So I have been travelling around 3 months now, and I´m loving it but I´ll have to work at some point soon just to recharge funds and also keep the wheels turning, I think I mentioned that previously but it´s becoming a firmer idea. Certainly I wouldn´t mind stopping to develop some friends and have a feeling of permanence somewhere. I have such a greater profound respect for the great cycle tourists out there now, those who´ve been travelling for years before returning home (or are still going) how they cope with the endless movement is beyond me.

This doesn´t mean I´m about to stop. Even living abroad for a few months is part of the journey not the destination. Certainly though I am wondering how the future will be, how long will I be on the road. One thing is clear, money seems the least important thing in my life now. When I was earning good money I never felt as satisfied as I am at present. In fact it seems the less I have material wise the less stressed and happier I feel. What is the phrase again “the things you own, own you”? Possibly this is just simplicity at work. When you only have to worry about your next meal and the road ahead things are certainly simpler. Obviously when you get a job that changes, you have responsibilities a schedule of work, time is taken away to generate funds, but if I´m working just to move on again then I can cope for a time. In the future I can see my home / flat / apartment will be pretty spartan in nature.

So my plan is Portugal for now, then Andorra I know where I´m headed, I know what the plan is, I have a direction. But part of me is constantly wondering a few things;

1. Where I am going to stop?
2. When is that going to be?
3. What am I going to do when I finally reach the destination?
4. Who am I now and who do I want to be?
5. Why am I doing this? (usually on a mountainside in blistering heat to be fair)
6. How will I answer any of the above?

I don´t have an answer to any of these questions I think their similar questions to the ones I had when I was at work. Does everyone have them, aside from minor variations? Does anybody know how find the answers? Well anyhow I´m off to explore locally see if I can get any inspiration and maybe meditate again later. My blog entries seem quite repetetive recently so I´ll end on a travel note.

I biked to Malaga and I´m on my route back to Gibraltar due to the routes that are available I´ll have to backtrack as far as Sevilla before heading to Portugal thankfully this is only 3 or so days away but it´s worth learning that you should look at the big picture before deciding a route. I´ve met some fantastic people during my little detour and so I´m glad I took the time to do it, plus the places I visited are as beautiful as they are interesting. I would suggest taking the time to see Spain to anyone there are many spains though, depending where you go you´ll see something entirely different, I would suggest the less beaten path is the more interesting but don´t underestimate how nice it can be where the locals can understand English

So I’m in Cordoba, or amusingly ‘Cordova’ as Google maps calls it, I mean i understand it’s the pronunciation but why only do it on a few cities? Is it just to confuse the hell out of people who use Google maps solely as their route planner? Because you sure as hell wont see any signs pointing to the place you think you’re looking for. Thankfully I have my trusty Michelin maps they generally guide me right. I actually have far too many and must send some home..

Anyway, Cordoba is a fantastic place, it has long been a place tied up with religion, there are Mosques, Cathedrals and Synagogues here. With one of the most extensive historical heritages in the world (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO). So it’s pretty damn cool to look around. Sells great tapas and I’ve met a lot of English speakers which is pleasant.

Also last night I watched flamenco dancing for the first time, flamenco embodies a complex musical and cultural tradition. Although considered part of the culture of Spain flamenco actually originates from Andalusia (where I’m presently situated so I’m watching it in one of the best places apparently). It’s incredibly interesting to watch and I’m sure I missed about a million subtexts that are hidden in the movements (and the lyrics I couldn’t understand). Amusingly during the intermission I talked with one of the singers and he announced me to the room saying everyone should clap me for my adventurous bike ride. A trifle embarrassing but it’s always nice to have a room of people clap you for your endeavours.

Well the riding here has been pretty evil mind you 40°C+ temperatures soaring while biking hard is no laughing matter. I have narrowed my distances even further and I’m attempting a 2 day jaunt to Sevilla tomorrow, we’ll have to see how that goes.

As for the second part of my post, I read this which got me thinking

“We believe that by simply improving external conditions we can be truly happy. Motivated by this belief, most countries have made remarkable material progress. However as we can see, this does not really make us happier or reduce our problems but instead creates more problems, suffering and danger”

Well I’m inclined to agree on the first part, not so sure about the suffering and danger, whoever thought that before materialism caught on that we were living lives with more problems and less danger is a bit slow. We like to think that simpler means better, not destitute starving, with a lack of hygiene and human rights. Anyhow, that’s off topic, I could write all day on how material improvements have improved our lives beyond belief, despite what luddites and others might say. Although its true not all societies enjoy the comfort we’ve obtained in the developed countries there’s much to say that the situation is improving.

One thing I would agree with though is simply obtaining objects i.e. material gain is in no way beneficial to happiness. Happiness is internal, so you can be (and this might sound strange) just as happy in a prison cell as you are on a beach or a holiday, it’s a mental choice, most people wont believe me on that one, and that’s fine you’d be wrong… There’s a huge body of evidence which I haven’t got the time to reference right now, to say that we create our own happiness and despair, despite the way the world is treating us. Now I’m not saying you can’t buy ‘comfort’ you can obtain a lot of that through money and lets be fair it makes most of us content in life. But depression is the most commonly medicated problem in England at the moment so either people are assuming drugs will make them happier, we are being misdiagnosed or we have a serious disconnect between how we think we can obtain happiness and what it actually is.

So where do I fit into all this? Why am I writing about it. Well I think I’m seeking something, maybe some enlightenment about what I want to be, maybe it’s just a slice of happiness or maybe I was stuck in a rut and I needed to do something like this to snap me out of it. Worse case scenario I’m just running away from responsibilities I don’t want to handle anymore. But either way just travelling and changing the scenery isn’t actually going to get me there. Sure the constant change, the sense of achievement as I clear the summit of a mountain, my confidence at dealing with the unknown and the time to actually consider these things is great. As long as I do consider them and don’t just drift along admiring the views thinking “this will change my life” just because it’s different.

