END OF BLOG - for the present - and End of the Road

 

I saw the Doctor this morning. He examined me and says that all my vital signs are good and I should make a good recovery - probably this week. He prescribed me medication for the nausea. He thinks that I have had a sickness virus for weeks and that is moving towards the endgame now. The sickness virus was probably made much worse by the extreme heatwave conditions and hard cycling. 

So I had a lucky escape. When I complete the ride in Spring 2022, I shall have someone there with a vehicle everyday, to support me with anything I need. 

All I need to do now, is recover, get back on my bike and get on with my life and work. There is lots to engage with, and I feel I've had a good adventure, and the main focus of my ride - to raise money for the Kolkata Project - has been successful. 

Thank you all for reading my blog and/or donating generously. Thanks to all those who have written to me expressing your encouragement, concern and well-wishing. 

I will pause this blog now, until Spring 2022, when I shall take it up again.

Love,

Saddharaja

Takeaways from the Big Ride Part 1

 

It is Sunday afternoon. Two days since I returned home ill from my abruptly-ended Big Ride for Kolkata. I still feel pretty unwell. Nauseous, lacking in strength and about 50% of my normal energy. My mind still feels befuddled and reality feels a step removed. It least I am holding my food down.

I have done little over the last 48 hours but rest. A couple of short walks from which I returned exhausted. At least I have an appointment with the GP on Monday morning, and we can see what treatment I need to recover. I have been using the weekend to catch up (in a basic way) on correspondence. There has been an avalanche of this. People have been so kind and caring, with messages coming from around the world. Many people who I have never met. I am so grateful to you all for your care and metta. Thank you.

My mental states are largely fine. I am not able to meditate very effectively at present so I am doing puja. My community is supportive. I feel confident I shall recover from this and be back to my normal life before long.

I have also had time to reflect on my 10 day, 420 mile bike ride. Here are a few points that I have concluded.

1) I made a mistake in doing the trip solo. Doing everything independently and not burdening others tends to be my style - for better or worse. That's OK if you stay healthy. I was very organised with this trip but I didn't take into account the possibility of having a serious crash or getting ill. Both real possibilities, and both happened to me. Being ill away from home with a loaded bike is a difficult place to independently deal with. 

2) I want to complete the trip next Spring. My desire to cycle the length of the country is not deminished. Probably John O'Groats down to Wales. This time I will do it with someone backing me up with a vehicle. My brother has offered to do this with a camper van. I want to take him up on it. 

3) Despite my getting ill, the point of the project is to raise money for Triratna Kolkata. We have been successful in that. Nearly £14K so far. That will make a big difference to activities in West Bengal. Money goes further there. Also we have recently had a bequest for the project, a sculpture by Meera Mukherjee, the late, famous Bengali sculptor. This sculpture is ours to auction at Christie's or Sotheby's, and is likely to fetch good money which will greatly help the project. A fantastic thing to have happened.

4) I find I don't feel upset or bothered at only completing a third of the Big Ride. Initially I did feel dissappointed. But now I feel tranquil about it. It is what it is.

5) Britain has so much beauty. I saw so much of this on my 10-day ride. I knew it was there, but a bike gives you the ideal, in-depth way of seeing that beauty.

6) I really enjoy cycling and want to continue doing lots more of it. At my time of life, it is the ideal way of keeping fit, getting around and keeping interested in my environment.

7) Cycling in a 10-day heatwave is very challenging. I did everything right: covering up, sunscreen, hydration nand electrolytes relpacement tablets, drinking lots of water (3 litres a ride), and sensible resting. Even so, the melting tarmac, the sunglare, the energy-sapping effect of the intense heat took me to the edge of my endurance. I discovered I am fitter, stronger and more resilient than I thought I was. Even so, I shall not do another big ride in summer, and I shall not do it solo.

8) I met some lovely people. I expected this to be the case with the Order members I stayed with and with my family, and of course, they were. What I didn't expect was to meet so many lovely members of the general public who took an interest in me, were generous to me and were good to talk to. I met some great people. Fellow LEJOG-ers all say the same thing. You meet so many nice people in Britain.

