Bristol2Beijing
by Luke Grenfell-Shaw
The Bristol2Beijing podcast brings you the highs and lows, challenges from the road and inner thoughts of Luke as he rides from Bristol to Beijing on his tandem bike. He also talks to interesting and unusual people he meets on his journey to understand better the country he is in.Luke be will answering your questions about life on the bike (send them via @Bristol2Beijing on Instagram and Facebook!).Get your dose of adventure, culture and inspiration here!
Episodes
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Christmas Special with Josh Day: The Original Bristol to Beijing Cyclist!
Josh Day cycled from Bristol to Beijing between 2017 and 2019, an odyssey that saw him cross the Pamir highway in winter and later cycle through Siberia in -25C conditions. In this podcast we go beyond our shared physical journey, discussing self-reliance, our mindsets during difficult periods…
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Dr Ella Amoako: Changing the chances for kids with cancer in Ghana
"When the ideal is not available the available becomes ideal" Until recently there were only two centres in Ghana that could treat children with cancer. This meant that children from the Central and Western regions of Ghana had to make a journey of up to ten hours to receive treatment; In…
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David Smith: Challenging Corruption in Chișinău
When in Moldova I visited Taproom 27 - a craft beer bar - and the Smokehouse in the centre of Chișinău and talked with David Smith about his innovative way of challenging corruption through business. We discussed how corruption manifests itself in Moldova, how his bar and restaurant have defended...
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Lucy Palmer Part 2: Facing Death and Denial
‘The hardest thing I’ve ever done.’ Lucy Palmer describes with honesty the moment she climbed the stairs to be with her husband at the time of his death, the physical pain of his loss, navigating her way through a death-denying culture with three small children, the array of emotions she felt and...
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Lucy Palmer Part 1: Where Angels Fear to Tread
“It was about the person I wanted to be, not so much about the person I actually was” Lucy tells the story of how she escaped from a difficult childhood in the UK to work in Papua New Guinea, how she fell in love and married her unexpected sweetheart and then faced the challenge of becoming...
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Rory Stewart: Take Power by Taking the Blame
Rory Stewart talks about what he learnt from the 500 villages he walked through across Asia, how he stayed calm when his compound in Iraq was shelled and why being an MP was the hardest job he‘s done. He also shares his perspective for what is important for a divided America and his words of…
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Zoe Davison: Pentathlon, Permission and Being Present
"You have to fully embrace yourself before you can fully love someone else. Hard things take time." Meet Zoe Davison, an Olympic hopeful in modern pentathlon, who has already proven herself in junior championships. Talent spotted at just 18 years of age she found herself training with women ten...
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John Sloan: Game face on
"We were young. The last thing we were thinking in our minds was cancer." John Sloan discusses the challenges of a cancer diagnosis at 24, the importance of support from loved ones, how his life was turned upside down again just as things seemed to be getting back to normal and how he found...
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Pen Hadow: Conquering a final frontier
Arctic explorer & ocean conservationist, Pen Hadow, reveals what it took to become the first person to trek solo from Canada to the North Pole, on his third attempt. “This is what the whole challenge is about, it’s not about the easy stuff, it’s about how you deal with the really hard stuff … We...
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Oli Broadhead: Why it matters to be nice
“I just kept talking calmly and pretending not to understand...I’m very happy to be robbed.” Oli started his adventures at a young age, sleeping in a tent in the garden when he was six. Growing up in Cornwall gave ample opportunity to explore the outdoors and this passion has led him to travel to...
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Carla Molinaro: Testing the limits of your own endurance
Elite ultra runner Carla Molinaro took matters into her own hands when the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to cancel the 2020 racing season. Undaunted she decided to attempt to smash the record for running from Land’s End to John O’Groats and became the fastest woman to do this, running over 800…
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Marvin Rees: 100 metres behind the start line
"I shouldn’t be mayor of Bristol. I grew up poor, there was some domestic violence, I’m the first in my family to go to university, I shouldn’t be sitting in the United Nations building… I shouldn’t be addressing the US conference of mayors, I shouldn’t be walking into Downing Street. That’s not…
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Josh Lasky: from grumble to gratitude
When Josh Lasky was in his early twenties he saw his father succumb to the ravages of Parkinson’s disease. He became one of his father’s main caregivers, discovering why carers are the unsung heroes of our time. As Josh entered adulthood, he had to grapple with the realisation that is father was...
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Chrissie Wellington: What's tougher than an Ironman triathlon?
Imagine swimming more than two miles before cycling over 100 miles and then running a marathon… This week’s guest is disarmingly modest about her extraordinary career as four times Ironman world champion and yet she has achieved far more than this. Before becoming a professional athlete, Chrissie...
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Luke Grenfell-Shaw: On loss, life, and a tandem ride to Beijing
"You were asking how the 23 year old Luke thought. He thought in terms of three years...of course I’m going to have that time. I don’t think like that now" The tables are turned in this episode as Luke speaks candidly to family friend Jane Philips of his journey over the past two years,...
