Category: Technology
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No Stupid Questions: How To Plan Cycle Tours In Unusual Places (Like Jamaica)?
A reader writes: I am a new subscriber to your mailing list as I hope to get into travelling by bike. I was wondering if you have any insights about biking in Jamaica? While being there I will able to do both short and very long rides. So my questions are: Is it safe? Is […] 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 […] Continue reading →
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27 Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Apps For Every Imaginable Purpose
While I’m a big advocate of low-tech bike tours, almost every long-distance rider today is bringing along their smartphone for the ride. But what exactly are the best apps for cycle touring and bikepacking? It’s a tricky question. To my knowledge, there is no single app that does everything an cycle tourer or bikepacker wants […] Continue reading →
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komoot: The Most Powerful Route Planning App For Bikepacking & Cycle Touring?
Full disclosure: komoot provided financial support for my 2018 tour of Armenia, and I published this review as part of that agreement. In 2023 I updated the post to reflect the app’s evolution. Lots of people have been asking about the route planning and navigation apps I’ve been using on my recent bike tours. The app […] Continue reading →
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Stop Bleeding Away Your Travel Money Via Overseas Card Transaction Fees (UK Only)
Fee-free UK current accounts for overseas spending are hard to come by. Enter Starling Bank, a mobile-only 'challenger' bank offering its customers zero-fee withdrawals and purchases in any currency anywhere in the world. Continue reading →
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8 Handy Bits Of Software For Travellers & Adventurers
If you’ve ignored all my advice to go on low-tech adventures and are packing a laptop and mobile net connection alongside your merino-wool boxer shorts and solar panels, you might find these bits of software make your precious time at the battery-powered screen a bit easier, safer and more productive. (And 7 out of the […] Continue reading →
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How To Use A GPS Unit On A Cycle Tour
As with many of the technology and equipment articles I write, this one opens with a question: Do you really need to use GPS on your tour? Will a GPS unit help you significantly to achieve your goals? Or will it serve as a distraction from the experience? Could you navigate by road-sign, map & compass, […] Continue reading →
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How To Start A Travel Blog: A 5‑Minute Intro To How Easy It Really Is
Travel blogging direct from the road, on your backpacking/walking/cycling/skateboarding/unicycling trip, is not only a realistic ambition: with today’s technology it’s also a piece of cake and costs very little. Read on for a quick primer… Continue reading →
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High-Tech or Low-Tech?
There’s a balance to be struck between taking too many and too few techy gadgets on an expedition. I’m a bit schizophrenic in this area. I’d like to say I’m a natural Ludditenaturally frugal — last year I hitched home from Armenia with only a knife, phone and poncho — but I also greatly value […] Continue reading →