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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How To Assemble A Fix-Anything Cycle Touring or Bikepacking Toolkit
What tools, spares and supplies would the perfect cycle touring or bikepacking toolkit contain? Is it even possible to curate such a kit? If it is, which products have earned the strongest reputation for reliability on worldwide bike trips? And finally – which of those items should make it into the portable toolkit you’ll be packing for your next bikepacking trip or cycle tour? These are the questions I want to explore in this detailed post on the subject of toolkit assembly for bike touring and bikepacking. Note that if you have a non-standard bicycle configuration, such as a Rohloff hub or Pinion gearbox, hydraulically-actuated… Continue reading →
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Planning A Really Long Bike Trip? Ask Yourself These 7 Critical Questions First
I know the title of this post might sound odd. For the last 15 (wow… 15!) years, I’ve been banging on about the sheer awesomeness of going on bicycle adventures. I’ve been doing it so consistently that I’ve now published more words on this blog than in all six Lord Of The Rings books combined. Why, then, would I want you to question your dream long-distance bike trip? I’ve been around long enough to have seen a great many bicycle journey-based projects come and go. And – though you’d be forgiven for not noticing – they don’t always end well. One highfalutin example… Continue reading →
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Your Frequently-Asked Questions About The Janapar Grant, Answered
The response to the announcement of the Janapar Grant has been overwhelmingly positive – but then with £2,500 worth of bikes and equipment up for grabs, that’s no great surprise. What’s been interesting is the questions I’ve been fielding about the specifics of the idea. Some have been obvious, some not so much. They’ve certainly got me thinking. In response, I’ve put together a selection of the most frequently-asked, and done my best to answer them. What are the dates for application submissions and winner announcements? The 2016 Janapar Grant will open for applications on Monday the 29th of February,… Continue reading →
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The UK Cycle Touring Festival Returns For 2016! Get Your Early Bird Ticket Now
Quick version: Earlybird tickets for the 2nd UK Cycle Touring Festival are on sale! Click here to get yours. Last year’s inaugural Cycle Touring Festival turned out to be a really powerful celebration of bicycle travel, and a massively enjoyable way to spend a weekend. If you came along last time, I hope you’ll be joining us again! And if you didn’t, will you consider coming along this year? Set to return for late May bank holiday – that’s May 27th-30th – the aims of the festival are again twofold: Firstly – as mentioned – it’s a celebration of this thing… Continue reading →
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Introducing The Janapar Grant, A Travel Grant For Adventurous Young British Cyclists
Today I’m excited to announce one of the big new projects I’m starting this year: the Janapar Grant. This is a brand new venture aiming to help young people begin a rite-of-passage journey at a time in their lives when it will benefit them most, with the fewest possible strings attached. Check it out here. The structure of the grant is pretty simple, and has been informed by looking back on my own experience of preparing for a big ride, drawing on the experiences of others I know who’ve made similar journeys, and seeing what patterns emerge. It seems that the single most… 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.