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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![Walking Home From Mongolia by Rob Lilwall [Book Review]](https://i0.wp.com/tomsbiketrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/walking-home-from-mongolia-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1)
Walking Home From Mongolia by Rob Lilwall [Book Review]
Rob Lilwall’s second book, Walking Home From Mongolia, is a strange yet compelling beast. It is, on the face of it, a linear account of an extremely long and admittedly monotonous walk across the full breadth of mainland China. Rob positions the story deliberately as a sequel to his Cycling Home From Siberia* book of some years ago. As with Siberia, the journey will begin somewhere dauntingly remote; rules few in number but clear in scope are set; and in declaring a final destination of Rob’s home in Hong Kong the foundations are laid for a simple, gruelling adventure. Continue reading →
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We Were Not Born Talented, Brave & Fearless
There’s one important thing to understand about adversity: You can’t prevent it. It is a consequence of life on Earth over which you have no control. You might choose to stave off situations of adversity — bad weather, hunger, lack of shelter, indecision, getting lost, and in general being way out of your comfort zone — simply by staying at home. But your comfort zone will become stagnant. You will, through inaction, have created a situation of existential adversity. Out on the road, when your daily routine is grounded in the immediate and present and tangible, your problems will follow… Continue reading →
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Unusual Sources of Travel Money: 50 Ways To Make £50
Dave Cornthwaite seems to have got it made. He’s gone from being a not-very-good graphic designer (his words, not mine) with a mortgage, a Playstation and a permanently furrowed brow to a bloke who will say “yes” to pretty much anything — swimming 1,000 miles down the Mississippi with no training; pedalling an elliptical bicycle round Europe; kayaking the length of the Murray River in Australia; making the longest skateboard journey on record at the time; and staying awake for 72 hours straight, which is surely the most impressive feat of them all. Continue reading →
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What the heck am I supposed to do now?
Bulgaria. Autumn. I roll to a halt beside Andy. “Mate,” he says. “We have a problem. A really big problem.” I look down. There’s a six-inch crack along the rim of his rear wheel and the inner tube is bulging horribly from the gaping maw. We are only 3 months into our round-the-world bike ride. What the heck are we supposed to do now? Continue reading →
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Biologic ReeCharge: A Dynamo-Powered USB Charger for Smartphones & More
Since the start of this year I’ve been making extensive use of a nifty on-the-road power solution from Taiwanese manufacturer Biologic called the ‘ReeCharge’. It’s billed as an effective — and environmentally respectful — way to put your pedalling efforts to use in keeping your smartphone, GPS or other USB-powered device charged while on the road. I’ve given it a thorough road-test over the last few months (mainly while riding the Tern Link P24h folding tourer), and I’ll be talking in-depth about my experiences with it in this article. I’ll also talk about a couple of unusual alternative solutions I’ve come… 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.