Category: Creative Projects
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Are Decathlon Touring Bikes Actually Any Good? Verdict After 10,000km (Video)
Shortly after I published this post, Decathlon made the decision to retire most of the Riverside Touring range, seemingly in pursuit of the ultralight/gravel bikepacking bandwagon. This article is preserved as part of the historic record of this legendary line of classic touring bikes. Last week I had the pleasure of hosting a French couple on a mission to cycle round the world – preferably without flying – who had spent eight months riding across Europe, Turkey and Georgia, and had recently arrived in Armenia after almost 10,000km of pedalling. Their company evoked feelings of nostalgia for the time when,… Continue reading →
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Game-Changing Headphones For Safe Listening While Cycle Touring Or Bikepacking (Video)
As an inherently DIY-oriented bicycle traveller, I don’t normally post about new commercial products in the context of cycle touring and bikepacking. But I do want to highlight a development in the personal entertainment industry that has changed the way I engage with digital audio on the road for the better, and which I think would benefit a great many more riders. Continue reading →
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How To Fly With A Touring Bike Without It Getting Trashed (Video)
In this video I demonstrate how – after repeatedly trying all the different methods of flying with a bike – I currently pack and prepare my touring bikes for air travel. Then I actually put it on a plane to prove it works. Otherwise, it’s just theory. I’m here to actually do stuff, not just talk about it on YouTube. Continue reading →
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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 when I created my first free Blogspot account in 2006. My articles seemed to help more people get out riding, so I kept writing them. Likewise, if these videos help more people get out riding, I might keep making them. Continue reading →
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How To Pack Ultralight Camping Gear For A Bikepacking Race (Video)
In this episode of Tom’s Bike Shed (also the first episode, for what it’s worth), I conduct a test-run of packing and attaching to my new bike the camping gear I’ve selected for the bikepacking race later this year. Continue reading →
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Oxford Bike Works Expedition: New Upgrades For 2023
Before my recent Australia tour, I took Tom’s Expedition Bike back to its birthplace in the UK for a tune-up and a few experimental upgrades. This post details what’s changed, explores the thinking behind the upgrades, and goes deep into the specifics of why they were made. (Warning: it’s a 5,000-word long read, so maybe put the kettle on.) Continue reading →
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‘Janapar: The Game’ Is Now Available. Download It For Free Today!
For the last few weeks I’ve been putting the finishing touches to a project I’ve been working on for many years – and with so many of us in isolation and looking for things to do, the timing could not be better! Yes, that’s right – the story of my award-winning documentary Janapar: Love on a Bike has finally been adapted for video game format! Mixing both role-playing and action genres, Janapar: The Game will take you on a failed journey around the world by bicycle, teaching you tough lessons about life and love in the process. You’ll start Level… 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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Researching Armenia’s Most Comprehensive Travel Guidebook – By Bicycle
There’s another purpose to my in-depth bicycle tour of Armenia, which is also a nice development for my occasional career as an author: I’ve been greatly honoured with the task of researching and writing the next edition of the Bradt Travel Guide to Armenia. This British publication is the only dedicated English-language guidebook to Armenia currently in print. The original book was put together by a husband-and-wife team who first came to Armenia in 2001 and have been revising and updating it for three further editions since. But Bradt needed a new author for the 5th edition, and the commissioning… Continue reading →
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Oxford Bike Works & Tom’s Expedition Bike: The Story So Far
Just before I flew out to Bangkok for my current trip, I paid a visit to Richard Delacour at Oxford Bike Works to collect Tenny’s newly upgraded tourer. Based on a vintage steel Trek frame, the lovingly recycled bike is a tidy piece of work, naturally — but it got me reflecting on the story of my acquaintance with Richard and his company; a tale of serendipity and good timing that still elicits a smile. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Allen (@tom_r_allen) I first met Richard in 2014 when he wrote to me asking if I’d… Continue reading →