Run To The Hills!

Well I've made it St Jean de Pied de Port which i like to think of meaning St Jean with his foot in the door, but probably doesn't.

It is here that people flock to begin the Pilgrimage of St Jacque west to Galicia to Santiago. Apparently nearly 200 folk every day sign up and head off with walking stick in hand for the 35 day trek. I'll be on my bike so it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks and I’m very much looking forward to the journey.

I slept in a bed last night for the first time as there are plenty of cheap hostels along the route so this is a whole new phase to look forward to.

Since my last post I’ve been up in the mountains in the Pyrenees discovering the joys of cycling a heavily laden bike on mountain roads. After arriving in Lourdes i headed south into the hills and decided on a route that looked pretty scenic on the map. As ever i never quite know what lies ahead but this time in turned out to be an infamous route on the tour de France involving an epic 1709 meter pass way up in the mountains. The views were stunning, the shepherds were charming and the sense of achievement was almost overwhelming but i certainly nearly died in the process and think perhaps i have taken this extreme bike touring a step too far. Although the ride down the hill on the other side was pretty ecstatic, speeding through beautiful mountain scapes and fantastic woodland with the ever-present sounds of sheep herds dinngling there bells across the valleys. ( current down hill top speed is 62 km an hour)

I have so many beautiful pictures of the mountains and misty valleys but here´s just a little taster:

 

The following morning was misty and damp so i decided to take a lower road westwards and came across another English lad on a bike. His name was Charlie and i realised that it was the first time for quite a while that i was able to natter away in my mother tongue. We spent the day riding through beautiful woodland and rolling hills and camped out in the wilds of the Basque country.

This is what it was meant to be like; wild camping and open fires with fellow adventurers of the open road. I had been getting a bit down for the last few days and feeling that this was actually a ridiculous idea and far harder than my crazy idealistic dreaming mind had realised so a bit of companionship and nature's wilderness has set me right back on track and i can't wait to hit Spain tomorrow and continue this journey into the next chapter.

To south and Beyond!. . . . well west a bit actually!

Across France the first 1000 km

yo yo yo

These internet cafes are few and far between in France.
yes yes yes, I've crossed the whole daan country now. I'm in Tarbes looking up at the pyrenees thinkin, oh they look kinda large. well i guess that's the next mission.

So I'm 1152 km in now and thats my first 1000 km i have ever cylced in my life!
Just a few more thousand to till i get any where near Africa. Oh well I guess i'll just keep peddling on.
So It's finaly stopped raining and now been roasting in beautiful sunshine for the last few days. I followed the Camino de St Jaque de Compostella for about a week that took me through some beautiful country side and endless historic towns and villages. The French countryside does all seem strangely empty though and then all of a sudden i'll stumble across a fantastic medieval castle, walled village or beautiful church. The most amazing was a 12th century cave church that had been carved out of the white rock of the hillside. It totaly blew me and had the most incredible acoustics inside.

I think it was in place called St Aulaye on the old pilgrimage route and was stunning. I love the fact that i have no idea what i'm going to stumble across next.

Like these characters on the road side:

The other thing that these places around there and in the Dodogne have a lot of is English people who have sold up and moved south to live the dream in the sun. There are so many big old beautiful farm houses looking a bit sorry for themsleves and in need of a bit of love i can understand why. So in the  old square amidst the cafes there'll be an estate agent and some English folk dreamily looking in the windows searching for their retirement home.

It's been pretty quite on the road but have met a few good folk and been well looked after in times of need. I'm still loving the random wild camping but spent a night in Harley's veg garden that was great and left there with plenty veg for a few days and a few new guitar chords. I imagine as soon as i hit the camino going into Spain there'll be a whole crew of wanderers upon the road.

I did leave the camino recently to stop off at Plum village which is a zen buddhist monestary of Tich Nat Hanh's crew which was a perfect spot to rest up for a couple of days and connect with their teachings.

There is a very peaceful vibe there and they are following such a simple mindful aproach. Sitting meditation at 5.45 followed by a day of Dhama talks, walking meditaion and eating in noble silence. Just what i needed! Many thanks for their hospitality.

So back out there and time to start climbing those hills but one more pic befor i go......

