This summer, I’ll be cycling about 2,400km with Thighs of Steel, following a route that quite literally makes REFUGEES WELCOME, while fundraising £100,000 for Choose Love. This is the route we’ll be cycling In a bold attempt to get loads of mercenary publicity for the cause, we’re also aiming to break an official Guinness World … Continue reading Spell It Out
Spell It Out is a 2,400km bike ride along the south coast of Britain that follows a quixotic route which will spell out the words—well, I’ll let you see for yourselves: The ride, organised by Thighs of Steel (obvs), is a direct response to our government’s creation of a ‘hostile environment’ for refugees. Priti Patel … Continue reading No more ‘hostile environment’ We need to tell Priti Patel and this government that our country will always stand for tolerance and compassion and that we will continue to offer a safe haven for those fleeing their homes
The last three months have been. And gone. The last lockdown in England neatly followed the passing of the financial year, so I thought I would look back and share a little of what happened with Dave in the final quarter of 20/21. WARNING: STATS AHEAD! In the last three months, I spent about 50 … Continue reading Abnormalising, adulting and The Corollavirus Coming to terms with car ownership in an age of carbon crisis
It is with some pride that I announce that Martin, my 2011 Marin San Anselmo touring bike, has finally met his match. At some point in the last few months, the chain stay of his frame cracked and snapped in two. The fact that neither I nor a professional bike mechanic noticed anything wrong apart … Continue reading Brutal! Look what happens to a bike after 18,000 miles On the importance of stuff
I know what you’re thinking: superbly crafted logo. But there’s more to this project than 1990s wordart. In 2020, I spent a total of 2,117 hours on my computer and my 100 Days of Adventure project began on 1 January 2021 with the firm ambition of spending a lot more of my time outdoors, adventuring. … Continue reading 100 Days of Adventure
I love looking back over time past, especially as a writer, when my follies are etched in permanent print for all to admire. On 3 January this year, for example, I wrote the following: My 2020 is—absurdly—already mapped out. I went on to predict that Foiled would be broadcast this summer and that I’d then … Continue reading 52 things I learned in 2020
This is a massive list of 52 things that I was thankful for in my newsletters of 2020. The man in the panic-buying supermarket who, after staring aghast at the empty shelves, turned to the shop assistant and beseeched him: ‘Do you not have any… pistachio oil?’ The refugee in Turkey who emailed my mum, … Continue reading 52 things I was thankful for in 2020
Philoxenia is the Greek idea of generosity and friendship towards strangers. During my cycle ride around the south of Britain in the summer of 2020, I was the happy recipient of many, many acts of generosity. This page is so that I can thank some of them publicly. Thank you! Part 1: The Southeast On … Continue reading Philoxenia around Britain Huge thanks to everyone who hosted me or simply made me smile
Sunday evening. It was getting late to find a camp spot. I’d run out of water and I only had rice cakes in my panniers for dinner. Southwold was full, with queues for chips snaking down one-way street pavements. My last hope for an open shop was a rumoured ‘filling station’ in Wrentham. I rolled … Continue reading Cycling around Britain: A cheese sandwich in a rainstorm Finding philoxenia in modern Britain
What were you doing nine years ago? Please, have a think. What’s changed? How have you grown? I know exactly what I was doing: cycling around Britain. There is something physically, intellectually and spiritually potent about repeating a ‘once in a decade’ journey. The same routines of cycling and camping give ample space for reflection … Continue reading Cycling around Britain: Nine years
It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to. The Lord of the Rings is one of the great works of twentieth century travel literature and, cycling and camping over the Sussex Weald, … Continue reading Cycling around Britain: Let’s go to Mordor
In an alternate reality, right now I’m preparing to join Thighs of Steel on an adventurous detour through the wilds of the Carpathian Mountains as we wend our way from London to Athens. In this reality, however, our epic fundraising adventure has long been cancelled and instead we spent May and June riding remotely, collectively … Continue reading This is not a bike ride Cycling around Britain again?
They say that every dog has its day—and some marketing departments take that literally. Next Friday, for example, is Pet Sitters International’s Take Your Dog to Work Day. A quick scan of the internet tells me that Tuesday was Bloomsday (I’m listening to Ulysses at the moment as it happens). Wednesday, meanwhile, was World Day … Continue reading Join us for World Refugee Day
This post was written as a thank you to the generous folk who have donated to my Help Refugees x Thighs of Steel fundraiser. Collectively, we’re riding around the world to raise vital funds for refugees facing COVID-19 in dire conditions. If you get anything out of this blog, I’d be very grateful if you … Continue reading Introducing Your Second Self
Last Saturday night, on Day 2 of a weekend bushcraft course, I slept in a shelter that I’d built out of dead branches, pine fronds and compacted leaf litter. As you can see, it was cosy… When I woke up after my eight hours to a bright sunrise, I was actually a little disappointed that … Continue reading What’s the point in bushcraft?
As you may have heard, Turkey has opened their border with the EU, giving refugees the chance to try their luck at crossing. This has very little to do with humanity; it’s a power game Turkish President Erdogan is playing, trying to leverage either more money or more support for his military manoeuvres in Syria. … Continue reading Border Breakdown
Wandering the aisles of my local food shopping emporium the other day, I happened upon a misfortunate newspaper stand. Before I could divert my hapless footwear in the direction of the sundried tomatoes and other preserves, I was revulsed by a series of headlines, all screaming something or other about immigration and Australia. At first … Continue reading The Perils of Perception
It must sound like I do hardly any work at all, but — outside the hammock — I’ve been rather busy. Secret signups for Thighs of Steel are going really well. The list is now over two-thirds full so if you’re umming and ahhing, don’t wait too long! Beth and I have also been working … Continue reading First they came for the squatters…
We are thrilled to announce that together this year Thighs of Steel have raised a staggering £87,184.40 for grassroots refugee organisations. A big thank you to everyone who donated – it means a lot! Guided by expert advice from Help Refugees, that money has been granted to five organisations we believe will do justice to … Continue reading Merry Thighsmas!
