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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Day 24: Into The Cosmic Mountains
Stunning sunrises are easily-available things, really, but how often do we choose to stand and drink in that life-affirming sight? Not often enough, I suspect. I know I don’t — I’m usually either still asleep (summer) or doing something supposedly more important (winter). Continue reading →
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Day 23: Are You A Potential Moose?
I’m riding happily along when along comes a turn-off to my left. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. And so, after many days of ignoring the side-roads, I check over my shoulder and pull off the E45 for what I hope is the last time. Continue reading →
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Day 22: Why (Part Two)
Sören drops me off where I’d left my bike. It’s almost eight in the morning, sunlight seeping into the sky. It’s ‑29°C, so I waste no time in getting going — I can’t afford to stand around. The first few minutes bring an uncomfortable chill to my extremities, but I soon warm up and settle Continue reading →
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Day 21: Storuman & The Road Ahead
The days pass and the land has become even more sparsely-populated. Thin, undulating forests and countless lakes dominate; the sun scarcely seems to make it above the treetops all day; wildlife tracks show up on the roadside with increasing regularity. Today I see a pair of mooses, a mother and calf, plodding carelessly across the Continue reading →
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Day 20: Small-Town Lapland
Today, my far-northern foray brings me to Vilhelmina, named in history after a certain queen who was ousted from the throne shortly after being immortalised in the names of the towns of Vilhelmina, and Dorotea which I had passed yesterday. And it’s refreshing to spend a little time focusing on a settlement after pondering 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.