Summer has arrived in my shed. After months of writing my book in the rain the sun has finally come out to play (and I’m immediately too hot, of course.)

But spirits are high because I’ve finished the book and it’s ready for you to pre-order today! ?

I didn’t manage to publish a book in 2020, so I’m relieved to get my 13th book out into the world.

Ask An Adventurer answers questions put to me by you guys about my working life behind the scenes – how I make a living, how I make time for adventure, how I stay motivated, and lots of questions about creativity and growing an audience. (There’s a chapter about trying to write interesting newsletters too…)

I’d be hugely grateful if you would pre-order a copy for yourself or a friend today. Thank you. 

Right, onto the usual stuff now… ?

• ?‍♀️ Cycling: The Man Who Rode the Tour de France Route Solo. This is cool. I’m extra jealous because I first had the idea to do exactly this back in 1997 but never got round to it!
• ? Commuting: Does commuting get in the way of your adventures? Then watch this film for one extreme option to solve the problem… “The Commute: A four day paddle to work.”
• ? Film: The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival needs your help. There are 78 films available to watch over 24 carefully curated and themed sessions. Each session costs less than a pint of beer or a glass of wine.
• ? Nature writing: Enchanted forests: the women shaking up nature writing.
• ? Exercise: At the start of 2021, when we descended into yet more lockdown, I thought back on what a flop 2020 had been for me in terms of my writing and my health and fitness. I didn’t want to drift through yet another year.
  So I set two specific goals to get my writing and health back on track.
  One, to publish a book by the end of lockdown. And two, to get back my strength and fitness and do a double bodyweight deadlift again.
  Once you decide the end goal you can then put it away in a drawer and focus on the small, humdrum steps forward: write 1000 words a day and complete an exercise programme five nights a week.
  Having such specific steps to follow is essential to defeat my lazy, conniving mind which is a master of finding excuses to not bother.
  All I had to do was show up, do the work, go home, and repeat. No discussion, no negotiation.
  Do the simple things, not the easy things. Work hard. Feel better.
  And so, over the long locked down months I felt progress coming, little by little, like the creeping approach of dawn. The book chapters accumulated and improved, whilst in the gym and out running I felt a little bit leaner, stronger, healthier and happier each week than I did a year ago.
  In the end I managed to finish the book on time. ‘Ask An Adventurer‘ is not a work of genius, but it was achievable in lockdown and I feel that it will be really helpful for a small niche of people. That’s enough for me.
  I also managed to lift a heavy weight and put it back down again. Lifting 170kg at 11pm on my own in an empty gym isn’t very important as these things go (although it is nice to be getting stronger as I get older, not just conceding defeat).
  But the plugging away to get to this point was really important, at least to me.
  Resolving to do things better than I did them last year — and then sticking to that resolution by the unreasonably effective method of just showing up every day — has made me more productive, stronger, healthier and happier than I have been for the past languishing 18 months.
  If you go to the gym (or train in your garden) and are willing to work hard (regardless of your starting level) then I can highly recommend Andy McKenzie’s programmes. I’ve known Andy since I was training for the South Pole and he certainly knows his stuff and works you hard!

• ✂️ Learn to identify some common bird songs.
• ✂️ I love this short video! After reading one of my books Dafydd buys the same bike as me from eBay, then rides it as far as he can…
• ✂️ Need to escape the world? Hitch a lift on a satellite and soar over the earth (Press ‘play’ for one of the satellites on the right of the screen).

Alastair