Living Adventurously

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Living an Authentic Life is One Less Thing to Worry About Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

Louise McMahon is a climber, caver, diver, occasional photographer and a trans woman she/her. So says her Twitter bio, and I like the order she has chosen to list things in.

Once Louise had unpicked and identified the problems she faced, the big change of committing to transition was a sudden release and huge relief. Committing was, in the end, easier than hiding. And none of the worries she had beforehand came to pass.

I began this podcast to ask people about worlds that overlap with my own but are also very different. Louise's open, thoughtful explanations of realising that she was not living the life she wanted to lead - and then summoning the boldness to make a massive change - are the very epitome of what I wanted on this living adventurously podcast.

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www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

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Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

The personalised planning and navigation tools ensure you plan the adventure that’s perfect for you. Komoot is Europe’s number 1 outdoor app, with route planning and navigation functionality, and strong community-driven inspirational features in the form of recommended Highlights and inspirational route Collections. It is used by nearly 10 million adventurers worldwide. Komoot is becoming the app of choice for cyclists and hikers the world over, with rapid community growth in the UK, the US and other parts of Europe.
You can see my ride’s route on komoot here.

SHOW NOTES

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
Louise is on Twitter.
Neither climbing or caving is scary - if you're scared you're probably doing it wrong.
High consequence actions versus the low risk of those high consequences.
The notion of consequences versus likelihood of happening are different things and useful in business
Once Louise had unpicked and identified the problems she faced, the big change of committing to transition was a sudden release and huge relief.
Committing was, in the end, easier than hiding.
None of the worries she had beforehand came to pass.
Humans are cautious creatures and we tend to focus a lot on the worries beforehand. Yet we don't realise what all the benefits might be until we have committed.
Spin-off benefits and enhanced self-confidence.
Living an authentic life is one less thing to worry about
"Sometimes I think 'oh, I'd quite like to do it one day', then just say 'oh, sod it, and do it!'"

TRANSCRIPT

Below is the transcription of our conversation. It’s done by AI so is perhaps a wee bit ropey here and there. If these transcripts prove sufficiently useful then I will make the effort to clean then up and make them better. Do let me know if you think it’s worth my time to do that. (Or, better still, do it for me…!). If you’d like to listen as you read along you can do that here:

https://otter.ai/s/AIc7-qqzRgiT6zgYLoOhcQ

Alastair Humphreys
we met via Twitter originally and on there you say you're a climber and a caver. which is more scary.

Louise McMahon
I don't think either is scary.
If you getting scared you're probably doing it wrong or doing taking too many risks. Or not managing the risks well enough as like caving. If you get it wrong, it can be really dangerous.

Alastair Humphreys
But you're not doing it for the adrenaline.

Louise McMahon
no. I do the climbing because I enjoy it. So I like being out in the hills and the caving is exploration often find new cave and new new things

Alastair Humphreys
Have you gone somewhere No one's ever been before?

Louise McMahon
not no one's ever been before. But never in the last several hundred years. We do a lot in 17th century mines.

Alastair Humphreys
Wow. That's a Amazing, isn't it? Well within an hour of massive city. how did you get into caving?

Louise McMahon
I was a climber before that. And then so driving around the Peak District to these kind of moody people with harnesses with the equipment that looks a bit like climbing and I thought I'll give it a go. And so I found my newest book, to me is a technical psychological group and consultant. I went along and loved it just and just carried on doing it. And so I've been doing it unit now.

Alastair Humphreys
decliners in cave is like each other.

Louise McMahon
Hmm, interesting. I do both. There are the climbers in our club. And they don't tend to mix too well, because climbers like to get up quite early and got climbing and cables don't care what time of the day is and will drink until four in the morning because it's going to be dark anyway. So I'm a headphone, you know, having my in?

Alastair Humphreys
what's the what's the difference in mindset between someone who is a good cave and somebody who's a good climate.

Louise McMahon
I think good cavers are happy to suffer but also a doing it for a different reason. Often, we're doing it to extra, whereas a lot of climbers are just doing it because they like climbing and and that's fine.

Alastair Humphreys
So it's okay. So it's more of a

bit more of a mission to Yeah, baby and purpose perhaps Yeah,

Louise McMahon
yeah. You know, I am, before I started taping, I build things, I'll do th...

What Stories Do You Tell Yourself About Your Barriers? - Living Adventurously #8 Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

Sarah Lister was drifting through her twenties until a 'doorstep mile' moment of commitment saw her quit her unloved job and begin again. Today Sarah lives in a cosy cottage at the foot of beautiful fells in the Peak District National Park. She works as a coach these days and this has given her a new way of thinking, teaching her that a fresh perspective comes from asking open, non-judgemental questions.

