Category: Other People's Adventures
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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 a brand new adventure. Little did I know that I was putting into a motion a train of events that would eventually see him arriving in Hong Kong in time for Christmas 2016 – and in need of a new rider to take him further round the globe!… Continue reading →
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Safe roads & tailwinds to Janapar Grant winner Jess Hargreaves!
A little over a year ago, I was having a chat with a small group of friends who all made a living – one way or another – from adventure. We’d been having these irregular meetings for a couple of years. Ideally they took place down the pub, but often – the lifestyle of the nomadic self-unemployed adventurer being what it is – they’d be conducted via Skype or somesuch technology, all dialling in from a constantly changing series of locations worldwide. The reason for these group chats was to soundboard new ideas, figure out if they had the potential… Continue reading →
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The Continuing Adventures Of Charlie The Scrapyard Touring Bike, By Kelly Diggle (Rider #4)
Today’s guest post is from Kelly Diggle, who has just come into ownership of Charlie the Scrapyard Touring Bike. Read about how Charlie was born, as well as the stories of his first and second big journeys. Take it away, Kelly… I’d be lying if I said cycle touring has always been a dream of mine. In fact, I blame my wanderlust and itchy-feet-syndrome on the books, blogs and adventurers that tell me over and over again that pedalling off into the distance is an absolute must! This year I decided to listen. Having had my heart stolen during a 10 day… Continue reading →
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#freeLEJOG: What Happened To Tegan Phillips & Charlie The No-Budget Touring Bike?
Last summer I offered to give away a full touring bike and equipment. The winner was Tegan Phillips, a South African student looking for a way to spend a month or so before starting a semester as an overseas student in the UK. Tegan won the giveaway by making this awesome video: Then she turned up at my flat in Bristol and wobbled off to catch a ferry to Spain. Her blog about this trip, Unclipped Adventure, was – quite literally – the best blog I’d ever read about cycle touring. Now? She’s cycling through Africa with her whole family. Her amazing blog continues here, but… Continue reading →
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Free Photo eBook: Bicycling Around The World by Paul Jeurissen
There are lots of bicycle travellers out there. There are also lots of excellent photographers. When they happen to be the same person, and the results are shared with the world, we’re all in for a real treat. Photographer Paul Jeurissen and his partner Grace Johnson have been pedalling the world for years, and have amassed a huge collection of images. And they’ve just made the very best of them available in a PDF eBook. I’m not going to harp on about its contents, other than to say that the images and stories are stunning and inspiring, and that all of us (especially those… Continue reading →
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#freeLEJOG: How Tegan Gave My Touring Bike A New Lease Of Life
A couple of weeks back I offered up my no-budget touring bike and gear to whoever came up with the most appropriate plan for what they’d do with it. The winner, a South African student by the name of Tegan Phillips (whose video entry you just have to watch), is now en route for Spain, having dropped by last week to collect it all. I’m not going to ramble on about Tegan, her trip plans, what happened the day she departed on her first big cycling adventure, or anything like that. Instead, I’d like you to take the time you’d put aside for reading my blog and spend it reading… Continue reading →
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New Travel & Adventure Books For June 2014
This week sees the publication of two new books that I’ve been eagerly anticipating for several months. Both are written by accomplished and experienced writers who I highly respect; both sit within the category of adventure; yet these two books could barely be more different in theme and content. Life Cycles by Julian Sayarer Julian Sayarer is probably better remembered for the utterly epic post-trip rant he published on his blog than for the feat of athleticism he’d achieved during the previous 169 days of riding. His words, preserved online since their publication in 2009, were those of a man who — exposed and vulnerable and at 12 miles… Continue reading →
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Ridgeback Panorama Touring Bike Review & Detailed Photos
This guest post was written in 2014 by my friends Tim & Laura Moss, who spent 16 months riding two Ridgeback Panorama touring bikes 13,000 miles (20,000km) around the world. The bike has changed little since then and has kept its reputation as a classic British road tourer. The Panorama is British bicycle manufacturer Ridgeback’s top-of-the-range tourer from their World line of touring bikes. Ideally designed for short tours in developed countries, ours have performed well over a longer period (eight months and counting), carrying heavier loads (up to 45kg in winter) and over rough terrain (from dirt tracks in… Continue reading →
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15 Veteran Cyclists Share Their Favourite Non-Essential Luxuries On Tour
One of the central tenets of my new eBook Essential Gear for Adventure Cycle Touring (released this week!) is that there’s no right or wrong way to ‘do’ a bike trip. This is a truism, of course; I’m far from the first person to point it out! Each one of us has different priorities when we saddle up and hit the road, and the scope for doing things our own way is truly vast. This is one of many qualities that makes the bicycle such a superb choice for long, personal journeys that deeply satisfy the soul. To really get across the… 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 →