– Adventure Touring –
There are two things that make life on the bike interesting: freedom and variety. In fact that’s probably a distillation of what makes life in general interesting, when mixed in with a healthy dose of challenge. Uzbekistan so far was definitely lacking in the variety department but mentally, the desert had proved challenging. Now finding … Continue reading Just deserts
I realise it’s been a couple of weeks now since I last posted an update, so this one will probably be a bit of a whirlwind! I’m now in, what lonely planet describes as ‘Uzbekistan’s least desirable city’. Nukus. An imposing soviet style dwelling, harking back to the ‘glory days’ of the USSR, it sits … Continue reading We’ll be gone tomorrow. Probably…
I’d broken up my trip with a visit to see Shauna in Italy. Beautiful cobbled squares, incredible food and easily accessible alcohol. It was a world away from sleeping rough on the floors of Turkish petrol stations. Returning on the plane I felt a pit in my stomach, I really didn’t want to be back … Continue reading Mountains, Seas and protesting in Tbilisi
If we were to walk down the street together, chances are that you would overtake me. My natural pace is an amble at best, and it generally takes a crippling disability for me forge ahead of someone on the pavement. Put me on a bike however and this contempt for the slower way of life … Continue reading Off the ‘Beaten Track’
It’s been something of a very hectic two weeks. Weeks consisting of days so stacked with weird and wonderful memories I feel the need to imminently scribble down before they disappear from my mind completely. At the end of it though, I’m in Istanbul, Constantinople, Byzantium, currently just separated from the start of a new … Continue reading Constantinople’s Calling
Feeling significantly older after negotiating the frenzied Belgrade rush hour traffic, we found ourselves welcomed out of the cold and into Andrej’s colourful apartment. No two walls were the same and it seemed the vibrant colours slowly started to lower our pulse down from a hamster on Red Bull, back to safe human levels. Andrej … Continue reading Into the wild
Budapest, a city of two sides (Buda and Pest) which is also it’s own county. My weekend there certainly felt like a microcosm, a world away from how I have been approaching previous cities on this journey. After starting to consider myself to be slowly earning my travelling ‘stripes’ as I traverse Europe in winter, … Continue reading Caught in the crossfire: Siberian winds
‘What did you do to deserve that?’ The comment from one of the hostel staff upon checking in, pretty accurately reflected the current and forecasted weather for bike riding. He seemed pretty adamant that this was some sort of punishment I was inflicting upon myself to make amends for previous wrongs in my life. I … Continue reading Why are you punishing yourself?
The Danube was one of my key markers for traversing Europe, with a lack of contours scarcely imaginable on my detour into the Swiss alps, it always seemed like the ideal path to warm my fresh legs into the touring world. Once the frontier of the Roman Empire, it now hosts the far more important … Continue reading Just follow the Danube
Three years ago I cycled from Helsinki to Berlin, with the idea of meeting some interesting people and exploring new lands. Arriving in Berlin, I was keen to celebrate the end of expansive pine forests and having successfully fended off a wild boar the previous night. Luckily for me, there were two people who were … Continue reading Skiers on the bike path
