Category: Articles & Essays
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Coolest adventure plan gets a free touring bike & gear. One week to enter!
Over the last few weeks I’ve been blogging about my biggest challenge yet. It has nothing to do with distance, speed, mileage, or any other kind of challenge we traditionally construct for ourselves. No; the challenge was to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats without any money whatsoever. What I hoped to achieve was an insight into the world of free travel. People have been wandering pennilessly for as long as journeys have existed, but nowadays the perceived barriers to travelling — or doing anything — if you don’t have much money are bigger than ever. I wanted to see if… Continue reading →
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It was a summer’s day in 2006
It was a summer’s day in 2006 — was it really eight years ago? — and I was driving my dad’s Vauxhall Astra to my very first job interview. The position in question was for a database designer in a software house in Barnstaple, Devon. I was 22 years old with a good degree in Computer Science. Getting a proper job was exactly what I was supposed to be doing. It was a summer’s day in 2007 — was it really seven years ago? — and I was about to ride my new bicycle for the very first time. My best mate Andy and I had finished… Continue reading →
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Don’t Bother With The Whole Sponsorship Thing
In 2014 I joined seasoned round-the-world cyclist Alastair Humphreys for a coffee in a secret location in central London (okay, it was the British Library canteen) in order to chat about bike trips — specifically, bike trips that could be made for under £1,000 and within the average annual holiday allowance. It was part of Al’s excellent #Adventure1000 project. What follows is an edited transcription of our discussion. Enjoy… Alastair: My Adventure1000 interview today is Tom Allen – cyclist and filmmaker – chosen solely because of his beer can stove, about which more later… Could you start by outlining the biggest expedition that you’ve been on? Tom: The biggest expeditions… Continue reading →
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5 Dream Trips I’d Take This Year If Time & Money Were No Object
For the first time in my adult life I have more or less definite plans for the next 12 months. Almost all of them revolve around adventures, creative storytelling, and sharing knowledge, so I can’t complain. Perhaps it’s in response to the existential tyranny of ‘future planning’, though, that I often find myself daydreaming about the trips I’d do if I hadn’t already made these plans! Here are a few dream trips I’d take in 2014 if time and money were no object: * * * 1. Walk across Armenia Much of the back country of my adoptive homeland remains unexplored… Continue reading →
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New Adventures, Creative Projects and Commitments for 2014
Part One of this ‘annual review’ blog series was a critical retrospective of 2013, based on looking at what went well and what didn’t go well. Part Two was a reminder of how this blog came to be and how it developed into what it is today, 7 years later. This is the third and final part, in which I’ll be looking specifically at what 2014 has in store along the various strands of my life. It is worth regularly pausing for thought in this way, even if only to confirm that the direction we’re going in reflects our true priorities. The… Continue reading →
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“Did you ever think that this would become your life?”
I received an email the other day from another long-term traveller about a project I’m currently working on. At the end of the email was the following: “P.S. When you set out on that first trip, did you ever think that this would become your life?” A damn good question with more scope than befits a private email exchange, I thought. (Thanks, Jamie!) First, what is ‘this’, exactly? Well, this blog, I suppose, and all else that it directly supports, for that is all most people see. But I spend more time working on this blog and projects derived from it… Continue reading →
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2013: Retrospection & Prioritisation
Tenny and I saw in the New Year 12 months ago with a schoolteacher and a lawyer from London. Said professional couple are now taking a couple of days’ rest in the delightful seaside town of Batumi, Georgia, having quit their jobs and cycled the entire width of Europe and Turkey. Their story is a tangible example of how far you can come in a year if you put your mind to it. This recognisable end-of-year wind-down is a good opportunity to look back and see what we can learn before 2014 kicks in and we’re caught up in the hustle once again I’d… Continue reading →
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The Deeply Misunderstood Nature Of On-The-Road Hospitality
During a recent post-film Q&A, someone stood up and said: “You said you received a lot of hospitality wherever you went, and that people were always happy to give you food and shelter, even those with very little to give.” So far so good. “But didn’t you feel like you were just taking advantage of people the whole time?” Oh. A loaded question. Got you. Thank you very much for asking, madam. Continue reading →
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5 Keys To Relationship Preservation As A Couple On A Cycle Tour
Today’s guest post is from Simon Thompson, who I nagged to share his experiences of travelling with a significant other. He’s generously entertained my whim and turned in an extremely useful rundown of survival tips for intrepid couples. Take it away, Simon! Prior to our ‘big trip’, my girlfriend Ruth and I lived in different cities. And, because of my job, when we weren’t living in different cities we lived on different continents. Ours was a weekend relationship punctuated with several three or four month periods of complete separation. By the time we left for our five-month bike trip through South… Continue reading →
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Lessons Learned while Cycling to the North Cape (and Back)
Today’s guest post is from Bram Reusen, a serial traveller who this summer set off to cycle to Nordkapp in Norway. His tale is a reminder that the best laid plans always go astray — and, when travel is involved, that’s often for the better. Usually, I tend to romanticize things. I like that about myself, because it allows me to see the positive side of what I do. In the past three years I have travelled to four continents and got around using various means of transportation. In order to finance those travels I also spent – and am currently… Continue reading →