Romy's farmhouse outside Carno, Wales

I am sitting in the study of an old stone farmhouse in Wales, looking out at blue skies and a snow-covered hillside. Yesterday I drove here (thank you Alun, who lent me his family’s aged BMW for the journey) from the flat in London where I had been staying for a few days of self-imposed retreat to reflect on 2009, and plan for 2010. Thanks to the kind woman who found my journal dumped near her house in Copenhagen and returned it to me, I was able to read back over my thoughts and dreams of the last 12 months, and look at what worked and what left room for improvement. Themes and patterns emerged. I was able to put things in perspective.

And now I’ve started to figure out how to build on the progress I made in 2009, and to synthesise my direction for next year. Lots of influences are playing into my plans – my experiences on the ocean and in Kiribati, the Climate Ride, publication of my book, the walk from Big Ben to Brussels, and of course the COP15 conference in Copenhagen. Books I’ve read and conversations I’ve had have also been highly formative. I am gleaning jewels of wisdom and pearls of insight from all kinds of sources. Assimilating, thinking, and listening to my heart.

It has been a blessing in disguise to be mostly offline. Undistracted by the thousands of emails awaiting attention, I was able to take quiet time out between Christmas and New Year to breathe and be. A very special time.

So the timing of the delivery of my lovely new MacBook Pro was just perfect. It arrived yesterday, just before I left for Wales. Now that I’ve got my head and heart sorted, it’s time for the hands to get busy again to start making it all happen.

This feels like a more than usually significant New Year. Tonight it is a full moon – a blue moon, in fact, the second full moon within one calendar month. And 2009 was a mega-year for me. 2010 promises to be even more so. I’m eager to see where it will take me – and in fact, the world. 12 months from now, how will the world have changed? Because, for sure, it will have.

Raising our glasses to wish you all the best for 2010 (that's me on the left)

Before we leave 2009, I would like to say a huge thank you to everybody for making 2009 so special. Those who supported me with their comments while I was on the Pacific. Those who contributed to the walk from Big Ben to Brussels – the supporters and the wonderful women of Team BB2B. Those who chipped in and helped me replace the cherished possessions stolen in Copenhagen. Those who bought my book and wrote to tell me how it had touched their lives. You have constantly impressed me, entertained me, informed me, and encouraged me.

Thank you so much. I love you all, and wish you health, wealth (in the spiritual sense) and happiness in 2010.

Long hours anticipated next week

There has been talk of a COP15.5, taking place next summer, in case no binding treaty is achieved by the end of next week at COP15 – no matter how long the hours the delegates work.

At one stage, about a month ago, I thought this might be a good thing. It seemed to me that not enough countries were moving fast enough in the right direction, so that if something were to be set in stone in Copenhagen, it was unlikely to be the right thing. Despite the urgent need for legislation to stop the rape of the planet, I thought it would be more damaging to enact a weak agreement than to enact nothing at all. I hoped that by the time COP15.5 rolled around, growing awareness and increasing public pressure might have persuaded the global leaders to commit to the kind of treaty that the world needs.

However, what I have seen and heard in Copenhagen has persuaded me otherwise. There is such a huge amount of energy and commitment here on the part of the non-governmental organizations and the heavy hitters of the environmental world that it has generated a formidable momentum. If no decision is reached, that momentum would dissipate, and it is hard to imagine that a similar head of steam could be recreated in 6 months.

There would almost inevitably be a feeling of disappointment and deflated hopes, and to recover from that and once again muster the forces within the space of half a year would be more than most human hearts could bear.

So is it now or never?

A ton of CO2 spotted as I was walking to TckTckTck's Fresh Air Center today

That sounds pretty drastic, but so is our situation. The rate at which we are losing acres of rainforest and diversity of species, the rate at which we are using up our reserves of oil, the rate at which our population and our demand for consumer goods is expanding – time IS running out. If the climate scientists are to be believed, certain timings have already run out, tipping points reached, boundaries crossed. We are now in the last gasp of existence, the dying days of a civilization, the end of an era. The best we can hope for now is damage limitation. Are we going to be utterly extinct, or only partially.

Sorry, but that’s the truth, and I can’t sugar-coat it.

That’s the bad news. Now for the good news – and it’s very good. Even in the last few days I have seen a growing momentum towards sealing a deal.

Todd Stern, the chief negotiator for the US, says that Washington is determined to get the ‘strongest possible agreement’ in Copenhagen.

Ed Miliband, leader of the UK delegation, said: ‘I will do my damnedest to get the best possible agreement I can at Copenhagen.’

A leading UK climate scientist says Capping temperatures is ‘achievable’.

Let’s keep on hoping, praying, and pushing. The negotiations, and the future of the world, hang in the balance. All it will take is for one influential leader to step forwards and take a courageous stance and the whole chemistry of COP15 could change for the best.

And finally, just in case that hasn’t cheered you up enough already, here is my fun little video (2:21 mins) of our BB2B walk. The comment has already been made (thanks, Anthony!) that it was rather fitting that the soundtrack should be by a band called Madness….!

A final image from BB2B - Roz with rose from Frank

One chapter ends, another begins…. Hobbled out of BB2B and plunged straight into COP15.

Today, my first full day in Copenhagen, got off to a slightly late start. The Climate Express arrived in the Danish capital around 11pm last night, and we were directed straight up the green carpet to a welcoming party at a bar/restaurant within the station.  So what can you do when faced with free champagne and delicious-looking canapés but say “thank you very much” and partake freely? It would have been rude not to….

So it was a slightly tipsy Roz that first met Rikke Gaard, the lovely woman who has volunteered her family’s spare bedroom to a complete stranger through New Life Copenhagen. Generous householders like Rikke are accommodating thousands of visitors to COP15 – for which we are extremely grateful. It was about 1am by the time we got back to her home in the suburbs, near the airport, and I gratefully tottered off to my bedroom on the lower ground floor.

This morning I was able to get online for the first time in 36 hours, to face the resulting avalanche of emails. Buried in the morass was a message letting me know that the camera crew from the Will Steger Foundation would be ready to interview me at 10.30 this morning. I read their message at 10.25. Eeek! After firing off a quick email to let them know I would be horrendously late I got some quick directions from my hosts and headed off to the Metro stop.

Will Steger and friends

Arriving in central Copenhagen, I realized I really didn’t know where I was going. No iPhone Google Maps (due to extortionate data roaming charges) and no paper map in hand. After utterly failing to find a map shop, and getting contradictory directions from various people, I finally stumbled across a crowd of people and spotted my good friend Will Steger in their midst. Aha! And only one and a half hours late….

As it turned out, my timing was perfect. Any earlier would have been too early for them. So this is now my philosophy on COP15. There is SO much going on here, between the high level conference and the multitude of side events, that it would be impossible to come up with the perfect master plan – and I could drive myself insane even trying.

So I will go with the flow, and trust to gut feel, fate and serendipity to steer me in the “right” direction. In the midst of so much frenzied jockeying for position, these guides are as good as any.

Alison Gannett - never off duty when it comes to Saving Our Snow from the effects of climate change

And so far, the strategy is working well. After my video interview I joined UNEP for the opening of the Climate Maze and Hard Rain photo exhibition in Kongens Nytorv Square. The Mayor of Copenhagen and Achim Steiner gave rousing speeches, emphasizing the incredible importance of this historic summit. The photos, played to the accompaniment of Bob Dylan’s Hard Rain, moved me almost to tears. And I accidentally got into conversation with Achim Steiner – possibly one of the most influential, and certainly one of the most personable, people at the climate change conference.

Moving on from the freezing square into the relative warmth of the Radisson, I joined fellow BB2Been Alison Gannet for a final filmed interview with our BB2B filmmaker, Nora McDevitt, and caught up on a few emails by freeloading off the Radisson Hotel WiFii. And went for an early supper with Earth rights lawyer Polly Higgins – definitely one to watch at this conference.

But as I boarded the Metro to head home I realized I had only the haziest idea where “home” was. I had been in such a hurry in the morning that I hadn’t even noticed the name of the Metro stop where Rikke had dropped me. Eeek! This was one set of directions that gut feel wasn’t going to help me with. How embarrassing! Most people expect ocean rowers to be able to navigate their way out of anything, but there is a world of difference between navigating across an ocean and navigating an unfamiliar metro system. Eventually I had to admit defeat and with much wincing turned on the data roaming on my iPhone for the 3 minutes it took me to enter Rikke’s address and figure out the nearest metro stop. At £3 per MB I hope not to make a habit of this!

So it was with a sense of relief that I arrived at Rikke’s house tonight to be greeted by a very welcome mug of glogg (pronounced gluck, more or less) – the Danish version of mulled wine. It was a much-appreciated nightcap after a long day navigating the tricky terrains of a new city and a global summit.

Ideally I would stay up for another couple of hours to edit together a video of our BB2B walk for our sponsors Keen Footwear, but there is another busy day tomorrow and it’s already 11pm, so it may just have to wait. Sigh. It’s not easy saving the world!

Notes from today:

I have now downloaded two new apps for my iPhone that work offline, so don’t incur data charges: Metro Copenhagen and Copenhagen Offline Street Map. And also obtained a paper map of each. Phew! Now I feel more secure and less prone to navigational embarrassment!

Nice supper tonight, and probably not a bad price as Copenhagen goes – apparently recently deemed 3rd most expensive city in the world. I can recommend La Vecchia Gastronomia, Falkoner Alle 17, 2000 Frederiksberg. The mussels were especially good!

To buy Hard Rain on Amazon, here’s the link:

With Cornelia in Cologne

Apologies for not blogging Friday – yet again my laptop had gone AWOL in the camera car, as had my iPhone recharger, so I couldn’t even resort to my previous Plan B. So sorry that I wasn’t able to update you sooner, but I hope you enjoyed following our arrival on Baldwin’s Blogspot.

So here are the stats: 3 countries, 15 days, 250 miles, an estimated 500,000 steps. Big Ben to Brussels. Me and 4 fantastic but footsore friends.