9) Britain has a massive traffic problem. Along with the rest of the world, probably. There is now so much traffic on the road. UK roads are not in good repair, I noticed. We are so car-dependent for everything. We are encouraged to cycle more, and of course, I agree with that. It is easy to do that in Cambridge, but not the case in Cornwall! Cornwall has narrow, busy roads with twisty bits and steep hills. Who wants to cycle in that? It is also the case in so much of the rest of the country. I don't know what the solution is. But on this ride, I really saw the reality of our traffic-mad little country. We have built our lives around the car. When the climate apocalypse comes in future decades, we may not be able to use cars in the same way as today.

10) SatNavs are a wonderful thing. I have a Garmin bike SatNav and it faithfully got me where I needed to go without any fuss. No need for lots of physical maps. What incredible technology it is.

Home again

Here I am back at Abbey House. Still feeling rough and weak, but I'm home safe and sound. I have an appointment to see my GP at 08.30 on Monday morning, so I just need to rest up this weekend and then see what diagnosis the doctor gives me on Monday morning.

I feel very grateful to Vajraketu. He texted me yesterday offering to come and get me in Cheltenham by car from Cambridge, together with my bike. It was decent of him. He arrived around 11.30 this morning after having set out early. He had an opportunity to meet my daughter-in-law Clare briefly together with my granddaughter Hazel. My son Barney and wife Clare have been so helpful and caring of me on this trip.

Once we were out on the road heading back to Cambridge, I found my map-reading skills pretty useless. The nausea just wouldn't allow me to concentrate. Anyway, despite a traffic hold-up at one point we got back OK late afternoon, and we had a good talk on the way back. Vajraketu seemed to effortlessly combine mindful driving, navigating and listening to me wittering on.

I'm glad to be back home in the community and feel - looking back to be happy that I have done the ride that I did and got away without having a serious accident. I'm happy I raised all that money for the Kolkata Project, and fully intend to complete the rest of the Big Ride another time. Only this time, I shall have someone along with me in a vehicle for back up. Being ill and a long way from home with a bike is a vulnerable situation to be in, I found. Also, the heatwave was so intense. I'll go in the Spring next time.

I cycled 420 miles from Land's End to Knighton in mid-Wales in 10 days. Penzance, Land's End, Penzance again, Truro, Liskeard, Okehampton, Honiton, Glastonbury, Bristol, Cheltenham, Garway Knighton. There are lots of things I learned and appreciated from the experience, and wonderful people I met. I also got to know myself in new ways. But that must wait until tomorrow because I've just got to go to bed now. 
 

Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun

 

I am lying in a nice tent with a cool breeze coming through - trying to regain my strength. I'm back in Cheltenham at my son's house - being looked after.

This morning, I just about got myself and bike on a series of trains from Knighton in Wales to Cheltenham. I managed not to vomit, despite the train swaying about.

Yesterday is bit of a blur. The morning started so well - leaving my friends in Garway feeling enriched by their company. By the time I visited Hereford Cathedral and saw the Elgar statue (see pics) there was a rising tide of nausea and I was worried. The bike photo was taken shortly before I callapsed on the road to Knighton. I was still hoping I would rally.

I shall get some medical help now before returning to Cambridge - hopefully in a few days.

I think the gods were not in my favour on this trip: the extreme weather, my underlying illness bug...also no less than 5 B&Bs had cancelled on me as their staff had been 'covid-pinged'. Some of these B&Bs were in remote Scotland where alternative accommodation would be hard to find.

Today, I feel disappointed, but OK. It's a dramatic way to have my Big Ride cut short, but I couldn't control it. I planned everything well, except for the possibility of getting Ill. I DO want to complete the trip, but it might need to wait until next Spring. My brother has offered to support me with a camper van. That feels more do-able. Probably what I should have done in the first place...

So it's alright, really. I rode the 'hard part' the first 420 miles. I didn't die on the road, thankfully or cause serious harm to myself. I've raised money for the project.  Just a bit embarrassing and dramatic. Whatever condition I've got will surely pass or can be treated.

Disappointed not to be able to ride through Scotland, in particular. But Scotland will wait for me.

Disaster strikes

 I'm not really well enough to write this but want to let you all know what's happening, I fell ill today and fell off my bike - having fainted. Onto a grass verge. I was lucky. It's embarrassing. I was violently ill and vomitted all over my bike shirt.

Had wonderful stay with Varasahaya and Shantipala's place in Garway. So good to spend time with them. The were so generous and such good company.