Your gut behaves like a second brain of over 100 million nerve cells called the enteric nervous system, which can communicate with your head-brain through the vagus nerve, and also by releasing bacterial metabolites into the bloodstream. We are what we eat, in other words. Read a digest of the science on my blog. Fingerspitzengefühl … Continue reading 52 Things I Learned in 2019
This will be remembered as the election that brought us closer together. Bear with me on this one. For me, like many, this election was the first where I was an active participant beyond casting my vote. I wish I could find numbers to support this comment, but all I have is anecdote. On Monday … Continue reading The election that brought us together
I have circumnavigated both Britain and Tunisia on my bicycle (he has a name, Martin). Now I can add the mythological island of Ikaría to that illustrious list. There are many myths attached to Ikaría, starting with the island’s very name – does it derive from an ancient word for ‘fish’, or was it here … Continue reading Cycling around Ikaría
There is an organisation here in Athens called Kids Klub who – among other things – help construct playgrounds in the squats that house refugees. SIDE BAR: Why are refugees still living in squats? Indeed – why are they still living on the streets? That’s a question you’d have to ask the Athenian municipality. Constructing … Continue reading Athens: Where the baby never stopped crying
There is a word in Greek, xenia, which translates (badly) as ‘guest friendship’. It manifests as generous hospitality to strangers and travellers and is a common theme in Ancient Greek mythology. I remember studying xenia as a central theme of The Odyssey. As Odysseus is battered and blown from port to port across the Mediterranean … Continue reading The kindest country in the world?
The incidental benefits of cycle touring are well known: fitness, tan-lines, an insatiable appetite. But I think I can say without fear of contradiction that cycle touring isn’t particularly famous for its promotion of good personal hygiene. This year, I am proud to be a part of the Thighs of Steel core team for the … Continue reading Why Mahmoud wears cologne
Being part of the core team for Thighs of Steel this year is a very different experience to riding the full week as a fundraiser. Mainly because I spent two of the six days driving Calypso, the team’s support van. That’s not to say that van days are easy. There’s an intimidating list of jobs … Continue reading The Trials and Tribulations of Van Days Thighs of Steel 2019
Last Sunday morning, more than 40 people crammed into a wide circle to ‘talk migration’ under the wooden beams of Impact Hub in Kings Cross. Talk Migration was a day of talks and discussion around the topics of migration, borders and refugee rights, organised by Thighs of Steel. Every year, Thighs of Steel cyclists come … Continue reading Talk Migration: Help Refugees
Last Sunday morning, more than 40 people crammed into a wide circle to ‘talk migration’ under the wooden beams of Impact Hub in Kings Cross. Talk Migration was a day of talks and discussion around the topics of migration, borders and refugee rights, organised by Thighs of Steel. Every year, Thighs of Steel cyclists come … Continue reading Talk Migration: The 21st Century Slaves of Indefinite Detention
My name is David Charles and I probably met you out somewhere. Thanks for stopping by! I’m the co-writer of BBC radio sitcom Foiled. I also write for the Center for International Forestry Research, The Bike Project and the stupendous Thighs of Steel. I do bike touring and nature walks. Sometimes I teach other people … Continue reading Hi!
I can’t quite believe 2018 is already nearly over. More than 31.5 million seconds have tick-tocked, transferring their unfulfilled potential into the secure achievement of the past. It hasn’t all been easy, but here are seven of the more mind-blowing things that have happened for me in 2018, some of which I’ve written about before: … Continue reading 7 things I’m grateful I did in 2018
There are many varieties of adventure, so what do I mean when I use the word? I like this definition: A wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful). Adventure, by any definition, is not limited to epic bike tours through foreign lands, climbing mountains and sleeping in cold huts. Rather, adventure is a way of … Continue reading I believe in Adventure
Ask me how I’ll remember 2018 and I won’t say ‘typing words into a computer’, even though that’s how I spent far too much of almost every single day. Not all of that typing was unmemorable, of course. Writing the second series of Foiled was fabulous and I’m sure I’ll be writing about how I … Continue reading The Memory of Adventure
I’m a slow traveller. I’ve taken only one return flight in the last 8 years – and that was to prove to myself that I wasn’t not flying out of pride or habit. So while the other Thighs of Steel cyclists packed up their bikes and drove out to Sofia airport for a three-hour flight … Continue reading Why I travel slow, or “Delays? Really?”
In 2016 I embarked on the somewhat ambitious target of cycling from London to Syria, reporting on the refugee ‘crisis’ from the saddle of my bicycle. In 46 days, I got as far as Vienna, before rushing back to work on Foiled at the Edinburgh Festival. It was a busy summer! I always said that … Continue reading Cycling to Syria – Back in the Saddle!
This question has fascinated me for a long time. Why does anyone do a Thing, when doing no-thing is so much easier, more secure, and more comfortable? What makes a middle-aged computer programmer with a young family do a complete career swerve and retrain as a chiropractor? What makes a retired marketing manager, who had … Continue reading What Makes a Person Do a Thing?
Writer I write stories that help you and me understand the world (and ourselves) a little better. Every Friday, I send said stories out to a self-selecting group of well-regarded and discerning readers. You can join our ranks by signing up here. I am co-writer (with Beth Granville) of BBC Radio sitcom Foiled, set in … Continue reading About me Writer, Speaker, Outdoor Leader and Cyclist-At-Large
