Category: Inspiration
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Introducing Yet Another Cycle Touring & Bikepacking YouTube Channel
So I’ve caved in to demand and rebooted my long-abandoned YouTube channel. Check it out here. This is a long-overdue experiment to see if my obsession with exploring the world by bike will translate into the short, informal video format. I have no more intention of becoming rich and famous on YouTube than I did […] Continue reading →
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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 […] Continue reading →
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How Does Cycle Touring Actually Work?
This post is part of a series of inspirational short essays exploring the who, what, when, where and how of cycle touring and bikepacking. Like all adventures, bicycle travel’s basic requirement is one of the modern world’s most scarce and valuable resources: time. Create time for a bicycle journey and you have already set the […] Continue reading →
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Where Is It Possible To Travel By Bicycle?
This post is part of a series of inspirational short essays exploring the who, what, when, where and how of cycle touring and bikepacking. One of the most wonderful things about cycle touring and bikepacking is this: You are no longer restricted to anyone else’s idea of a place worth going to. In fact, you have an […] Continue reading →
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When Can You Go Cycle Touring?
This post is part of a series of inspirational short essays exploring the who, what, when, where and how of cycle touring and bikepacking. The ‘when’ of setting off on a bike trip is an easy one: as soon as you would like. That might be next summer, when you’ve got the the equipment sorted, […] Continue reading →
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Who Can Go On A Bicycle Tour? (Hint: Not Only Cyclists)
This post is part of a series of inspirational short essays exploring the who, what, when, where and how of cycle touring and bikepacking. It is sometimes assumed that cycle touring is the exclusive domain of the lean and lycra-clad. Since when did a ‘normal’ person get on a bike and routinely crank out between […] Continue reading →
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What Is Cycle Touring (aka: Bikepacking)?
This post is part of a series of inspirational short essays exploring the who, what, when, where and how of cycle touring and bikepacking. Getting on a bicycle and going somewhere new is one of the most accessible ways to have an adventure. It doesn’t need to involve quitting your job, spending years planning, or […] Continue reading →
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The Best Way To See The World Is On A Bicycle, And Here’s Why
When you get into a car, or onto a train or plane or bus – even when you leave the house on foot – you do so almost always with the intention of arriving somewhere. You have a destination in mind, and your chosen mode of transport is simply how you’re going to get there. When […] Continue reading →
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How Charlie The Scrapyard Touring Bike Made It Halfway Round The World (And How You Can Take Him Further)
This is a guest post by Charlie Rowen, the fifth in a series of owner-riders of Charlie the Scrapyard Touring Bike, who I rescued from my local tip and refurbished back in 2013. The following year, at the end of his maiden voyage, I nonchalantly launched him into the world with a new owner, Tegan, on […] Continue reading →
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The Inspirational Story Of Megan And Her Totally Unplanned Central Asian Bike Trip
A big dose of inspiration today from unlikely Canadian bicycle traveller Megan Jamer. I’m a real sucker for stories in which an unsuspecting individual walks headlong into a chance set of circumstances that result in them unexpectedly embarking on a cycling adventure they never planned to have. When I met Megan in Yerevan a few […] Continue reading →