My Round The World ride (inc top blagging at Spa & The Ring)
Discussion
HereBeMonsters said:
You need to change the first pic to one of your bike. Every time I open this thread I think it's about some guy driving around the World in a Caterfield.
Done!Quick update:
I've finished my "car museum tour" of Germany and visited Porsche & Mercedes in Stuttgart, Audi in Ingolstadt and BMW in Munich and as of yesterday I'm in Salzburg, Austria which is the fifth country since leaving the UK.
As I don't get the chance to post that often, for "near real time" updates, you're all welcome to follow me on twitter.
http://twitter.com/neilchurchard
Car museum photos will be online when I can be arsed!
I really love this but I can't help but wonder how you approach the bike each morning knowing what a "truck" it is. I love cycling but your commitment/motivation is incredible. I doubt I'd have enough strength to punt that along for more than 10 mins.
Having said that, I have been known to tow up to 30Kg of daughter and trailer for up to 25 miles at a time but I am awfully slow when I'm towing.
I wonder, did you consider a trailer? That's quite a weight to carry on the bike. I know people are split between trailers and panniers but the weight your carrying seems to lend itself to a trailer in my eyes.
Having said that, I have been known to tow up to 30Kg of daughter and trailer for up to 25 miles at a time but I am awfully slow when I'm towing.
I wonder, did you consider a trailer? That's quite a weight to carry on the bike. I know people are split between trailers and panniers but the weight your carrying seems to lend itself to a trailer in my eyes.
neilski said:
As I don't get the chance to post that often, for "near real time" updates, you're all welcome to follow me on twitter.
http://twitter.com/neilchurchard!
450chap is now following you http://twitter.com/neilchurchard!
I have a fiver which says that the load will be halved by the end of the second day on rough roads in Tajikistan! You'll be down to two t-shirts (a "best" one with minimal holes in, and a "riding" one which looks like Swiss Cheese) one pair of shorts, a pan, a Trangia, a tent, and wet wipes. Never leave wet wipes behind - vital for the old "traveller's shower".
On that note, try and pick up some spare spokes while you're in civilisation - the bloke we met in Tajikistan who was cycling to Sydney had broken circa 10 and he was only halfway!
On that note, try and pick up some spare spokes while you're in civilisation - the bloke we met in Tajikistan who was cycling to Sydney had broken circa 10 and he was only halfway!
neilski said:
Once in Asia, the route is Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Australia, New Zealand then Chile to Canada before crossing North America to somewhere in the east then I'll take a decision on where I fly to for the last leg. At the moment I'm thinking of either The Gambia or Sicily but I've got plenty of time to think about it!
It is worth taking a couple of days' detour North from Kyrgyzstan to go to Kazakhstan - specifically Almaty, which is a lovely town for a look-see and a beer, and the Charyn Canyon, which is utterly mindblowing. You'd then be able to cross over to China at Urumqi. Visas aren't too difficult to get hold of in Kyrgyzstan I don't think. Just a thought!So far I've made it to Linz in Austria.
If anyone wants a cycling holiday with smooth tarmac paths, little traffic, hardly any hills then you could do far worse than riding the Danube from Passau to Vienna. The scenery on this stretch is stunning and there are plenty of places to stop for a beer, lunch, camping, overnight stay etc. and plenty of things to see & do.
I'd like to come back here for a holiday and do this section again only really slowly and try and do every little side trip but if I did every side trip in every place I go to I'd probably still be in Belgium so I have to compromise between sightseeing and getting a few miles in each day but certainly nothing like Mark Beaumont or the guys going the Global Cycle Race. Sod that!
p.s. Map now updated. http://g.co/maps/vjj5d
If anyone wants a cycling holiday with smooth tarmac paths, little traffic, hardly any hills then you could do far worse than riding the Danube from Passau to Vienna. The scenery on this stretch is stunning and there are plenty of places to stop for a beer, lunch, camping, overnight stay etc. and plenty of things to see & do.
I'd like to come back here for a holiday and do this section again only really slowly and try and do every little side trip but if I did every side trip in every place I go to I'd probably still be in Belgium so I have to compromise between sightseeing and getting a few miles in each day but certainly nothing like Mark Beaumont or the guys going the Global Cycle Race. Sod that!
p.s. Map now updated. http://g.co/maps/vjj5d
Watchman said:
I really love this but I can't help but wonder how you approach the bike each morning knowing what a "truck" it is. I love cycling but your commitment/motivation is incredible. I doubt I'd have enough strength to punt that along for more than 10 mins.
Having said that, I have been known to tow up to 30Kg of daughter and trailer for up to 25 miles at a time but I am awfully slow when I'm towing.
I wonder, did you consider a trailer? That's quite a weight to carry on the bike. I know people are split between trailers and panniers but the weight your carrying seems to lend itself to a trailer in my eyes.
I see what you're saying and if I was back in the UK and had to drag myself out of bed each morning to ride 100km in a loop from my house and back I'd soon get bored but every day is an adventure and the cycling part has just become so normal I don't even think about it anymore. I ride at a comfortable pace so I never wake up the next morning feeling stiff or tired and the thing I love most about this trip is that I never know what I'm going to see from day to day or who I'm going to meet.Having said that, I have been known to tow up to 30Kg of daughter and trailer for up to 25 miles at a time but I am awfully slow when I'm towing.
