How small we've made the world

Travelling at 180mph in comfort with our luggage, with the Eurostar making a mockery of our efforts, I'm struck by how big the world really is.

I guess part of the luxury of doing rides like this is the time you get to spend with your thoughts and contemplating things. I remember last time being constantly reminded of our place in nature. We spend so little time in our surroundings that we are entirely divorced from them.

When you are on your bike and on a multi day journey with only whatever you have brought with you to hand, your exposure to the elements and your awareness of the landscape (climbing hill after hill does that to you!) start to connect you to nature a little bit more. Now clearly, I'm still stating this from a perspective where every night we had a lovely warm, dry hotel room to check in to. A hot shower and comfortable beds to sleep in. So it's hardly a position of real hardship. More the ramblings of a very lucky human.

On our walk back to the hotel last night we passed dozens and dozens of homeless people, living in tents under an underpass. As well as the luxuries already stated, we had a fair amount of security in knowing that we had the pick of our choice when it came to what and where we wanted to eat. This morning I didn't have to worry IF I was going to eat today, I chose exactly what I wanted.

I'm returning home to my very lovely wife and my four healthy and adorable kids and we all live in comfort. What incredible luck!!

So here I am travelling at 180mph home. The thought that hits me his time is how small we've made this world. When it takes an hour to travel what took us 3 days to cycle, it's hard to miss the comparison. It really wasn't that long ago that travelling even at the pace we just spent the last 4 days doing was pretty much your only option. It limits what you can carry and it limits where you go.

Has the pace of life increased with our ability to travel fast, to get information instantaneously in almost any location?

How are these two thoughts linked? I think our modern conveniences are simply incredible, I'm not advocating somehow turning back time. But we all need to find the time to slow down, to think more. I wish that more people had  what I have. I mean that on a global level, the gap between my level of security and comfort compared with billions of others is not right. I mean it on a very local level too, you don't need to look outside of your local community to find others who aren't as lucky as you. We can help both.

Deep thoughts for a light-hearted blog!