It's cycling week on this blog and perhaps you wonder what the title will bring you this time. As you could have read during this week Jeremy Hastings, Islay's Wilderness Guide, is heavily involved in cycling, or better, Jeremy is cycling. He is a member of the Velo Club d'Ardbeg, a qualified cycling instructor, he runs the Port Mor Wheelers together with brian palmer and lately he started a very interesting and unique new initiative. The regular readers have probably seen the post Islay Black and White. This post contained a link to a website with many black and white photographs from a weekend of wildlife watching and bushcraft on the bike with some of his clients. Driving around on a bike while wathching Islay's wildlife are the ingredients for Jeremy's new activitiy as a wildernessguide. He calls it 'Wild Wheels' and it's all about combining the joy of cycling on Islay with the splendours of nature of which are plenty available on Islay. Perhaps it's better to let Jeremy explain to you what it is exactly:

Jeremy Hastings: Touring is fantastic. You're out in the nature with your bike - You can fly through glens and valleys and stop when you like. In the past we used to 'drum-up' and spend time to just listen, explore, nature watch and just plainly be. Occasionally we would 'bivvi' up. It's with a tinge of regret that you turn and head for home..... admit it? you're tempted to stay! Could you cope? Would you know what to do, when, how, where - and why? Continue reading.....

In a unique combination - offered for the first time in the UK - we lead you on a wild biking experience in a remote, challenging and magnificent landscape and teach you the survival and risk management skills you need to prolong your trips - taking your cycling adventures onto an entirely different level.

This is an entirely practical course. You will be sleeping in lightweight tents and learning at your own pace, through hands-on experience, the lifelong skills of wilderness living and expedition planning: choosing the correct equipment, identifying hazardous situations, making sensible decisions, finding safe water, using cutting tools, finding or building a shelter, making and fuelling fire, creating a cooking area and fuelling yourself, emergency repairs and living from the land.

All you need is a bike and your sleeping bag/mat - we do the rest.

You can read more about this and other new initatives on Jeremy's website at www.islaywildernessguide.co.uk

Images courtesy Warren Sanders

Tag: cycling wildlife bushcraft birding