So I’ve been thinking I have to do more, I’m not sure ‘what’ more implies though. I know a regular meditation and writing this stuff up would be a good idea. I even have a book of the main 21 meditations or the path of lamrim (I’m not Buddhist by the way but they do have some interesting concepts and the lamrim is incredibly well thought out and structured). I’ll also e-mail friends and probably ask some questions about what they think of me… I think I need to be honest with myself if I’m going to work out where all this is going, and friends are the best people to tell you what you’re doing wrong.

I am happy by the way, happier than I have been for a long time, but the focus is slipping and I feel the need to have reasons for something like this. As much of a pleasure cruise as it is, I feel that I can achieve more if I strive for it. Well off to Sevilla for me then. Will try and upload photos soon I have a huge number pending. Hopefully write up more as I think/meditate en route.

Hubris – noun

1. excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
2. believing that due to crossing France being easy mountains and northern Spain would be okay.

Mountain –noun

1. a natural elevation of the earth’s surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2000 ft. (610m)
2. a big smegging chunk of rock that rises up to the Gods with numerous turns that make you think you’re nearly there and then lead to another large slope continuing up.
3. very, very beautiful, breathtaking chunks of rock though.

Okay so I underestimated the mountains, a lot, but on after a horrible day or two of self worry and concern ‘can I actually do this’ I’ve come out the other side and feel more confident, I may not go as far everyday but I ‘am’ getting up these mountains. Slowly but surely I’m feeling my legs and technique improve on the ups and the downs are really cool, also the views you get at the top of a rise are just.. Well for lack of a better word, amazing.

While I can understand people not wanting to emulate the incredibly sweaty biking around here. If you like camping then this place is awesome for hiking, I’m sure you could wild camp pretty much anywhere if you follow the hiking trails (permissible or not nobody is going to find you). Downsides are the roads can be pretty scary when you have no road space and a cliff to your left, minus a rail… But no accidents here, I’m being overly cautious with my beast of a bike.

Today was a bit of a washout for distance, I met two other cyclists and we took a side route as the tunnel was closed this turned into a marathon of pushing our bikes up an animal trail / hiking path to the summit of a mountain, we probably climbed about 400 meters with our bikes through paths two small for my panniers and angles of about 18%-19% in parts, but we succeeded. I’m now camping in a lovely place. Recovering now, taught me not to try off the beaten path unless ‘really’ certain it’s easier.

Still a great day, dissolved my fears of mountain roads and off distances I don’t need to go far just get to the next campsite, and keep that up ad infinitum. After all it’s not a race. Anyhow, I’m going back to my tent to chill out study French and Spanish and get an early night.

So in retrospect, nature wins, don’t get complacent about your own abilities, and take each day as it comes. Oh and be positive no matter how high the summit is, you’ll eventually find it if you keep trying .

So it’s been awhile since I wrote, I travelled through Paris, Nibelle, Orleans and arrived on Saturday in Tours  met a whole load of people, I don’t think I can write enough to explain the breadth and length of everything that’s happened and the fantastic experience I’m having. So I’ll give a few highlights.

I met a friend from home called Cress in Orleans for 3-4 days we had a good time, but she pointed out to me how much I’d changed from who I was back home, It’s like discovering your hair has grown or that over time subtle changes have taken root. I was completely unaware that anything had changed until it was pointed out to me. Certainly I feel more confident in myself and my ability to get around, I occasionally forget my phrasebook as I go out these days, which is an obvious improvement of confidence. But there is something deeper, maybe as a traveller there’s no expectations of character when you meet people, so you don’t feel the need to act in a certain way. I think this is a good thing, people rarely get a chance to reinvent themselves. I don’t know quite where it’s all going, but hopefully James version 2.0 will be all that I can make him .

Outside of personal changes I’m amazed constantly by the scenery, biking at a pretty leisurely pace allows you to really appreciate what you’re passing, even when the rain is pouring down, I have however had my fill of Cathedrals for awhile Sacré-Cœur,  Notre-dam,  Amiens, Orléans all have fantastic edifices to Christianity that quite literally blow my mind, especially when one considers the era they were built in without modern aids such as computers, cranes and construction equipment. But like the shrines of Japan I’m feeling a little tired when I see another one. I now look for the differences that make each one interesting.

I am in fact realising I can’t see everything on my route. For instance in Tours I have hardly scratched the surface of this medieval city. I must push on, I hope to be in Spain by the end of April ( should be easy ) I can bike 100-140km in a day quite happily, despite the rain and wind constantly blowing from in front. Tomorrow is a bike ride down to Poitiers where I’m staying a few days. Before heading to Angouléme, Bordeaux, Mont de Marsan maybe? The route is flexible though, and hopefully more regular biking will build up some fitness for the mountains that will very soon be visible on the horizon.

As a final note, I have yet to be lonely for long as I travel, I hunt out a bar or place to go and people just chat with me and wish me all the best, I think I’ve met a handful of people who I didn’t like. So while this might be just luck I also think it shows that people everywhere have good hearts. I am keeping a written journal most days and I’ve started to be more serious about my gear, some stuff is being returned soon and I’m trying to shift gear from the front panniers to the back, then load the front up with food. Eating out just isn’t an option in the long-term and Rice, Pasta with tuna and fresh fruit is not all I want to eat.

So in brief, things are good, equipment is being rethought, youth hostels are great but I can’t keep using them, I am learning to speak French, I miss my friends and I am making new ones, I had a cough that had me bedridden for a day but I’m fine now. Till next time then .