Category: Janapar

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/58449502[/vimeo] On the 17th of June 2007 I cycled away from my parents’ front door on a mission to cycle the world. I’d called my project ‘Ride Earth’. I was a cocky 23-year-old and I thought I knew it all. I could not have been more wrong. Continue reading →

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Allen (@tom_r_allen) Just a quick note to let you know that there’s a free meetup happening in central London a week on Saturday. Officially it’s the book’s ‘launch party’ (because every book needs one) — the date after which the paperback will be on general release. But it’s also a good excuse for a get-together in a cracking central London venue. Entry for this evening event is free, as is the first drink for everyone who comes along. The programme of events is to show the film first, followed by… Continue reading →

I remember reading an early draft of Andy’s book some years ago and complaining that events I witnessed alongside him were sometimes retold in a slightly different order. I was annoyed because he’d deliberately altered aspects of the truth, however tiny, to suit the telling of his story. Having now written my own book, I can understand very well why he did this. (Sorry, Andy!) Since my last post’s unintentional controversy I’ve been thinking more on the topic of honesty and deceit in travel writing. I can think of at least two big motives for the reworking of selected events in… Continue reading →

I have no idea whether it is a good idea to be putting the finer details of my personal life up for public scrutiny in a 400-page book. I am worried. Things exist in this story that a big chunk of my ego does not want anyone to know. And I know I’m going to be judged for things I did and decisions I made. Continue reading →

Less is more. Continue reading →

At 2am this morning I completed my last run-through of the edited manuscript, which I received on Friday night, and — all being well in the proofread — it is the last time that the text will change for this first paperback and hardback edition of Janapar that Kickstarter has made possible! At the beginning of the project, I posted my draft version of the opening chapter, so I thought that now would be a good time to share the edited version of the same chapter. Download and read the PDF This is not quite how the text will appear in the finished… Continue reading →