Shortly after leaving them I felt a return of the nausea I've been getting on and off for two weeks now. Also a gripping sensation in my intestines - once again. Ploughed on 40 miles in the heat feeling increasingly rough. Couldn't eat lunch. Drinking lots. Eventually found myself looking up at trees with the bike lying on my leg. Realised I'd passed out. The heat wasn't helping. Took 3 hours to do 3 miles, I felt so bad. Used all my water washing myself so I could present myself at the B&B in Knighton.

Called NHS Direct and asked for a doctor. Not Covid. Not norovirus, he thought. Wasn't sure. Maybe an intestinal parasite, he thought, or just a long bug. I needed rest & treatment. Tomorrow can get various trains back to my son's in Cheltenham. Will stay there, rest and see his GP - if possible.

I am slowly facing the fact that this could mean game over as far as the ride is concerned - at least for now. I feel too weak to carry on right now. Getting medical help will take time. I am very, very disappointed and upset.Also confused and not in my right mind. But I must face this. More tomorrow. Let's see how I am then. Need to sleep.

Meeting the Buddha on the road

 I have been chanting the Shakyamuni mantra whilst on the road. It really helps with those hard hours of the hot afternoon. I am arrived now in Garway, Herefordshire. Varasahaya and Shantipala have welcomed me into their beautiful country home and we have already had a good talk about our lives and Triratna matters. It is so good to be with members of the Order, and they are so welcoming.

Tomorrow, I'll be heading off to Knighton. I feel I'm moving into a whole new phase of the ride.

Staying with my son and family in Cheltenham was a tonic. Barney and Clare were generous, welcoming and had everything set up for me. It was great to catch up on their lives. And there was little granddaughter Hazel with her delightful ways and little toothy grin.

Today's ride was easy in the morning and tough in the afternoon. The afternoon heat is really energy-sapping. But I'm getting used to it now, and will need to deal skilfully with it for couple more days yet until the weather breaks.

The important thing is that I pace myself in the afternoons and take plenty of breaks, otherwise I could get heat-exhaustion or disorientated. Last night, I had a dream I was accompanying Xuanzang on his pilgrimage to India. We were in the blazing hot Gobi dessert. For some reason I had my bike with me, and couldn't understand why. A bike is useless in sand dunes.

The map is not the territory

 

Here I am in Cheltenham with my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Lovely to see them, and lovely to be here!

I got a very warm welcome, and all manner of food was laid on. I'm sleeping in a large tent in the garden on an airbed as they have all recently had some sort of bug (not Covid). Sadly, we have to keep our distance.

Today was different. There were very few hills. Just a big one climbing out of Bristol city. After that, it was pretty flat and I enjoyed that. A record day - 55 miles, and it felt like it. Some of it was enjoyable, some of it was gruelling - because of the hot sun. Main issue is still the heat. Between 3 and 4 in the afternoon, I simply have to rest in the shade for an hour. It's just too hot to keep riding. Some very lovely Gloucestershire countryside. 

At 4pm I suddenly felt rather weak in the heat. I went into a Tesco Express and bought and drank off half a pint of cold strawberry milk and ate a bag of cashew nuts. I felt fully restored after that.

Am now showered, refreshed and looking forward to dinner with the family. I feel completely fine now. My 62 year old body continues to amaze me with it's resilience. I feel lucky that way. I have also NOT had any arthritic problems so far. The cycling is really helping that.

Taking the rough with the smooth

My hotel room said 25°C when I went to bed last night. But I had a fan full on and slept well - I was properly tired. The Eastern European young woman managing the hotel was so exceptional, that I put on the review 'Give her a pay rise!' Good staff can make a big difference to an average hotel.

I began the day by reading Bhante Sangharakshita's poem 'On Glastonbury Tor' whilst stood not far from the Tor itself. 

Yet another blistering day. When will it end? I enjoyed hours of exceptional cycling on the Somerset Levels - on the way to Wells. Truly beautiful in the morning cool, and the traffic-less roads. 

Taking the Old Bristol Road out of Wells was a different matter. It involved the longest push-up of the trip so far - 90 minutes, the length of a football game. This was the Mendip Hills and I had to pace myself in the blistering heat. With a push-up you are locked into a narrow steep road with high hedges. No breeze, just the sun creating a sweat-lodge for you to endure. This experience is never mentioned in any of the LEJOG or JOGLE guide books I've read. But it IS the reality. Anyone undertaking this ride should know how challenging it is.

I reflected that back in my teens and twenties, I'd have given up long before now and gone home. But at 62, I'm maturer and more disciplined. Yes, failure is not an option now, but I know now just how to ensure that failure doesn't occur. It comes down to physical training, the right gear and mental discipline. I didn't have these things as a young man.