Friday:

Friday seemed almost too easy. We woke up with less than 10 miles to go, and had to dawdle along to allow the camera crew time to film us. Walking slowly was surprisingly hard – after 2 weeks on the road we had settled into a natural rhythm, and to slow down was at least as hard as walking faster would have been.

We ended as we had begun – in the rain. To slow ourselves down we stopped for several breaks along the way, including a coffee break in one of Brussels’s more elegant hotels. Think W Hotels (US) or the Sanderson (London) – and imagine 5 little orange people traipsing across the achingly chic reception into the bar, dripping rainwater and shedding mud as they go. Yup, we were about as welcome as pork pies at a bar mitzvah.

The waiter sniffed disdainfully as we deposited our backpacks and skis on the floor and settled ourselves gratefully into their elegant armchairs. Belatedly, and with a sigh of resignation, he finally deigned to take our order. Supermodels and smart businessmen looked in bafflement at these oddballs in their midst. We didn’t care. We were warm and dry and about to have hot chocolate.

Restored, we headed back out into the grey winter’s day. Luckily the media had not been deterred by the weather. We had a good little turnout, including several representatives from UNRIC, the United Nations Regional Information Centre.

Frank Koelewijn, who had contacted me via my blog and became our local “fixer”, presented us with lovely orange roses. Baldwin (who hosted us for dinner at his home in Bergen op Zoom) arrived late and breathless, having been sent to the wrong side of town by a not-so-helpful passerby. He may well have covered more miles than we did yesterday in his desperate search around the city.

Interviews and photographs complete, we went for a short walk through the beautiful squares of Brussels, cheerful with Christmas decorations in the gathering dusk. We dropped off our bags at the house of Yves Mathieu, a Climate Project presenter who had offered us accommodation and then headed out by Metro to find Les Larmes du Tigre (the tears of the tiger) – a Thai restaurant chosen by Frank for our celebratory dinner.

The icing on the cake of a very special day was to find Anthony Swift sitting at our table with Frank. Team BB2B has much to thank Anthony for – it was through him and his wife Bex that I met Laura and Jane, and also the Cherry family who plied us with tea and chocolate cake at their home in Essex, many miles and 2 countries ago. Unable to resist the allure of a party in honour of several good friends, Anthony had in mid-afternoon decided to hop on the Eurostar and come and join us.

So the journey that had taken us over 2 weeks took Anthony just 2 hours. Sigh.

Reflections:

But the quality of a journey cannot necessarily be measured by its speed. My ocean rows have taught me, if anything can, that the journey can matter more than the destination.

Sore of foot, aching of limb, and ever so slightly smelly after our long walk from Big Ben to Brussels, I wouldn’t change a single thing about our amazing trek. We set out almost as strangers – I had met Jane just once before we started planning BB2B, Laura likewise, Alison only during the Climate Ride in September, and Mary briefly at the October 24 Day of Action organized by 350.org – but we were all firmly committed to our goal, and supported each other through thick and thin. Not one of us avoided injury and pain, but we jollied each other along and made each other laugh, think, and grow.

Saturday:

I was feeling nostalgic about our time together even before we had parted company. We are now scattering to the four winds – Laura caught the train back to London last night, and Mary will travel back with Jane and her husband Sunday, while Alison and I caught the UN Climate Express train Saturday morning, bound for Copenhagen.

Photo opp in the UNEP carriage of the Climate Express. I'm bottom left, next to Franny Armstrong and in front of Lizzie Gillett of Age of Stupid. Alison Gannett with the dark hair, in the middle. Nora McDevitt, filmmaker, on far right.

As I wrote this I was sitting in Coach 2, while Achim Steiner (UNEP’s Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary General) was sitting in the seat behind me being interviewed. In the morning Alison and I were walking along the train when I spotted Franny Armstrong and Lizzie Gillett (of Age of Stupid fame) in a private compartment so we dropped in for an impromptu interview. They will be hosting a daily internet show from Copenhagen, in which a “horse race” will show how countries are progressing, depending on their declarations regarding climate change. Make sure you check it out – no doubt it will combine their irreverent humour with incisive analysis of the latest developments.

Our short stop in Cologne was enlivened by meeting up with two German sisters, Cornelia and Kirsten, who brought their copies of my book for me to sign. Unfortunately we were running late due to an unscheduled stop for an engine change, so they had frozen on the platform for half an hour before the Climate Express arrived. But we still had time for a quick chat and for them to give me a box of Belgian chocolate truffles – one for each day of our walk. Much appreciated!

Alison and I are did a joint presentation at 6pm in Carriage 9. Dinner was followed by a screening of Age of Stupid (I may well watch it for now the third time – always worthwhile) and a late arrival at Copenhagen around 11pm.

I plan to continue with daily blogs throughout my time at Copenhagen. Much is still TBD – beyond a few presentations, interviews and events, my diary is still very fluid. But I like it that way – ultimate flexibility to seize opportunities as they arise.

Watch this space!

And finally:

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all who made BB2B possible – the families who spared their wives and girlfriends to come on the walk, our Kickstarter backers, the blog readers who contributed comments and good wishes – and of course my magnificent teammates, Jane, Laura, Alison, Mary and Nora. It was special. And now, in Copenhagen, we will make it count.

Roz in Belgium - entering the last few miles

Our friendly local techie, Baldwin Hopmans, has created a blog especially for the final day of BB2B. His email says: “From the moment I will join tomorrow I can make pictures and movies with a mobile phone. Then post them “live” on the picture blog (delay of 30 sec).” He aims to leave work at noon local time to come and join us, so look out for the pics and vids from about 1pm Central European Time (noon GMT, 7am EST or 4am PST).

Last night I uploaded a whole load of BB2B photos to Flickr. I haven’t had time to finish labelling them yet – that will have to wait until Copenhagen – but wanted to at least let you know they are there for your delectation.

I also created a slideshow of my favourite pictures, available now on YouTube. It’s a little rough and ready, but please make allowances for a hectic schedule on the road.

Must run – time to pack up and hit the road for the last time. This time tomorrow I will be boarding the UN’s Climate Express train from Brussels Midi station – but still a few more miles of human powered transport to go between now and then. See you in Brussels!

Laura, Jane and Roz - and lots of mud

We have just arrived in Grimbergen, which is much nicer than it sounds. And most importantly from our perspective is that it lies a mere 10 miles from Brussels. Tomorrow will be a relatively short stroll to our final destination. Funny how your perspective changes after getting used to 15-18 miles a day!

We are now sitting at our hotel hatching plans for our arrival. We have put the word out to anyone we know in Brussels, and our new best friend Frank has also notified the local media. He is here now – having handed out photocopied maps to show us exactly where we need to be and when, he and Alison are now engaged in a major debate on a whole spectrum of environmental issues, while Nora and Todd capture their animated discussion on camera.

While I am writing this blog to put out the word about tomorrow. We’d like to get as much coverage as we can. We’ve walked 250 miles to make a point about our desire for a sustainable future, and to urge global leaders to help enable this dream to come true. The more exposure we can get the better.

Tomorrow we will be walking (or hobbling, or limping!) into the small park at Schuman, proudly wearing our orange jackets and caps, and bearing our signed Earth Balls. We are hoping for a welcoming committee of journalists, TV crews, and people coming out to show their support for our cause.

If you happen to be in Belgium, or know anybody who lives here, please let them know about this happening and urge them to come along. The weather forecast is for dry conditions (phew!) and there will be 5 radiantly sunny (and relieved!) smiles to brighten up even the dullest afternoon.

So we hope to see a good bunch of people there. If we all pull together, we CAN save the world – one step/oarstroke at a time!

Other Stuff:

Please also check out Alison Gannett’s blog. She has loads of photos of our walk – plus an account of BB2B from her own unique perspective. To be honest, I haven’t had time to read it – would be interesting to find out how the view of an extreme skier differs from that of an ocean rower. I know she got a lot more excited about hills than I did!

Alison will be coming on to Copenhagen. We will be doing a joint presentation on the Climate Express on Saturday at 6pm, and have further plans to collaborate once we are at COP15.

Please also consider supporting her Kickstarter project. She is 94% of the way there, with 8 days to go!

Early morning departure from Antwerp

The end is nigh… of the walk, I mean, rather than the world. Although that end might also be nigh if our esteemed leaders don’t get their act together in Copenhagen and set us on the path towards a sustainable future.

But for now let’s focus on the end of the walk – it’s a bit easier on the psyche at this stage of a long day.

Tonight we arrived in Mechelen, Belgium (where we are staying at the Youth Hostel near the train station, UncaDoug) and since we arrived 2.5 hours ago I’ve been sorting out final arrangements for our arrival into Brussels on Friday, and plans for Copenhagen. It’s all shaping up very nicely – with a bit of help from our friends. I have countless reasons to be grateful to the members of the Rozling community. Here are a few examples:

Team BB2B in Antwerp

Baldwin Hopmans, without whom I would not be posting this blog. He loaned us a wonderful little gizmo that gives us high speed internet access for the duration of our stay in Belgium. Also thanks to him that we got some local TV coverage and this nice mention in the local press in Bergen Op Zoom. Not to mention the delicious home-cooked dinner! See also photo for a pic of coverage in an Antwerp newspaper today.

Frank Koelewijn, who I haven’t yet met but who has been spreading the word through Brussels about our imminent arrival – to media and others who hopefully might form a welcoming committee to greet our footsore but triumphant crew. He has also arranged a booking for us at a local restaurant for a celebratory dinner.

Yves Mathieu, presenter for The Climate Project, who heard me speak in Nashville in May and has put his Brussels house at our disposal for accommodation – as well as taking delivery of various parcels to await our arrival.

Plus various friends at the United Nations, UK Department of the Environment and Climate Change, Act on Climate Change, the British Council, and many others who are lining up interviews and presentations for Alison and me in Copenhagen. It looks like our long and winding road through Europe is going to be worth the effort – and I am very much looking forward to seeing what we can achieve.