Hey Keith, looks like there's another Daddy K out there!

One week in France in The Rain

Well atlast I've found an internet cafe.

I'm in Poitier some where in central France having cycled 500 and something kilometers over the last week heading pretty much south all the way. The last few days hve been drenched in rain and i'm feeling pretty damp sitting here in 'cybercorner'.

A couple of days ago i met a group of Duch cyclists also heading to Santiago in northern Spain and it turned out that i was already on a pilgrimage route that ran right across France to join the Spanish Camino in St Jean-Pied-de-Port on the border in the Pyrenees. I made photocopies of their maps and i'm now heading south and a bit west with a new sense of purpose and clearer direction as to the route to take. Every now and again the is a little image of a shell on a lamp post guiding the way or even the odd sculpted figure of a wandering pilgrim.

It feels some how reasuring to know that thousands of others have made this very same journey for hundreds of years. Apparently since 800 AD so i'm not the only one mad enough.
This particular route is called the La Route De St Jaque and the guy i met who told me a bit of the history was himself called Jaque. I decided it was meant to be so on i go.

It is suprisingly not that hard to cycle a hundred kilometers in a day, you just have to keep at it for hours on end.... and no my bum's not even sore. My old school leather Brooks saddle, that a lot of people seemed worried about, has now shaped it's self nicely to my butt and all is well and comfortable.
I've camping out in the wilds some nights, in Forests and by rivers and every now and again when i feel the need for a shower I've been in the municipal campsites but France is surprisingly expensive so generally opting for the wildside.

Having said that there isn't really much wilderness about but just endless agricltural fields of sweetcorn, sunflowers, cabbages and the like, loads of shockingly amazing chateaus around every other corner though and ample boloungeries selling baguettes and sweet cakes, which i like!

Oh yes, and i eat alot..... i mean alot. This trip maybe pretty much fossil fuel free but it's deffinitly taking enormous amounts of food to fuel me along the way and i discovered today that a good strong coffee can get me about 15km even in the rain.

So south on the pilgrims road i head dreaming of dryer sunnier places, still with the memories of the fantastic  Phoenix Fayre and all the support of my beautiful friends in my heart. It's going to take i little while to get the hang of this internet blogging technology thing but hopefully i can stick some videos up next time to.
Big love to you all and to Magnus for his endless texting of great jokes.
Here in France they like to say Bon Courage! to me when they relise what i'm doing so Bon Courage for what ever it is that you are up to!

Untill next time

The Phoenix Fayre and then i'm off

Well this is a crazy venture indeed,

I do not even know where to start to explain the last few days.

Its all coming together beautifully; the bike is ready, complete with wicker basket and a specially made guitar pannier that i was up till half two making last night. The old paper work seems to be in order, accounts are finished, tax returns complete, travel insurance, medication, spear tools, cycle helmet, ferry ticket, enough gadgets to satisfy inspector G himself. The blog's up and running, you're even reading it. The Film crew have filmed me up to some tricks and the dream is in full creation.

And on top of all that we have built a beautiful stage on my doorstep outside the studio in the car park across the river from Tescos in Lewes. The speakers are facing directly across to entertain the shoppers. The whole crew have transformed the place and musicians will come tomorrow and play for our pleasure. Kings Hifi are even running a Reggae Sound system further down the yard.

Yes, we are putting on the first Phoenix Fayre in this blooming artists community on the river bank in a quirky run down industrial estate where we live. In the evening our band, Dende, will be playing our last gig together for a while, at Zu Studios and celebrate into the night.
This Place alone is a wonderful manifestation of really living the dream and this is where i will say goodbye to this fantastic community and head on my merry way.

                      8 am on monday morning.... makes a change from going to work!

And then the Open Road.

Thank you so much to all who have supported me thus far and i would just like to say a big thank you to Jake at Eco Logic Cool in Brighton who, out of the blue felt inspired to offer to sponsor the trip by providing a fantastic solar kit to charge up the lights and my many gadgets.

So the trip will be solar powered as well!

I'm Just about ready,
The sun is shining,
and the next post will be fresh from the open road.