I took Saddhahadaya's suggestion and took a two-hour lunch break. It was definitely better.

I really enjoyed visiting the beautiful Ashton Court on the way to my hotel in Bristol. My brother and I spent a lot of our childhood in this park during Summer holidays. We would stay with an aunt and uncle who had a lot of dogs, horses and a Minah bird. They were good fun to stay with. My parents would drop us off there for a week at a time. I learned to ride horses there and also how to use oil paint and paint portraits (my aunt was an artist and quite bohemian, really). 

Their house in the park is long sold. I took a photo of it as it is today. I have not seen it for many decades. Happy childhood memories.

Heat and Dust 2

 

Today was another tough one, ultimately. But the morning through to lunchtime was a nice ride through beautiful countryside and mostly quiet roads. I am now in Somerset.

Last night's stay in Wilmington was restorative. A beautiful old house not unlike Abbey House that I live in, and the same period. A Brazilian lady looked after me very well and we had good chats. I had a bedroom just like my own in Cambridge with sloping walls and floor. However, I went to bed still feeling nauseous, but woke up feeling fine! So far, I have felt well all day.

Am now staying in an anonymous chain hotel in Street, near Glastonbury. The manager is young helpful Polish woman who has taken my bike storage seriously. The downside is the all-day noisy drinkers in the outdoor bar outside my bedroom. But I'm not that bothered. I've got a nice room and can rest and recuperate.

Today I spent 10% of my ride 'pushing up', i.e. pushing the bike up long, steep unrideable hills. Only 10%. In Cornwall it was 90%, and in Devon it was 50%. As we are in a long heatwave, afternoon temperatures are scorching. It does drain your energy. Currently, this big ride isn't enjoyable a lot of the time. It is more a case of enduring it. I know it will improve as the heatwave ends and the terrain continues to improve. I have been buying bottles of Lucozade - a drink I would not touch, normally. But in the afternoons, the glucose really helps. 

I met a lovely Indian couple and their three children at the B&B last night. We talked about the Elora caves. They had named their daughter Elora after the caves. I thought how that might work in the UK. 'Wokey Hole' would be an odd name for a child!

Heat and Dust

After a good afternoon and evening with my family, I returned to my B&B feeling well. I slept well. However, I rose at 6am feeling nauseous again. It is the return of whatever I had last week.

I was a bit worried as I knew I had 45 miles to ride through Exeter to Wilmington and that it would be a scorching day. I couldn't face a full veggie breakfast, so just had muesli, fruit and yoghurt. I felt better once out on the road. It was mostly a day of riding country back roads, with some hills but nothing like Cornwall. I felt fine but the afternoon heat was brutal. I need to be completely covered up.

Got to the B&B at 5 and my hosts are warm and helpful. They even washed my cycling gear and put it out to dry. As I write this, the nausea has returned. I don't know what to do, other than carry on. I've taken rehydration salts. Hopefully a good night will improve things. It's Glastonbury tomorrow, which is not as far as today. Each day brings some new challenge.

Onwards and upwards

 

DAY 4: Set off early as the weather is HOT!. More hard miles coming out of Cornwall, but finally things got easier as I got into Devon. The last 10 miles into Okehampton were actually on the Granite Way. An old railway line converted into a cycle path. It was wonderful. I'm feeling fit and well and starting to enjoy this now. Lots of magical moments in the countryside. I'm pleased with my fitness levels.

Got into Okehampton and 3pm and went to see my father and his partner/carer. He was pleased to see me and the visit went well. Had a very pleasant outdoor evening meal on Dartmoor with my brother. I will visit Dad again tomorrow before I set off for Honiton near Exeter.

So 30 miles today. Twenty of which were hard and ten which were easy. I met a cyclist today who had done the same trip I'm doing. He said things are much easier after Exeter - right the way up to John O Groats. Pleased about that!

Day 3: More of the same but tougher

 Today was the toughest physical day of my life, and I have come through it. I cannot remember a physical experience. as grueling as today.  The 45 miles from Truro to Liskeard were monumentally tough with the longest, steepest hills I have ever known. I spent most of the day pushing the bike up interminable hills in this heatwave we are having. It was character-building.

I got to this family-run pub/hotel outside Liskeard, and the staff were so welcoming. After a shower and change, I ate a scrumptious pizza and drank a pint of shandy. I felt a new man after that. What amazes me is how quickly my body bounces back. It seems to quickly recover and I sleep like a log.

