Hi! I’m Tom, originally from England, but the island was too small.
For 20 years I’ve been exploring the world by bike at every chance I get.
Why? Simply put: because it’s the closest thing you’ll find to pure freedom!
Here at TomsBikeTrip.com I share hard-earned lessons about cycle touring and bikepacking, tell original stories, and road-test new ideas.
A love of adventure has powered my 100% AI-free blog since 2006, when I first decided to travel the world by bicycle and write about it.
Welcome!
The blog: over half a million words of hard-earned, hand-written cycle touring & bikepacking advice.
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The Rise Of Anti-Social Networking
On the train to London the other day I picked up a dog-eared copy of Metro, the city’s finest free newspaper. Buried on page 24, opposite an article about a new Harry Potter theme-park, was this little piece: ‘Facebook is causing a “crisis of loneliness“ ‘, read the headline. Continue reading →
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The Ravaged, War-torn, Peaceful, Gentle & Stunningly Hospitable Country of Sudan
In my last post I asked what readers wanted to see more of. At the top of the list was more photographs. An excellent choice, as I’ve recently been reviewing my raw images from the road. And no other month in my life was more eye-opening than the one I spent trundling through the sun-baked Continue reading →
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Make This Blog Better – Tell Me What You Want
Over the years, my blog has attracted a reasonable following. So the premise of this post is simple. If you’re a regular visitor, tell me, in the comments section, what kind of thing you’d like to see more of (or less of). Some common themes appear in this poll. If you don’t have time to Continue reading →
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Microadventure: Hiking, Hitching & Packrafting The Highlands (Part 2)
Early one morning, in the far corner of a wheatfield just outside Laggan, two gaudily-dressed hikers might have been spotted unpacking the contents of their backpacks. A passing dog-walker or cyclist might well have wondered why, before shrugging and continuing on their way. But closer inspection would have revealed the strewn contents taking the form of Continue reading →
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Writer’s Blog: On Adventure Travel Literature
Why write a book anyway? There seems to be a welter of expedition and adventure literature hitting the shelves at the moment, along with a growing surge in high-profile expeditioning. 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.