Going The Extra Mile

Here is where I am writing about the books I’ve read, the people I’ve met and the experiences that have inspired me since September 2009! (There have been alot).

I think the best book so far has been Andy Kirkpatrick‘s “Psychovertical”, the most inspiring experience has been  a 1-day climbing course with Ryan Glass and the most inspiring surprise (from people I actually haven’t met): a reply to an email I sent to Ranulph Fiennes and an email/blog comment from Alastair Humphreys 😉

From Andy Kirkpatrick , I have learned  that it is possible to adventure even when you have limited resources and that even when you seem to have nothing, you can somehow

Spirit is very important 😉

get what you need to do the things that are important for you. (An adventurous spirit seems to be the biggest resource of all!)

Brute force can get you a long way!

From the experience with Ryan I learned that the rock is a place of adventure, a place you can’t hide from yourself, a place where you face yourself and learn to stretch to the edges of yourself and enjoy the rewards of that stretch (It’s a place I also remembered that sometimes it’s not about achieving something with total grace and brilliance – it’s just about achieving it : knees, brute force a bit of light swearing… as long as it gets you to where you want to be ;-))

From Ranulph Fiennes and Alastair Humphreys.. well, I wrote to many people who have inspired me through their books and achievements as I sought ways of inspiring myself and keeping myself motivated. I asked for training advice… I thanked them for their inspiration… I didn’t really expect any of

I raise my glass to Ran Fiennes & Alastair Humphreys!

them to reply to me (the act of writing to some of my own heroes was inspirational enough!) Two did : Sir Ranulph Fiennes wished me luck in Mongolia. I found it so heart-warming and inspiring that a man whom most people with an adventurous spirit revere as “the most adventurous of all” actually took the time to write to me! That email has gone a very long way indeed – it’s an “ultra email” that will endure way beyond all of my Help For Heroes adventures, I am sure.

As for Alastair (he cycled 46 000 miles around the world and wrote Moods of Future Joys; and Thunder and Sunshine) , I discovered he is a “Tweeter” and I decided that following some intrepid souls on Twitter might keep my own adventurous wheels turning in times of need. I would look forward to flashes of insight and inspiration from those hanging off the edge 😉 I pressed the “Follow” button only to be delighted with a message from Alastair thanking me for the “Follow” – that wasn’t just polite that was inspiring! I emailed him to thank him for taking the time to write: in return he wrote some very encouraging words  and he left a comment on the blog too (Building Our Trike page). I’m still smiling at the thought of one of the world’s greatest adventure cyclists writing to me 😉

Find Andy’s book here : http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/

Find Ryan here : http://www.ryanglass-mountaineering.co.uk/

Find Ranulph Fiennes here : http://www.ranulphfiennes.co.uk/

Find Alastair’s website, details of his books and blog here : http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/

Listen to Alastair here (he’s very funny!)  : http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/speaking/

Other books I would highly recommend are :

Survival Of The Fittest (Mike Stroud) – interweaving real adventures with the science of fitness.

Just A Little Run Around The World (Rosie Swale-Pope) – an inspiring and heart-warming  story of how a woman runs around the world.

Born To Run (Christpher McDougall) – as a result of reading this, I actually believe that I’m born to run 😉 (really!)

Just being part of the human race can be inspiring!

Oh and one (actually two 😉 last things … sometimes it’s not about doing things on your own – it’s about doing things together .. as part of a team. The West Highland Way experience was not just an experience of a race – it was an experience of feeling part of the human race. And as the trike is being built and the detailed planning phase starts for our big trip to Beijing, I am glad to be going inch-by-inch with my expedtition partner.

I found these speeches about team spirit really inspiring :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO4tIrjBDkk (Al Pacino – Any Given Sunday – the inch by inch speech).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRj01LShXN8 (Kenneth Brannagh – Henry V Band of Brothers speech)

Gotta dream!

JT 😉