Tomorrow I cycle only 30 miles to

 Okehampton in Devon where I will meet with my 90 year old father and my 65 year old brother. It should be good.

Videos at last

 

My friend  Jeremy has come to the rescue again as I was having issues in putting videos on this blog. So here's me from yesterday setting off from Land's End.

Day 2: The Crucible: Penzance to Truro

Today was a surprise in many ways. Set off from Penzance at 8am after a hearty breakfast. What followed was 40 miles of the toughest riding I have ever done. Serious hills which I spent a lot of time pushing the bike up. Too steep to ride up. The ride down some off the hills are real thrillers (though I am careful). The morning was cool but by lunchtime it was blazing hot. Beautiful Cornish countryside, but definitely not cycling country. What a test! Another one and a half days of such terrain and things flatten out a bit in the heart of Devon. I was told the first few days would be hard-going and this seems to be true!

The good news is that I reached my day's destination - Truro - by 1pm, my 40 miles done. I spent the afternoon lazing in Truro Abbey gardens drinking coffee. Am now in my B&B and am showered and feel perfectly fine. It shows that the 15 months I spent training for this ride is paying off. Though the next day and a half will be similarly hard, it will get easier as the terrain evens out and I get fitter. After today, I feel cautiously confident.

 

Land's End gets 'done'

Here is me at Land's End today. I arrived in Penzance last night from Paddington and stayed with Akashadevi at her house. It was nice to get to know her a bit and meditate together this morning. She was generous and hospitable and the stay was a pleasure.

I took the wrong route to Land's End, thinking it would be nice to take a back road. Big mistake!! The hills were like the Himalayas and it was hard enough pushing the bike up them, never mind ride up them. It was hot. On arriving at LE, I found it overrun with tourists sporting ice-creams and taking selfies. It was hard to get a shot of me at the famous 'signpost' but eventually managed it. After a cheese & onion pasty and coffee I took the main road back to Penzance, which was easier, but still hilly. Am in a rather basic B&B now. It's on to Truro tomorrow, It's 38 tough miles so I'm setting out early.

On the train to Penzance

Saddhahadaya saw me off at Cambridge station today at 12.55 and took this photo. That was so nice. She and I had a quick WhatsApp video call with Aryavati and Adityabodhi - our friends in India. They were thinking about us. The train down was besiged by England football supporters chanting at the tops of their voices. Police in full force at Kings Cross. I cycled the streets of central London to Paddington using Google maps - a wonderful tool. I was worried as there is only one train to Penzance today, due to train staff Covid isolating. But my bike and I are on it! It's packed with people but I'm just so glad to be on schedule and I have a seat and food & drink. Due to arrive at Penzance at 22.09 tonight. Have digs due to a generous order member. Let the oddisey begin!

Train trouble

Yesterday afternoon, I got a message from Great Western Railway saying that my overnight train to Penzance this Sunday was cancelled - due to staff shortage from Covid. In fact most trains that day are cancelled. I spent around two frantic hours trying to find another train. Another train for me and a free booking for my bike, too. After much hassle, I finally got a booking for 17.03 for myself and my bike this Sunday. It cost me an extra £71, but at least I have got it. 

Assuming the train runs and runs on time, I'm due to arrive in Penzance at 22.09. No B&Bs were available at that time, so a very generous Dharmacharini (who I don't even know) has stepped in and offered me to stay at her house. I am so grateful!
 

Health is Wealth

I'm pleased to say I'm feeling completely well again today. Sadhu! Whatever it was has passed on quickly. Whilst I was ill, my system fought back vigorously, and I've recovered quickly it seems. This morning, I've done some gym and had a cycle ride. I feel completely well. I suspect it was either yoghurt past it's 'consume by' date or contaminated water in a plastic water bottle. I'm going to be more scrupulous about these things from now on.

Yesterday I was due to go canoeing with Saddhahadaya in our new canoe. But by 11.30 she kindly drove me home to rest as I was feeling really nauseous and rough. Sanghadevi kindly gave me homeopathic pills for food poisoning, and they worked well. I vomitted twice and immediately felt better. By 3pm, I was sufficiently well to visit the Cambridge Botanic Gardens with Saddhahadaya, but felt a bit washed out. She was very empathetic.

