This month I'm sharing an episode of different podcast, the Adventure Audio Podcast, in which I am the guest.  

I was surprised when I was asked to contribute, given the two hosts, are extremely accomplished outdoors people.  But since I ask others to share their stories, I felt I ought to accept.  

Peter Hockenhull and Laval St. Germain were  probing in their questions, and I probably shared a lot more about myself than I normally would on my own podcast.  I hope you enjoy it.  Normal service will resume soon.

Glen Van Peski is well known in the United States as a leading member of the ultra-light hiking community and founder of https://www.gossamergear.com/ His new book extends the 'take less do more' philosophy, from backpacking to life as he and his wife Francie live it. We met in 2002 when Glen helped Liz and I on our PCT thru-hike, and it was great to reconnect with him. 
Book on Amazon ▶︎ https://amzn.to/3IvRFQj (affiliate link) 
My PCT Podcast ▶︎ https://PCTpodcast.com

Dr Peter Clarkson, is an NHS Cardiologist based in the Scottish highlands, and a very keen and talented rock climber.   He has also competed in triathlons.

I’ve been trying to answer a question; 'how hard is too hard' when it comes to exercise for an older athlete?   How close to maximum heart rate should we be hiking, running and cycling?  What are the warning signs we're going too hard, too often?

Dr Clarkson agreed to shoot a video with me for The Older Athlete Series and we met at The Ledge climbing gym in Inverness.  You can see the video I made from this chat on YouTube.  This podcast is our whole interview with only minor edits to tidy the conversation, and it's also available to watch in video.

There’s more adventure in this podcast than most.  Ed Ley-Wilson talks us through Running the great Wall of China; kayaking Patagonia; and the kayak journey along Scotland’s west coast that promoted his most recent book.  Along the way we’ll take a dive into the ethics of fish farming.  

Ed’s first book about running the Himalaya is called ‘The Himalayan Shuffle’ and you can find old copies on various websites.

Ed’s new book Kayaking the Sea Roads is out now: https://amzn.to/3HAOiHj

If you want to hear more about kayaking in Patagonia check out Episode 8 with Will Copestake > https://www.buzzsprout.com/954676/3255151

Get your 2024 off to an exciting start by planning to cycle 100 miles this summer in Scotland's friendliest, free century ride.   

Ride to the Sun is a (semi)-organised, summer solstice 100 mile ride through the night, from the English border city of Carlisle to the village of Cramond just north of Edinburgh in Scotland, aiming to arrive for sunrise around 4:20am.

We’ll hear from organisers Gary Cameron and Fraser Maxwell, plus learn how to organise the logistics of this point-to-point ride.  I'll also try to understand why it appeals to a range of cyclists, whether they're tackling their first century or riding it as part of a 300 mile Audax. 

I've been at this event three times and it gets better each year.

Website          Video

This is a story of adventure on the highest of mountains, and also so much more.   A young TV camera operator gets his first big break to film on Everest.  He then has to come to terms with almost dying in an avalanche and the tragedy of losing friends in two of the biggest disasters ever to hit that mountain. 

In this podcast we hear the story of Joe French's recovery from post traumatic stress, barefoot running through the forest above his home in the Scottish Highlands.  It's a story he tells in vivid detail in his book Out of Mind. 

Out of Mind by Joe French (Amazon affiliate link)

The Roam Scotland Rally is an annual ride, devised by Calum Munro after he cycled the Torino Nice Rally.  Each year it takes a different route and spoke to Calum part-way through the 2023 ride.  The routes can be tackled at any time.

Roam Scotland Rally website

In the Spring of 2023 Jamie Aarons set a new record for a self-propelled round of The Munros, Scotland's 282 mountains over 3,000ft in elevation.  Here she talks about her background, discovering hill-running, the community that helped her complete the challenge and the problems she overcame along the way.

Jamie's Just Giving page   Jamie's Website

Part 2.  Former British Mountain Bike champion, Active Nation Commission for Scotland, and now author of an excellent memoir (sort of memoir) Other Ways to Win we'll hear from the inspiring Lee Craigie.  Lee and I take a short ride together, chatting about the book and some of its deeper themes.  Lee reads passages from the book and these act as springboards for our conversation. 

There are too many adventure stories for one podcast, so part two comes soon.  I spoke to Lee about many of these adventures a couple of years ago, and that podcast will be re-released to tie into this publication.

There's also a video of part of our conversation - it's in a longer video telling the story of my own two-day cycle ride to visit her, called Other Ways to Lee.

Buy Other Ways To Win on Amazon.

Former British Mountain Bike champion, Active Nation Commission for Scotland, and now author of an excellent memoir (sort of memoir) Other Ways to Win we'll hear from the inspiring Lee Craigie.  Lee and I take a short ride together, chatting about the book and some of its deeper themes.  Lee reads passages from the book and these act as springboards for our conversation. 

There are too many adventure stories for one podcast, so part two comes soon.  I spoke to Lee about many of these adventures a couple of years ago, and that podcast will be re-released to tie into this publication.

There's also a video of part of our conversation - it's in a longer video telling the story of my own two-day cycle ride to visit her, called Other Ways to Lee.

Buy Other Ways To Win on Amazon.