The Taffy Drwg – or Dakar (Shhhh. It’s not really.)
The Welsh gods decided to give the mountains a break over the bank holiday and allowed the sun to shine on one of the most exciting weekends in the Welsh trail rider’s calendar – the Taffy Drwg. Yes, I know it’s an unpronounceable word and means nothing to those outside of the village but there’s […]
Train your subconscious to ride, here’s how
I love life and I love riding. No matter how much I love the latter, I love the former more. That’s why I bought an air bag jacket, why I took my IAM and RosPA exams and why I continually give a shit about improving my riding and taking only those risks I’m comfortable with. […]
Wabi Sabi and the 72 micro-seasons of Japan
Wabi sabi is a concept from Japanise aethetics which helps us to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity and accept the transient nature of all things. A lot of wabi sabi is about reconnecting to nature, appreciating the seasons coming and going shows us all too well the impermanence of everything, but in a way that […]
Science or art? Which is most important?
We tend to categorise people’s predispositions as either leaning towards science and maths or arts and culture, but the greatest intellects do not recognise a hard separation between the two. Both science and art are attempting to understand the workings of the universe around us. Everything you see around you that we humans have discovered […]
Don’t get shafted while you’re sharing
“A man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good.” This is a quote by Machiavelli, an often misunderstood political philosopher and diplomat from the 15th Century. Machiavelli teaches us many things about human nature. His writings demonstrate quite […]
How to expand your mind – literally
Your brain is not in a fixed state during adulthood. It’s constantly in a dynamic state of self-repair and regeneration, giving birth to new neurons through a process called neurogenesis. Born in your hippocampus, neurons float around for a bit having a jolly old time and then either die of boredom or get annexed and […]
The Universe wouldn’t be the same without you
When you look up at the stars on a dark night, are you sometimes overwhelmed at the sheer scale of it all? Does it occasionally make you feel insignificant, like a tiny speck of dust whose problems don’t actually amount to a hill of beans? Not me. I like to look up at the night […]
Globalisation – for richer or poorer?
Can we truly ever develop a single marketplace, governed by a global set of standards, regulations and rules without destroying cultures and eliminating what is beautiful about humanity? My need for a logo came from an unusual angle. I wanted to support my daughter and her netball team so I decided to become their sponsor. […]
Riding with Respect – a trip to remember
On 23rd October 2018 I will be donning my best gear, cleaning and polishing my boots and saddling up my new F850 GS to undertake a pilgrimage to Savona, a town close to Genoa, both to put the bike through its paces but also to draw some closure to a story that spans a century. […]
Blood, sweat and breastmilk – we carry on
September has been a pretty good month so far. I’ll explain. I signed up to be a Blood Biker last year, which in case you don’t know is a volunteer post in which you give up at least two nights a month to be on call to collect blood or tissue samples from a hospital […]