As with my ocean rows, when the going gets tough (and yesterday was!) it makes it so much easier to keep going when you know that in the end it’s all going to be worthwhile.

Thoughts of a more reflective nature coming soon, I hope, but it’s now 10.20pm and my pillow beckons. Tot ziens!

Hotel Postiljon at dawn this morning

A final note:

Last night’s top tips for places to dine and drink in Antwerp:

Pelgrom: if you love a sense of history, you’d adore this restaurant – vaulted ceilings and candelabra make for a uniquely gothic ambience!

The Eleventh Commandment (Elfde Gebod) – retired here for a nightcap, and spent a happy half hour commenting on the various facial expressions of the religious figurines that adorn every sill, shelf and beam. Endless entertainment!

Thanks again to Baldwin for two great recommendations!

And last but not least, a really great and very clean little hotel, right in the centre of Antwerp, offering excellent value accommodation – the Hotel Postiljon. Also a very decent breakfast to set us up for a good day’s walking – it was so nice to get some fresh fruit, as we’re mostly pretty done with the standard continental breakfast of bread, ham and cheese!

That was the question uppermost in Team BB2B’s minds when we traipsed into Antwerp today after a long day’s walk. Unfortunately early bed was not an option. After walking about 28km (plenty long enough on Day 12, with packs on backs) we found our hotel in Antwerp, just off the gloriously beautiful central square. Hungry and thirsty, we headed into the square to find refreshment, and were met by a local journalist and a camera crew from the local TV station.

Alison producing the goods for the camera - how does she find the energy?!

Alison is very good at pulling some energy out of the hat when a camera is pointed at her. And I struggle on through too. Media attention is a powerful motivator – after all, it is one of the key objectives of this walk to raise awareness and inspire action, and if that requires obliging local media when body and spirit has other ideas, then so be it.

But it’s not always easy. Team BB2B is still soldiering on, but legs and feet are suffering.

So, let’s talk about walking. It’s how human beings got around for many millennia. Many, many human beings worldwide still do. Without technical walking boots or Nike trainers. Often carrying large loads. Over rough and often hostile terrain. So how come we namby-pamby 21st century Western walkers are finding the going so tough?

A number of theories:

a) We’re just not used to it. Although Jane habitually walks 10 miles a day with her dogs, Alison is an extremely fit extreme skier, and I’ve been known to do a bit of rowing, we’re just not used to walking these distances day after day, carrying loads.

b) Since we arrived in continental Europe we have been walking mostly on paved cycle paths and pavements. This has been noticeably tougher on the joints than walking on the footpaths and trails of Essex.

c) And, errr, I don’t know what else. Maybe we’re just not used to having to tolerate pain. In this era of doctors, dentists, and painkillers, there are so many ways to avoid or medicate pain. We’re not used to just putting up with it. When something hurts, we want it fixed. And fast. Even a hundred years ago this was not possible for most people – even for those who could afford the best medical treatment, aches, pains and illness were a fact of life.

But to be philosophical about it, it is actually part of our mission that this walk should not be easy. Our message to the Copenhagen delegates says that nothing great is ever easy. There ARE obstacles along the way, but when you have a goal that matters to you, you just buckle down and get on with it. Some things are just worth fighting for, no matter what the pain.

And so we plow on. Today I was thinking about Oliver Hicks, whose film Tenacity on the Tasman I went to see the night before I left London (which seems SO long ago now!). During his row across the northern Atlantic in 2005, and again during his attempt on the Southern Ocean this year, he had the letters KBO in front of his rowing position. Attributed to Winston Churchill, it stands for Keep Buggering On. And that is what we will do. No matter what, through thick and thin, wet and dry, urban and rural. Only 3 more days to go. We have come so far already. KBO.

Alison, Jane and Laura checking the map - and note Dutch sign in the background. Both photos thanks to Nora McDevitt.

Other Stuff:

Today we walked across the border into Belgium in pleasant winter sunshine – a welcome change from the rain and cloudy skies that we encountered almost throughout our time in Holland. Several hours were spent walking through pretty woodland and small towns before we entered the outskirts of Antwerp. The industrial outer areas were a bit grim, but the center of the city is absolutely gorgeous – old squares, towering church spires, cosy cafes and characterful bars. I would happily return here to explore further. Recommended!

Would love to write more, but it’s now 9.30pm, and way past my bedtime. I can hear the cathedral bells chiming me to bed. The twin room I’m sharing with Alison is on the 3rd floor, so with my decrepit limbs it may take me some time to get up there. Time I hit the hay!

Today we were rejoined by our wonderful filmmaker Nora. She had had to return to New York for a few days to work on another film project (and yes, we ARE bugging her about her carbon footprint!) but today flew into Brussels and immediately set out to rejoin the Orange Jackets.

Meanwhile we had our work cut out. Many miles to cover today, and a few incipient injury worries. Having been the strongest walker throughout the first week of our trek, yesterday Laura developed a niggle in a thigh muscle. She had done all the right things – rest, massage, elevate, anti-inflammatories -but by midday today was clearly in quite a bit of pain. Mary has also been suffering since Day 1, when an old volleyball injury chose an inconvenient time to flare up again.

So it was with some relief that we learned that Nora and car were imminent. Not only could we get Laura and Mary off their feet, but Nora would have some drama for her documentary.

However, we ended up with a bit more drama than we’d counted on, and it was of our filmmaker’s own creation.

Nora arrives. Excited reunion. Quick bit of filming to record how Laura is feeling. Hit road again. 30 seconds later something else hits the road – Nora’s borrowed $7,000 camera. Something important-looking breaks open. I’m no technical expert but I know that when you can see circuit boards exposed it’s probably not a good sign. And when the jetlagged filmmaker spends several minutes desperately trying to cram the broken parts back together despite the obvious hopelessness of the task you know she’s probably going to be rather distraught about this latest development.

So tonight Nora is trying to find a replacement and/or a repair. Unfortunately my laptop had also been decanted into the car so Mary could use it when they got to the hotel ahead of us. So it is temporarily MIA.

On a happier note, we made good progress today in dry but overcast conditions. Most places in Holland are closed on a Monday, but around 11am we managed to find a hotel in Bergen op Zoom that was open for coffee. Thanks to blog follower Baldwin we were accosted on our way out of the town by two local reporters, who interviewed us as we pressed on out of the town. Thanks Baldwin!

P.S. 7pm We are now at the home of Baldwin and his wife Aey, who have very kindly invited us to join them for dinner. Sounds like we’re going to get to meet the neighbors and the parents as well. Happy days for our footsore team!

Laura - and a lot of not very much

When I am on the ocean I dream a lot. On dry land, less so, but last night was an exception. Maybe the monotony of the landscape we have been traversing since we reached Holland has triggered the same dream response that the ocean does.

My dreams are usually not much more than a re-hash of the day’s sensory input, jumbled up into some surreal juxtapositions – but while there is less sensory input, either on the ocean or in flat, grey Dutch landscapes, it takes less time for my sleeping brain to sort and assimilate it, leaving more time and headspace for dreams of a more interesting nature.

Last night’s dream started out in amusing enough fashion. Loosely based on Pirates of the Caribbean (but unfortunately not featuring Johnny Depp – boo!) I was the captain of a ship, breaking some news to the crew. The bad news was that all our booty had been plundered by another crew of pirates. The good news was that our boat had been chartered to make the next film in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga so we were going to have enough money to keep going.

But then a particular phrase popped out, which has been reverberating around my head all day – particularly this morning as we trudged through exceptionally flat and featureless surroundings, heads down into the rain.

The phrase was: He Who Controls The Wind Controls All The Ships.

Now, this might mean nothing, but given my current near-obsession with Copenhagen, and the fact that the phrase did not evaporate with the morning light as most of my dreams do, I had to give it due consideration. It does seem particularly relevant to Copenhagen. My goal in going to the conference is a little nebulous. What do I have to offer that is not already being offered by 350.org, the Climate Project, the Climate Group, WWF, or the multitude of other NGOs and individuals descending on the Danish capital?

Sign spotted by Alison in Essex - You've made the difference!

Yet despite the smallness of my individual voice in all this hubbub, I have a powerful feeling that I do have a message that, provided I get the opportunity to deliver it, might just be the one straw on the back of the one camel that could make a difference. My message may possibly strike a chord with someone, or some people, and end up changing the chemistry of the debate. This might sound big-headed, but you just never know – and for my own satisfaction I needed to know, when I look back on 2009 and this crucial moment in human history, that I did all I could to make a difference for the good.

This phrase from my dream seems to sum up what I hope to achieve. The wind is invisible, yet incredibly powerful (and don’t we know it after walking into or across it for the last few days!). If the wind represents the invisible energy of the Copenhagen conference, and the ships represent the countries which currently are heading every which way – with some on collision course – then if the wind of change can become strong enough to get all the ships moving in the same direction, there may be hope for a satisfactory outcome.

But my next question is, what IS the wind? What is this invisible force that could make all the difference? Is it the attitude of the US? Is it the governments of China and India? Is it the NGOs? Is it public opinion? Or is it something more spiritual – the intangible energy created wherever large numbers of humans congregate, especially when united by a common focus?

I don’t know the answer, but I’d welcome comments and opinions. Given the lead-up to the conference, it might seem impossible that we will see any decisive action. But who knows – if we can generate a sufficiently powerful wind of change, we may yet achieve the miracle we need in order to create a sustainable future for humanity.

Team BB2B with new friends Philip and Melanie in Holland

As we have passed through the countryside of England and Holland it has been interesting to gauge the level of awareness amongst Joe Public. Would a mention of Copenhagen produce blank looks, or an immediate recognition?

Generally it seems that, as marketing professionals would say, the Copenhagen climate change conference enjoys good brand awareness. Most people know what we are talking about. A few examples:

The postman in Dedham not only knew all about Copenhagen, but was planning to do his bit by going to London for the climate change march on December 5th.

A couple of men working in woodland in Essex, thinning out the trees, referred to their wood as a “carbon sink”. It was interesting to find that carbon sinks are now almost as much a part of the English vocabulary as kitchen sinks.

