Juliana Buhring became the first and fastest woman to circumnavigate the world by bicycle. This book follows her journey. It is an incredible adventure, particularly as the author had no background in cycling and was spurred into doing the ride after her boyfriend was killed by a crocodile. Buhring's background as a former member of the cult of The Children of God provides a fascinating backdrop to the journey.
These long distance cycle rides tend to be done by men and when Juliana Buhring became inspired by Mark Beaumont's around the world cycle she discovered that no woman had ever done the record attempt. Buhring was searching for something amazing to do in the aftermath of the death of her boyfriend, killed by a crocodile in Congo. The bike ride becomes the emotional release from this tragic event. The first part of the book is set in Naples, Italy. This is where the author enlists the help of Professor Perno who has a background in cycling training. Buhring outlines the details of her training regime and learning how to maintain a bicycle at a friendly cycle shop. Once the record attempt beings the book takes on a diary format, with short sections for each day of the adventure. This makes the book very easy to read and gives it a good pace, reflecting the time pressure of this ride. Europe flashes by and America is over in under a month. As you would expect this journey is full of highs and lows. The highs are captured beautifully by the author in this quotation: "On a bicycle, you are inside the movie, an essential part of it. Completely reliant upon your environment, you observe and absorb every sensation around you. You feel every change in terrain, the texture of the road, the direction of the wind, every ascent and descent, the constantly shifting weather. You smell every plant and flower, every rotting roadkill carcass. You hear every birdcall, every insect and animal. You take in the country, and the country takes you in. If you really want to experience the world, get on a bicycle." There is a heart stopping moment when Buhring is cycling uphill through mountains in New Zealand when temperatures drop, hypothermia is setting in, it is getting dark and the GPS is not working. By chance she spots a camper van by the side of the road and the couple take her in for the night. The kindness of people is a common theme in the book. Crossing the Nullarbor Plain in Australia there is great camaraderie among travellers and Buhring experiences tooting horns and is given money to buy food. Despite the speed of the journey the author is able to give a vivid flavour of the countries that she travels through. For example, there is a wonderful encounter with a family in Thailand who invite the author to eat with them at a place where there are prawns swimming in buckets and you simply choose however many you want for the cook to prepare and have them with rice and beer. India proves particularly challenging for a cyclist- the roads are a mix of rubbish, mud and human waste as people just squat by the side of the road. Buhring and the bike are covered in it by the end of each day. Crowds of staring men gather each time she stops in India and she is often followed by men on motorbikes making rude comments. This wouldn't happen to a male cyclist. Another point that Buhring makes is that she must find and stop at public toilets, something that male cyclists don’t need to do. The toilet stops add 10 minutes, precious time when you are trying to set a world record. She has to get the balance right between getting enough hydration and avoiding the toilet time wastage. Despite these challenges you get the feeling that Buhring took all of this in her stride, that it came natural to her. This is because of her nomadic background, raised in The Children of God cult. In many ways the most fascinating aspect of this book is reading of the author's cult background. Buhring has 17 siblings and her father had multiple partners. The cult leaders separated her from her parents when she was 4 and she was moved around the world so there was no country that she could call 'home'. The cult had training centres around the world where food and sleep deprivation, beatings and humiliation were used. These centres were disguised as international schools. Buhring escaped the cult and found it difficult to relate to mainstream life, particularly when people asked where she was from and she was unable to answer this. She did not know things, like how to open a bank account. That adjustment and leaving behind parents and friends provided her with the mental preparation for undertaking something as challenging as a cycle ride around the world. This book is a great read. It provides a fresh perspective to add to the many other books about around the world cycle challenges.
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If you like your tearooms to be traditional, joyful and somewhat off the beaten path then The Willows is the place to head for. It's a world of white table linen, china decorated with flowers and dainty cakes. You will find it, not in a town, but in farming country, around 4 miles from the Moray coast.
Highlights of This Route
Getting There The journey is half the fun of visiting The Willows. You must look for a dusty path in the depths of Moray's farming landscapes. It's a slight diversion from the coast, not far from Cullen, so if you are on the coastal cycle route (National Cycle Network Route One) it's easy to pop by. Or if you are looking for the nearest rail access head to Keith- it is a 10 mile cycle from there.
Directions from Keith Station
Keith is about one hour from Inverness or Aberdeen by train. Leaving Keith station you are aiming to get onto the B9018. From the train station you cycle down Station Road. Look for a path on the left, which takes you along a road that links to the B9116- Newmill Road. Take a left here. When you reach a crossroads you turn right onto the B9017. This road will join the A95 where you turn left and then the next left is for the B9018, signposted for Cullen. B-road Donkey The B9018 is wide and does not get a lot of traffic. It's got some ups, downs and curves so there is a bit of variety. The scenery is agricultural and although it is not the most exciting road in Scotland the peace and quiet and smooth tarmac make for very good cycling. During my visit I had the wind behind me and I sailed along at a nice pace- the long and empty road ahead providing a wonderful sense of freedom.
There was a lot of livestock in the fields, including sheep, cows and a very large bull with a nose ring who stared at me. I pulled over to say 'hello' to a group of donkeys, but they bolted off. Then one of them plucked up the courage to wander back to the fence and check me out. When his buddies could see that I was not a threat they all copied the brave donkey and returned to the fence, sniffing me for signs of food.
Berryhillock
There were several wind turbines on the hillside and I spotted a farm sign that had both a picture of a cow and a wind turbine, a reflection of the mixed use of farming land in this area. There is a place with a lovely name on this road- Berryhillock. Here there is a wooden shelter with a fantastic display of flowers. Inside the shelter there was a poster promoting an evening event with the local heritage group- there would be talks, including one on Deskford witches, tea and biscuits. Opposite the shelter is an attractive garden with a model windmill.
Less than 5 minutes cycling from Berryhillock will bring you to Deskford Church. This is a peaceful spot with an historic building which you are likely to get all to yourself. There is an iron gate with a heavy bolt to slide to gain access to the church yard. The church dates from 1540 and is now a ruin with no roof and holes where windows and doors once were.
The standout feature here is the sacrament house, a decorative storage cupboard that had been used to keep the wafer that is transformed into the body of Christ during Mass. The stone carving is impressive, particularly the angels with flowing frocks.
Just five minutes cycle from the church will bring you to South Lissens Pottery. It's a great place to hunt for a unique souvenir from the area. How about a Cullen Skink bowl? One of Scotland's most famous dishes, this hearty fish soup, was invented just up the road in Cullen.
The dusty track to the side of the pottery takes you to Deskford Garden Galleries and The Willow Tearoom, also located in farm buildings.
Raspberry, Rose and White Chocolate
When I opened the door to the tea room it was like stepping into a different era. The Shadows were on the music player and the tables were set out with linen, napkins and vintage china. What a surprise to find such a place in the depths of Scotland's farming landscapes! The loose leaf tea selection is excellent. This is a place where tea is a passion. I ordered the Russian Caravan which has a sweet and smoky taste. The home baking is no less impressive. My raspberry, rose and white chocolate cake was perfection and looked so dainty (see image at top of the blog). During my visit there were just two other women who hummed along to the soundtrack of 50s and 60s tunes. However, there are a lot of tables and the exciting menu of full meals and afternoon teas was a sign that this is a popular place. It's not just the tea room to see here. The complex of buildings includes a lovely conservatory and rooms packed full of antiques to buy. There is also a pond in the garden with benches. I sat here for a few minutes watching songbirds gathering up twigs and bits of grass for their nests.
When I got back on my bike I felt really happy. This place was such a chance find and a wonderful experience that it put a spring in my pedalling.
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