Meet the Iceland 2010 team: Julien

Finally, the last member of the team is me.

I have been an ardent cyclist for years, braving the London commute on two wheels for over a decade. I have several war wounds to prove this as London motorists and pedestrians are a careless bunch sometimes.

From an expedition perspective, I have had a few adventures in my time. Last year I cycled 4200km to Nordkapp, the most northern point in Norway and indeed, Europe. The year before, I cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats. Other outdoor pursuits include rock climbing, mountaineering, trekking, sailing and so forth in lots of interesting place around the world.

I am fortunate enough to have a good excuse in that being a photographer, it is all part of my day job. I am not sure if anyone believes this but what the heck, it works for me.

When I am not in the wilderness, I am an online specialist and have been privileged to have worked at many of London’s finest agencies, including The Team, Blsat Radius, Head London, Endemol and Imagination to name but a few.

In recent weeks, I have been cycling around 120 miles a week in preparation for this ride. However, there is no experience like being out on the open road and Iceland has long been a dream of mine. I just hope that Angelique and Dave do not want to kill me for dragging them to the Island of Ice and Fire (or is that Tierra del Fuego?).

My other preparations for this trip include trying to part you generous people from your cash by way of sponsorship and fund raising. In fact, rather than dismantling my bike for the flight next Saturday today, I have been writing to lots of newspapers, magazines and companies to see if I can rustle up any interest to back the expedition and the Kids First Trust. So, if you have a fiver in your pocket burning a hole, please do donate to a most worthwhile cause at my Just Giving page.

Welcome to Team Iceland 2010.

Thank you to Innovation Norway!

Today, I was extremely fortunate to speak with some of the extremely lovely people at Innovation Norway.  A friend and former colleague of mine from Head London, John Parnell, put me in touch with Heidi and Christine at Innovation Norway, who are part of the team responsible for amongst other things, the excellent Norwegian tourism website, www.visitnorway.com and also a WordPress blog for Visit Norway.

After discussing my trip, Christine placed me in touch with Knut, who runs the Tourism office in Tromso.  Together, they have been able to shed more light and help me more in one day than a week of internet trawling and book reading.  Christine has been sending me lots of useful advice about where to go and what to see.  I hope to visit Sámi Adventures, which is hope to spend some time with some indigenous Sámi people and envelop myself in the Sámi culture.  Christine also recommended that I stop in Kautokeino and visit Juhls’ Silver Gallery.

My aim is to meet as many locals as possible and gather a better understanding of the Norwegian and Sámi culture.  I only hope my photographs due justice to them.

The icing on the cake was Christine’s very kind offer on behalf on Innovation Norway, to help me on the return leg of my charity cycle ride, by sponsoring my flight home.  So, here’s to you all at the Innovation Norway, thank you so much for all your help and generosity.

Here are some useful Norwegian websites for the northern region of the country:
www.visitnorway.com/uk
– Innovation Norway’s comprehensive website
www.visitnorthcape.com –Finnmark Tourist Information website
www.visittromso.no
– Visit Tromsø’s website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kautokeino
– Wikipedia information