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I got a new job just before Christmas at the other side of town, and because it was freezing cold then I practically gave up cycling - it was cold and rainy or icy and far away! Now that Spring is sort of approaching, I want to start cycling more again, but I'm a bit scared of the journey. It's almost 14 miles to work, so I'll be cycling almost 30 miles a day, that's pretty hefty! There are a few routes I can take, but they'll all take longer than the train journey so I don't know how worth it cycling would be. I love cycling and I'l love to have a cycling commute. I need to practice basic bike care more too. I know how to change a tube on the wheel but I'm not great at it, I've seen an ad on the Adizar site for classes on bike care so I might take a couple of those before I get into doing any long journeys! Photo: Carson Ting (Flickr)

I am so excited. In two months I am off to Borneo for three weeks to trek through the rainforest and also to help Orangutans! So this week I have been writing a list of everything I am going to need and making sure I don’t need any jabs or anything like that. I have ordered some walking boots from the Internet which I hope fit and I have also been trying to find a nice pair of jeans , as I know it is going to be mega hot, but I don’t any thing biting me or crawling over my legs! And at night the temperature may drop slightly so I was going to take them just in case. But there is so much choice with women’s jeans that I can’t just buy them online like I did my boots, so I am going out this weekend to find a decent pair. Other than that, it is just the basic insect repellent and sun cream that I need to get and then I can just concentrate on being excited! Picture: realscience.org.uk

Since almost forever Cuba has been a nation completely apart from the rest of the world. Stuck ridgidly to political ideologies that that very few nations ever make work, in many parts of the county it seems that time itself has almost passed them by. And, yet despite the often rudimentary living conditions there always seems to be music in the air and generally the countries people seem more than happy. I mean, I dont doubt that there are hard times and bad parts to the place but mostly my experiences have been nothing but enjoyable, if not at times odd. All of this could be about to change rapidly though, with the abdication of Castro his brother Raul has stepped up to the plate and with him has come several changes including a relaxation on some of their previous harsh communist ways. These changes can only broaden. So if you want to see Cuba in the way that the myths were created then you need to get a move on and visit now, sooner rather than later before it is lost forever. Image: LJSS