A Dutch chiropractor who got talking with us outside the Spar supermarket in Nieuwe Tonge not only knew about Copenhagen but had his own ideas about what countries should be there and what they should say. He had some interesting things to say about American representation… before realizing that we had two Americans in our party who were listening to his every word.

By definition, the people who have stopped to engage with us have been more than averagely engaged and interested – their curiosity about us probably extends to their attitude to the world at large, so they probably read the serious newspapers and pay attention to what is going on in the world. But even so, it has been heartening to find the level of awareness of the issues, the vocabulary, and what needs to be done to address the problem.

But are people taking action? That is harder to gauge. This is a problem that I have pondered at length. My perception is that awareness and action are both on the rise, but I am also keenly aware that the people I encounter are a self-selecting sample of the more actively engaged. And I have not been in a position (yet) to gauge awareness and action in countries such as India, China and Brazil.

I am sure that much work still remains to be done. There is no time for complacency.

Other Stuff:

Thanks, all, for your lovely comments! I’ve had very intermittent email access (most blogs have been posted by my mother after very hasty turning on of data roaming for just long enough to send her an email via my iPhone – ridiculously expensive otherwise), but whenever I manage to pick up my emails I pass your messages on to the team – and we all appreciate them very much!

(This message originally posted as a comment, but now replicated here to make sure everybody sees it.)

Loads of photos now posted online at our Flickr account – PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR GALLERY!!!

Today was challenging – flat, featureless and windy. But thankfully the rain that poured down throughout the night gave us a break, and we walked in mostly dry conditions. Heads down, chins up, striding out! Now in Oude Tonge, staying at the Hotel Lely.

The Hotel in Goedereede

Holland is flat, flat and low. Most of the land we were walking on today is below sea level, the water kept at bay by dykes and ditches. But today the element most on our minds was not water, but wind. We had to jag southwestwards in order to end up somewhere with accommodation, which took us straight into a headwind across some of the flattest, most exposed terrain that Holland can offer.

This morning we trekked across grey, wintry landscapes, huge vistas of grey clouds sweeping across the skies above us, while we passed humble, unadorned houses and smallholdings of goats, sheep, horses and hens – and even a few deer and rabbits. The terrain was bleak, and we just had to be grateful that it wasn’t raining, as the wind would have hurled the raindrops painfully into our faces. Settlements were few, and lunch was eaten quickly as we hunkered down in the one sheltered spot for miles around, in the lee of a park café closed for the winter.

This afternoon we had to cross a bridge across a dam, a huge feat of hydraulic engineering that left me feeling faintly scared of the gargantuan machinery, and the bridge seemed to go on forever – well, half an hour at least.

After a final stretch alongside a canal lined by leafless poplars we arrived at Goedereede, by far the prettiest place we had been since leaving Breille this morning. Narrow streets lined with old houses led us to our accommodation for the night – the Hotel de Gouden Leeuw, which we recognized by the eponymous golden lion projecting from its front wall.

With relief we dived out of the wind and into its main hall, a double-height room with a minstrels’ gallery, beamed wooden ceiling, iron chandelier, black and white tiled floor, and wooden wainscoting topped by a shelf along which are arranged assorted antique bric-a-brac – paintings of local scenes, a model boat, old-fashioned hotirons, woodcarvings, and a few traditional Dutch tiles. A huge ceramic beer pump dominates the bar. Up the narrow tiled staircase my spartan but clean little room on the top floor has a glorious view across the red roofs of the old town, and I can hear the church clock chiming the quarter hours. I feel like I have walked straight out of the 21st century and into a Vermeer painting.

Other Stuff:

It’s not easy being green….

One of the challenges of this venture from Big Ben to Brussels has been how to reconcile priorities that occasionally conflict. This morning was a good example.

A few days ago the team was falling apart – physically, not figuratively, I mean. Between us we had a list of injuries including blisters, swollen knees, potential stress fractures of the foot, and a couple of dodgy Achilles tendons. As the instigator of this whole crazy enterprise I had to think hard about how best to keep the show on the road.

The breakfast was better too. No full English available on the Brocade. We were woken this morning by a tannoy announcement letting us know that food was now being served. Team BB2B has found that we walk best on a good bellyful of breakfast, so we stoked up well on hot eggs, tomatoes, and toast.

We had cause to be glad of the calories. We emerged from the warmth of the ferry into a dark, wet Dutch morning. For the first 3 or 4 hours of our day we walked on an exposed pathway along the top of a dike, through driving rain and gale force winds. The landscape was bleak and industrial. After yesterday’s mellow sunshine and the pretty late autumn landscape of Essex’s Constable country, today seemed especially brutal.

The one bright spot of the morning came when two smiling people caught up with us and introduced themselves as Melanie and Philip. Melanie had been following my blog and they had decided to come and join us for our day’s walk – our first BB2B day guests. They had missed us at the ferry terminal, but had then spotted our orange jackets and caught up with us. Yet another good reason to be glad of our brightly colored waterproofs. They were well field-tested in the worst of conditions today, and came up trumps. Thanks yet again to Marmot!

Aside: 8 reasons why we love our orange Marmot jackets (Palisades model):

1. Resistant to rainwater by the bucketful
2. Sleeve pocket ideal for storing chocolate – not too hot, not too cold
3. Great hood design – hood stays up (even with ponytail) and keeps rain out
4. Top of zip doesn’t rub painfully
5. Snuggly fleece collar
6. Highly visible to day guests and to each other
7. Good for team spirit and cohesiveness – great that we all match
8. Color symbolic of change – what we need to do in Copenhagen if humans are to survive

Although my jacket kept me nice and dry, I hadn’t put enough clothes on before leaving the ferry and started to feel cold. But I was reluctant to take my waterproof off in order to add more layers underneath. Even a couple of minutes of exposure to the elements would have soaked me to the skin. So I plodded on.

I was losing touch with my toes when at last we found the ferry that would take us on the short ride across an inlet from the sea – and to the refuge of a café on the other side. After putting on ALL the clothes from my rucksack, and gulping down a hot chocolate, with a large slice of apple pie on the side, I started to feel better. A bowl of mushroom soup completed my restoration to health and happiness.

We had to do a few more miles through the industrial landscape before at last our path turned towards Brielle, away from the road and into the countryside. The skies cleared and the sun came out, and my perception of Holland started to become more favourable.

After passing many modern wind turbines, we spotted a proper traditional wooden windmill as we took the final turn in the path that would lead us to Brielle. It turned out to be a gorgeous little town, with quaint old Dutch-gabled houses, restaurants and shops lining a canalful of boats. We are now sitting in the hotel bar with Melanie and Philip, drinking tea and munching on biscuits and chocolate. Chocophile Indian Ocean rower Sarah Outen texted me today to insist that we eat “copious amounts of Belgian chocolate” in her honor – so we are gladly obeying orders. The things I have to do for my friends…!

P.S. I have a load of really lovely photos that I want to use to illustrate this post. However… having spent 10 Euros for internet access, this is what happened:

a) I cannot log on from my MacBook – spent 1:30 hrs trying

b) I am now using the hotel PC, which allowed me to copy using the right mouse button, but did not allow paste using the same – 20 mins

c) Now refuses to recognize the photos on my USB drive, even though it was perfectly happy to recognize the text file of the blog – spent 40 mins trying

d) Now about to run out of minutes on my internet access. Now 10pm, and today started at 5am UK time. Have totally lost the will to live.

e) iPhone blogging (used several times in last few days to email blog and photos to Mum for her to post online) is far too expensive from here.

f) Have not been able to access emails. Probably have 100 unread by now – in addition to the existing backlog of 88.

g) So am going to bed in despair. Will try tomorrow to post the photos. Really sorry.

h) Sigh….

High spirits on the walk today-Laura in ebullient mood in the sunshine.

Sailing tonight from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, so abbreviated blog.

Just a swift update: Lovely day’s walking from picturesque Dedham to Harwich after fab breakfast at the Sun Inn. Have decided that humungous breakfast + sunshine = happy walkers.

Fun evening at The Ha’penny Pier bistro in Harwich. Long term blog reader Karen came to join us for dinner. Will be forever grateful to her for her incomparable text messages during Atlantic crossing in 2005. E.g., during especially low moment, “Chin up, tits out!”

Now on board ferry. Comfy bunks, en suite bathroom, all mod cons. Bit more luxurious than my rowboat!

Girls well supplied with ginger, hoping to avoid seasickness. Tomorrow we awake in Holland.

One country down, two to go!

Treading lightly on the earth/mud

It’s not easy to tread lightly upon the earth when you have 10lb of mud on each boot, but we try….

If yesterday was the hump day, maybe today was the clump day. The forecast was for sunshine and rain – but we got very little of either. It was a day of grey skies and grey fields. Thank heavens for our bright orange jackets and baseball caps to brighten up the day. I had the feeling that orange – as well as being symbolic of change – would be just the ray of sunshine we needed to boost our spirits on a drab winter’s day. And as I increasingly find as I tune into my intuition, it has turned out to be a great success.

The only dodgy orange moment was when we entered a field past a sign saying “Beware of the bull”. Laura asked the key question: “So what are we supposed to do about it?” To which I replied, “Not wave any red hankies in its direction?” “And what about bright orange jackets?” came the rather too pertinent response.

Shorthorn bull

Luckily the bulls, although large and funny-faced, were mostly benign. After a few faintly hostile glares they ambled off out of our way.

Today the challenges were less bovine, more medical. Jane has some new boots – alas, not Keens, our sponsor’s footwear not being available in Colchester at short notice – and by swapping between her new boots and Laura’s old boots was able to adjust the pressure points on her feet at regular intervals. Alison’s knee is like a melon, but she soldiers on stoically. We are considering how to make it through the rest of our journey without anyone suffering permanent injury, and have lined up a few environmentally friendly contingency plans.

