Tori James blog

Last week I returned from New Zealand, mission complete. Maria Leijerstam and I cycled a total of 2400km from Cape Reinga at the north of New Zealand’s North island to Bluff at the tip of the South Island. We documented our journey in a blog (see www.girlsbikenewzealand.com) and are currently working on a television documentary.

There are more photographs of our journey in the Gallery section of this website.

It’s a common question; so what’s next? After a lull in exciting trips I’ve finally got another adventure in sight, New Zealand. Thanks to my sister’s recent move to Wellington I have been inspired to follow her halfway across the world and see for myself all of the adventurous things New Zealand has to offer. It’s arguably not on the scale of Everest but I’m not pretending it’s going to be easy, I’m told that saddle sores are not pleasant!

The aim? To cycle the length of New Zealand by ‘women power‘ alone and to kayak the Cook Strait. I’ll be cycling with Maria Leijerstam, one of the UK’s top female adventure racers and one of only a handful of women to have completed the Marathon des Sables.

Follow our progress at www.girlsbikenewzealand.com

Last month I was a panelist at Modern Spirits London, an event initiated by BMW.

We were an eclectic mix; a chef, a composer, a designer and an adventurer.

Tony Hawks was the moderator.  I was already familiar with Tony’s work as he wrote “Round Ireland with a Fridge” which I read as a young explorer on a British Schools Exploring Society expedition to Iceland in 2000 - brilliant book if you’re interested!

During the course of the evening we tasted exquisite food from Jason Atherton the Michelin-starred chef, witnessed a performance of Steve Sidwell’s “Heathrow Overture” written for the opening of Terminal 5 and got the chance to explore BMW’s 5 Series Gran Turismo designed by Christopher Weil. They wouldn’t let me drive one home unfortunatley……take a look at the Modern Spirits London event website for full coverage of the event as well as video footage of the evening.

Last weekend marked 100 years of Girl Guiding. In 1909, at a rally at Crystal Palace, a group of brave girls approached Lord Robert Baden Powell to see if they could have something like Scouts but for the girls.

There were celebrations happening across the UK and I was really touched to be invited back to Pembrokeshire where I had once been a member of the Brownies and Guides for a total of 10 years.

I was not disappointed by the wonderful gathering that had been organised to mark the start of the Centenary year, there was a fantastic opening DVD, baloons everywhere as well as stalls displaying current activities and ones with fascinating archive material too. We were entertained by dancers and by a wonderful dialogue between 84 year old Doreen and 14 year old Holly who compared their experiences of guiding over the years.

It brought back lots of happy memories of all the trips I went on and the activities I took part in. Not only that, it reminded me how much it made me the person that I am today. I bought my first sleeping bag for a Brownie camp!

Well done to all the organisers, it was a great event and I hope you have a fantastic Centenary year.

On Friday 12 June Ben and I grabbed our walking kit, flew to Scotland and joined Christ College Brecon (my old school) & Llandovery College for their inaugural joint three peaks challenge. There were head teachers, bursars, teachers, rugby coaches, 3 students, office staff and others - a great group of people all hoping to summit the three peaks and raise money for School Children for Children.

Everyone completed the challenge in under the 24 hours, with the exception of Ben and I, who brought up the rear, landing back at Pen-y-Pass in a handsome 25 hours! I’m going to blame Ben for this, he got travel sick for the first time in his life, turned green on the winding lanes of the Lake District, vomited the contents of his stomach and then having not eaten prior to climbing Snowdon completely ran out of steam near the summit.

Both teams had the raw guts and determination you would expect to see in such a challenge and it was a massive achievement for everyone - I hope your legs manage to get you around school tomorrow!

The great things about the three peaks…..

• The people we climbed with and the fact that some had never been to the top of these mountains before
• Our mini-bus drivers, all four of them, who were on a mission to get us from one mountain to the next.
• The carrot & coriander soup served to us at the foot of Scafell which had been prepared by the Llandovery College chef and carefully transported in the minibus.
• Snow on top of Ben Nevis
• The views (except Scafell Pike which was shrouded in a thick mist - see photo!)
• The money raised for charity - thanks to all our friends who sponsored us, Ben and I are over our £1,000 target and still counting.
• The sense of adventure approaching Wasdale in the dark
• Iestyn and the phrase “Are we all H-A-P-P-Y? Shall I sing that for you?”

And the not so great….

• Hitting a rock on route to Wasdale Head at 3.30am which required a tyre change in the dark!
• Travel sickness & vomit (our drivers certainly had the skill to make even the most hardy travellers reach for a plastic bag).
• A minibus with a speed restrictor for 60mph

Would I do at again? Yes! Who’s game?

I’d like to say a huge thanks to Iestyn Thomas, the man in charge of School Children for Children, for organising such a fantastic trip!

Kings Manor School in Middlesbrough are working hard to ensure its students pass their Maths GCSE this month. They organised a 2-day residential at a local sporting hotel to get their students geared up for the exam. As a bit of light entertainment after a tasty barbecue they asked me to speak to the students about Everest. One young lad sent me an email afterwards:

“Hey i just thought id say how inspirational i thought ur talk was at the sporting lodge the other day in middlesbrough, i was sat at the front and i just thought id say well done  thanks for coming and sharing ur experience”

BSES Expeditions, the charity I used to work for is giving you the opportunity to abseil off London’s Trellick tower on Saturday 13 June. You need to raise £250 for BSES - visit www.everestinaday.com�

…is the Three Peaks Challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike & Snowdon) in under 24 hours! OK, so it’s not Everest but I’m not underestimating it either! Ben (my boyfriend) and I are taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge in order to raise money for Schoolchildren for Children, a charity which aims to improve the provision of sporting activities both in the UK and in some of the world’s poorest countries.

If you would like to make a donation please visit www.justgiving.com/toriandbenthreepeakschallenge

Last week I visited the Duke of York’s Royal Military School in Dover.

On the Friday evening I was invited to speak at the Upper Sixth Form Dinner. The students transformed the school dining hall into something resembling a royal banquet and I was treated to a wonderful 5 course meal before giving them a taster of life on Mount Everest.

On Saturday morning I spoke to pupils in Years 9 and 12 about Everest and all the training and preparation that goes alongside a high-altitude expedition. I was delighted to see that so many of them had an interest in the outdoors. Many of the pupils had seen the recent ascent of Kilimanjaro by various UK celebrities in aid of comic relief and lots of the questions I was asked related to Kilimanjaro and Tanzania as well as about fundraising for an expedition. Good luck to all those students embarking on expeditions this summer - remember to wear in those walking boots!

The postcards arrived on Friday and I must say they look fantastic! I’ve made a few sales today but I’m already behind schedule - my plan was to sell all of them over the weekend however my plans changed and I didn’t see all the people I had planned to visit. Hopefully my netball team will be interested tomorrow night then I’ll have enough money to order the next batch! I’ve already been given suggestions for the next range of products. To see a close up of the photograph used on the postcard visit my Gallery.