I arrived at Sarah's house in a torrential storm. I was soaking wet and a bit fed-up. So when Sarah invited me to join her for a swim in the stream cascading down the mountain behind her village I was not particularly keen. But I remembered one of life's immutable rules: you never regret a wild swim.

And, sure enough, the hills were beautiful, the waterfall was bracing and bouncing and we galloped back down the hill happy, and hungry for homemade pizza.

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SHOW NOTES

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
Sarah's website: careers coaching for those who don't know where to begin.
Sarah's Instagram: @about.the.adventure
Busy London routine meant Sarah had lost her zest for life. She did not like who she was and the negative way she was complaining about everything.
Sarah began using small escapes from London as a way to escape the city life she no longer enjoyed.
For a while it felt acceptable to use adventurous weeekend escapes as a counter to the job she no longer liked.
Admitting to herself that she had been drifting through her twenties felt very daunting.
Whilst she knew what she did NOT want to do, Sarah did not know for a while what she DID want to do.
Sarah wanted to pay off her debts, to be financially stable before leaving her job and making the change. But in the end an evening of adventure talks plus a ticking off from her boss sparked her into resigning.
In her coaching work Sarah sees a lot of people who are heavily swayed by the amount of time and effort they have put into something, even if they don't like it. (The only important part of the runway is that in front of you). "I've come this far so I might as well keep going with it."
Sometimes it feels easier to keep going with the devil you know rather than risking the uncertainty and newness and pressure of change.
Coaching has been helpful for guiding Sarah that it is OK to change, it's OK to be upset by it sometimes, and it's not always easy.
Coaching gives a new way of thinking and a fresh perspective through open, non-judgemental questions.
Don't just ask yourself what the barriers are, but also break them down and think about what stories you are telling yourself about them.
It would be good to give more attention and voicepieces to the unsung heroes of society who are helping to solve various problems.
University felt like a wasted experience for Sarah (and me).

TRANSCRIPT

https://otter.ai/s/qR4Tiji2QpKAn_tR8-UO6Q

Alastair Humphreys
How did you go from being a
young woman
working hard in London, to living a little cottage in the middle of nowhere, spending your days running in the hills?

Sarah Lister
Well, it started really
wanting to get out a little bit more. So I was in London and became very dissatisfied and not really thinking very, very critical. And I noticed that I didn't have not realised
you know, something, my office paradise. And looking in the mirror I didn't like who I was. And the way that I'm talking, I'm saying negative complaining about my job and complain about everything really, even though I had quite nice job in my class, I wouldn't really keep making it or enjoying it. And it does come through just a little tiny mini adventure in a living. And I was asked to see what was around me, and then say that that I hadn't known before. And that made me start
to work, roll and see more. And it's just like going outside of London.
so I'm coming here on Monday 10 on the safer dog on a Friday, go home, packing my bags ready for the next morning, coming up at five and six o'clock in the morning whenever it started. And get on the train, set them on the street. So I did get back on a Sunday evening. And then go back to work Monday. I thought I've got it. I've got it down about a week. Yeah, I thought if I can say this. And I say my family hated me....

The Inspirations and Limitations for Women Getting into the Outdoors - Living Adventurously episode #7 Dec 18, 2019

Show notes

Hetty Key combined her industry experience of the Outdoor / Adventure world with her academic background to investigate issues surrounding women in adventure. Hetty is passionate about using data to increase diversity and improve accessibility within the outdoors.
Women in Adventure offers a collective voice for women, empowering others through the sharing of information, inspiration and advice.

We took refuge from the torrential rain in a cafe to chat. I asked Hetty what she believes limits women getting more involved with the outdoor community. She is an adventurer, an endurance athlete, and a massive data geek. It's a good combination!

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THIS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KOMOOT

Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

SHOW NOTES

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
Women in Adventure is an independent research-based organisation focused on empowering women through the sharing of information, inspiration and advice
Hetty Key is on Instagram as @mudchalkandgears
Making a pact with a friend to do a weekly 7am swim - began only going in up to her knees
Adventure of moving from a proper job to pursue her research
When curiosity and a hobby grows organically into something bigger
Eventually she was doing so much with her passions that it reached a tipping point to quit her job and go it alone.
Women in Adventure survey around the inspirations and limitations of women getting into the outdoors
Mental wellbeing is unanimously improved by being in the outdoors doing sports
Life satisfaction, happiness, anxiety, worthwhile - different sports help different aspects of these better than others.
Women worry about looking out of place, about being beginners and looking fools
A lack of knowledge and information is a common barrier for women wanting to get into adventure
The importance of relatable role models

TRANSCRIPT

https://otter.ai/s/vaVwYEmITsekx_MWHnU2Lw

Alastair Humphreys
what does living adventurously mean to you?

