, who started their big adventure last year. Rik and Paula, like us, were seasoned campers who operated on the basis that they had a car to accompany them on their camping trips and might as well fill it! One day someone introduced them to the joys of travelling light and so their dream to see the world by bike was born. Some people are crazy enough to do these trips with their kids or even pets, but Rik and Paula’s Great Dane Disco was a bit big for them to consider this. Unfortunately Disco was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and died at the age of 12 shortly after. The decision was therefore made to embark on their life adventure! After travelling in holiday through South East Asia, they landed in the UK in February to sort out buying bikes etc, and started their cycle trip in earnest on March 23^rd 2011. Rik and Paula had a fantastic time in Scotland, thankfully enjoying the great weather we had here in April. My one regret is that I didn’t discover them earlier as they passed through my hometown of Gourock and couldn’t find place to stay the night. A quick call to my Mum could have sorted that one out, and they could have enjoyed a comfy bed and a good feed! Their blog is great, giving an insight as to what it’s like to get on the bikes and get going for the first time. Currently in Amsterdam with Andrew and Friedel ( Travelling Two ) their blog can be found at  www.rikandpaulaseetheworld.com

Now before I get a call from my mother, we aren’t planning a round the world trip….not just yet anyway! All of these people have simply inspired us to get off our arses and onto the bikes a bit more. Who knows, we may do it one day – there are a lot of retired round the worlders out there! The question is, can we wait that long…..?