Ainda Josie Dew
Q. How much weight are you carrying?
A. 65 kilos including bike but it varies depending on how wet my tent is (usually very) and how much food and water I've got on board (usually lots).
Q. Don't you need an engine to move that lot?
A. No, I like travelling slowly - apart from those times that I wish I was travelling a bit faster.
Q. Isn't it dangerous going downhill with such a load?
A. Not really, it's more a fun feeling akin to freefalling off the edge of a cliff.
Q. That sounds dangerous.
A. Well, maybe a bit, in a dangerously safe sort of way. But I like to think I can stop if I have to.
Q. Have you got the kitchen sink in there as well?
A. Yes, I've got to do the washing up somehow.
Q. (Asked by normal looking person): You're not alone are you?
A. Yes
Q. (Asked by psychopathic serial-killer sort of person): You're not alone are you?
A. No, I have several armed bodyguards up my sleeve.
Q. Don't you find it scary travelling alone?
A. Sometimes. But after 20-odd years of cycling in fits and starts around the world, I've found that most people don't want to kill you, they want to help you.
Q. You must be very brave
A. No, I just like cycling.
Q. Don't you get lonely?
A. No, there's no time to get lonely as there's always a hill to be climbing, or a wind to be fighting, or a map to be reading, or a bike to be oiling, or a banana to be eating, or a sock to be washing, or a letter to be writing, or a stranger with which to be chatting, or a tent to be pitching, or a night to be sleeping, or dreams to be dreaming.
Q. So where do you sleep?
A. Mostly in my tent on beaches, behind hedges, up mountains, in temples, in campsites, in forests, in floods. Sometimes I stay with friends or people I meet or treat myself to a hostel or B&B.
Q. How far do you cycle a day?
A. Anything from 10 miles to 100 miles.
Q. Do you get a lot of problems with your bike?
A. So far, no.
Q. What do you do when you get a puncture?
A. Mend it.
Q. What do you do when it rains?
A. Get wet.
