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 Far Can You Go On A Scrapyard Touring Bike? (Short Answer: A Very Long Way)
A few years ago I was invited to be a guest on the 2nd episode of The Cycle Show, which aired on July 15th 2014 at 8pm BST on ITV4. (ITV billed me as ‘comedian Tom Allen’, which is actually another Tom Allen entirely. I’d just like to take this opportunity to confirm that I possess absolutely no sense of humour whatsoever.) Anyway. One of the other guests on the show was James Cracknell, former Olympian rower turned cyclist and endurance-athlete-adventurer extraordinaire. When my segment came up, I talked about the beauty and freedom of bicycle travel; about how it’s one… Continue reading →
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How To Custom Build The Ultimate Expedition Touring Bike (With Pictures)
Some of the most frequently-asked questions I get on this blog are about designing and building custom touring bikes, whether DIY or built to order by a professional bike builder. Especially now the world has opened up to bicycle travel again, these questions often come from people planning cycle tours or bikepacking trips of ambitious scale – across multiple continents, or even around the world. But why would you want to custom-build a touring bike in the first place, rather than buy a commercially-manufactured one? I’ve come across a few common reasons: And of course, there are always folk who just… Continue reading →
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10 Tips For Planning Your First Off-Road Bikepacking Trip
Cycling across Europe, West Asia and the Levant gave me thousands of miles of cycle touring experience. But the dirt tracks of Africa and Mongolia were very different to the smooth, well-maintained asphalt I’d grown used to. This was long before “bikepacking” was a thing, however, and I had to make do with the bike and gear I had. Since then, bikepacking (as distinct from cycle touring) has grown from a niche to a buzzword to a discipline with a whole industry behind it, and making extended bike trips to explore the world’s trails on two wheels has never been more… Continue reading →
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The Best Cheap (Sub-£1,000) Touring Bikes for Low-Budget Adventures
Many of the cheap touring bikes listed here did not survive the pandemic, so the latest edition of this post is shorter than before. For further options, you may wish to head over to the updated-for-2024 list of best touring bikes at all price points. As cycling continues to grow in popularity, many manufacturers have begun producing cheap, entry-level touring bikes aimed at cyclists and travellers on a lower budget. For me, as a long-time evangelist for the bicycle as the best way to see the world, seeing more cheap touring bikes on the market is a welcome trend. Some… Continue reading →
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Как отправиться в кругосветное путешествие на велосипеде: три простых шага
Шаг 1. Раздобудьте велосипед. Какой именно — не имеет значения. Главное, чтобы он был удобным и исправным. В любом случае, без велосипеда вы далеко не уедете. Шаг 2. Увольтесь.* На путешествие потребуется несколько лет, так что напишите своему начальству в заявлении на увольнение о том, что вам, конечно, очень жаль уходить с работы, но у вас есть более важные дела. * если вы студент, пенсионер или безработный, то этот шаг можно смело пропустить. Шаг 3. Отправляйтесь в путь. У вас не получится объехать весь свет, если вы никуда не поедете. Поэтому закрепите на велосипеде палатку и спальный мешок, попросите соседей приглядывать… 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.