Hi! I’m Tom, originally from England, but the island was too small.
For 19 years I’ve been pedalling the world... and peddling the word:
Travelling by bicycle is a revolutionary act, the closest thing you'll find to pure freedom, and the cleanest (and cheapest) way to get it!
Here at TomsBikeTrip.com I tell original stories, trail-test new ideas, and share hard-earned lessons about cycle touring and bikepacking. A love of adventure has powered my AI-free blog since 2006, when I first decided to travel the world by bicycle. Welcome!
The blog: over half a million words of hard-earned cycle touring & bikepacking advice.
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First Look: The New Oxford Bike Works Outlander Off-Road Bikepacking Bike
In an incident that will likely prove exciting for me alone, I dropped in on Richard at Oxford Bike Works last week to pick up my first new bike in about ten years. Everybody say ooooh! Christened the Outlander, this new addition to Richard’s range of offerings is the typically principled Oxford Bike Works take […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: Can I Still Cycle Tour With An Enlarged Prostate?
A reader writes: I, like many men of my age, suffer from an enlarged prostate. When I was diagnosed with this a few years ago I asked if I could still cycle. Needless to say [the doctor] advised against it other than occasional short runs. Straight after diagnosis I bought suitable saddles (those with a significant […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: Cycling Across Land Borders, Custom Bike Builders, & Top 5 Things To Pack
A reader writes: I have an ambition to set off for Australia from Norwich in the UK in 2025 when I retire at the age of 67. I have never cycled more than 240 miles in a single multi-day ride. But I love being out on two wheels and am inspired by the stories and […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: How To Fly With Bike Boxes & Bags For Touring & Bikepacking?
A reader writes: Thanks for the question! The truth is that flying with a touring bike and gear is rarely simple, but it’s always possible… somehow! It sounds like you’ve got plenty of experience packing your bikes for flying already. But your concerns are more specific, so let’s get right into them right now. Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: How To Secure My Bike & Gear While Riding Across The USA?
A reader writes: My biggest question about touring is security for my bike. I’m riding across the US in 2025, with a friend. Maybe a U‑lock is enough because we can always leave one of us at the bikes, but what if we want to eat at a restaurant? Or have some beers at the […] Continue reading →
Books, eBooks & Guides
I’ve written a range of guidebooks and travelogues to read at your leisure, whether you’re preparing for a bike trip, living life on the road, or home and dreaming of the next big ride.
How To Hit The Road: A Beginner’s Guide To Cycle Touring & Bikepacking
First published in 2017 and updated in 2021, this book is my comprehensive newcomers’ introduction to the art of the bicycle-mounted adventure.
Every aspect of a cycle tour or bikepacking trip is covered in 34 chapters, split over three parts: pre-trip planning, initial execution, and adapting to the long haul.
As well as broad, practical advice, I’ve woven inspiring and reassuring anecdotes throughout the book – because getting away from the starting line isn’t about knowing everything, but having the confidence to begin.
Drawing on my personal experience of almost two decades of adventure cycling, more than 50 veteran riders from diverse backgrounds have also contributed to this guide, making it one of the most well-rounded introductions you’ll find to this radically liberating form of independent travel.
Whatever you’re planning and wherever you’re going, if it involves a bicycle and the spirit of adventure, How To Hit The Road has got you covered.
Janapar: Love, on a Bike
My first travelogue, originally published in 2013 and the subject of a successful crowdfunding campaign, telling the true story of my first 3½ years on the road.
This was far from your typical long-distance bike tour, however. From the cover blurb:
When twenty-three-year-old Tom Allen and his friends set off from their English village to cycle around the world, they were expecting physical hardship, extreme conditions and a serious case of culture shock. But the hours spent poring over maps could never have prepared them for the experience of life on the road: the petty squabbles, the extreme hospitality, the unexpected joys and dangers.
And then Tom meets Tenny, a feisty Iranian-Armenian girl with dreams of her own, and hits a crossroad. Should he give up his grand plan for the girl he loves, or cycle off and risk missing out on the greatest adventure of them all?
Temporarily out of print (except in the USA), Janapar is still available as a Kindle ebook from all Amazon portals worldwide.