Josie Dew
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Josie Dew is an English cyclist, author and cook. Her 'day job' is in catering, but she frequently indulges in long cycle trips (such as circumnavigating Britain or Japan - or crossing the Sahara on her bicycle whilst suffering kidney problems!) and then writes a humorous biographical book detailing her experiences. She lives near Portsmouth, England.
In Cycling Plus in 1998, she said: "I work as hard as I can when I'm in England. I do nothing but work sometimes. And I'm lucky, too, because I've also managed to earn my passage by cooking on a ship going to the Azores. I've been cooking for as long as I remember. Other girls wanted girlie presents when they were young but I just wanted cooking books and spanners, and useful things like that. I've never ever had a job where I've had to be sophisticated or a businesswoman or anything like that. Now I live on my cooking, and the books help and I give lectures and so on."[verification needed] Cooking started subsidising cycling when she was 15 and by 17 it paid for her first big trip, around the coast of Britain, inspired by a tour of the Isle of Wight when she was 10. By September 2005, she'd biked through 48 countries.[1]
She crossed Europe with her boyfriend, which led to her first writing success, Wind in my Wheels. After her boyfriend was injured in a crash she began travelling alone, which she prefers,[2] despite those who find it strange.[3]
"It's got huge advantages," she says, "because people can't do enough for you. They offer to take me in for the night and they come and talk to me and I get to know people all over the place. There was a dangerous time in eastern Europe when I was locked in a man's flat and he tried to rape me and I had to escape," she says, "but that could have happened at any time. Otherwise everyone has been exceptionally kind, except that I've lost count of the flashers. I had three in a day in Switzerland once."[verification needed]
In March 2007, Long Cloud Ride, her book about New Zealand was selected among the top 10 writer's reads by Geographical.[4] In 2008, Dew was invited to open the Sustrans Cycle Route 88, a bike path that runs from Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve to Chichester Canal and was more than twenty years in the making.[5]
[edit] Books
- The Wind in My Wheels: Travel Tales from the Saddle (1992)
- Travels in a Strange State: Cycling Across the U.S.A. (1994)
- A Ride in the Neon Sun: A Gaijin in Japan (1999)
- The Sun in My Eyes: Two-Wheeling East (2001)
- Slow Coast Home: 5,000 Miles Around the Shores of England and Wales (2003)
- Saddled at Sea: A 15,000-mile journey to New Zealand by Russian freighter (2006)
- A Long Cloud Ride: A Cycling Adventure Across New Zealand (2007)
[edit] References
- ^ Maureen Ellis (2005-09-22). Brief Encounter with Josie Dew. Evening Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Andrew Purcell (1999-04-11). Passport Josie Dew. The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Derek Davies (2001-06-14). Japan: Eastern Challenge on Two Wheels. The Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Top 10 Writer's Reads. Geographical (2007-03-01). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ 20-year Cycleway Dream Comes True in Selsey. Midhurst and Petworth Observer (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
