'The Midlife Cyclist' is a book which reshaped the thinking of many cyclists. Published in 2021, it is in part a scientific analysis of the inevitable changes associated with ageing. It also offers gentle encouragement on how to cope and manage these changes, to keep fit and healthy into older age. In this podcast, the author Phil Cavell talks abou…

Founder of boutique bike brand Vielo, Ian was the man who brought Scott to the UK. Not bad for a former DJ. Vielo website https://www.vielo.cc/Por Simon Willis

Laval St Germain is a Canadian who has climbed the highest mountain on every continent, the seven summits, including Everest, from the north side, without supplemental oxygen. He was the first Canadian to do so. When he visits a new country, he always tries to summit its highest peak: And he visits a lot of countries because he’s a commercial airli…

Duncan McCallum has been a big part of the Scottish climbing scene for years, designing walls, presenting TV programmes and climbing hard. He’s the founder of The Ledge climbing gym in Inverness which is where we recorded this. Now aged sixty two, we sat down to talk motivation, training regime and some of the big injuries he has had to cope with, …

This month I'm sharing an episode of different podcast, the Adventure Audio Podcast, in which I am the guest. I was surprised when I was asked to contribute, given the two hosts, are extremely accomplished outdoors people. But since I ask others to share their stories, I felt I ought to accept. Peter Hockenhull and Laval St. Germain were probing in…

Glen Van Peski is well known in the United States as a leading member of the ultra-light hiking community and founder of https://www.gossamergear.com/ His new book extends the 'take less do more' philosophy, from backpacking to life as he and his wife Francie live it. We met in 2002 when Glen helped Liz and I on our PCT thru-hike, and it was great …

Dr Peter Clarkson, is an NHS Cardiologist based in the Scottish highlands, and a very keen and talented rock climber. He has also competed in triathlons. I’ve been trying to answer a question; 'how hard is too hard' when it comes to exercise for an older athlete? How close to maximum heart rate should we be hiking, running and cycling? What are the…

There’s more adventure in this podcast than most. Ed Ley-Wilson talks us through Running the great Wall of China; kayaking Patagonia; and the kayak journey along Scotland’s west coast that promoted his most recent book. Along the way we’ll take a dive into the ethics of fish farming. Ed’s first book about running the Himalaya is called ‘The Himalay…

Get your 2024 off to an exciting start by planning to cycle 100 miles this summer in Scotland's friendliest, free century ride. Ride to the Sun is a (semi)-organised, summer solstice 100 mile ride through the night, from the English border city of Carlisle to the village of Cramond just north of Edinburgh in Scotland, aiming to arrive for sunrise a…

This is a story of adventure on the highest of mountains, and also so much more. A young TV camera operator gets his first big break to film on Everest. He then has to come to terms with almost dying in an avalanche and the tragedy of losing friends in two of the biggest disasters ever to hit that mountain. In this podcast we hear the story of Joe …

The Roam Scotland Rally is an annual ride, devised by Calum Munro after he cycled the Torino Nice Rally. Each year it takes a different route and spoke to Calum part-way through the 2023 ride. The routes can be tackled at any time. Roam Scotland Rally websitePor Simon Willis

In the Spring of 2023 Jamie Aarons set a new record for a self-propelled round of The Munros, Scotland's 282 mountains over 3,000ft in elevation. Here she talks about her background, discovering hill-running, the community that helped her complete the challenge and the problems she overcame along the way. Jamie's Just Giving page Jamie's Website…

Part 2. Former British Mountain Bike champion, Active Nation Commission for Scotland, and now author of an excellent memoir (sort of memoir) Other Ways to Win we'll hear from the inspiring Lee Craigie. Lee and I take a short ride together, chatting about the book and some of its deeper themes. Lee reads passages from the book and these act as sprin…

Former British Mountain Bike champion, Active Nation Commission for Scotland, and now author of an excellent memoir (sort of memoir) Other Ways to Win we'll hear from the inspiring Lee Craigie. Lee and I take a short ride together, chatting about the book and some of its deeper themes. Lee reads passages from the book and these act as springboards …

Single-speed round-the-world cyclist Markus Stitz has written another book Bikepacking Scotland. He runs the website of the same name and I met Markus in his home in Edinburgh. Buy Bikepacking Scotland on Amazon (affiliate link) Bikepacking Scotland.comPor Simon Willis

The parallels between solo ocean racing and other ultra endurance sports are not immediately obvious. But as I listened to Pip Hare talk about her goal to complete the Vendee Globe - solo around the world race - for the second time, age 50, I heard striking and surprising parallels between this multi-million euro sport and simple ultra running or c…

If you, a friend or a family member has an accident in the outdoors or elsewhere, would you know what to do? Many lives have been lost because people wait for trained help to arrive rather than carrying out simple first aid. I took a two-day first aid course with the First Aid Training Cooperative, part-owned by Cory Jones. He talks us through the …