Hetty Key
That's, that's a big question. I mean, I think that it is being out of your comfort zone. And so living adventuroulsy for me is... it's not, you know, the types of fun. So type one, type two, it's not always being sort of uncomfortable. But it's consistently trying to push yourself just out of the comfort zone into that. I think it's quite an exciting, I think the definitely challenging moments, really enjoyable moments, but it's just being out of your comfort zone and kind of going and doing the things that when you first think of them, you think, I don't know if I can do that. Okay, so give me an example of your life of adventure you had that does not include being in the mountains, etc. I think so. About two years ago, I was quite short on time, I was doing a lot of work and my kind of work life balance have gone down the drain pipe, so to speak. And friend and I made a pact the 7am once a week, we're going to try and slowly get into a river near because both of us are actually quite nervous about the concept. I like water fascinates me, don't get me wrong. But I would not have jumped in a river like open water was terrifying. It was like, you know, all the monsters on the bottom, like, the feeling of the ground with your feet, like the whole thing, like completely. It was it was very out of my comfort zone. But actually, every every week we went through at seven in the morning. And just gradually the first time I think I went like up to my knees and I was like I'm good enough. And actually we kept going and starting in started in October. And actually we by February, we were we went through the whole winter and it totally changed my outlook and perception on on water and actually something I still do a lot and really, really enjoy. But that was definitely adventure.

Alastair Humphreys
Okay, I agree. What about
moving from having a proper job to not have a job? Tell me what you've done

Hetty Key
So recently, I took the decision to leave my full time joband actually pursue my research through a company called Women and adventure.

Alastair Humphreys
Okay, so we're going to talk about adventure a lot but to pick you up here on the leaving your full time job to go into the freelance ...

Adventure is Being Open to the Possibility of Something Changing Your Life in Ways You Can't Predict - Living Adventurously #6 Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

Helen Mort is a busy woman. She is an award-winning poet and novelist, a runner and a climber. She has also recently become a mum which has transformed her perspective on living adventurously. She told me about being open to the possibilities of change in your life, and the weird way in which an expedition to Greenland can feel less daunting than staying in Sheffield at a gathering of other new parents.
Helen is not only a highly-acclaimed poet but also a lecturer in creative writing. So I was intrigued to hear her take on imposter syndrome and her masochistic enjoyment of attempting creative projects that she has no idea how to complete.
I had slept on a river bank (beneath a tree with a noisy hooting owl) the night before meeting Helen, so I was glad that I had the chance to chug down a speedy espresso at the cafe before Helen arrived. She is an incredibly smart woman and my brain needed all the help it could get!
Helen graduated from Cambridge with a degree in Social and Political Sciences. In 2014, she completed her Doctorate at Sheffield University with a Ph.D thesis in English and Neuroscience. To clear her mind, Helen enjoys running in the Hills of the Peak District.

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Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn ("Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast") or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

This Podcast is brought to you by komoot

Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

Show Notes

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
"Helen Mort is among the brightest stars in the sparkling new constellation of young British poets" - Carol Ann Duffy
Helen's website and Instagram.
"I enjoyed running because it was the first time I'd ever been good at something physical."
The difference between running and climbing for clarity.
There are times in your life when you can't just 'take off' but you can pretend you can by manageable adventurers
The changing approach to adventure (and writing) with parenthood.
Taking a baby running or up Snowdon - Helen enjoys that side of adventure
The baby gives her adventures more purpose because Helen is exposing them to adventure and the outdoors.
Adventure is being open to the possibility of something changing your life in ways you can't predict.
Life feels less risky when I'm in Greenland rather in Sheffield with a group of mums
The need for security stops Helen going freelance as a writer.
Fear of your own inadequacy.
Wilfully feeds her imposter syndrome by trying new genres.
Likes doing things she doesn't know whether she can do.
Writing comes from an urge to communicate and to connect

Transcript

Below is the transcription of our conversation. It's done by AI so is perhaps a wee bit ropey here and there. If these transcripts prove sufficiently useful then I will make the effort to clean then up and make them better. Do let me know if you think it's worth my time to do that. (Or, better still, do it for me...!). If you'd like to listen as you read along you can do that here:

https://otter.ai/s/jhNKddo2Rq2HyzVN8GXDGg

Alastair Humphreys
Helen, thank you for meeting me. I'm sitting on a Saturday morning outside nice cafe, your local cafe, you seem to know everybody walks past with the little one. And who's desperate at the microphone. So we'll give this a go see how we get on. And my first question to you is because I asked this for everyone who's done a PhD? Yeah. Because I love it. What was the title of your PhD? and

Helen Mort
I'm embarrassed to say it! So the first part is a quote, I must emphasise. "something else, then something else. neuroscience: neuroscience and connexion making in contemporary poetry."

