{"id":42,"date":"2016-06-17T13:22:21","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T11:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/?page_id=42"},"modified":"2022-10-12T14:40:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T12:40:29","slug":"about-me","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/?page_id=42","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Elred Lawrence<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I live with my wife, Maureen, in Cape Town enjoy the benefits of living in the midst of this most beautiful city. &nbsp;We&#8217;re both retired and , according to social norms, should be taking it easy, yet the travel bug and &nbsp;desire to cycle the world keeps me planning new adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-attachment-id=\"102\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/?attachment_id=102\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?fit=2592%2C1728&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2592,1728\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Elred Lawrence&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1441561673&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2010&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;17&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Elred_Maureen\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?fit=678%2C452&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Elred_Maureen\" class=\"wp-image-102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?w=1356&amp;ssl=1 1356w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Elred_Maureen.jpg?w=2034&amp;ssl=1 2034w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Elred and Maureen celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary on RMS St Helena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I started my working life as a radio officer in the merchant navy hence I spent 8 years being paid to travel the world, explore exotic destinations, meet wonderful people and enjoy a variety of flavours&nbsp;and cuisines. &nbsp;Throughout the rest of my working days I endeavoured to travel as much as possible,&nbsp;especially with my family to destinations within South Africa and for a glorious holiday in Europe..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have always loved travel but when I saw an article about the Camino to Santiago de Compestela in Spain, I decided to cycle it as I did not have time to &nbsp;walk&nbsp;the trail. &nbsp;1100 kms and 12 &nbsp;glorious days of cycling, staying in the albergues, learning to understand the mystique that is the Camino and absolutely loving the freedom of cycling alone through beautiful nature hooked me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I then decided to be intrepid and&nbsp;cycle the lesser known but unbelievably beautiful Via Francigena. &nbsp;The pilgrim trail from Canterbury Cathedral (UK) to The Vatican in Rome (Italy) &nbsp;A more challenging 2500 kms over 6 weeks through 4 different countries but equally joyous. &nbsp;In my experience, there is nothing as glorious as cycling small back roads, single forest tracks, canal tow paths, past vineyards, rice-paddies, tomato &nbsp;and corn plantations, seeing the little creatures, listening to the birds and breathing clean crisp air.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-attachment-id=\"70\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/?attachment_id=70\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/DSC00864.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DSC-HX9V&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1348668156&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;64.8&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Looking Good\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Cycling along a path in Italy&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;I love cycling off road&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/DSC00864.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/DSC00864-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Crossing a bridge\" class=\"wp-image-70\" title=\"Cycling for fun\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/DSC00864.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/DSC00864.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption>On the Via Francigena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Life&#8217;s worries and concerns just fade away and the day&#8217;s problems are reduced to 3 simple needs. &nbsp;A place to sleep, food to eat and a place to wash body and laundry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My next adventure is to cycle from Singapore to Hong Kong via Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China. \u00a0a more daunting 12000 kms and 7 months on the road and that is really what this blog is all about. \u00a0 However before that, I had\u00a0to \u00a0go to Bridgewater UK and collect a new bicycle that was\u00a0built for me. \u00a0It seemed too simple to go directly to London and return so I planned a more interesting trip some aspects are on this blog. \u00a0This blog starts, as all adventures should, with a journey. \u00a0You can see the detail of my previouis journey through SE Asia from Singapore to Hong Kong in this blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"712\" data-attachment-id=\"1726\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/?attachment_id=1726\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg?fit=1586%2C1666&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1586,1666\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;https:\/\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg?fit=678%2C712&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465-975x1024.jpeg?resize=678%2C712&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg?resize=975%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 975w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg?resize=286%2C300&amp;ssl=1 286w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg?w=1586&amp;ssl=1 1586w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cropped-received_10216196184434465.jpeg?w=1356&amp;ssl=1 1356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><figcaption>In Huay Xai &#8211; Laos before catching the ferry to Luang Prabang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My latest adventure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cycling through Bali and Java to Jakarta and then across to Vietnam to cycle from HCMC to Da Lat before returnng home<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elred Lawrence I live with my wife, Maureen, in Cape Town enjoy the benefits of living in the midst of this most beautiful city. &nbsp;We&#8217;re both retired and , according <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/?page_id=42\">Continue Reading &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PgdVGU-G","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3790,"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions\/3790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclefoodfun.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}