Ouch! Jane's heel

It is fascinating to think that 200 years ago – even 100 years ago – walking was THE way to travel. Our 20th/21st century bodies are just not used to walking long mileages day after day. What softies we’ve become! Yet, no matter the aches and pains, it still feels pleasantly natural and, well, HUMAN to move at walking pace. When we cross over a motorway or major road, the traffic seems to whizz by at an indecently fast pace, the smell of exhaust fumes unpleasant, and the roar of internal combustion engines displeasing to our ears. By contrast walking, for all its limitations, seems to connect us to our human heritage. We have time to notice trees and wonder at their species, we surprise rabbits by approaching unheard, we send pheasants flapping hectically out of hedgerows as we pass. We see people working in their gardens and have time to say “Good morning” and comment on the weather.

It feels good.

Tomorrow night we take the ferry. Not as environmentally low impact as we’d hoped to be, but we didn’t manage to find a sailboat to take us across – and given the weather conditions the ferry is

probably a more reliable bet than sail. Out of interest, here are the CO2 comparisons:

Options for the outwards journey:

Flying from London to Brussels produces approximately 400 kg of CO2 per person.
Train (Eurostar) produces about 20 kg of CO2.
Our choice: Walking (with ferry across the North Sea to Holland) produces only 12 kg.

And for the return journey:

Flying from Copenhagen to London produces over 360 kg of CO2.
Our choice: A train ride from Copenhagen to London produces approximately 55 kg of CO2 per passenger.

To put this in perspective:

‣ The UK’s total carbon footprint is over 500 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of over 420 million flights from New York to Los Angeles. Individuals account for 45% of this.
‣ The average carbon footprint per person in the UK is 10 tonnes. The average Indian is less than 2 tonnes and the average American or Saudi is closer to 20 tonnes.

And Alison is sitting here in the Sun Inn, Dedham (home town of the painter Constable) reminding me that if we want to save our snow – and the planet – we ALL need to get down to 2 tonnes. Wow.

Other Stuff:

Lovely mention by Act on Copenhagen, a subdivision of the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change – click here to see it.

Please support my friend David Kroodsma, veteran of the Climate Ride (bicycle ride from New York to DC), tech guy for 350.org, long distance cyclist (San Francisco to Tierra del Fuego) and all-round good guy. He is hoping to be selectedby the Huffington Post as their Hopenhagen Ambassador to report back from Copenhagen. I personally would love to see him there, and believe he would make a great correspondent. Please watch his video and vote for him here!

[All photos today: credit to Alison Gannett and her trusty iPhone!]

The World's Most Confusing Signpost

We had wondered in advance which would be our “hump day”, as the Americans call it. This might possibly have rather different connotations in the UK, but in the context of an all-female hiking group it means the toughest day, when the aches and pains have kicked in but the new fitness levels haven’t.

I’m rather hoping that today was the hump day, because if we get much more decrepit than this we might be in trouble. We were not helped today by some very muddy sections, that in mere minutes added pounds of clodded earth to our boots and further slowed our weary legs.
Jane’s feet were causing her some problems, even though her boots are very well worn in, so she decided to start a new trend – hiking loafers. Her evening shoes provided a welcome break for her feet. They did the trick surprisingly well, at least until we were able to stop at a garden centre for our lunch break and she bought some very fetching pink wellies. Of course, what she REALLY needs is some Keen boots, but we tried phoning around nearby outdoor shops, to no avail, alas.
Dodgy knees are an occupational hazard of the extreme skier, and Alison’s have undergone 8 surgeries in their lifetime. She calls them her Frankenstein knees. Today she was finding it more comfortable to jog gently rather than walk, as jogging brought into play her well-developed skier’s thighs and took the pressure off her calves.

I’m feeling a little bit of general tiredness in my ankles and hips, but otherwise not too bad. And Laura is still fit as a fiddle.

We’re all generally holding it together, and spirits are good as ever, but we are lining up a few contingency plans just in case – possibly renting a couple of bicycles for a few days when we get to Holland. We just hope that our navigator, Jane, stays the course. She might get a lot of abuse during the final “Jane miles” of the day, but we’d be lost – literally! – without her.

Tonight we are staying in Marks Tey, at the home of Laura’s brother. Luckily he wasn’t here to see 4 bedraggled, mud-coated women traipse up his driveway just before dusk.

As I sit here typing this, Jane has gone into Colchester to seek better footwear. Alison is hobbling around getting organized. Laura, as the most able-bodied member of the team and at least a near relative of the homeowner, is on cooking duties. And Mary is on her way back to her studies at the University of Essex. We are hoping her absence is only temporarily, as we’re trying to press-gang her into coming over to Holland to help us out with logistics. She has proved herself so indispensable that we will drug and abduct her if need be.

It is quite amazing how the team has already gelled. For a very random assortment of distant acquaintances, we are getting along famously. Even our various decrepitudes have not caused tempers to fray. What a team – BB2B, or not 2B…. boom, boom!

Team BB2B: Laura, Jane and Roz

Today we finally got into the groove. Days 1 and 2 were a bit stoppy-starty, but today we had no time for delay. 18 miles planned, so after stoking ourselves up with a magnificent full English breakfast at Ivy Cottage (Greensted Green) we departed promptly at 8.15am.

Last night I had woken several times to the sound of torrential rain, so had been suitably apprehensive about what kind of day would greet us, but we set out under clear blue rainwashed skies, and the first few hours of walking were a sheer joy.

The film crew also got into their groove today – largely thanks to Mary, an American student at the University of Essex and an unofficial addition to our core team. She had had to drop out of walking after Day 1 due to an old sporting injury. But for the rest of us this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Last night she carefully plotted out our route, and figured out places where our film crew car could intercept our walk. Repeatedly today we would round a corner to be greeted by the sight of a bright orange Marmot jacket on the far side of a field, camera pointed in our direction. We were able to forge on without frequent phone calls between the two halves of our team trying to arrange rendezvous points.

[Note: the carbon emissions of the camera car are being offset by Carbon Foresight, as are our ferry journeys across the North Sea to the Hook of Holland.]

Roz clambering over a stile - in style. Note the Keen boots - stood up well to the ultimate wet test today!

But the mellow late autumn weather of the morning did not last. Gradually the clouds gathered and by lunchtime we had our heads down and hoods up, battling through torrential rain and hail, our boots growing heavy with accumulated mud. I started counting paces, just as I count strokes on the ocean when the going gets tough. The difference this time was having the rest of a team around me. When the going gets tough, it’s great to have partners in grime!

Luckily we had a welcome refuge to look forward to. Some good friends live in a house rejoicing in the name of Fridays, which lay directly on our route if we took a shortcut by diverging from the Essex Way. At 1pm, just as the rain stopped, we reached the home of the Cherrys. We were able to dry ourselves out in front of their Aga stove, and gorge ourselves on hot coffee and chocolate cake. After a blissful 30 minutes in their kitchen we hit the road again feeling restored, dry, and happy, leaving little evidence of our visit but a pile of cake crumbs and a few dollops of mud.

More good news – Jane our navigator discovered that 1 mile of the route repeated itself on the other side of the map, so what had looked like 5 miles turned out to be closer to 4. Happy days! So after a shorter than expected time we entered Chatham Green and saw a sign saying “Windmill Inn 100 yds”.

Checking the map: is that a statute mile, a nautical mile, a country mile, or a Jane mile?!

So we all had to eat our words. The last couple of days we had been getting tired and looking forward to reaching our destination, and had been reassured by our esteemed navigator that we had just one more mile to go. 20 minutes later, it would appear that we STILL had one more mile to go. And et cetera. So we had started to joke that there are statute miles, nautical miles, country miles, and Jane miles.

But today we were set up to expect 18 miles, and the final tally after the Fridays shortcut and the overlap mile between one side of the map and the other was a mere (!) 16 miles, or 31,648 steps.

Just goes to show, when you aim really high, to achieve even a little less is a major achievement.

Other Stuff:

We passed through another verb-ish sounding town today: Chipping Ongar. We thought of several possible meanings for Chipping:

a)    to feel chipper, cheerful
b)    to chip away at a long journey, one step or one mile at a time
c)    to eat lots of chips to restore carbohydrates after a long day’s walking
d)    to walk briskly in an attempt to keep up with the turbo-charged Jane.

Chipping along the Essex Way - Go Team BB2B!

So we have now Wapped, Epped and Chipped our way through East London and Essex. Oh, and walked a bit too. About 45 miles down, 205ish to go. But when you’re having as much fun as we are, who’s counting?!

Nora, our American filmmaker, left us this evening after dinner. She has to go back to the US for a few days to work on another project, but plans to return by Dec 1 at the latest. She recorded our dinnertime conversation tonight as we discussed sustainability, energy security, environmental messaging, politics, business, and financial strategies for a greener – and more prosperous – future. And the great thing was that the conversation was not at all contrived. These are just the things we care about and talk about in a genuine exchange of ideas and a search for solutions.

Team BB2B is putting the world to rights, one idea and one mile at a time!

Alison - Epping

Much of today has been spent walking through lovely woods of oak and beech as we headed out of London through Epping Forest. According to our navigator Jane, King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth 1 used to hunt in this ancient forest.  Once beyond Epping we got into rolling agricultural land, criss-crossed by streams and ditches and tiny villages and masses of farms.

We were lucky with the weather. Parts of the Lake District in the north of England are suffering floods after record-breaking rainfalls that one Labour MP described as “Biblical”. The Met Office gauging station at Seathwaite recorded 314.4mm (12.3 inches) in 24 hours, compared to the previous record of 279mm (11 inches) which fell in Martinstown, Dorset in 1955.

We, on the other hand, spent most of the day in lovely mellow autumn sunshine, bringing out the gorgeous golds and oranges of the leaves still clinging to the beech boughs. Only later on did we get a few drops of rain, which coincided with the muddiest stretch of our walk as we squelched along footpaths in the aforementioned “rolling agricultural land”. But, as Winston Churchill said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” The same applies to mud. No way to go but onwards.

