Shouting from the Shed 137

Welcome to my final newsletter of 2024.

Here’s my To Do list for today:

1. Make a final, last minute plea that you kindly support this newsletter by gifting my books for children or adventurous adults this Christmas. Thank you!
2. Thank you for supporting me this year, and wish you a very Merry Christmas. I hope you’ve had a lovely year, but if you haven’t, then let me offer you a reminder that every year we get the choice to try to begin again. I’m cheering you on. Hope, and a clean start.
   ‘Though we live in a world that dreams of ending
   that always seems about to give in
   something that will not acknowledge conclusion
   insists that we forever begin.’
3. Show off about some fun stuff I’ve enjoyed doing.
4. Share some interesting links for you to enjoy over the holidays.

• I’ve had an interesting year. I published Local, gave a new TEDx talk, visited Knepp rewilding, crossed Europe by train, started a new newsletter, went to my first ever concert, went to my best ever concert, and planted lots of trees.
•  I have updated my list of Good Books I Have Read Recently, in case you are looking for something to read.
• Overnight on NYC’s Tiniest Island – a magnificent microadventure!
• Dear Santa… I love my shed, but please can I have a cabin like these for Xmas?
• Gorgeous, gorgeous natural sculptures and land art.
• An interesting piece about choosing to explore the world without the internet. Lots of pros, a few cons, but on a personal level it mostly makes me look back in awe that I cycled round the planet without Google Maps! 
• Noema’s a clever magazine with lots of clever, intriguing articles. So I’m surprised and delighted that my piece about clowning around my local map has made it onto their Top 10 Reads Of 2024.
• A film with a gentle but strong reminder that whatever problems you’re facing in life, going for a bike ride is probably going to make things a tiny bit better. (If this resonates, see their website too.)
• Here’s why I like the internet… Musicians half the world away see one of my photos, and email me saying it would be lovely for the cover art to their new song. I’m delighted and am happy to give it to them. I like the song too!
• There is noticeably lower engagement for my stuff on Twitter these days. Let’s get back to the good old days of high quality blogs and newsletters. If you write your own newsletter or blog, let me know and I’ll share it here.

Let me know if you have a relevant project that my readers would appreciate.

Here’s what you guys have been up to recently:

• PLAN: How To Hit The Road: A Beginner’s Guide To Cycle Touring & Bikepacking.
• DO: Join the One Bag Challenge this April.
• WATCH: Incredible explorers and tight squeezes.
• READ: Discover the world’s first off-road cycling club.
• WATCH: Meet Heinz Stücke, the patron saint of long-distance cyclists.
• DO: Support campaigns like Right to Roam and Kinder in Colour.
• Pro Writing Aid is a helpful tool for writers.
• Admire enhanced photos from Shackleton’s expedition here.
• Write a letter to your future self via FutureMe.
• Explore global misconceptions with Gapminder.
• Check out these wondrous photos.

• A microadventure to my favourite mountain, by my favourite means of transport, with some of my favourite people – writing and a short film.
• A 3,530-Mile Human-Powered Ascent of Denali.
• All my books are currently on sale on my website (all copies are signed, in case that floats your boat.)
• Going blind, to the Paralympics and away on expeditions: an adventure into sight loss.
• Wild Girl: how to have incredible outdoor adventures. A nice new book by primary age kids.
• Quirky travel photography: Soviet Metro Stations is the third book in Christopher Herwig’s Soviet Bus Stops Series.
• A Twitter guide to roadside plants by Rob Macfarlane.
• Sarah Outen’s film, Home, is hitting cinemas soon.
• The Adventure Bulletin: a nice newsletter.
• Sometimes when people sell mirrors online, they can’t figure out how to get out of the way for the photo.

• Go on… treat yourself to a book! 

(If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.)

Cheers,

Alastair