Alastair Humphreys
I Really, absolutely love people's PhD titles. And I won't I won't ask another question about it!
You're a climber and runner?

Helen Mort
Yeah, kinda. Definitely. Not so much of a climber.

Alastair Humphreys
Okay. And, and one of the things you enjoy it for is the clarity of it. Can you tell me a bit about that? Why you like the running and the climbing.

Helen Mort
And well actually is I came to climb in a bit later I ran, I was quite, I think it was quite a quite a stocky little kid, I did a lot of walking with my dad, when I was a kid, I was always quite into something German sports, but I never thought of myself as particularly sporty. And I sort of got into running a secondary school and got picked to do a race decided to train for it. And then on the day that PT should pick someone else. And I was really upset and asked if I could run anyway, and then ended up doing quite well. So it kind of all started from there. And so I always enjoyed. I enjoyed running because it was the first time I've been good at anything sort of physical. And that then became my because of that it then became I becam...

Putting Restrictions in Place Enforces Creativity - Living Adventurously #5 Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Tommy Banks was the youngest chef in the world to be awarded a Michelin star. The Black Swan at Oldstead was rated the best restaurant in the world by TripAdvisor in 2017.

As a connoisseur of banana sandwiches and dehydrated expedition meals, this was not my usual world! But that is exactly what I was interested in on this bicycle ride: to learn about different people's worlds and ask myself how their lessons might overlap with my own.

I was surprised when Tommy agreed to meet me. I thought he would be far too busy and would not waste his time nattering to some bloke on his bike. I made sure to arrive early and swilled my smelly armpits from my water bottles before knocking on the door.

But Tommy was so generous with his time and I loved being shown around the restaurant and the impressive kitchen gardens. I asked him about his choice between running a cheap restaurant or a brilliant one, about how restrictions can encourage creativity, and the catalyst that serious illness proved to be for him.

I asked Tommy about ambition, defining success, as well as the delights of milk vending machines and flapjacks.

And, no, to answer your question, I didn't manage to blag a free Michelin-star meal! Back out onto my bike for more banana sandwiches in the rain...

Please Subscribe to the Living Adventurously Podcast

www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

This podcast is brought to you by Komoot

Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

Show Notes

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
Tommy Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York.
@tommybanks on Instagram.
Tommy's book, Roots, is available here.
He focuses on normal, good techniques of cooking - and just does them really well.
In 2006 Tommy was running a pub, and probably not a very good one. In the credit crunch he was faced with two options to survive: "2-for-1 scampi night" or "do something out of the ordinary".
The Pub has a bad location - it's hard to get people through the door. Constraints can be good things.
His thinking when needing to change: "We need a thing - I don't know what it is, but we need a thing."
Putting restrictions in place (self sufficiency) enforced creativity.
For the first couple of years of the change in approach they were "serving weird stuff and still nobody was coming".
When you spend a long time in an area you get an understanding of the seasons.
Home is a connection you feel, not the buildings or the location.
Always wanted to be a cricket player but got ill. If he hadn't got ill he would never have gone down the path he is on now.
I was a horrible skinny kid with a colostomy bag. I needed to pull my finger out and make something of myself.
Impatience has been a catalyst for success, but it's not sustainable.
Would you rather play cricket for England or have the best restaurant in the world? Cricket, no question.
Values of sport that can transfer into business and into life and into the kitchen
Won a Michelin Star at 24, by using recipes out of other people's cook books. Took time to learn to be original.
Disappointment of never being quite fulfilled at finishing an achievement.
Do we actually want to fulfil our ambitions? Or does it just lead us to flatness and emptiness?
Doing 3 things a day, every day, to make the Black Swan better.
Endorphins of exercise vs being overwhelmed by the schedule
Relaxed approach to sharing of secrets. Tell the world, then go find something else. The way you go about things needs to evolve anyway.
Spontaneity is vital, but so to is organisation in the background
Sunday lunch tip: Dawney Arms at Newton on Ouse

Transcript

https://otter.ai/s/WR1pkTSCT8-8iXXhc7Wg8Q

Alastair Humphreys
Can I test the levels by asking you how do you cook a fried egg?

Tommy Banks
low temperature, I think.

Alastair Humphreys
Tell me more.

