Pam Goodall
Talk 1: “Grown up Gap Year – Solo Bike Ride around the World, Aged almost 60”.
In 2000, Pam spent over a year cycling 1000’s of miles through Europe, Asia and America.
After a varied career, and 12 years of running her own shop, the impact of Tesco on independent retailers put an end to all that, and the challenge then was what to do next.
Having given up riding a bike on the day she left school, trains, buses and cars took over transport issues and recreation involved anything which needed either a racquet or water. Everything changed in 1996 when Pam invested £60 in a second hand bicycle to ride to work.
This led to a spontaneous decision – aged almost sixty, a bike ride around the world, alone, 10,000 miles, 22 countries. The perfect answer to redundancy and the ideal way to kick start, or should that be pedal start, retirement.
She tells how it included the trials of finding a place to sleep each night, the reality of owning a Brooks saddle and choosing to ignore persistent warnings from well meaning strangers of the dangers lurking ahead for a lone female cyclist. The challenge of obtaining visas throughout Asia proves nerve-wracking and costly.
The presentation captures her adventures, the amazing hospitality and the culture of the countries on her journey. It also smashes expectations and preconceptions about which countries are most friendly, unhelpful and it’s not what you think!
Her book “Riding It Out” tells the story about this journey: exhilaration, exhaustion, excitement, extraordinary kindness and elements of danger.
Testimonials:
- This was a fantastic presentation, without any visual aids apart from her trusty bike. Indeed it even awoke our membership who normally snooze after a very nice lunch! Probus
- After an exhausting year Pam returned with a diary full of memories. She has entertained schoolchildren, students, businessmen and Women’s Institute groups with her stories of an uncertain life on the road. U3A
- The feedback from lunch was excellent. All the ladies enjoyed Pam’s talk, as I did, and we could all have listened to her adventures for a lot longer – she is certainly an inspiration! Thank you. Tylney Hall Hotel
Talk 2: “A TALK ABOUT TALKS”
If you have heard and enjoyed Pam’s talk on a “Grown up Gap Year – Solo Bike Ride around the World, Aged almost 60″ then you might like to invite her back again to tell you about her experiences giving talks.
She has a fund of entertaining anecdotes of the many challenges and trials that a speaker encounters.
For instance – did you know that you need an interview to be a speaker for the Women’s Institute? On the day Pam had her interview she joined a roman soldier and a metal detector – I wonder if they got through?
All her stories are real ones, taken from the many talks she gives these days, and you will find it a very entertaining talk!