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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Thoughts From The Far End Of Europe (Part 2)
I wrote Part 1 of this article about three years ago. I’d just crossed the south-eastern border of Bulgaria. Landscape and society was shaded with new colours, and the whole panorama of history looked increasingly unfamiliar: Byzantines and Arabs battled in place of Normans and Anglo-Saxons; exotic Assyrians ousted the quaint familiarity of the Celts. Islam began with the coming of Mohammed, seven hundred years after we had settled on the birth-date of Christ, so in my next destination, Iran, the year was 1386. Continue reading →
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Europe From A New Perspective
I think having my wife alongside me for this, the final leg of my three-year bike journey through three continents and down one aisle, is going to be a really good thing. Continue reading →
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My Ten Most Interesting Photos on Flickr
Flickr is a fantastic photo archiving solution, especially for the traveller. But the real benefit of Flickr is the community that’s shaped the network over the years since it was launched. Now, a whole Flickr culture exists, with thriving sub-communities for any subject you might imagine. Participation is encouraged, and the best shots tend to ‘bubble up’ and are promoted accordingly throughout the site. I’ve been able to share and develop my interest in photography using Flickr in a way I would never have been able to do otherwise. Looking critically at what people are drawn to, from my photostream as… Continue reading →
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My First Panorama — Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia
I’ve been experimenting again… But the small version doesn’t do it justice. Have a look at a slightly bigger size. Continue reading →
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5 Top Reads From Last Year
I’ve been reading through some of the older posts I made while on the road in the Middle East and Africa. Let’s face it, they’re far more interesting than the practical advice I’ve been trying to dish out recently — you can’t beat a bit of vicarious adventure! And this was one of the most fascinating and challenging periods of my life. Take a look at the most popular reads from this time last year, which I’ve just updated with plenty of photographs: Along The Egyptian Nile To Luxor How tough it is to fully escape Egypt’s tourist trail, and the rewards… 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.