Tommy Banks
well, it depends how you like fried eggs. Some people like them crispy. But the proteins been absolutely frazzled. Heat the oil or even butter if you feel that way. And then a lower temperature almost boil it in the fat so it's nice and soft. And then if you want a bit more CRISP you can always turn the heat up at the end and ...

Living Adventurously is About Trying to Not Be at Work - Living Adventurously #4 Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Simon Jackson launched the superb Moors One Hundred bikepacking event in North Yorkshire. He guided me around some of his favourite trails on a glorious day of summer heatwave. Simon has a normal job and the usual commitments of raising a family. So he has to work hard to squeeze in bursts of adventure and spending time in the wild places that he loves. I loved the story he told me about setting himself the Strava challenge of cycling every single street in his hometown.

Simon is an evangelist for the North Yorkshire Moors and I could see why. We cycled over open moorland, through forests, and sweeping singletrack. It was a hell of a ride. Best of all, given that it was blazing hot, was that Simon planned our ride via a pub lunch and a return ticket on the famous Goathland steam train.

Please Subscribe to the Living Adventurously Podcast

www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

This podcast is brought to you by Komoot

Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

Show Notes

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
A weekend introduction to the joys of bike packing on the glorious North York Moors: the Moors One Hundred.
Goathland steam train (as seen in Harry Potter).
Living adventurously is about trying to not be at work.
Pressure to do interesting stuff when short of time due to work and family.
If you ponder it too much you're never going to do it.
Tug between wanting to go on adventures and wanting to be at home with his kids.
Finding pleasure and beauty and interest close to home: count your blessings.
Challenge of trying to cycle every street in his own town. Is that not adventure?

Transcript

https://otter.ai/s/F-QH9VhxTKSRqpReaFTZkw

Alastair Humphreys
Right. I'm sitting in a camper van. Very, very sweaty with Simon. Hello, Simon. Hello. Welcome to the podcast. Nice to be here. Are you in? Are you a veteran of lots of podcast?

Simon
No, this is my first podcast experience. Excellent.

Alastair Humphreys
That's how we like it. And what's your day job?

Simon
I have a small garage. Nothing terribly interesting.

Alastair Humphreys
What do you do then to try and fit adventure into your

Simon
normal life, try not to be at work. And that's, that's the key. Especially midweek because they're the best adventures made week. Yeah, they're the best ones they feel and feel a lot more special. Because you should be at work. You know, you shouldn't be sat behind your desk, you shouldn't be doing something tedious and mundane. You know, and other people are, and it feels great not to be doing that.

Alastair Humphreys
Okay, so what then is the secret of not being at work in the middle of the week?

Simon
And having good people around you you can rely on a very understanding wife that complains but doesn't really mind in a heart that you are taking a day off to kind of blow off steam?

Alastair Humphreys
how'd you go get your adventure kicks? Would you like doing

Simon
anything you know, it can be something you've seen on TV, something you've read about something you fancy doing something you read in a in a book, something that fits in with that available time that you've got something that's going to be worthwhile when you don't have a lot of spare time when you're working when you've got a family has to be quality notes. You can we just Well, that was all right. Yeah, there's a pressure there to do something. Interesting. You just gotta try and make the most of it. And if you ponder it too much, never gonna do it.

Alastair Humphreys
Yeah, that's very true. So we've just been out for a day out on a few hours out backpacking around North York tomorrow is that's how we got in touch originally, you run the most 100 is

Simon
that we call it last 100. Yeah,

Alastair Humphreys
yeah. Which is a bike packing

Simon
as a bike talking event that runs on the most hundred miles, hence the name over two days. Pretty much doable for anybody of any level on any bike, very sociable. It's great fun, I really enjoy organise it and everybody's who's done it say the vast majority or whether whether you really did or not, but there seems to be a lot of happy faces.

Alastair Humphreys
So I you you've been showing me around some trails day and I really enjoyed this beat North York was a beautiful place to this is beautiful. It really is. And you're clearly a...

Getting Older, the Benefits of Having Time, and Being Aware of your Mortality - Living Adventurously #3 Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Mike Bagshaw is a Lancastrian by birth and a zoologist by training. He spent his working career in education, initially indoors, but then for 30 years he worked in outdoor education centres, introducing children and adults to the delights of watersports, mountaineering, forest education and how to understand and appreciate the natural world.

I met Mike for lunch at the picturesque Runswick Bay, at the foot of one of the steepest hills of the summer. The pub has a strong claim to the best sea view in the country, I reckon. Over a lunch of laughter and cheesy chips, I found myself hoping that I can be like Mike when I grow up.

