Shouting from the Shed 139

Thank you to all of you who sent me your new year’s resolutions. I’ll share some of them down at the bottom of today’s newsletter. Hopefully it might help you feel more accountable!

In my last newsletter I asked you to pass it on to a friend as I’m trying to grow my audience. And then I went and gave you a duff link. What a prat I am! So here’s a second attempt at asking you to help me sign up some new readers. Please share this link!

Thank you.

• Trying to choose which events to say ‘yes’ to and which to decline so that you can focus on other things is always tricky. Here’s some advice from Fatboy Slim…
  “They have to fulfil three of the five f’s: a first – something I’ve never done before. A favour for a friend. Fun – Glastonbury is always fun. Finance – it’s a big payer. And food. I’ve booked gigs in certain places just so I can go to certain restaurants.”
• Ever wondered what the biggest possible circle you can cycle in the UK is? Nah, probably not.
• Next week is the start of the virtual Cycle Touring Festival, 2025. All the talks are free to sign up for.
• The Announcement is a podcast series about Patagonia’s decision to make ‘earth’ their only shareholder.
• This short film is so, so effective at summarising the world’s food system, its impact on the planet, and on the impact we have when we ‘vote with a fork three times a day’.
• An Insurance Salesman and a Doctor Walk Into a Bar, and End Up at the North Pole. The story of an accidentally pioneering expedition.
• Tune Into Forests From Around The World. Escape, Relax & Preserve.
• I’m seeing noticeably lower engagement to my posts on Twitter. Let’s get back to the world high quality blogs and newsletters and quality content. If you write a good one, 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:

• Dervla Murphy, Ireland’s most intrepid and fearless travel writer has died aged 90. She was one of my earliest adventure inspirations, through her book Full Tilt, and I wrote a chapter about her in my book for children about my adventure heroes. I am sorry I never got to drink a pint of Guinness with her.
• If you’re feeling cheerful today, can I tempt you to become furious, frustrated, heartbroken and hopeless instead? (But then also hopeful and determined, too.) Three books I’ve read recently have really rocked me. The Trespasser’s Companion laments that we have the right to adventure through just 8% of England and 3% of our rivers. An Uninhabitable Earth warns that climate change is much, much worse than you think. And Regenesis is about the catastrophic way the world feeds itself.
• In a more cheerful vein, I made a short video about why I love running (and why I hope you might, too).
• The word-hoard: Robert Macfarlane on rewilding our language of landscape.
• I love this piece about a ludicrous 3100 mile race around a single city block! It captures so much of the allure of long, difficult, seemingly-pointless expeditions. “It offers no prize money, so those who enter the race are of a special sort: They are some of the world’s best athletes, but they are not sponsored, or famous, or anything other than willing to move and dwell in one place for an extended period of time.”
• Charting Worlds: Five long reads about maps.
• Sign up for Atlas Obscura newsletters to discover unexpected stories and amazing places around the world.
• If you are a teacher looking for adventurers to come and speak in your school, there’s some great candidates here.
• A creative Instagram account that will make you smile.

• Moa: Read more books, drink more tea, and do less of everything else, including fun stuff.
• Yvette: Get out of the house and walk every day.
• Karl (75-day challenge):
  •  10,000 steps per day
  •  1 outdoor activity daily (run, walk, cycle, or micro-adventure)
  •  50% of meals plant-based (2000 cal/day)
  •  2L water daily
  •  11 PM bedtime
• Dave: Make adventure a habit.
• David:
  • Climb at indoor walls to prepare for climbing in Lancashire quarries at 70.
  • Finally learn to juggle after decades of trying.
• Ruthe:
  • Stop impulse purchases.
  • Exercise at home every morning.
  • Quit sugar.
  • Switch to a simple phone and reduce internet time.
  • Train puppy to walk on a loose lead.
  • Build a herb garden.
• Ben: Cycle from the UK to Istanbul.
• Jon:
  • Read 10 books.
  • Redo the Derwent Valley Heritage Way.
  • Write 4 chapters of a book.
  • Ice skate a full lap unaided.
  • Walk 500 miles.
• Katharina:
  • Get really fit.
  • Hike, bike, and do yoga 5 days a week.
• Abbi:
  1. Get out more (especially in winter) by joining organized hikes, kayaking, and cycling.
  2. Read the books already owned before buying more.
  3. Spend more quality time with kids—being present, reading together, and playing games.
• Richard: Start the Appalachian Trail on February 26, aiming to complete a thru-hike by August, raising money for charity.
• Mike: Ride Audax and cycle to the North West of the UK to visit family, then continue into Scotland.
• Gareth:
  1. Better activities: Get outside more and fixate less on Zwift, Strava, and cycling stats.
  2. Better curiosity: Explore interesting paths, identify wildlife, and learn about history.
  3. Better energy: Approach everyday tasks with more positivity.
  4. Better balance: Do more self-nurturing—fun stuff isn’t a waste of time.
• Chris: Become an expert in fixing zips to reduce waste.
• IV: Publish a book about traveling by foot, bike, and boat through northwest Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
• Isaac: Visit IKEA, make a 13-egg omelette, and play pinball. 
• Matt: Explore as many new green spaces as possible after moving from the mountains to a city.
• Tony: Adopt principles based on Buddhist and Ikigai teachings.
• Emma: Get a sponsor for The Passion Stories Podcast and continue growing it.
• Alex: Stay committed to a new venture despite early challenges.
• David:
  • Rebuild a Land Rover for a big adventure trip.
  • Recreate 40 postcards of Ennerdale Valley from the 1930s-40s with modern photos.
  • Locate all trig points and cut marks in the local area.
  • Run local trails and photograph new sights.
  • Collect beach plastic three times a week on the way to work.
  • Do bike orienteering to discover new places.
• Steve: Complete The Strenuous Life program from The Art of Manliness.

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

Cheers,

Alastair