More of the same, but elsewhere.

I'm cashing in at Coinstar machines in Sainsburys, the least you can do is subscribe.

I’ve spent almost four years working for a company that supports people explore the world by bike. From the comfort of a foamy chair, I’ve fielded questions and created digital tools to help riders in every location imaginable. It’s with these faceless individuals - who are on the road in Patagonia, on the snow in Norway, or also find themselves in front of a screen somewhere less exotic – that I’ve shared a deep desire to pedal to new places. Between my own trips, I’ve lived vicariously through the adventures of others; the orange street view figure of Google Maps is both a close friend and my own worst enemy, a means to visualise the ever-increasing bucket list of routes that are to be ridden, but also come to the sad realisation they are incompatible with my allocation of annual leave. 

Plans to take my job abroad were recently dealt a blow by the French Consulate, which somewhat forced my hand towards the inevitable. Crocs in the office, a generous tolerance of bike induced productivity dips, and the company of genuinely lovely people - the decision to hand in my notice at work could hardly be put down to burnout. Right now, the decision feels neither like an important crossroads, nor a radical moment of self-reflection, but just a continuation of the feelings I’ve managed for the last four years. I want to explore more of the world. Sometimes with the bike, sometimes without it (more on this soon).

The plan is simple: make what I’ve saved last as long as possible and line up some adventures along the way. Temporarily freed from the structures of hybrid office hours and Slack avatars, I’ll do what any sensible person would do and escape from the laptop screen. I’ll also open it up now and then, to guide any directionless energy towards writing. That is why I’m here: navigating Substack handles to craft a space which allows me to share my experiences. And it’s here you enter the picture. Subscribe, comment, criticise. In my last experiment with this exchange, as I pedalled 6,500km across the USA, I had some luck; people engaged with my whimsical descriptions and tired observations. It’s drawing optimism from this that I begin typing again. 

Photography by Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett during the Dales Divide race in 2021.