Alastair Humphreys - Ten Lessons from the Road

Copyright Alastair Humphreys 2009

All rights reserved. Apart from brief extracts for the purpose of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

Alastair Humphreys has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Ten Lessons from the Road

First published March 2009

Published by Eye Books Ltd

7 Peacock Yard, Iliffe Street

London SE17 3LH

Tel: +44 (0)20 7708 2942

Website: www.eye-books.com

Set in Serifa and DIN Schrift.

ISBN: 9781903070628

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Printed and bound in Malta

Concept and photography by Alastair Humphreys

(www.alastairhumphreys.com) and Jim Shannon (www.jshannon.com)

Design by Jim Shannon

Edited by Julia Dillon

Also by Alastair Humphreys

Moods of Future Joys 9781903070567

Thunder & Sunshine 9781903070543

Available from all good bookstores or online at www.eye-books.com

eyeOpener

W hy is it that the wonderful childhood sense of grandeur and ambition that fills young imaginations is so often lost with the passage of time? When does it become acceptable to dismiss our wildest dreams and accept that the journey of life is pre-ordained? Take a moment to reflect on your accomplishments over the course of the past month. Now think about the past year, or the past ten years. If you discover an unsettling amount of predictability and monotony has crept into your life you are not alone. But take heart, ordinary people do extraordinary things.

Alastair Humphreys was able to break away from the predictable and ride his bicycle around the world. In Ten Lessons from the Road, Alastair shares what he learnt from his four-year journey to help those eager to pursue their dreams and confront the fears and doubts we all face in adversity.

At Eye Books we take pride in publishing tales of unique travels and incredible journeys. These stories focus not only on the physical, but also on the human elements of the undertaking. In his first two books, Moods of Future Joys and Thunder and Sunshine, Alastair challenges the way we see things. They dont just recount a great adventure as he cycles around the world, they articulate the trials and triumphs - both physically and mentally - he encountered within himself.

It is never too late to reclaim your dreams and accomplish what you really want out of life. Remember that any journey begins with a single step. In Ten Lessons Alastair challenges us to see things differently, breaking down seemingly distant dreams into achievable goals. And now youve made the first step by picking up this book, youre on your way. Dan Hiscocks, Publisher Eye Books.

If you would like to learn more about the Eye Books community and the other books we publish, please visit our website at www.eye-books.com and join us in a wonderful world of adventure.

If youre not hurting, youre not riding hard enough.
If youre not hungry, youve eaten too much.
If youre not cold, youre carrying too many clothes.
If you know you will succeed, its too easy.

IF YOUVE BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK A FEW TIMES AND LEARNT A LESSON OR TWO, THINK WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE PICKED UP GOING ALL THE WAY ROUND THE WORLD. THATS WHAT I DID. I WENT ROUND THE WORLD. ON A BICYCLE.

Im a depressingly ordinary guy who had an extraordinary dream. My dream was to cycle right the way round the world. My friends felt it was ridiculous: would not one continent be adventure enough? Few potential sponsors bothered even to send, Thanks, but No Thanks replies. It took me four years of determined effort to prove the doubters wrong and achieve my dream: cycling back to the front door I had closed behind me 46,000 miles earlier.

But the biggest doubter of all was myself. When I began I never believed I was going to make it. I just wanted to see how much I was capable of. For the first two years of the expedition - at least - I didnt think I would succeed. It was, to paraphrase Mr. Dickens, the best of times and the worst of times.

But now, back home again after spending four years, mostly alone, hauling myself down the highways of five continents - at times exhausted, sick, lonely or afraid - I can look back with satisfaction at having persevered, and I can reflect on the lessons I learnt along the way. Lessons that will serve me well in my future life; in the office, at home, with my family, as well as out in the worlds wild places. Lessons to help me try to pursue a happy, fulfilled, responsible life.

When hearing about my bike ride, people often say, you must be so fit or I could never do what you did or I would never have the courage to do it. Rubbish. Total rubbish. I truly believe that anybody can cycle round the world. Sure, most people would not want to, but we all have our dreams, we all have potential, and we can all achieve more than we believe. The only hard thing is to have the guts to break the habits and dogmas that bind us, to just get on our bikes and begin riding.

I had plenty of time on the road to reflect on why I was doing my ride, what had motivated me to begin, what I was learning on the way, what was stopping me from stopping, as well as what I hoped to take from it all on into the future. I have broken down some of these lessons into ten simple chapters, illustrated with experiences from my journey and stunning photography that is sure to inspire and thrill. These are ten points that led to the accomplishment of the biggest venture of my life (so far), a success that in the beginning I felt was beyond me. Ive included excerpts from my books Moods of Future Joys and Thunder & Sunshine.

Why only ten lessons? We all have just one life and the clock is ticking fast. We cant spend too long theorising about how we are going to live our lives - better that we get out and live them! So ten lessons should be enough for now. Lets get on and ride the roads we have always dreamed of riding - before its too late.