As we walked I chatted with Alison, the extreme skier who regularly hurls herself off the top of cliffs. She euphemistically describes them as “shower curtain slopes” – which gives you some idea how steep they are. We compared notes on our respective activities – and how we both find that the time we spend in our wildernesses help us to reconnect with what is important. We’ve both had people to say to us that they don’t know how we can be happy spending time alone, so far from “civilization”. I find this interesting.

Much as I love being around people, I really do love spending time alone. I get a bit stressed if I go too long without my me-time. 100 days of solitude at a stretch is almost too much of a good thing, but it’s a great time to step off the world, reflect, get to know myself, and remind ourselves what really matters. So many trivialities fall away when you’re in an extreme environment. The basic human needs of food, water, and rest become all-important – and you realize how little else is.

And you don’t even have to go to the top of a sheer cliff or the middle of the ocean to do it. Just walking through the wilds of Essex (which, to compare it to the US, is probably our equivalent of New Jersey, i.e. not very wild at all) is enough to feel like we’re getting away from it all, that all the clutter of email and internet and everyday life is receding into the distance. It’s not exactly Chris McCandless territory (Into The Wild), but I’m still getting a lovely feeling of reconnecting with nature, regrounding myself on the Earth.

This is a very special time, and I feel very lucky to be here with my fantastic BB2B teammates. Thanks, girls!

Other Stuff:

We seem to be walking through a lot of places that sound like verbs. Wapping yesterday. Epping today. We’re working on definitions.

Today we decided, while eating lunch in a lovely tearoom in Epping – which opened only a week ago, just in time for us – that Epping is what an American does when they steal the spoon out of the sugar bowl to stir their tea, resulting in a sticky spoon with sugar coating. See photo.

Definition for Wapping still open to debate. Any offers?!

I was using my solar-powered pedometer today  (Savage branded ones available on my store, in BB2B orange – only $5.59!). For most of the day I kept it clipped to my pocket, but then got worried it was too vulnerable there to being knocked off and lost. So I clipped it onto my sports bra, safe in my cleavage. Unfortunately I forgot it was solar-powered, and it’s probably rather dark in there. So now I want to tell you my final step count and I can’t. Aha!!! As I speak, the artificial light in the kitchen of our B&B has just resuscitated it. Final count = 29,742. About 15 miles. Not bad going!

Caption: Laura with Earth Ball (NOT the one that escaped) in front of Tower Bridge

Not apocalypse now, as it might sound, but one of our Earth Balls coming a cropper early today. After a start considerably delayed by a pleasing amount of media interest in our departure from Big Ben, we set out to start our walk to Brussels, packs on backs and inflated Earth Balls on packs. We were walking along the Thames Path towards Tower Bridge when my phone rang. It was the Associated Press news agency wanting to verify a few facts.

I was just talking with them when I heard a pop and turned around to see an Earth Ball (not mine, but I’m not going to name names) float over the railings and down into the Thames. I burst out laughing, at the same time gasping in horror that we had not only lost an Earth, but also inadvertently dropped a piece of plastic in the river. I then had to explain to the AP journalist what was going on.

“We just lost Planet Earth,” I said. “Luckily, we have another nine.” Then a useful soundbite popped into my head. “Unluckily the same can’t be said of the real Earth. That’s what we’re going to Copenhagen to say. We’ve got just the one Earth, and we have to look after it. In real life, we don’t have any spares.”

And that’s really what it’s all about. We need to clean up our act, and soon, if we’re going to have a nice clean, healthy planet to live on, rather than one polluted with toxins, trash, and, errr, errant Earth Balls.

Fortunately the rest of the day passed without incident. We walked along the Thames Path for a while, then turned north along Regent’s Canal, then followed the River Lea out towards Walthamstow. After an early downpour – which unfortunately coincided exactly with our photo shoot for the press on Westminster Bridge – the skies cleared and the winter sun shone weakly on us as we walked along footpaths and towpaths through the of East London. After our late start it was nearly a couple of hours after dark by the time Jane successfully navigated us to the County Hotel in Woodford.

We have already gathered quite a healthy number of signatures on our Earth Balls – everyone from the patrons of the tiny Caffe Nero where we assembled for our pre-walk breakfast to a group of schoolchildren we met on the canal towpath.

A few thank yous are in order:

Thanks to Marmot for our lovely matching orange waterproof jackets. They looked absolutely splendid for our photo shoot this morning, brightened up an otherwise dreary day, and also made it easy for us to spot each other if the group started to stretch out too much.

Thanks to Keen for my lovely walking boots. After a mere hour of breaking in yesterday, they performed magnificently today, with nary a blister in sight.

Thanks to Sue Losson of Green People for turning up to see us off this morning, despite the inhospitable weather. And to Alan Murray of Murray PR on a great job of getting the press along to witness our departure.

And – of course – to all our backers on Kickstarter, and all the other people who emailed or texted today to wish us good luck on our walk. 15 miles down, 235 to go!

And last but not least, the wonderful women of Team BB2B – Jane, Laura, Alison, Nora, and Mary. It makes a welcome change to have company  -  and such great company too.

Michael Palin (photogenic) and me (not photogenic) at the RGS today

I had a big day at the Royal Geographical Society today, speaking as part of their Explore seminar weekend, on “Journey with a Purpose”. The last time I attended Explore was in 2002, shortly after I launched myself into a life of adventure, when ocean rowing was not even a glint in my eye and I was getting ready for an archaeological expedition to Peru. I was the “sponsorship organizer” for the expedition, i.e. the muggins on the team who didn’t know just what a tough call sponsorship is!

Explore was an amazing induction into the life of adventure –an intense series of talks from all kinds of luminaries of the world of exploration, sharing the benefit of their accumulated wisdom. I can still remember some of the presentations now – and my memory isn’t usually that good, so they must have made an impact.

And now, 7 years on, I was there again. All those years ago I would never have dreamed that I would one day be hearing Shane Winser, the esteemed and universally respected doyenne of the Expedition Advisory Centre, describing me as “one of the foremost female explorers” or some such thing – incredibly high praise, coming from someone who has seen more than her fair share of adventurers. In fact, I wasn’t sure how I’d live up to the generosity of her introduction.

But it all seemed to go pretty well. I only had a few minutes, which happily restricted the amount of nonsense I could talk. My theme was how to use an expedition to serve a greater purpose – as an advocate for a cause. I was extremely happy when Shane asked me to speak on this subject, as this year has seen a big evolution in me finding my voice as an environmental advocate, and condensing that learning experience into a 10-minute talk in an attempt to share with others such things as I may have learned was a very good process for me.

And I must have made some sense, because many of the members of the audience came up to me afterwards to say that my words had resonated with them. Different people picked up on different things that I had said, so even if not every person found everything useful, at least most people found something useful.

So that was very cool. Also extremely cool was getting to meet Michael Palin, the new President of the RGS. He gave his talk just after me, and I bagged him outside the coffee room to thank him for the wonderful audiobooks that kept me entertained for so many hours at the oars this summer. My favorite Palin books:

1. Around the World in 80 Days

2. Full Circle

3. Himalaya

4. Michael Palin’s Hemingway Adventure

5. Sahara

He was most gracious, and agreed to be photographed with me. He also asked if I would like to lecture at the RGS. Yes please – was my most emphatic reply! So maybe one day….I also confided in him that one day I want his job – to be paid by the BBC to go travel the world and write books about it. Would be amazing if that dream came true.

In case I got too carried away with my big dreams, tonight I decided to put things in perspective by going to the movies for a dose of disaster – 2012, which was released yesterday. But I’m tired now, and back to the RGS early in the morning for some lectures on expedition technology. Although I reckon I know a thing or two about it, there’s always more to learn. So review for 2012 coming tomorrow.

P.S. An afterthought – I was only able to stick around for a few of the other lectures today, as I’m in the thick of organizing our Big Ben to Brussels walk, but of the other ones I heard, all seemed to include some element of advocacy or research – often relating to environmental issues such as extinction of species or climate change. So now that “adventure” is what so many travel companies are selling – and it still baffles me how you can sell a prepackaged and prescheduled “adventure” – maybe the people that we would once have called adventurers are now classified as expeditioners to differentiate them from the tourist-adventurers. And explorers? Do we have anything left that can feasibly be explored? Or are explorers now also an extinct species – or at least on the endangered list?

A new version of our logo - but one final refinement still to come...

This evening Jane emailed through an outline plan for Belgium, so for anyone who would like to join us for the whole walk, or for the European side of the journey, here we go – the combined UK and Belgium routes. Both countries well known for their beer! Well, we have to replenish our carbs somehow…

