From the River to the Road... (Technically Lochs and Canals but River sounds better)

The last few weeks back at home have flown by. There were so many things I was going to get done and friends I wanted to visit but the time has gone and tomorrow I make my way back to Germany to be reunited with my beloved tricycle.
It was really wonderful to spend some time back at home catching up with my friends and family in Calne. It took a while getting used to being still again, but i soon got used to frequenting my local pubs going for walks and generally dossing around drinking tea with people.

Being back at my home church was so good too. Something I realised while I was away was how much I love church - I'm not talking about sunday services, but church life, family, community and all it's messiness - No community is quite like it. Being without my church family was like missing and eye (or I guess like being an eye and missing the rest of my body) When I walked into the room a few sundays ago  I was almost overwhelmed by the sense of love and family.

I hasn't all been lazing around though. Last week Me, my Brother and Sister and my friend Tim headed up to Scotland to Paddle through the Great Glen from Fort William to Inverness. (I decided after doing so much cycling it was time to give my legs a rest and arms a work out.) ... 2 open canoes, 4 friends, lots of Choritzo and 5 days paddling through incredible scenery. If it wasn't for the miggies, and the fact that i forgot my whisky flask, (which is considered a crime in Scotland) it could almost have been heaven.



So tomorrow morning I head back out to Germany, I was supposed to be getting a lift with a friend at 8 in the morning but I discovered some horrible paperwork that I forgot to do today so looks like it will be a later departure. The Bags are all packed though. I have a large rucksack full of essential art materials and a small suitcase with everything else!

This is the plan as it stands, i'm moving to Germany to go to a Christian Radical Missions School with a charity called Steiger International. The school lasts for 2 months and I really have no idea what to expect... I'm just trusting that this is the right thing for me to be doing right now and that God is in it.  But that's it... Next Chapter here we come...    




 

Home sweet home...

It is the strangest feeling to be sat back at home at my parents place after so many crazy experiences on the road... For the past 3 months the scenery has past by me every day, new people, new places and new experiences... And now everything is still...

The evening after I wrote last week on what I thought was my last day in Prague, we went out to an exhibition opening and on our way into town we saw a crazy group of cyclists riding up the hill towards us... They actually made it! I think I nearly cried when I saw them all again. So our plans of exhibitions were cancled and we lead the group back to the house where we were staying and spent the evening having out together in the garden. The next day Eva and i decided not to go to dresden but to make one last performance with the group and catch the train to the border in the morning and then cycle from there.

After a beuatiful day of rehersing and messing about in the garden we finally left for town made up and ready to perform at 6 pm. We found a great spot in the city centre and had huge crouds gathering as we set up for the show, but then moments before we were about to begin the sky turned grey, the rain began and our audience left... We then continued to play the worst show we ever played! It didnt matter though, we were together again making music and having fun, it was out of time, out of tune and completely disconected but after we had stopped cringing we laughed alot.

When the show was finnished Flo and I cycled off into the rain, away from our disaproving vegitarian freinds and found ourselves a great little resteraunt for steak, chips and good czech beer (which we promised our selves we would do if we ever made it to prague.) It was the perfect end to an amasing journey.

The next morning Eva and I woke the guys up at 7:30 by jumping into their tents like exited children on Christmas morning. We waved goodbye to the group for the sencond time as they sang 'We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when...'  (A song i now know very well.)

So the journey home had begun, there were mild panics as we tried to get our bikes onto the train and couldn't find the right door but after bashing around alot a man came out and helped us get on. We took the train all the way to Decin on the Czech/German boarder and then cycled the remaining 70k to Dresden along the River Elbe. It was quite strange to pass so many places we had slept all in one day. In Dresden Eva and I parted ways and then I cycled another 30k to Krogis back to the Stieger base.

I left my beloved tricycle there the next day and my friend Daniel drove me to the motorway junction where i was to start my long hitch home. Last time I did the Journey it took me three days, but this time was a different story... After confusing an english trucker by speaking to him in bad German i discoverd he was driving all the way home to England. He couldn't take me the whole way as has had to make some long stops but he drove me all the way to the Netherlands boarder. Just as we drove into the service station we spotted a small van with an English number plate, so I ran over and spoke to the lady driving and she was going all the way to London. It turned out too that she could take me on the ferry for free. So at 4am the next morning we arrived back in the UK and she dropped me at the service station on the M25. I then waited 10mins and I met a guy who was going to southampton (which was where i needed to get to as i wanted to visit my nan.) Even more ridiculously he was even going to the same district! So i arrived at my nan's doorstep at 7:30 on friday morning (only 14hours after I left.) And she was quite shocked to see me.

