Cycling the World
I awoke and whilst I was gathering up the energy to leave my sleeping bag, a man started to walk from his house over to me. Worried that I was in for a telling off at 5am, I got out of "bed" and started to gather my things. Turns out he just wanted to make... Continue Reading →
After the sunrise alarm clock and a little bit of a doze, we all headed for a seriously underwhelming breakfast and then a chilled morning before a 10am briefing and 11am start. The clan chief gave a rousing speech and got us all hyped up for the start. Rather than sprinting out the gate, it... Continue Reading →
Hopefully I didn’t start as I meant to go on… I missed my 7:56am train by 2 minutes despite living 1 Mike from the train station. I headed back home and managed to get back in plenty of time for the 10am train. Sadly, this time round, I didn’t get the train again, however this... Continue Reading →
As the weather is looking really nice, my kit list is a lot less that it otherwise would have been, I've managed to get my dry kit weight (without food and water) down to about 13kgs (12.75ks to be precise), Below is a list of what I'm taking on the bike and what I'll have... Continue Reading →
This week has been a bit manic trying to get all my kit and everything ready. Some last minute bits of kit arriving just before the weekend and going through everything I'm going to take item by item making sure not to pack too much or too little. Amazingly, the weather looks ideal for the... Continue Reading →
It's been over 2 years since I returned from my trip around the world and a lot has changed. We've gone through several lockdowns, a couple of jabs and now a cost of living crisis. One thing hasn't changed though, I still want to explore the world by bike and this time, it is in... Continue Reading →
A couple of months have passed since returning to home soil and I thought I’d provide a bit of an update. Having spent my 2 weeks in self isolation quarantine only leaving my room for my 1 daily allocation of exercise, I was thrilled to be allowed to expand to the rest of the house... Continue Reading →
After spending a couple of hours chatting and planning our routes home, some of us decided to stay in Southern Cross for the evening and head back the next morning. I managed to hop on some WiFi and contact my parents back home to let them know and to start looking for flights back to... Continue Reading →
Unable to sleep my 4:15 alarm was a very unwelcome surprise.I’m unsure whether it was nerves or excitement or a bit of both. I had a quick shower as I didn’t know when the next one would be, got ready and headed out on my bike. Steve was joining me for the ride down to... Continue Reading →
After getting to know each other I settled in for the my first night in Australia. My host family were amazing and offered so much help and advice when it came with feeding me (no easy task), offering routes to cycle round Perth and advice for the race to Sydney. I settled on riding the... Continue Reading →
Not too far from the border I found a reasonably priced hotel so checked in for the night. It was a bit of a walk to the 7/11 to get some food but it was the only place around that was open. Having stocked up on snacks I left before 8am heading to Bangkok. It... Continue Reading →
It was 300km to Siem Reap along flat roads so I plodded along trying my best in staggering 38 degree heat with unbelievable humidity. The roads to Siem Reap were a bit boring as they were just highways with nothing but flat farmland either side. https://videopress.com/v/y9ugG9Zl?preloadContent=metadata Occasional towns would provide welcome relief and the ability... Continue Reading →
Having left the War Museum I finished off my tour of Ho Chi Minh and made my way back to the hostel. I found an incredible western vegan restaurant with some real home food comforts. Top of the list was Apple crumble and custard. It is something that I hadn’t had in a long time.... Continue Reading →
My destination for the day was Da Lat. Having looked at the route it was to be a tough day. Starting off with around 50km of lovely flat smooth roads at sea level leading to a climb up to almost 1700m over 30km. This was the first proper climb since northern Vietnam so it was... Continue Reading →
Heading south to Nha Trang meant that the weather was getting hotter. Each day that went by was a day closer to summer and getting closer to the equator. It was now above 30 degrees for most of the day which meant trying to front load the days and making more stops for water. The... Continue Reading →
They couldn’t have picked a hotel further away from the airport. When I eventually got there I took my bike straight up in the lift, got into the room and gave them a big hug. I hadn’t seen anyone I knew since I left in October so it was great to spend some time catching... Continue Reading →
Cat Ba island is stunning. The hostel I stayed at was right on a quiet secluded beach with perfect sand and barely a wave in sight. I decided to stay for a few days after having a tough ride on the Ha Giang loop. Strangely after time off the bike I was really looking forward... Continue Reading →
Having planned the route for the loop I set off with great expectation. Cycling along the flat for a while before heading up into the mountains kept me excited, especially as the roads often had a dedicated bike lane. I was really looking forward to seeing the most beautiful part of Vietnam and it certainly... Continue Reading →
A new year was upon me and with a New Years resolution of seeing a sunset and sunrise every week I decided to have a lie in. I spent a couple of days in Vang Vieng having a bit of a relax, going tubing and planning my route for the next few weeks. The plan... Continue Reading →
After a surprisingly comfortable and uneventful bus journey, I made it to Chiang Mai. The bike was thankfully unhurt on the journey so hopped on and made my way to the hostel. Being Christmas Eve I checked in, headed straight for the shower and then back down to the bar for the evenings entertainment which... Continue Reading →
My Belated Gap Year 