Day 1 Friday 20th November 2009
About 14 miles (5 from Big Ben to Limehouse Basin, 2.5 to the Foot Tunnel, 5 to Eltham, 2 to Sunridge Park)
10.00 am Big Ben London – meet with the media
10.30 start walk – head East along the Thames Path on the Northern side of the river
12.30 Limehouse Basin
1.15 Northern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
1.30 Southern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel then walk south through Greenwich Park, Blackheath, cross the A2 and turn to the east along Shooters Hill until turning south into Kidbrooke Grove.  Take first east into Westbrook Road and continue until the T junction with Rochester Way.  Turn south down Rochester Way and continue along, over the A2 until Bridbook Road.  Turn down Bridbrook Road (south/south/west) and continue under the A2 and into Eltham Green Road (south).  Continue southward until the A210, Eltham Road, cross the road, and cross Westhorne Avenue, turn eastward to the major roundabout and pick up Middle Park Avenue.  Continue down Middle Park Avenue until the junction with Eltham Palace Road, turn east, continue until Eltham Palace and the grounds are in front of you and pick up St John’s Walk.
3.00 Pick up St John’s Walk at Eltham Palace and follow to Mottingham, picking up the Green Chain Walk.
At Elmstead Wood leave the Green Chain Walk and walk through to Sunridge Park and the Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 1 Accommodation: Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 2 Saturday 21st November
Approximately 16 miles (10 to Eynsford and then 6 to South Street)
8.30 start from Sunridge Park Hotel – walk north/east to pick up the Green Chain Walk at the edge of Elmstead Wood.  Walk through Chislehurst west to Chislehurst Common.
9.15 Chisltehurst Common then through the edge of Park Wood and into St Paul’s Cray.  Cross the River Cray at Brooks Way, and pick up the footpath that joins to Chapmans Lane between Cray Valley Golf Club and Pauls Cray Hill Park which links to Hockenden.
From Hockenden take the eastern bridlepath and then footpath across the fields along the side of Bourne Wood crossing the railway by the footbridge and continuing until picking up the back road into Crockenhill
11.30 Centre of Crockenhill, follow the Church Road southwards and then turn east down Harvest Way and pick up the footpath at the end of the road and continue until the M25, turn south east and follow the footpath along until the subway under the motorway, continue along the path the other side, connecting up to a track that takes you through Hulberry Farm and then pick up the Darent Valley Path, traverse the railway line and into Eynesford.
12.30 Eynsford Pub: The Malt Shovel Inn
1.00 From Eynsford to in a northerly direction along the A225 until a small turning to the right signposted Prior Lane, take that and pick up the bridleway across the fields, pick up Donkey Lane, cross the A20 and continue on the footpath to Gabrielspring Wood.  Turn left towards the M20 and follow the path to the footbridge across the motorway.  Once over the motorway take the path straight ahead to the wood, entering the wood and then turning right after a short distance.  This track follows down to Speedgate Farm and the road.  Turn right at the road, continue straight across at the cross roads with Oak Racing Kennels to your left, picking up a path at the edge of the kennels to the left.  Follow that to the embankment of the M20 and in front there should be a junction with one road going under the motorway and another going away in front of you, Brands Hatch Road.  Follow the road along, taking the left hand branch and crossing straight over at the cross roads towards Ash.  At the T juncion to New Ash Green take the footpath straight ahead, joining a road again as you go past Ash Place Farm to pick up a bridleway to White Ash Wood.  Half way through the wood take the right hand path going east, cross the road picking up the path on the opposite side which takes you south eastward past another wood, picking up a track and into Ridley.  In Ridley turn left on the road and then right at the junction along Bunkers Hill towards South Street.  Continue along this road for about half a mile going straight across at the cross roads until you come into South Street.

Day 2 Accommodation: Beechfield B&B, South Street

Day 3 Sunday 22nd November
Approximately 14.5 miles (About 5.5 to Medway Bridge, then 9 miles to Thurnham)
9.00am start from South Street.  Follow Heron Hill eastward until just after the end of the village where there is a confusion of footpaths and bridlepaths.  Where the land bends to the left take the footpath to the south, then after a very short distance there should be a branch that goes south easterly over a field towards Harvel.  Take this and go into Harvel Village, turn left at the road then right at the cross roads and continue out of the village, past a road to the left and shortly after this there should be a track/footpath to the left which goes to Little Delmar Farm.  Take this track and at Little Delmar Farm you pick up the Wealdway.  Cross the road and continue southward on the Wealdway, through Lie Wood, Luson Wood and to Lockyers Hill where you pick up the road.  At the triangle road junction take the footpath to the east, and continue eastward through a wood, at this junction you should meet up with the North Downs Way which is coming up from the south.
About 2.00pm passing through Kits Coty and briefly resting at Kits Coty Brassier on the Old Chatham Road.

Day 3 Accommodation: Black Horse Inn, Pilgrims Way, Thurnham

Day 4 Monday 23rd November
About 18 miles
8.30am start from the Black Horse, going North to pick up the North Downs Way again.
North Downs Way via Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Charing (possibly stopping here for a brief rest), Dunn Street, Boughton Lees to Wye.

Day 4 Accommodation: Wye (Wife Of Bath Inn or Kings Head)

Day 5 Tuesday 24th November
Longest day: just over 20 miles
8.30am start, prompt!!  Wye to Etchinghill, past the Channel Tunnel Terminal, Folkestone, Capel-le Ferne and into Dover.

Day 5 Accommodation: Dover with ferry crossing to Calais on the morning of Day 6 (Wednesday 25th November)

BELGIUM

Day 6 (Wednesday 25th) (@10 miles)
Ferry from Dover to Calais.  Foot passengers book in 45 minutes ahead of crossing, P&O crossing takes 90 minutes.  9.15am sailing arrives 11.45 (cost on 5th Nov: £14.00 per adult)
12.00 start walking: Calais to Marck
Accommodation: Le manoir du meldick
2528, Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 62730 Marck, Pas-de-Calais, France  03 21 85 74 34‎

Day 7 (Thursday 26th) (@20 miles)
Marck to Dunkerque

Day 8 (Friday 27th) (@20 miles)
Dunkerque to Neuiwpoort

Day 9 (Saturday 28th) (@ 18 miles)
Neuiwpoort to Diksmuide

Day 10 (Sunday 29th) (about 18 miles)
Diksmuide to Ruddervoorde
Accommodation: Domein Leegendael   domeinleegendael.be
Kortrijksestraat 498
8020 Ruddervoorde, Oostkamp, Belgium  050 67 96

Day 11 (Monday 30th) (about 18 miles)
Ruddervoorde to Lotenhulle
Accommodation: Lomolen B&B   lomolenlogies.be
Lomolenstraat 112
9880 Lotenhulle, Aalter, Belgium  09 371 95 15

Day 12 (Tuesday 1st December) (about 20 miles)
Lotenhulle to Ghent

Day 13 (Wednesday 2nd) (about 18 miles)
Ghent to Appels
Accommodation: ets Jerry Pierre‎
Hoofdstraat 53
9200 Dendermonde, Belgium  052 21 14 07

Day 14 (Thursday 3rd) (about 18 miles)
Appels to Mollem
Accommodation: B&B Kezenestje    kezenestje.be
Kezeweide 33
1730 Mollem, Asse, Belgium  02 452 76 59

Peeters / B.
Voorstehoeve 42
1730 Mollem, Belgium  02 452 63 61

Day 15 (Friday 4th) (about 12 miles)
Mollem to Brussels

Our draft logo for BB2B, although likely to end up with two feet on the Earth. Two feet definitely better than one!

Hot off the press – this is our planned route for the first few days from Big Ben to Brussels. We would love it if you want to come and join us for part of our walk. Details of the second leg from Dunkerque to Brussels coming soon, when our wonderfully efficient route-planner Jane manages to get hold of some better maps for Belgium.

Note from Jane: “I have assessed the times over the first two days on a walking speed of about 3 to 3.5 miles per hour  ALL TIMES ARE APPROXIMATE (that also applies to mileages!)”

Note from me: VERY IMPORTANT! We are exploring a number of options for crossing the Channel. At the moment we are planning to take the ferry, but if a zero-carbon option becomes available we will leap at the chance. So ALL PLANS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT SHORT NOTICE! Please do check the website for updates before you set out to join us. Any changes will be posted here as soon as we know about them.

We can’t offer to arrange accommodation and food for everybody, alas – it would be logistically impossible to organize this for an unknown number of people – so you’ll need to be self-sufficient. But you WILL have the opportunity to be interviewed for our documentary, and be a part of a historic adventure!

Day 1 Friday 20th November 2009
About 14 miles (5 from Big Ben to Limehouse Basin, 2.5 to the Foot Tunnel, 5 to Eltham, 2 to Sunridge Park)
10.00 am Big Ben London – meet with the media
10.30 start walk – head East along the Thames Path on the Northern side of the river
12.30 Limehouse Basin
1.15 Northern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
1.30 Southern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel then walk south through Greenwich Park, Blackheath, cross the A2 and turn to the east along Shooters Hill until turning south into Kidbrooke Grove.  Take first east into Westbrook Road and continue until the T junction with Rochester Way.  Turn south down Rochester Way and continue along, over the A2 until Bridbook Road.  Turn down Bridbrook Road (south/south/west) and continue under the A2 and into Eltham Green Road (south).  Continue southward until the A210, Eltham Road, cross the road, and cross Westhorne Avenue, turn eastward to the major roundabout and pick up Middle Park Avenue.  Continue down Middle Park Avenue until the junction with Eltham Palace Road, turn east, continue until Eltham Palace and the grounds are in front of you and pick up St John’s Walk.
3.00 Pick up St John’s Walk at Eltham Palace and follow to Mottingham, picking up the Green Chain Walk.
At Elmstead Wood leave the Green Chain Walk and walk through to Sunridge Park and the Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 1 Accommodation: Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 2 Saturday 21st November
Approximately 16 miles (10 to Eynsford and then 6 to South Street)
8.30 start from Sunridge Park Hotel – walk north/east to pick up the Green Chain Walk at the edge of Elmstead Wood.  Walk through Chislehurst west to Chislehurst Common.
9.15 Chislehurst Common then through the edge of Park Wood and into St Paul’s Cray.  Cross the River Cray at Brooks Way, and pick up the footpath that joins to Chapmans Lane between Cray Valley Golf Club and Pauls Cray Hill Park which links to Hockenden.
From Hockenden take the eastern bridlepath and then footpath across the fields along the side of Bourne Wood crossing the railway by the footbridge and continuing until picking up the back road into Crockenhill
11.30 Centre of Crockenhill, follow the Church Road southwards and then turn east down Harvest Way and pick up the footpath at the end of the road and continue until the M25, turn south east and follow the footpath along until the subway under the motorway, continue along the path the other side, connecting up to a track that takes you through Hulberry Farm and then pick up the Darent Valley Path, traverse the railway line and into Eynesford.
12.30 Eynsford Pub: The Malt Shovel Inn
1.00 From Eynsford to in a northerly direction along the A225 until a small turning to the right signposted Prior Lane, take that and pick up the bridleway across the fields, pick up Donkey Lane, cross the A20 and continue on the footpath to Gabrielspring Wood.  Turn left towards the M20 and follow the path to the footbridge across the motorway.  Once over the motorway take the path straight ahead to the wood, entering the wood and then turning right after a short distance.  This track follows down to Speedgate Farm and the road.  Turn right at the road, continue straight across at the cross roads with Oak Racing Kennels to your left, picking up a path at the edge of the kennels to the left.  Follow that to the embankment of the M20 and in front there should be a junction with one road going under the motorway and another going away in front of you, Brands Hatch Road.  Follow the road along, taking the left hand branch and crossing straight over at the cross roads towards Ash.  At the T juncion to New Ash Green take the footpath straight ahead, joining a road again as you go past Ash Place Farm to pick up a bridleway to White Ash Wood.  Half way through the wood take the right hand path going east, cross the road picking up the path on the opposite side which takes you south eastward past another wood, picking up a track and into Ridley.  In Ridley turn left on the road and then right at the junction along Bunkers Hill towards South Street.  Continue along this road for about half a mile going straight across at the cross roads until you come into South Street.