So now I am Home... And trying to get my head around everything that has happened in the last few months, I haven't got very far with that other than that God is amasing! the rest i'm still working on...
  

Final Destination... for the moment

I am sorry it has been so long since my last post. I am discovering it is quite difficlut to write an online blog when you are constantly on the road and camping in the wild...
So last time i wrote i was in dresden. Ok so alot happened since then, after heading to the factory chuch with Flo we cycled by night together to catch up with the group at a festival at an alternative community 30km East in a small town called Duttersbach - which i am sure i have spelt wrong. The festilval itself i still havent got my head around its called Walpurgisnacht and as far as i know its a whitches celebration for the coming of spring. I decided in the end not to take part in the performance of lighting the fire as i wasnt quite sure weather if it was a ritual or something, in the end it turned out to be more of an exscuse for a party not much different to our bombfire night. We ended up staying with the community for nearly a week which was a really great time. For the next leg of our journey we followed along the river Elbe through some of the most beautiful scenery i have ever seen. My faviroute night was spent sleeping in a hamok in the garden of an old cottage in the mountains overlooking the river. the guy who owned the place invited us to stay with him after saving my trike from falling over a log he was trying to move off the trail. The next morning a few of us headed out for a short hike into the maountains and climbed up to the Bastei - crazy bridges and rock formations, slighty spoilt by ¨the masses of tourists all parked at the car park at the top, but none the less, absolutley beautiful. and it is only a days ride from where i will be living in a few weeks. so come and visit! We played quite a few shows in small towns along the river over the following days and my skin is still a subtle tone of yellow from crazy body paint. We crossed the boarder into the Czech Republic a couple of days ago now and tarmac cycleways turned to dirt and stone as we headed east. I had told the group i would need to turn back by the 14th of May and as the days rolled by it became clear that the group wouldnt reach Prague before then so after a few days of battling in my mind me and one of the girls from the group decided we would say our good buys early and speed on to Prague. So yesterday morning after long farewells we cycled off on our own on what should have been a simple 60k ride. But after deciding to take the scenic route along the river we found our selves pushing our bikes along horribly bumpy and very thin tracks on the side of steep verges into the river. There were at least three occassions when me and my trike nearly fell in. after over an hour of crazy paths we finally made our way back onto decent roads and followed the rest of the way into Prague. We arrived at about 10pm at the house of some freinds of Evas who greated us with amasing food, fresh coffee, hot showers and warm beds. i cant tell you how good it feels! The sad part is that this is the end of the Journey for now. On tuesday morning we turn arround and make our way back to Germany and then i will head my way back to the UK. So i am coming home!... it feels strange to think that after such a long journey it should in theory take only a week to get home. So whos up for a a pint! ...Meet in the Talbot...

Berlin to Dresden... 200k in 2 weeks?

... So I have sat down to write a dosen times in the last few days but I find myself staring at the screen not quite knowing how express in words what has been happening. The last few weeks have been totally mad, amasing and incredibly challenging. We left ruddersdorf over two weeks ago and have finally made our way to dresden last night. So yes the pace is a little slower than when I was on my own but with 12 people riding bikes of all sizes packed with all kinds of strange implements, some of which are breaking on a daily basis nothing is simple. The first few days were particularly slow as we got used to cycling as a group but we had great fun wild camping in forests and next to lakes. I organised for the group to stay at the Steiger missions base (where i'll be living in a month) near Meissen. I ended up cycling ahead of the group and arriving 2 days before. After Bering together 24/7 for 3 weeks it was really great to have some space to myself. The group finally arrived on Tuesday afternoon in Meissen and we played our first street show together in the market place. It was great to perform together and we made over 100 euros and got given pizza too. Staying with the group at the centre was great but also quite challenging. I found myself caught between too very different value systems which was intensified by misunderstanding. I actually spent 2 days feeling really quite stressed. It was a really good lesson though in communication. We talked afterwards as a group about what it means to respect and each other when we have disagreements and different values, I am reminded again that love is so much bigger than values and ideas. I waved goodbye to the guys at Steiger yesterday morning and rode together with stephano to join the others in Dresden, it was such a beautiful ride along the Elbe but being the first real day of summer it was completely packed, like a bicycle highway. We arrived in Dresden at 5pm and made another show on the street then we headed to the river to watch the sunset and then made fire shows with beepboxind under the bridge watching an incredible firework display. This morning me and Flo headed to church, I didn't understand a word but we had a great time chatting on our way home. Tonight we will go to an alternative church that meets in a factory and then make our way out of the city in the cool of night... so now to the river to enjoy the sun!

We're on the Road!!!