Now retired, Mike is still extremely active, adventurous, and determined to keep behaving like a 20-year-old! He continues to explore many wild areas of the world on foot, underwater with scuba gear and afloat in canoes and kayaks. He is the author of two Slow Travel guidebooks to Yorkshire.

Mike lives near Whitby with his wife and two dogs and spends his non-travelling time managing the small birch woodland they own, volunteering for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and writing regular nature columns for local newspapers and magazines.

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www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

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Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

Show Notes

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
A love of wild camping, wild places, natural history.
Retirement: the benefits of having time, and being aware of mortality.
Mike's Magic Moment: lie down and just listen for a minute: what can you identify?
Recommended book: Waterlog - Roger Deakin
Slow Travel guidebooks
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Transcript

Alastair Humphreys
Could you tell me what you had for lunch?

Mike Bagshaw
I had cheesy chips? not the healthiest meal in the world, but nice.

Alastair Humphreys
Have you been on a podcast before?

Mike Bagshaw
I've never been on a podcast before.

Alastair Humphreys
Your son that was surprised that you can be on a podcast. There was? Why?

Mike Bagshaw
Well, he thinks he just thinks I'm slightly odd for doing lots of young men things when I'm an old git. It doesn't think a 60 year old should be doing some of the things I do.

Alastair Humphreys
So on a scale of one to 10 How weird are you?

Mike Bagshaw
I think I'm three, but I think the rest of the world the rest of the world thinks I'm 9.5

Alastair Humphreys
I love this specific use of your three
why did why does the world think you're weird?

Mike Bagshaw
I do lots of things outdoors.
I love camping. I have a mug which says I love camping but on the other side it says but I hate campsites so I love wild camping. I love wild everything. I love wild camping. I love wild swimming. I love wild places. And I'm a passionate natural historian.

Alastair Humphreys
So none of that sounds weird to me. Now the people your normal friends, what are the things weird about you? What should you be doing at your age?

Mike Bagshaw
I should be playing bowls perhaps put my feet up watching a lot more Telly and staying in bed and breakfast rather than rather than camping.

Alastair Humphreys
Very good. So, what does living adventurously that phrase? What does living adventurously mean to you?

Mike Bagshaw
it means trying new things, going to new new parts of the world parts the world of I've heard about but when I was working never had the time to be able to go to now suddenly I've got the time to go places. Now, and I'm aware of my mortality, I know I've not got that many years left. And it's so so much so much world and so little time to do it. So I just want to go out and do as much as I can. While my body still works. And and have you always had that sense of urgency to get stuff done. It's not so much. Well, a lot of our friends will will laugh if I would say Oh yes, I'm always getting things done because because I'm quite slack on actually finishing jobs. But I've always had the urgency to explore.

Alastair Humphreys
Okay, and you're so imagine yourself, say when you say 20 or 30? or pick a number that seems relevant to you? What what would living adventurous live looks too long time. Yeah, has it changed your view?

Mike Bagshaw
It's pretty much the same thing. I think that's the essence of it is I'm still 20 in my head. So.

So it really takes me by surprise when

...

I've Never Really Noticed Things Before, Because I Haven't Looked - Living Adventurously #2 Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Kay Willis is the director at Beyond Boundaries, an organisation that provides opportunities for people with learning disabilities in the beautiful setting of Commondale, North Yorkshire. My ride to the farm took me (after a terrible night's sleep in a gale in a wood) up and over impressive, empty moorland and the first massive hills of my trip. It was a stunning location and extremely peaceful. The farm exuded an atmosphere of warm, welcoming kindness. I was invited in for a cup of tea amidst the busy bustle of getting ready for the day; choosing activities to get stuck into and preparing to feed all the farm animals.

Kay described the work of Beyond Boundaries, which she runs along with her husband Anthony. "Our service users range in age from 14 to over 65. We also provide a service for people of school age who are perhaps finding school very difficult and need a day or two of practical work.
We offer a wide range of activities and like to be outside as much as possible, either looking after our animals or perhaps activities in the private woods on the farm. One popular activity is cycling and we have a range of inclusive bikes so that everyone can have a go. Some service users enjoy working with tools and we have a well equipped workshop for those activities.
We have donkeys, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, pygmy goats and llamas which our service users help to look after, there are also cows on the farm."

Kay and Anthony were made redundant after 20 years of teaching. This difficult event has eventually led to a new life for Kay, of uncertainty and fun. She no longer wants to take time off, loves coming to work, and is enjoying this new chapter of her life now that her own kids are leaving home.