Day 2 Accommodation: Beechfield B&B, South Street

Day 3 Sunday 22nd November
Approximately 14.5 miles (About 5.5 to Medway Bridge, then 9 miles to Thurnham)
9.00am start from South Street.  Follow Heron Hill eastward until just after the end of the village where there is a confusion of footpaths and bridlepaths.  Where the land bends to the left take the footpath to the south, then after a very short distance there should be a branch that goes south easterly over a field towards Harvel.  Take this and go into Harvel Village, turn left at the road then right at the cross roads and continue out of the village, past a road to the left and shortly after this there should be a track/footpath to the left which goes to Little Delmar Farm.  Take this track and at Little Delmar Farm you pick up the Wealdway.  Cross the road and continue southward on the Wealdway, through Lie Wood, Luson Wood and to Lockyers Hill where you pick up the road.  At the triangle road junction take the footpath to the east, and continue eastward through a wood, at this junction you should meet up with the North Downs Way which is coming up from the south.
About 2.00pm passing through Kits Coty and briefly resting at Kits Coty Brassier on the Old Chatham Road.

Day 3 Accommodation: Black Horse Inn, Pilgrims Way, Thurnham

Day 4 Monday 23rd November
About 18 miles
8.30am start from the Black Horse, going North to pick up the North Downs Way again.
North Downs Way via Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Charing (possibly stopping here for a brief rest), Dunn Street, Boughton Lees to Wye.

Day 4 Accommodation: Wye (Wife Of Bath Inn or Kings Head)

Day 5 Tuesday 24th November
Longest day: just over 20 miles
8.30am start, prompt!!  Wye to Etchinghill, past the Channel Tunnel Terminal, Folkestone, Capel-le Ferne and into Dover.

Day 5 Accommodation: Dover with ferry crossing on the morning of Day 6 (Wednesday)

Supported by Keen Footwear and Marmot, with carbon offsetting by Carbon Foresight. Thanks also to Orbis Globes, Murray PR, the kind folks at Green People and all our backers through Kickstarter.

The Mission:
To send a message to the COP15 conference expressing our desire for action on climate change. Come join us!

Background:
This summer Roz rowed solo 2,600 miles across the Pacific from Hawaii to Kiribati, where she saw the human face of climate change. Kiribati, a scattering of small coral atolls, will be uninhabitable within the next 50 years as climate change causes rises in sea level and increasingly frequent major weather events. Click here to watch a video about Kiribati and climate change.

Big Ben to Brussels:
Roz is now taking a message to the climate change conference in Copenhagen, in her role as United Nations “Climate Hero”. With a small group of friends she will set out on Nov 20 to walk 200 miles from Big Ben to Brussels, where she will join the United Nations Climate Express train for the remainder of the journey to Copenhagen. Click here to meet the team.

Earth Balls:
During the walk they will gather signatures on inflatable “Earth” balls, to be delivered to the conference as a petition calling on the delegates to take decisive action on climate change so that more countries and regions do not suffer the same fate as Kiribati.

The Route:
Come and join us! For an hour, for half a day, for a full day, or even the whole trip. Click here for details of the route. And we’d love to interview you for our film to find out who you are and why you care about climate change.

Walk With Us – Online:
Can’t be there? You can still show your support for our cause by going for a walk, wherever you are! You can sign up for our environmental mission, called Pull Together. Take action on CO2 levels by walking more and driving less. Good for your body, and good for the planet! Match the the 10,000 oar strokes Roz does each day on the ocean by walking 10,000 steps a day and sharing your results online. Click here for details.

Support Us:
You can also support us by pledging financial support. In return we have all kinds of exclusive Roz Savage goodies on offer. See Kickstarter for more details.

Follow Us:
We’ll be posting photos, videos, blogs and Facebook and Twitter updates on this website throughout the BB2B walk. Roz will also be writing exclusive blogs for Keen Footwear, Grist.org and the Wend Magazine blog.

Motto:
If we all pull together, we CAN save the world!

The 16ft ball is definitely TOO big

Thank you to all who have pledged support. We are now over 60% of the way to our target – and the nailbiting is getting worse! It’s all or nothing, so if we don’t get at least 100% of target, we get a big round $000 – which would be a bummer! Thanks also to those of you who have passed the link to our project on to your networks of friends – it really helps to spread the word.

If it helps inspire you, here is what Joan in Atlanta posted to her Facebook page: “Do you feel like your karma needs a boost? Kickstarter is an awesome way to do it, and do a good deed for the day. C’mon. A ten-spot. It’s way better than spending it on lottery scratch-offs. Of course, I want you to choose my pet cause (Roz! Roz!), but you might find another endeavor that really speaks to you, and that’s cool, too. Take your first step into meaningful philanthropy.”

I had a meeting with teammate Jane yesterday – she is in charge of route planning and logistics. It hasn’t been easy to find safe walking routes out of London – amazing how many roads and bridges don’t have paths for pedestrians. So Jane has had her work cut out! Google Earth has come in very handy for zooming right in and seeing if there is a footpath or not.

We sat there in the coffee shop with maps everywhere, and Jane’s trails of little multicolored stickers traipsing across them to show our route. Hopefully by the end of today we’ll be able to post details of our route online, with rendezvous points, so that people can come and join us for a day to show solidarity with the cause.

Even just the planning process has been an education. With such restricted facilities for walkers and cyclists, how can we expect to coax people out of their cars?

Now on to the next stage of the planning process – sorting out our kit, including our Earths. What size to get….?

Carrying the world on our shoulders (image courtesy of 350.org)

Ever had a great idea for a project, but lacked the finance to get it off the ground? You might want to check out Kickstarter, a website founded earlier this year to help small-scale projects get funding. I’m trying it out for the first time – to cover the basic costs of our walk from Big Ben to Brussels. Details of our mission follow, but first I wanted to give you my first impressions of Kickstarter.

Points to note, including some insider info from a friend who advised the creators of Kickstarter:

1. It’s all or nothing. If you don’t get to 100% of your target, you get nothing. Nada. Not a bean. And all the pledges are cancelled. So it’s better to set a slightly conservative target rather than aim too high and end up with zilch.

2. If a project gets to 40% of its target, chances are good (about 90%) that it will go on to achieve 100%. So I wrote to a few people who had previously been generous to ask them individually if they would help me achieve this critical threshold – which we have now done. It remains to be seen if we get all the way to 100%.

3. It’s not designed for charitable giving. Donors expect the rewards on offer to be commensurate with the amount pledged. So obviously, if this is going to make sense financially, it takes a bit of creative thinking to figure out rewards that will be exciting for the recipient, while not costing so much that they cancel out the value of the pledge. I found some great examples on a project to create a cartoon book called “Poorcraft”:
$1 Access to exclusive blog about the creation of the book
$5 Complete PDF of the book
$10 Signed copy of the book
$30 3 more copies of the book
$50 Thank you in the acknowledgements
$100 Page of original art
$250 Cameo in book
$500 Cameo on cover of the book
Most of these cost little or nothing to the creators of the book, but are thoughtful and special ways to acknowledge their supporters.

Overall, it seems like a great concept. I’m excited (and rather nail-bitingly nervous!) to see if it works out well for our project. Speaking of which, here it is:

The Mission:
To send a message to the COP15 conference expressing public desire for action on climate change

Background:
This summer British ocean rower Roz Savage rowed solo 2,600 miles across the Pacific from Hawaii to Kiribati, where she saw the human face of climate change. Kiribati, a scattering of small coral atolls, will be uninhabitable within the next 50 years as climate change causes rises in sea level and increasingly frequent major weather events. Click here to watch a video about Kiribati and climate change.

Big Ben to Brussels:
Roz Savage is now taking a message to the climate change conference in Copenhagen, in her role as United Nations “Climate Hero”. With a small group of friends she will set out on Nov 20 to walk 200 miles from Big Ben to Brussels, where she will join the United Nations Climate Express train for the remainder of the journey to Copenhagen.

Earth Balls:
During the walk they will gather signatures on inflatable “Earth” balls, to be delivered to the conference as a petition calling on the delegates to take decisive action on climate change so that more countries and regions do not suffer the same fate as Kiribati.

Documentary Film – The Long Walk to Copenhagen:
The walk will also be the subject of a documentary film, “The Long Walk to Copenhagen”, focusing on the walkers and the people they meet en route to show how humankind is reacting to the biggest challenge of all time.

Global Initiative – Pull Together:
The global online community will be encouraged to show solidarity with the walkers by joining Roz’s environmental mission, called Pull Together. This initiative aims to inspire people to take action on CO2 levels by walking more and driving less. Calling upon her supporters around the world to Pull Together, Roz will challenge them to match the 10,000 oar strokes she does each day on the ocean by walking 10,000 steps a day.

Online Participation:
Using photos, videos, blogs and several social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, her mission is to connect and engage people of all ages around the world, and demonstrate that every action, no matter how small it may seem, does indeed matter. http://www.rozsavage.com.

Motto:
If we all pull together, we CAN save the world!

If you want to find out more, including a little video of me talking about the project and details of the rewards on offer, then check it out here. I’d also be grateful if you would pass on this link to your network of friends and family.

Only 15 days left, and over $2,000 still to raise. Please help us reach our target!

I’d also be interested if you have any suggestions of things that you might like to see as rewards for future projects. Exclusive access to a special blog? Exclusive video updates? E-books? Let me know!