Born at Glenroyd hospital Blackpool on a wet and dull Wednesday just before 3pm in 1964. This was to be a proud moment for my Mother and Father but for me it was the start of the 50 years which led to me cycling out of the front door and across Europe. I think that wet and dull Wednesday afternoon was to follow me throughout my childhood all the way to my 50th birthday. I’m not suggesting that my childhood was a bad one, far from it. I was brought up by a loving Mother and Father who both worked on a fun fair, albeit a permanent one called Blackpool Pleasure Beach. They worked hard and managed to stay in the same jobs for 47 years. Whilst I on the other hand would spend my summer holidays causing chaos and avoiding the important things in life, like school, this would continue into adulthood.

I became an ice skater, not one of those you see in shows like holiday on ice but a cocky kid who used to whizz passed unsuspecting females with little more distance between them and me than a breath of air. Although I was cocky, I was good at it and throughout my childhood I spent everyday at the local ice rink. This of course was made possible by my father, who was the stage manager for the Blackpool Ice Show. I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased and had a free pass to enter the Ice Drome even when my father was no longer working in that department. This meant I went ice skating everyday from the age of 3 until the age of 18. No doubt you would have expected me to have a career in the ice skating industry.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind about all those years ice skating was my first girlfriend her name was Martine Lisgo and if today I had to admit the one thing I regret in life it is how much I wished we made a life together. I believe Martine is married somewhere in the North of England and works in a post office.

I actually ended up in the automotive industry and stayed there for 35 years. How I managed to do that Iˋll never know because everyone around me thought I was crap at it and on many occasion so did I. The millennium was a big event, not just because all the computers didn’t stop working because of a programming issue with the date but it was the year I discovered my wife was having an affair with her boss. As Facebook would put it “A Life Event” I really wish Facebook wouldn’t keep reminding me of all my failures. I managed to continue my life, I even bought another house close by to the family home so I could see my daughters and finally after 4 years I made the tough decision to take a year off and travel, mainly to decide what I wanted to do with my life.

I was sat in a traffic jam on the M62 for a total of 5 hours, someone had managed to cause such an accident that it closed the motorway. Whilst I was waiting for the wreckage to be cleared I decided to quit my job and travel. I phoned my employers whilst I was in the car and gave them 1 months notice, I sold my house, paid off my debts and booked a flight to Menorca. Two weeks prior to my flight I saw a job advert for a Team Leader, working for a holiday company called My travel. I applied, got the job and still ended up in Menorca but I was now working in the tourism industry.

That was 12 years ago, I changed companies a few time and now work for Tui in Lanzarote but on August 5th 2016 I am setting off to complete my cycling journey around the world. I will be raising awareness for the homeless, hopefully being a roaming reporter on an amazing podcast, filming a documentary and writing my first book. I want to dedicate the journey and the documentary to my first love Martine Lisgo.

I would like to say to anyone who is actually reading this Bio. Live your life with no regrets go out into the world and do what you really want to do, not what others want you to do because a year from now you may have wished you started today.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

There are over 7 billion people on planet earth and although it's impossible to meet them all, it is possible to meet a thin slice of the population, I want to share stories and discover how other people are managing to get through life and I'm doing it by Cycling Around The World.

Interests

Photography, in particular architecture and landscapes. Slow travel, avoiding aircraft if at all possible. Wine, I have been holding a weekly wine tasting show for the past 15 months in Lanzarote. Cooking, simple fresh tasty dishes. Walking, Cycling, Reading and discovering new ways of thinking. Programming smartphones using Tasker. Building websites. Plus lots more.

• pets
• writing
• books
• architecture
• photography
• documentaries
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• wine tasting
• instructor
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• cars
• cycling
• scuba diving
• journalism
• languages
• tourism
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I was a DJ for 35 years so all types of music is on my playlist, I also love to discover new music. I could easily do a top 100 movie list but will go with Shaw Shawshank as my No:1
Books have not been my strong point but have now started reading 1 per month for a whole year, as you can guess travel is my top pick.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Actually set off to cycle around the world but ran out of money in Venice. So I have worked 6 days a week for nearly 2 years to be able to start again.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a PADI assistant scuba instructor. I can teach you how to build and maintain a website. I am a Google Webmaster and Facebook Developer. I can programme Android apps with Tasker.

I would love to learn about different cultures and languages as well as to learn to cook different types of food.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Let me share my stories of the road as well as my life, I'll cook you an English style meal. I can also teach English, look after pets, fix computers, valet vehicles. I can teach you how to fix a bike.