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.
-
5 Lessons From Leading A Bikepacking Group The Length Of A Country
Over the last decade or so, I’ve become known as someone who cycles alone on unknown roads for vast amounts of time. This year, however, I broke the habit of a lifetime and went on a very different kind of ride. The biggest difference wasn’t that I’d pre-designed the route, or that it was entirely off Continue reading →
-
About The Time I Upcycled A Vintage Hardtail For Bikepacking & Rode It Across Armenia
In the months leading up to Bikepacking Armenia, I thought long and hard about whether to get myself a shiny new ‘bikepacking rig’ for the trip. Since I was in the UK for a few weeks in May, I took the opportunity to test-ride a Sonder Frontier with Adventure Pedlars in the Peak District. I tried Continue reading →
-
Bikepacking Armenia: Photo Gallery & Route Resources
In September 2019 I was privileged to lead a bikepacking expedition across Armenia, following remote dirt tracks and singletrack trails with a fantastic group of fellow riders. The goal was to test out a new bikepacking route across Armenia – a mashup of Bikepacking.com’s classic Caucasus Crossing (Armenia), the Armenian national section of the Transcaucasian Continue reading →
-
#BikepackingArmenia: Mission Accomplished!
It took four days longer than planned, but I’m happy to say that the #BikepackingArmenia fundraising ride is complete – and what a ride! Over 17 days of pedalling, we covered nearly 800km of dirt and gravel trails with over 16,000m of climbing as we traversed the portion of the Lesser Caucasus mountains that dominate the Continue reading →
-
#BikepackingArmenia: The Big Fundraising Ride Begins Today!
Heads up, people! Stop what you’re doing and tune into the #BikepackingArmenia social media hashtag to follow the team’s live progress as we attempt to traverse Armenia, off-road and unsupported, over the next two weeks! From now until September 22nd, I will be live-sharing the story of the first attempt to bikepack the Transcaucasian Trail long-distance 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.