I wonder, did you consider a trailer? That's quite a weight to carry on the bike. I know people are split between trailers and panniers but the weight your carrying seems to lend itself to a trailer in my eyes.
It also never fails to amuse me the reaction I get from people when I tell them what I'm doing. I'm about as far removed from being a "celebrity" as it's possible to be, just a normal bloke riding my bike from place to place each day, minding my own business but I constantly get asked "Why all the bags?", "What's the solar panel for?" followed by "Can I take your picture?", "Can I have my picture taken with you?", "Can you come and stand in front of my restaurant and have your picture taken with me & my wife?" etc. etc.
I didn't fancy a trailer because they always come with a weight penalty and the need to carry two different sizes of tyre unless I go for an Extrawheel with a 700c tyre but they have a high C of G. A two wheeled trailer is harder to fit through narrow gaps and I really don't fancy being overtaken by a trailer on a fast descent when I slam on the anchors!
neilski said:
I see what you're saying and if I was back in the UK and had to drag myself out of bed each morning to ride 100km in a loop from my house and back I'd soon get bored but every day is an adventure and the cycling part has just become so normal I don't even think about it anymore. I ride at a comfortable pace so I never wake up the next morning feeling stiff or tired and the thing I love most about this trip is that I never know what I'm going to see from day to day or who I'm going to meet.
I think I get this. When at home I fight with my dreams to get out of bed. When I'm on holiday I often get up earlier than normal, feeling refreshed and happy.neilski said:
It also never fails to amuse me the reaction I get from people when I tell them what I'm doing. I'm about as far removed from being a "celebrity" as it's possible to be, just a normal bloke riding my bike from place to place each day, minding my own business but I constantly get asked "Why all the bags?", "What's the solar panel for?" followed by "Can I take your picture?", "Can I have my picture taken with you?", "Can you come and stand in front of my restaurant and have your picture taken with me & my wife?" etc. etc.
But you're bringing something different to people's lives. I used to tour Europe and Scandinavia in a Caterham with a group of other Se7ens. People used to flock around us whenever we stopped. You're doing something they wouldn't dream of and yet they all wish they could enjoy the freedom you are.neilski said:
I didn't fancy a trailer because they always come with a weight penalty and the need to carry two different sizes of tyre unless I go for an Extrawheel with a 700c tyre but they have a high C of G. A two wheeled trailer is harder to fit through narrow gaps and I really don't fancy being overtaken by a trailer on a fast descent when I slam on the anchors!
It's true about the weight penalty. Overall you have more to drag but it leaves the bike less encumbered. I note that it's a very marmite decision. All I can say is, if I were in your situation, I would opt for a support vehicle. 
pbarlow0032 said:
Incredible! I'm sat reading this wondering how someone could set off on such an adventure and it not be remotely publicised? Do people do things like this all the time and we just never hear about it?
Can't wait to see more pics and hear some stories!
Amazing
You get the odd cyclist that sets off on a trip that tells the local paper but why a paper would be interested in someone going off on a glorified holiday I have no idea!Can't wait to see more pics and hear some stories!
Amazing
As of yesterday I'm in Hungary which is the seventh country in seven weeks. Somehow, I think the relationship between countries & weeks is going to drop off soon!
Eastern Europe is strange to me in that Slovakia & Hungary are the first two countries I've reached where I don't speak the language at all and seem quite different culturally to the other countries I've passed through where any cultural differences were gradual instead of being immediately obvious from the moment I crossed the border.
On the plus side, I can't get over how cheap it is. A half litre beer in a bar is roughly a quid but the downside to this is that on Wednesday night in Bratislava, every time I tried to leave the bar to go to bed the Irish guy I was drinking with kept on buying us one more beer each except he didn't have to get up and cycle the next day!
I've also had my first encounter with a snake and a couple of wild dogs yesterday.
Eastern Europe is strange to me in that Slovakia & Hungary are the first two countries I've reached where I don't speak the language at all and seem quite different culturally to the other countries I've passed through where any cultural differences were gradual instead of being immediately obvious from the moment I crossed the border.
On the plus side, I can't get over how cheap it is. A half litre beer in a bar is roughly a quid but the downside to this is that on Wednesday night in Bratislava, every time I tried to leave the bar to go to bed the Irish guy I was drinking with kept on buying us one more beer each except he didn't have to get up and cycle the next day!
I've also had my first encounter with a snake and a couple of wild dogs yesterday.
scottri said:
Following this with interest. I'd love to do something like this but funds are lacking. Unless I get made redundant....
Do you mind me asking what sort of budget you have set yourself? How much planning about where to stop / sleep did you do in advance?
A few years ago a guy called Alastair Humphreys cycled around the world by saving up his student loans and managed it for about £3700 and in September this year there's a "guided" RTW ride you can do on a road bike where your luggage is carried for you which costs £34,000. My budget is somewhere between the two. Do you mind me asking what sort of budget you have set yourself? How much planning about where to stop / sleep did you do in advance?
I have a route in my head of the countries I'd like to see but just take each day as it comes, adding little bits on to the route all the time if they sound interesting. Sometimes I ride a lot of km and others I do more sightseeing than cycling and I never know where I'm going to sleep each night until I get there.
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