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 Wild Camp Anywhere & Not Get Busted [Video]
Wild camping, or stealth camping, is the default modus operandi for the cycle traveller, for two obvious reasons: It’s free. Therefore you can strike accommodation costs entirely. Which means you’ll have more money to travel for much longer. You can do it anywhere. Therefore your destination is less important. Which means you can better experience the journey itself. Simple, really: Wild-camping equals a longer, cheaper, better journey. In this short video, we’ve taken a very tongue-in-cheek look at this crucial bastion of long-distance adventure cycling. Please help us get the word out about Janapar by sharing this video with the… Continue reading →
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Adventure Does Not Require Any Fancy Gear. (Just Ask Rob & Maria)
I recently received an exasperated comment from a wound-up-sounding man called Rob on an article I published about trip sponsorship. ‘This is really annoying’, wrote Rob, referring to the fact that I’d got a 50% discount on an Extrawheel trailer five years ago. ‘Who needs celebrity bike tourers anyway?’ It’s not often that I find myself on the receiving end of an angry rant. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve dealt a fair few of these in my younger and more obnoxious days, so it’s probably a case of “what goes around comes around”, as my mum would say. But… Continue reading →
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How To Shoot A Feature Film With A Cast & Crew Of One
I want to share some detailed behind-the-scenes thoughts on the making process behind Janapar. Those of you who’ve been reading since 2007 will take a trip of nostalgia reading this Q&A. For others, it’ll be a new insight into what kicked off this whole project, and how things have changed along the way. (This article was originally posted on the news page at janapar.com.) Is it possible to be taken seriously as a first-time filmmaker if your director, DOP, camera operator, sound recordist, driver, fixer, logistics manager, stills photographer, voiceover artist and lead talent are all the same person? James Newton… Continue reading →
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The Double Edged Sword Of Independent Film
I’m incredibly fortunate to be working with James on making Janapar. Not only is he a very talented producer-director, but he is one of the few with enough ambition (or recklessness) to turn down numerous well-paid TV gigs in favour of his own independent film. It’s an inherently risky business we’re in here. The majority of independent documentaries are passion projects. Most will never see a penny of profit. A startling proportion will bankrupt their makers. Why? Continue reading →
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3 Journeys In Progress You Should Be Following
I dip in and out of a multitude of blogs these days, in between finishing up my book, writing my own blog and getting ready for Janapar’s release. But there are few which exude the sheer quality and craftsmanship to hold my attention long-term. Here are the best examples I know of in three traditional storytelling media: film, written word, and still image. Film: Brazil 9000 Aaron and Gareth are barely out of the starting blocks on their latest journey, but they’ve set the bar incredibly high with this professional-quality video intro. It alone beats most of the trash on Nat… 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.