Morning at Beyond Boundaries was fun, informative and thought-provoking. I am sorry to say that I do not know very much about the world of profound mental and physical disabilities. Kay gave me some fascinating perspectives on adventure, challenge and achievement for the disabled people she works with. I loved how much Kay had learned from working with such a variety of characters, and the lively cheerful banter of the farm. It was a happy, kind and inspiring spot, nestled into a beautiful Yorkshire hamlet.

Please Subscribe to the Living Adventurously Podcast

www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

This podcast is brought to you by Komoot

Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

Show Notes

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
Beyond Boundaries offers fully inclusive training, activities, sports and courses for people with a range of disabilities in the beautiful countryside and coast of North Yorkshire.
Find out more about Beyond Boundaries on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/beyondboundariesNYorks/
The main difference from working in mainstream education is the never-ending stream of questions.
"I've never really noticed things [slow worms] before, because I haven't looked".
"They've not learned to hide their curiosity because they don't want to look foolish".
"They are more spontaneous" than we are.

Transcript

https://otter.ai/s/r6ZEdxD-SWm8WhbxuJf6sw

Alastair Humphreys
Well, hello, hello. Introduce yourself.

Kay
Okay. I'm Kay. I run a small business called Beyond Boundaries, where we look after people with learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

Alastair Humphreys
But you haven't always done that. So can you tell me about your life? In the olden days? What was your life?

Kay
I was a teacher in mainstream education, and I taught business and economics for 21-22 years, something like that. And until my daughters were grown up, when I felt I needed a change.

Alastair Humphreys
And and what was that change?

Kay
Well, when I first left, I took a redundancy payment and spent a year doing not very much really trying to work out what I wanted to do, I met up with a lovely lady called Lucy, who ran a business very similar to the one that we run now, at the same place that we run it, who needs somebody to help her out and we get

Alastair Humphreys
to go back. So you went from being a teacher in a normal school, being a mom as well, for 20 years pretty normal routine kind of life with it's the excitement's and dramas of being a teacher. Today, and I only just met you this morning. And I arrived Monday, early Monday morning into what I think I described as a very happy chaos. It's a there's people all over the place doing stuff. And this is running around. There's a lot of energy here, but but it feels to me, like a totally different world to life as a teacher in normal school.

Kay
Absolutely. I think you've probably summed it up better than anybody else yet. Chaos, but happy chaos. And I never thought I'd have a job where I actually don'...

Learning to Slow Down and Choose Priorities - Living Adventurously #1 Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Claire Fuller is training to be an occupational therapist. She loves wild swimming and getting out onto the North Yorkshire moors for overnight camps. Finding the balance between being a busy working woman and a carefree adventurous soul can be difficult.

I spent a month cycling around Yorkshire, interviewing people along the way about their perspectives on trying to live more adventurously. I'd never interviewed anyone for a podcast before; Claire had never been interviewed.

But she did bake me flapjack and take me on a walk to the birthplace of Captain Cook. So I deemed this opening foray into the world of podcasting to be a success!

I was interested to talk to Claire about learning to commit, about adapting to a new career after many years roaming and dabbling, and the ups and downs of being a busy 27-year-old woman who loves the outdoors and adventure.

Please Subscribe to the Living Adventurously Podcast

(It's completely free, zero hassle to do, but really helpful for me trying to get a new podcast off the ground. If you're feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app - that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn ("Alexa, play the Living Adventurously podcast") or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcast

This podcast is brought to you by Komoot.

Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.

Show Notes

If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
Follow Claire on Instagram: soon to be occupational therapist making the most of the UK & Ireland’s natural wonders, wild dipping along the way...
Learning to slow down and choose priorities
Travelling the world made her realise that to be a true traveller she needed to know what was on her doorstep
Hitch-hiking round Ireland as a student pushed her boundaries but showed her so many amazing places

Transcript

https://otter.ai/s/aBVxKYX0RYqonZTQQMFkuw

Alastair Humphreys
Hello. This is the first time I've ever recorded a podcast.
Literally just take it out of the box and press go. And of course I want to start my podcast with a major hard hitting celebrity interview.
So, would you like to introduce yourself?

Claire Fuller
And yeah, my name is Claire. I live in Middlesbrough. And I thought that it would be great to meet Alastair to talk about living adventurously.

Alastair Humphreys
The reason I wanted to meet you is because you're NOT a hard hitting celebrity, which is exactly what I wanted. I want to try and find normal people living interesting lives. And you live two minutes away from where Captain Cook was born. A Great Yorkshire adventurer. And that seemed like a good, good place to start. So what is your what's your day job?

Claire Fuller
My day job is I'm a student, I'm training to be an occupational therapist.