After a really good night's sleep I'm back on top again. Which is great because Saddhahadaya and I are going out for a meal tonight to celebrate her birthday on Saturday. It's our last bit of time together before I head off for a whole month. The interesting thing is that I will be waiting with my bike in Paddington station on Sunday evening ready to take the Penzance overnight sleeper at 11.50. England International Football team may or may not have won the Euros by this time. Either way, England have done well.

My son Barney and I plan to ride the MizMal next summer. This is Mizzen Head to Malin Head in Ireland. The southern-most tip to the northern-most tipof the island. It's 525miles and mainly runs along the rugged West Coast. Barney thinks he can take a week off from his job and his family life to do it. It will be great to spend quality time together, cycling a fantastic route in a beautiful country.

But before that, there is a small matter of a 1200 mile LEJOG to do..... 

Illness alert!

Woke up this morning feeling rough. Oh my goodness! Is this Covid? That would mess up everything.  But... I don't have any Covid symptoms, just stomach cramps and nausea. Food poisoning of some kind? I took two careful Covid tests and they were both negative, thank goodness. 

Sanghadevi gave me some food poisoning tablets and they caused me to throw up and I feel better now, but I'm still a little delicate. I'll get through this!



To take or not to take, that is the question

I am currently fine-tuning what I will take on the trip. Basic cycle law says "The less the better". But you don't want to be caught out without something you really need, so the selection is crucial. As I'm staying somewhere every night, it's down to bike needs and my needs. As the start of the trip gets closer I've been going for fully-loaded rides. Getting used to how the bike feels with the kit loaded.

I'm going for a stripped-down approach to personal gear. Trying to keep everything as light as possible. So no rear rack and pannier bags. Just a bar bag and and large expandable saddle bag. I've also got a small shoulder bag that hangs over the bar bag which I'll use to go into shops with. I have a personal money belt worn next to the skin. I'll be wearing the same set of cycle gear every day - and washing it each night.

I'm putting essentials I hope I won't use in the bar bag and leave that on the bike when I garage the bike at B&Bs. This bag contains tools, spares, First Aid, emergency meds and extreme weather gear.

In the rear saddle bag are my personal clothes and toiletries. So I'll be taking this off daily at the B&Bs. This contains: 1 x trousers, 1 x baselayer, 1 x summer shirt, 1 x jumper, 3 x socks, 2 x pants and essential meds and minimal toiletries. Apart from a SatNav on the bike, I have only one piece of technology - a Smartphone. This will have to serve for everything - including these reports. I was going to take a tablet, but it weighs too much. 

Fortunately for me, my generous friend Jeremy has just given me and set up an excellent Google Pixel 2 Smartphone. It's a much better phone than I had previously! So all photos, videos, blogs and texts calls will be done using that. I can also read books on it. When you think about it, the Smartphone is such an amazing tool. I could even navigate with it if I needed to.

I've had to make tough decisions, but I am taking one (very light) 'luxury'. That is photo prints of my yiddam, Shakyamuni Buddha, and photos of my partner Saddhahadaya and my son, his wife Clare and my grand daughter, Hazel. It will just be so nice to put them out in each B&B and look at them before I retire to bed each night.

 

The journey of 1200 miles begins with a single pedal turn

 

Though it is only since the start of the pandemic that I have become serious about cycling, actually, pedal-power as always been in my life from the earliest times and throughout my life thus far. For most of the 43 years of my working life, I cycled to work.

The original metal car I had when I was two years old was pedal-powered. I used to go off for very long journies in it, and my parent's were always a bit worried as we lived in a cottage in a wood in Wales at the time. They had to keep an eagle eye on me or I would have got lost! 

My father once told me that I was so attached to my pedal car that I would sometimes refuse to leave it at meal times and he was forced to carry me into the house, whilst still in the car! This picture was taken in 1961.

In 1975, when I was 16, I cycled all the way to Paris from the Lake District (where we then lived). I cycled with a local friend. Mark and I cycled from Windermere to Dover - camping all the way. We then cycled through Northern France in that summer - stealth-camping, and then spent a few days exploring Paris. I then returned on my own, and Mark carried on through Europe. I would have gone through Europe with him, but I didn't have enough money. It was my first trip abroad, and I loved it. I am amazed that my parents agreed to me going at such an age. I'm sure that wouldn't happen today. I hadn't even started shaving and was quite naieve about the realities of adult life. There were no mobile phones back then, so I sent postcards to my parents from along the route. I remember sending one postcard as I was returning home through Normandy. It simply said "I'm coming back home. I'm fed up with the French food and cycling on the right hand side of the road". As you can see from the picture, I didn't wear special cycling gear, neither did Mark. One day, we covered 81 miles.

