4- year bicycle tour
In 2010 I set out on a bicycle journey that was to last over 4 years and cover 43,000+ miles through 60 countries. This was my first long journey. I was young and naive and unspeakably excited.
The route took me from home to home via the furthest point in each of Europe, Asia and Africa (Nordkapp, Singapore and the Cape of Good Hope). Some of the more challenging stretches included crossing the Sahara twice (once in summer), pedalling illegally across Tibet in winter, and battling with churned mud roads in Central Africa during the monsoon. The main thing I enjoyed and learned from during this adventure were the people I met along the way. I was invited into mud huts and monasteries, lonely yurts and lavish embassies, and am now lucky to have a mosaic of friends spread across continents. I was shown countless kindnesses by complete strangers who generously gave me glimpses into their varied lives. The characters I befriended and the stories I heard ignited a curiosity in world history and foreign affairs that burns brighter with each passing year. The story of this journey is recounted in the books Through Sand & Snow and On Roads That Echo |