All the best
Ed

Donate to the Project

Hi folks,

This blogging thing is all new to me and I haven't worked out how to put a donate button on this site yet...

Just to say that this project will be raising money for the Fresh Start Foundation in The Gambia.
You can make a donation on my Just Giving Page here.

This charity does fantastic work with vulnerable children in The Gambia and supports a village school in Kwinella that I know and love very well. The village is also setting up a suatainable forest and gardening project nearby. It would make a lot of people very happy if you would like to sponsor me on this crazy cycle adventure.

Much love one and all

Ed

The Vision

Yes, Yes, Yes. So I’m hitting the road. The dream has been in my heart for too long so its time to head south slowly on my bike...        Yes i did say my bike! ...

It's time to live the dream!

I’m Going to cycle from my home in Lewes, East Sussex to West Africa:

First to Newhaven, then take the ferry to Dieppe, across France, over The Pyrenees and then follow the Camino de Santiago west to Galicia, then south through Portugal and on to Andalucía in the south of Spain. I’ll take the boat from Tarifa across the straights of Gibraltar to land in Africa at Tangiers, then south through Morocco from the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert. Across Western Sahara and Mauritania from sand dunes to the Sahel and into Senegal and then to The Gambia. Following the river Gambia I’ll head east into Mali and then, well who knows, maybe I’ll turn round and come home again.

The motivation for the trip is simply to follow my heart in its quest for rich experience and adventure but the project is developing in all kinds of ways and on many levels:

• I will be travelling, somehow, with my guitar on my bike so I hope to seek out teachers in Spain and in West Africa and learn from the beautiful guitar styles from these regions, from flamenco to the desert blues. I hope to spend time studying music and get prolific writing songs from the dusty roads and bit of busking and performing en route I’m sure.

• I am linking with Carlton hill Primary School in Brighton where Movingsounds has been running projects for the last year. The children will be able to follow my progress, receive blogs about my journey and even ask me questions along the way.

• Sustrans’ sustainable transport team will also support school’s projects, with ‘Bike it Ben’ kindly helping out with the project. Children will be able to learn about the different challenges that I’ll face on such a journey but also explore the different cultures, music and geography of the different countries along the way. There will also be a strong focus on the environmental reasons for travelling by bike and so children will learn about the impact that we are having on our planet.

• The whole journey will be fossil fuel free (apart from a couple of short Ferries) and so education work will also focus on environmental issues of climate change and peak oil. The whole journey will indeed model our vision of sustainable solutions in the face of these epic challenges: Empowerment, creativity and low impact living.

• I will be working with 'Substantial Films' and 'A Purpose For Life Foundation' to document my adventure and the education work of Movingsounds. Check 'em out at http://substantialfilms.co.uk/ and also

at http://visions-series.com/index.htm/

• Through sponsorship from everyday people such as your good self I will raise money for a small charity in The Gambia called Fresh Start Foundation (check them out at http://fsfgambia.org/). They work with vulnerable children in poorer areas but are also developing a sustainable forestry project and working with schools in the region exploring environmental issues and their changing climate. I will visit these schools and run workshops in the local villages around these themes.

• The Fresh Start Foundation also supports Kwinella Primary School in the Gambia with which I have had a connection for 16 years and I am so happy to be able to give a little back for the generosity that they have always shown me.

• There will also be a possibility to connect the school children from Carlton Hill with the village schools in The Gambia where I will be working.

• A portion of the money raised through sponsorship (25%) will go towards the costs of the trip and school visits to Carlton Hill School in Brighton. the remaining 75% will go directly to support the work of the Fresh Start Foundation in The Gambia.

• It will of course be an inner journey for my self, exploring themes of pilgrimage and a time in the wilderness. It’s about 5000 miles so that’s plenty of time to contemplate life and my real purpose in these incredible times. I will be keeping a journal and hope, ultimately to write a book of my adventures.

• The trip is a radical statement of re-empowerment, environmentalism and cross cultural understanding that I hope will inspire others to truly live their dreams and work for a better world in harmony with one another and our home: the earth that we all share.

I will be leaving on the morning of the 5th September and will be part of The Phoenix Village Fair 3rd September, Performing with our band, Dende and promoting the project.

ONE LOvE