My friend was older and was an experienced cyclist. I didn't have a great bike to go on until... my grandmother stepped forward and gave me her touring bike, especially for the ride, which was generous. Despite being a 'Ladies bike' it was a Jack Taylor, which was a good brand and an expensive model. It had been given to her by a boyfriend. She had arthritis at the time (similar sort to what I have now) and could no longer ride it. 

I loved that bike and rode it everywhere. I eventually traded it in when I went to Art College in Carlisle in 1979. I bought a standard 'Gents touring bike'. The reason for this was whilst at Art College, I attended home games of Carlislie United Football Club. I usually rode to matches on my Jack Taylor bike. "He's riding a women's bike, look!" jeered local youths, and I was mocked. My youthful ego could not bear it, and I traded it in for something that would be approved of. 

That's something else that wouldn't happen now. I wouldn't be mocked today for such things, and if I was, I wouldn't care. Things have changed for the better. I also wear proper cycling gear, which does make a difference.

Starting daily blog

Please watch the video below

 

Early work in Kolkata (Calcutta)

The writer Geoffrey Moorehouse wrote in his in-depth book Calcutta, "Very few people have ever said anything nice about Calcutta, unless they were Bengali". It is true, the place is often seen outside Bengal as the problem city of the world, with desperate poverty and all the problems that come with a city that has the most densely-populated urban areas anywhere in the world. 

Having spent a good chunk of time there, I know this is true. I've seen truly terrible sights in Kolkata that I've not seen anywhere else. But actually, that is only part of the story. It is actually, a wonderful city full of grand archetecture, beautiful green spaces, developed culture galore and incredibly friendly people who really love to talk. It's an ideal place to start a Triratna centre.

In February 2018, my Indian Order Member friend Adityabodhi and I decided to scout out Kolkata for a week. He would follow up Buddhist individuals and Buddhist organisations within the city, and I would volunteer in Mother Teresa's well-known hospice in Kalighat, to the south of the densely-packed city centre. 

I was working on an NHS Mental Health ward in Cambridge at the time, and already had nursing skills, so I could be useful at the hospice. Also, I wanted to overcome my fear and dread of Kolkata, and Nirmal Hriday (Mother Teresa's Home for the Sick and Dying Destitutes') as it is called, is said to be a very challenging experience. I could help out there, and I could ovecome my fear of challenges within Kolkata, I reasoned. Actually, it was an unforgettable experience - in a good way, and I woud be happy to do it again. That week, I did many 'early' shifts at the hospice while Adityabodhi explored Buddhism within the city. We met later each day and shared our experiences. 

I did a week's worth of shifts cleaning, de-lousing and feeding patients on the men's ward. I also prepared their bedding, washed and dried their clothes and carried out deceased patients after they had passed on. I did a lot of spoon-feeding at meal times. I also assisted an Italian surgeon in the surgery with a gangrene operation. There were men aged from 16 to 90, and - together with other volunteers - I cared for them all. Though I couldn't speak Bengali, I got some great rapport going with them. I was sad that most had only a short time to live. But it was better that they died in comfort and company than out on the streets. 

I also got to know many men and women volunteers from all parts of the world. Whilst most were in their 20s doing gap-year volunteering, I was by no means the oldest volunteer. I met a Frenchman, Pascal, who was 68 and had volunteered on the ward annually for 43 years! There was a very friendly atmosphere among the volunteers.

I had no difficulties volunteering in a Catholic Charity, and I could easily see the value of the hospice. There is much need for hospices in Kolkata, and perhaps one day, we can start a Triratna-run hospice. I also seem to have overcome any fear I have of Kolkata now, and can happily enjoy seeing all aspects of the city. I have since visited in 2019 and 2020. Once the pandemic is abated, I'll be back there again - engaging in Buddhist activities.

A weight on my mind

I loaded up my bike today. This picture shows absolutely everything that I will be taking on the ride (apart from the cycling clothes I'll be wearing). I took it for a ride and it felt quite good. Not too heavy at all! Apart from cycling tools and spares, I'm basically taking one change of ordinary clothes, waterproofs, toilet gear and a Kindle, mobile and bike SatNav. It's all very simple and light.