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Day 100: Church of Agios Nikolaosto to Porto Timino
Ok, I’m a bit behind on this blog. If I’m honest it’s been a chore to write and I’ve even thought about stopping. Right now I want to be as free as possible, and my duty to write feels like shackles. But I’m scared I’d regret it and scared to break the chain. I’ll employ…
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Day 99: Arkoudilas Beach to the Church of Agios Nikolaos
The thunderstorm passed and I got a couple of hours precious sleep. From Italy I learnt that a lack of sleep makes my blood sugars really difficult to control, so sleep is now a priority. The sea was wild when I woke and not a person was to be seen. It felt as exotic and…
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Day 98: Igoumentisa to Arkoudilas Beach (Corfu)
So much to tell. I travelled from Portugal to Italy, feeling free but alone, my friends now gone. I went straight to CUS Bari and sorted out my kit. Antonio and Mimmo, two of the most generous men you’ll ever hear of, had booked me a hotel. I questioned whether I’d do the same –…
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World champs report
The kayaking season of 2019 was both my best and worst. I won the waterside series and a bunch of Hasler races. I was promoted to division 1. I was selected for the GB surfski squad and marathon kayaking squad and raced in France, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. I was the fastest I’d ever…
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Insulin 360
I was sheltering from the scorching midday sun on a beach in Italy when my phone pinged. It was an email from Jerry Gore, co-founder of Action 4 Diabetes. “Hey Dougal, have you done much mountain biking?”. Memories of catapulting myself over the handlebars and ending up in A&E came to mind, but worried that…
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World Championships 2022
In 2019 I was selected to paddle for the GB squad in the surfski world champs in France. After a hard winter of training and a summer season packed with races, I was paddling at my highest level and was excited to compete on the world stage for the first time. But then, out of…
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End of a chapter – Day 97: Torre Canne to Bari
If you’re new to my blog and are wondering why this is the end of a chapter, here’s a quick explanation: On the 20th of August, I’ll be starting the INSULIN 360 challenge – a 360km mountain bike ride across the Haute Alps region of France with T1D mountaineer Jerry Gore, with the aim of…
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Day 96: Campo di Mare to Torre Canne
The wind blew in, whipping up the sea, and I hung out at the Calidoski beach club all day. The youth of Campo di Mare gathered there too, sitting around tables chatting, playing cards and meeting new people. While I’d prefer a beach free of deck chairs, the beach clubs in Italy do provide a…
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Day 95: Spiaggetta dell’Orte to Campo di Mare
Coming to the end of Italy, my mind has started wandering to the next thing, the journey to Bari just the road to get there. Yet at the same time the knowledge that this will all end has made me hold on to it, and appreciate it more than ever. With a strong headwind forecast…
