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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Forget Middle Eastern Politics — It’s All About Food
While the media is hollering madly about civil unrest and revolutions, it’s time to remind ourselves that pretty much everyone in the region (and the world) is still going to work, drinking tea, and — of course — sharing meals with close family and friends. My parents-in-law and many of their extended family live in Tehran, and I’ve shared countless delicious Persian meals in their company. Iranian is possibly my favourite cuisine of all. Two bicycle adventurers in the UK are touring the world’s cuisines without ever leaving London. Here’s their short video from Iran. I’m salivating already… [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/21649290[/vimeo] If you… Continue reading →
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Writer’s Blog: What’s On A Long-Distance Cyclist’s Bookshelf?
You generate a lot of free time on the road. To observe, to create images, to think. Often it’s nice to simply empty your head entirely and think of nothing at all. But I have been able to do a ton of reading in my tent at night, during lazy lunch-breaks, while waiting for friends to finish packing. Continue reading →
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Revisiting Sudan As The South Prepares For Independence
Sudan has recently held a referendum on the issue of the independence of southern Sudan, a geographically and ethnically distinct region of the country which, in 1956, was — thanks once again to the good old British Empire — lumped in with the northern tribes to form a single independent nation. Civil war has been the de facto lifestyle ever since. I was happy to hear, then, that 98.83% of votes were in favour of independence. Anyone who knows something of the history of Sudan’s civil conflicts and of the acts that the current government has committed will be unsurprised at… Continue reading →
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Help And Get Helped With Expedition Planning This Week
If you’re lucky enough to be in or near London on Thursday April 7th, and you’re planning or have been on an adventure or two, you can’t miss this event at the Royal Geographical Society with IBG headquarters. From the organiser Alastair Humphreys: When I was planning to cycle round the world there was so much that I did not know. I was really thankful when a veteran long-distance cyclist agreed to meet me in a pub one evening and answer my questions. Last year I thought that it could be helpful, now that I have done a few trips,… Continue reading →
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Writer’s Blog: With All The Enthusiasm Of A Beginner
I sat down a few days ago and began to write. I wrote and wrote and wrote. The words flew from my mind faster than I could get them down. Before I knew what had happened I’d committed six thousand words to manuscript. And I was happy with all of them. 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.