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Graham Shaw Part 2: Growing up in WWII, life in the Navy and Generation Snowflake
In this second part, Graham and I discuss how he dealt with challenges in a robust Naval environment, what makes good leadership and why he thinks 'Generation Snowflake' have it harder than he did.
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Graham Shaw Part 1: Growing up in WWII, life in the Navy and Generation Snowflake
"I did feel a duty to look after my mother" In this episode I chat with my grandfather, Graham, about some of his experiences from the earlier part of his life, including his early bomb disposal work during as a child in the second world war, and how he came to join the Navy as a ship's boy and...
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Philip Taylor Part 2: from IBM exec to the ambulance service
In this episode, Philip and I continue our discussion. Philip explains to me he does so much more than drive an ambulance, the importance of teamwork and family and his perspective from being on the front line of the COVID-19 response. For different outro music, Philip recommends:...
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Philip Taylor Part 1: from IBM exec to the ambulance service
This episode I talk with Philip Taylor, who "had it all" as a senior executive at IBM. However, despite the salary and company car, this didn't make Philip satisfied with his work or his life at IBM. We discuss the challenges he faced changing his career from the corporate world to a totally new...
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Beyond Cancer Survivor: what it is to live with a cancer diagnosis
This week, Facing Up takes a different tack and I discuss with Kate, Kirsty and Miranda what it is to live with a cancer diagnosis. We discuss the similarities and differences in the experiences each of us had, from coping with different treatments, handling uncertainty and how we have decided to...
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Samuel Asare: "from rags to robes", rural Ghana to the University of Oxford
In this episode, Samuel Asare Twumasi Ampofo tells me about his childhood, describing the challenges he faced growing up in rural Ghana - with career prospects starting and ending at cocoa farmer - and how he defied every difficulty and expectation to study and develop himself. His journey so far...
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Leon McCarron: discovering challenges beyond adventure
This week I talk to Leon McCarron - an adventurer, journalist and presenter. He has walked across China, kayaked down Iran's longest river and is now establishing walk trails in Iraq and beyond. We talk about how his adventures were at first a step into the unknown, before he then decided that...
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Emma Sky: working to bring peace from pieces in Iraq
Emma Sky has led an extraordinary life. Having worked hard to bring about peace between Palestine and Israel she then volunteered to help Iraq, post invasion, in 2003. Within weeks she running a province and later went on to advise the most senior American generals in Iraq. Emma and I discuss the...
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Ryan Pyle: the life and challenges of an expedition filmmaker
Ryan and I chat about his life as an adventurer and TV producer, which has taken him all around the world, yet is a lifestyle that has challenges along with the glamour. We also discuss how he had to forge a new career after the financial crisis of 2008, and his favourite whiskey. Click for…
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Charlotte Roach: from Olympic hopeful to raising a Rabble
In this episode, liberally laced with anecdotes, Charlotte Roach and I discuss her complex relationship with sport: its role as a powerful formative experience; and with a goal of racing at the 2012 Olympics, which took primacy over all others - only for it to leave her fighting for her life. We...
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Joseph Daniels: from homeless to homebuilder to the house of the future
"I think celebrity is one of the most ironic phrases. What do you want to be celebrated for?" This week, I chat to Joseph Daniels, one of the most dynamic and exciting people I know. He has come to success the hard way; homeless during his teens before setting up Project Etopia at the age of 23....
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Gemma Hillier-Moses: on the challenge that led her from corporate to charity
Gemma and I discuss her journey, beginning in the elite athletic environs of Loughborough University, and taking her to Nike, before receiving life-changing news at 24. From fighting for her life, she then achieves the remarkable: gaining an England running vest and setting up a charity, Move.…
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Jeremy Sigmon: making friends with a CanLiver
'How to make friends and not intimidate people' Jeremy is one of my best friends, but we only met relatively recently, at Oxford; he as a dynamic and outgoing uber-networking American, me as a shy guy, with no hair, going through chemotherapy. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of…
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Sehar Naz Janani: challenges facing girls and women in Pakistan
Sehar Naz Janani speaks with an intensity and depth uncommon amongst students. I met Sehar at the University of Central Asia, and was struck hard by her story then. In this episode I am frequently speechless listening to the challenges she has faced growing up as a girl in Pakistan. Sehar set up...
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Lucy Gossage: Ironmans, oncology and 5KYourWay
Lucy Gossage is a thirteen times Ironman champion, an oncologist, and the founder of 5KYourWay, an organisation that helps those with cancer get active. Lucy and I discuss the challenges of turning from PhD student to pro triathlete, the difficulties of the consultant-patient relationship and the...
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About Facing Up
About Facing Up and me: what the podcast is about; what I'm about; and what I hope you'll gain from listening.
About this show
The Bristol2Beijing podcast brings you the highs and lows, challenges from the road and inner thoughts of Luke as he rides from Bristol to Beijing on his tandem bike. He also talks to interesting and unusual people he meets on his journey to understand better the country he is in.Luke be will answering your questions about life on the bike (send them via @Bristol2Beijing on Instagram and Facebook!).Get your dose of adventure, culture and inspiration here!
Hosted by
Luke Grenfell-Shaw