Better known as a mountain and trail runner, when Donnie Campbell took up gravel cycling he started winning races and smashing FKTs. Donnie has been on the podcast twice, talking about the wild places he runs (Ep. 2) and setting a new record for the fastest self-propelled round of Scotland's "Munro" mountains (Ep. 35). Now he explains his very diff…

He’s one of America’s great hikers and the man who devised and created the Pacific Northwest Trail. Ron Strickland has lived what he calls a "vagabondish" lifestyle, either on the USA’s trails or in Washington DC campaigning for his own. His memoir Pathfinder - the title is his trail-name - is a journey through a life spent outdoors, albeit with a …

As the fastest woman around the world on a bicycle releases the book of her journey and embarks on a UK speaking tour, this is an updated version of an interview we recorded three years ago. Buy Jenny's Book (amazon affiliate link) Jenny's website Instagram and speaking tour datesPor Simon Willis

lAdventures come in all shapes and forms. The more complicated ones are often the most interesting. Bella & Steve Molloy quit corporate jobs in their native Australia to set up a travel advisory business in the French Pyrenees. Along the way, Bella got into ultra cycling and as recently started a podcast. Seek Travel Ride website Seek Travel ride p…

The first episode of a new podcast series which you'll find here https://pctpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ Twenty years ago we hiked this 2,600 mile wilderness trail from Mexico to Canada, across baking deserts and snowy mountain passes. At the time we were told it was the 'classic era' of the PCT. Now numbers have risen from a few hundred to thousands. M…

For the last twenty years, an Englishman has been a senior trainer and key family liaison member of Yosemite Search & Rescue, one of the world's busiest organisations of its kind. Moose Mutlow's curious career path took him through stints as a street-performing juggler, a deputy headmaster in the Kalahari and more than 2000 days leading and instruc…

In February 2023 Scotland will mark twenty years of Land Reform legislation that gave a Right of Responsible Access to the countryside. Yet challenges remain with some confusion about what's allowed and a reduction in the number of staff who had been appointed to upload access rights. There's also a challenge of equality of access, to widen the num…

In the summer of 2022, Cory Jones led a group of six paddlers through the Yukon territory in Canada. Their group of six covered 1000 miles, through two time zones and six river systems. However, the adventure wasn't exactly harmonious eventually splitting into two groups. Age was the dividing line. This generational divide was echoed among communit…

A phone app that offers cycle coaching using artificial intelligence. It learns from how your workout performance and adjusts future sessions. We hear how former professional cyclist Richard Lang moved from racing to coaching, before making the leap to tech-business start-up. We can offer a discount code for Spoked to use at Sign Up. Please don't a…

This is a strange one, because the host, Simon Willis, becomes the guest. Sean McFarlane interviews me about my Torino Nice Rally ride. Here are links to things we talk about; videos of the ride, preparation videos, maps and information about travel / kit as well as the Resources page of AlwaysAnotherAdventure.com Torino Nice Rally home page. If yo…

A world-renowned authority on bike fit, Phil Burt quite literally wrote the book; the link to buy the new edition is below. He has optimised the position of many great cyclists with by British Cycling including Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins. Their framed Tour de France yellow jerseys are on Phil's studio wall. I visited Phil at his Manchester st…

Round the world single speed cyclist Markus Stitz has written a new guidebook to the best gravel rides in Great Britain. Here Markus takes us on an urban gravel ride around Edinburgh. Buy Markus' book here Watch a YouTube video of our ride: http://tinyurl.com/AAA-MarkusVideo If you enjoy this podcast, please support the hosting costs by buying me a…

Recorded on location with Calum Maclean, one of Scotland's best known open water swimmers. He takes Simon and Liz Willis on their first Swim Packing adventure. There's also video of this adventure on the YouTube channel Always Another Adventure - link: https://tinyurl.com/AAA-SwimpackingVideo Calum's book 1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips is published by …

The Torino-Nice Rally is a 700km journey through the Alps over high cols, mixing road and gravel riding. Its creator James Olsen answers many of the questions riders might have before undertaking this journey. Website Instagram Video version of this interview If you enjoy this podcast, please support the hosting costs by buying me a virtual coffee …

Many people have started wild swimming during the pandemic as a way to de-stress and stay fit. Lifelong swimmer Dr James Douglas, a General Practitioner in the Scottish Highlands, has advice for new swimmers and those who have been doing it a long time. He describes two (thankfully rare) conditions that can affect outdoor swimmers, one of which is …

The one and only Adventureman superhero, Jamie McDonald has run across continents to raise money for hospitals which treat sick children. Here he talks about running 5,500 miles across 22 States of the USA entirely unsupported. As a child a spinal condition threatened his ability to walk. Now his Superhero Foundation has raised more than one millio…

