Category: On The Road
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8 Simple Winter Camping Tricks To Stay Safe & Warm
It snowed/sleeted briefly yesterday morning, and that might well be the only snow we get this year; therefore I feel justified in publishing this post on techniques to stay warm when camping when it’s absolutely bloody freezing. Follow the tips below, and you too can expect to get at least two or three hours’ sleep per night on an ill-advised last-minute bicycle journey to the Arctic Circle in the middle of winter with totally inappropriate equipment… * * * 1. Know Your Gear (Or Take More Of It) If you’re trying to minimise your baggage for winter camping, the key is… 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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Why It’s Friendliness, Not Defensiveness, That’ll Keep You Safe On The Road
If there’s one question that I can guarantee will come up in a post-film Q&A, it’s the one about safety. “Didn’t you ever feel threatened by people?”, someone will ask me of my 32-country bike trip. “What was the most dangerous situation you had to deal with?” Continue reading →
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How To Wild Camp Anywhere & Not Get Busted [Video]
Wild camping, or stealth camping, is the default modus operandi for the cycle traveller, for two obvious reasons: It’s free. Therefore you can strike accommodation costs entirely. Which means you’ll have more money to travel for much longer. You can do it anywhere. Therefore your destination is less important. Which means you can better experience the journey itself. Simple, really: Wild-camping equals a longer, cheaper, better journey. In this short video, we’ve taken a very tongue-in-cheek look at this crucial bastion of long-distance adventure cycling. Please help us get the word out about Janapar by sharing this video with the… Continue reading →
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Essential Gear for a Deep Winter Cycle Tour
The original version of this article appeared in the February 2012 issue of Geographical. Blue light invaded my cocoon of flapping fabric. My waking thought was one of despair. The wind, which had made pitching camp so hopeless and miserable the previous evening, hadn’t died. It was thirty degrees below zero. I lay on my back, remembering how I had stumbled about in the dark tying guylines to bicycle wheels and half-buried panniers in a vain attempt to anchor my three season tent in the deep, sugary snow. I tried to muster the motivation to get up, pack up and hit… Continue reading →