So after 3 weeks in berlin we finally got all the bikes fixed and left the city on the next stage of our crazy adventure. the Last week or so has been really busy. We had a big going away party last thursday in the factory space we were staying in. It was a crazy night, there were about 200 people in total. We had loads of different bands playing, arial acrobatics, clowns, stiltwalkers, a dancing (and pooing and weeing) elephant, bicycles and musicians hanging from the ceiling, fire shows and a bizare walk through theatre peice in wich i was hiding as a 10ft high bird creature caught in a cage. The event finnished at about 6 in the morning! We had a day off on easter day so i found an english speaking church to go to, one of the guys came with me too which was cool, once we got over the high school musical style stage show it was really great fun... the rest of the week has been spent in the workshop (which is a steal container in an urbarn vegatable garden) mending and preparing our bikes. My tricycle has had a complete makover, and is now sporting a rainbow of yellow, orange, red black and blue! it also has a srtonger frame and a new front wheel so hopefully it will survive the journey: I am now also carrying a giant birds head and costume so the bike is even higher packed then before.

So on thursday at about 6pm we finaly set off from Berlin, we were quite a sight pedelling through the city on our crazy bikes full to overflowing, mine wasn't even the fullest! we cycled into the night and arrived at a circus caravan settlement in a small town called Rudersdorf just east of Berlin. The place is amasing there is a huge circus tent in the centre and it is surrounded by wagons and caravans and interesting woodend structures. This is where I am writing from now. I has been so beutifull being out of the ciry and back in nature again. yesterday we went for a walk to a big lake in the morning and had a 'swim' (run in run out as quickly as possible) we watched as a fisherman made a big catch who then gave us the fish to take back for dinner. i had the Job of hitting it on the head and gutting it. It was quite a humbling experience, so often what we eat is packaged and prepared so you can hardly tell it was a living thing. It was srangly sad and baeutiful to exerience the whole proccess. We then cooked the fish on the fire and ate it with vegatables and salad we found the night before in the supermarket rubbish containers... It was a Feast!

We will be here for the next few days and work on our show and should hopefully leave on monday morning and make 4 days ride south towards Dresden. And we should pick up a few newcomers on the way too.

I can't quite express how amasing it has been to adventure like this. I love it! There have been hard days and i'm sure there will be more to come, but what a joy it is to follow the dreams of your heart...    

From old school to old factory...

Yesterday we waved goodbye to our friends at 'kubiz' the old school we've been staying at the past week. It actually turned out not to a squat but just a very fluid community house project. After an action packed week learning clowning, physical theatre, juggling, dance and even quantum physics, it felt strangely good to be packing my bike up again this time with even more stuff including a giant paper mâché birds head. We were quite a sight as the 3 of us cycled across Berlin one tall one wide and one long all packed full of stuff. We arrived outside an old disused factory which we will be performing in at our going away party on Thursday night. This is also to be our home for the next week but amasingly we have been given a really nice studio apartment next door to stay in. So Last night I came home after an afternoon clowning and passing out flyers on stilts and had a long hot bath, I can't tell you how good that felt. To top it off too I got to sleep in a bed! (admittedly alongside 2 others but on an actual mattress!) So we have 4 days now to prepare and rehearse for out performance on Thursday, between now and then I have to Finnish building a giant bird costume to be warn on stilts. So I am feeling right back at home doing last minute crazy building!

Squats, clowns and garbage bins...

It seems like an age ago that I was peddling my way through Germany but I have only been in berlin 4 days. so much has happened that it's difficult to tell it all. I have somehow found myself living in a squatted old school building that has been turned into an alternative community project inhabited by artists, gardeners, anarchists and clowns. I still haven't really worked out who actually lives here as people are coming and going all the time. It has been really good to be part of a community again though, even if it has been a bit of a culture shock and language is only part of it. I have been eating pretty much vegan scince i got here and 80% of all the food here is collected from supermarket garbage bins. I had my first experience of 'containering' last night when some of the guys took me out. We loaded our bikes up full of vegetables friut and bread, all slightly damaged or just past the sell by date, it really was quite a shock to realise how much good food is wasted everyday. I am really enjoying being here although it's challenging at times. I feel a bit like an alien in a foreign place and it's difficult to really get to know anyone as there are people everywhere. I am starting to get to know a few people though and I have found myself a quiet spot beside a nearby lake just to be still for a while each day. The theatre group is coming together well though nearly everyone is has arrived now and we have been working together on theatre techniques and clowning for the past few days. Still lots more to do and to get ready before we leave though. We spotted some cracks that are starting to spear on my frame so it looks like I'm going to need to learn to weld.