Many listeners will be used to training for events of big trips. Mike Dales calls these 'five course days' and wants you to pay more attention to the 'bread and butter' days. His book Find Time for Exercise gives ideas for daily challenges to keep you moving which in turn creates greater base levels of fitness, no matter your starting point. Mike a…

We’re stepping out of the monthly schedule with this podcast to bring you something extra. There are two parts to this conversation with Nick Butter who we heard from in episode 38. The second part is about setting a new record for running around the coast of Great Britain. The first is about a new, worldwide charity he’s establishing that is so di…

There are nineteen, sort of official, long trails on this island and Martyn Howe has waked them all. I’ll talk to Martyn about Long Distance Walking and his new book Tales From The Big Trails. And we won’t stop there. Because Martyn is quite a cyclist too having, among many other things, circumnavigated the north-sea by bike. Martyn's Website Insta…

She set out to run around the world. She could become the first person to do it during a global pandemic. Marie Leautey, better known as 'Lootie', faced barrier after barrier while trying to run across Europe but she succeeded. She speaks to us on her first day in the USA as she prepares to run across her second continent. Lootie's website is Looti…

It’s hard to overstate how ill prepared Elise Downing was to run around the coast of Britain. But she did it, covering the five thousand miles in ten months. Her very readable book about the adventure is published July 2021 and is called Coasting. Here Elise reads excerpts from the book and how she went from jogger to ultra-runner. Elise's Website …

We cover a lot of ground with Dr Ian Walker, which seems rather fitting. He ignored sport until the age of 40 then threw himself into ultra-running before abruptly switching to ultra-distance cycling and setting the trans-Europe world record. He's also a psychologist researching drivers' behavior towards cyclists and has some fascinating insights a…

Henry Gold runs the travel company TDA Global Cycling which organises epic, expedition- length rides that cross continents. This is not an advert for his business, it’s a story of life filled with adventure. Henry is not an athlete and regards cycling as a means to an end. It was almost by accident he started a business which allows other adventure…

He has twenty five world-firsts to his credit, including the first person to reach the remote Scottish archipelago of St Kilda by paddle board. In his twenties, Dean lost his sight but found adventure and in this podcast he shares some of his greatest stories. ExtremeDreams.co.uk Dean-Talks.com YouTube Twitter If you enjoy this podcast, please supp…

By his own admission Kevin Webber is not a great runner, yet he has tackled some of the world's most challenging multi-day races. His moment of inspiration came from a very dark place, after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He was told he had two years to live - six years ago. In this podcast Kevin mixes stories of adventure with insp…

Where do you go when you want a new bike? Your local bike shop? The internet? Josh Reid went to the factory of bike maker Giant, in China. Then he rode the bike home to Newcastle and made an excellent film about his adventure. Josh's Instagram YouTube Channel Josh's 'Cycling Home from China' film If you enjoy this podcast, please support the hostin…

Patrick Winterton made the first successful kayak crossing of the widest part of North Sea in a double kayak, together with Olly Hicks, retracing the route of the wartime 'Shetland Bus' from Scotland to Norway. I recorded this podcast shortly after his return and it ran on another podcast series Sea Kayak Podcasts. It is such an extraordinary adven…

Nick Butter ran a marathon in every country as recognised by the UN, all 196 of them, and completed the adventure within two years. His book Running the World has just been released yet he's off on another adventure. Now he's tackling 100 marathons in 100 days, running the length of Italy, a country badly hit by Covid and, like the rest of Europe, …

Mark Beaumont is one of the world's greatest endurance athletes. He rode around the world in 78 days, averaging 240miles each day. In this podcast we explore the professionalism behind Mark's extraordinary career. He treats each project like a business start-up. He learnt public speaking, how to writing books and how to use other media. Links below…

It’s a bike race so hard, even the organisers weren’t sure anyone could complete it. Competitors had to carry everything they needed, from food to fuel, to be entirely self-sufficient, right from the start. No outside help was allowed. Josh Ibbett rode the 2000km off-road bikepacking event, from Land's End to John O'Groats in 7 days and 17 hours. T…

Donnie Campbell ran all 282 of Scotland's 'Munro' mountains in a new record time of less than 32 days, from 1st August to 2nd September 2020 cycling and kayaking between. Here, for the first time, he tells the full story of his amazing August adventure. Donnie's Facebook Instagram Twitter Strava JustGiving page for British Red Cross Get Active Runn…

The world of self supported, ultra distance cycle racing can seem a strange sub culture. Emily Chappell has captured the essence of being one of these sleep deprived, exhausted riders in her book Where there’s a Will. She came to this odd type of racing after being a cycle courier in London, an experience captured in her first book What Goes Around…

The Highway Code is changing and we all have the chance to influence those changes. If you ever ride a bike (or for that matter drive or walk down a street) it is worth having your say. Duncan Dollimore, the Head of Advocacy and Campaigns at Cycling UK, explains what’s proposed, where the controversy lies, and how you can influence the new highway …