Alastair Humphreys
And you like it?

Claire Fuller
I do. I love it. I love working with people and I love the flexibility and variety that we have for like peaceful therapists, the kind of people we work with.

Alastair Humphreys
Okay, but when when you first got in touch with me, one of the things she said was that you sometimes find it hard to be stuck indoors. So what have you done about being stuck indoors?

Claire Fuller
Yeah, so being a student means lots of time in the library or working in a hospital. And so basically every bit of free time I gotta try and get outdoors. Thanks to the concept of micro adventures I get I try and do the overnight camps when I can find a hill somewhere and company. I love wild swimming so I swim down in the river Tees just down the road whenever possible, not in the bit where there's loads of pollution and industry but some nice bits further down. And in the sea when I can.

Alastair Humphreys
And you were out last night.

Claire Fuller
I was out last night. Yeah, yeah, I camped up by Roseberry Topping with beautiful views between there and Captain Kirk Cook's monument. And the stars. I saw shooting stars. And it was a gorgeous night.

Alastair Humphreys
practising what you preach. So you also told me that you struggle a bit with trying to do too much in life, because life is so amazing. And you want to go here and there and do this and see this and do that. So how do you go about trying to find some sort of balance between work and play, earning money, being with your friends, balance,

Claire Fuller
I find the balance really hard. It's something I'm really working on. But I'm a bit too excited and enthusiastic about life. Lots of my friends and family will tell you that. And yeah, I have a part time job to see me through my studies, I have money. I study a lot of my time. I volunteer. I've obviously got friends I want to see a lot. I've got a boyfriend and my family live far away. And I'm all about adventure. And so basically, there's not enough hours in the day to do what I want to do. And I have to prioritise, which is unfortunate as studying is my priority. But whenever I've got their free time I do try and get out as much as possible and make sure that I go for a swim once a week and that keeps me keeps my head straight

Alastair Humphreys
So how do...

Living Adventurously - an Introduction Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

I spent a glorious summer month cycling around Yorkshire, the county where I grew up.

I wanted to feel how exploring locally compared to exploring distant continents.

And I was interested in the idea of ‘home’ - and whether it is possible to have a proper adventure — make a REAL journey — close to home.

It turned out to be such a fantastic experience — riding through mile after mile of beautiful landscapes, discovering so many places I had never seen in all my life, and sleeping out under the stars for weeks on end. It was genuinely one of the adventuring highlights of my life.

But the best part of this journey — by a long way, was the privileged opportunity of learning from so many ordinary people who have chosen to live extra-ordinary lives. This then is not a podcast about adventure or cycling or camping.

I met students and parents and pensioners. Poets, artists, athletes, teachers. An IT expert and someone who earns a living from making fancy sandcastles. A man who lived out of a van; another whose castle had been in the family for 800 years. I met a self-confessed lazy chef, and a woman midway through running 100 barefoot marathons. I interviewed a gold medal Paralympian cyclist, a couple who had cycled round the world together, and a retired lady who takes old, homebound, lonely folk out on a modified electric bicycle for a taste of freedom, adventure and feeling the wind in their hair once again.

In each episode you’ll hear an un-edited conversation about the guest’s slant on living a curious, adventurous, fulfilled life.

I also had a deck of blank playing cards on which I’d written some of the big questions from life — about finding a balance between work and play, the barriers that stop us doing what we dream of, overcoming fears, and where you sit on a scale of weirdness from 1 to 10. Asking very different people an assortment of similar questions created some fascinating answers.

The interviews will all be released in the order that I recorded them, mirroring my own journey on the bike and the lessons I learned from each guest along the way.

Every character I spoke to was good company and a thoughtful guest. But inevitably you’ll find one person more interesting than another. If someone doesn’t float your boat just skip on to the next episode: there are over 40 interviews in this series. Life’s too short to listen to a chat you’re not that keen on!

I had never recorded interviews like this, never done a podcast before. For Many of the people I chatted to it was their first time being interviewed. I liked that very much. Ordinary people pursuing their own version of out-of-the-ordinary. I really wanted to speak to normal people, not famous people. It made the experience fresh and surprising and honest. I hope that you agree.

The podcast world is a crowded one — there’s so much good stuff out there clamouring for your ears. So if you do like the sound of this Living Adventurously podcast, could I ask you to help me by subscribing to the podcast (it’s free of course) on the podcast provider of your choice.

If you can be bothered it would also be a great help if you left a review, or mentioned Living Adventurously on your own social media channels.

Thank you, and welcome to Living Adventurously — I really, really hope that these conversations give you some ideas of your own towards living more adventurously every day.

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