Articles written by: Tom Allen
Tom set off in June 2007 to cycle round the world. He soon realised the limits of such an abstract objective and decided to go wherever the winds of travel took him. He writes regularly on his Ride Earth blog and is currently heading for the Arab world on his bike.
Europe from a new perspective
August 30, 2010 Adventures, CyclingI think having my wife alongside me for this, the final leg of my three-year bike journey through three continents and down one aisle, is going to be a really good thing.
How to get sponsorship for your cycle tour
August 24, 2010 Adventures, Personal, Road, TransportWhen planning an extended cycle tour, many people go in search of corporate sponsorship. Some come back empty-handed. Some are successful.
Moving forward from vanilla cycle touring
August 1, 2010 Adventures, Personal, Road, TransportFive years ago, I invented cycle-touring. After rejecting backpacking out-of-hand as a fulfilling post-university form of escapism
The long road back to Yerevan
July 20, 2010 Adventures, Road, TransportComing home meant two things: a very long journey by public transport, and lugging an unwieldy collection of funny-shaped bags and bits of metal through a variety of cities in the summer heat.
Mongolia: The cream of adventure cycle-touring
July 8, 2010 Adventures, Road, TransportIn 2006, Andy and I took our mountain-bikes up to Inverness and spent a week riding an off-road route to Fort William, which we had put together from detailed Ordinance Survey maps.
Off the map in Northern Mongolia – Another photo essay
June 23, 2010 AdventuresAfter I’d recovered from a sudden illness, we hit the road again with fresh enthusiasm. We set out from Hatgal at the southern tip of Lake Khovsgol, knowing nothing about the state of the route
Off the map in Central Mongolia – A photo essay
June 8, 2010 Adventures, Road, TransportMongolia is a far more accessible place for a mountain-biking expedition than I’d imagined. Navigation has been a mixture of old techniques and new technology.
On the rails – Sochi to Ulaanbaatar
May 25, 2010 Adventures, Road, TransportAs I write, it’s 5:30am in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Through the window of my host’s flat I can see the pale orange of the morning sun picking out the shapes of the new industrial complexes and apartment blocks that are sprouting at great speed.
Rain, train and pain – Yerevan to Sochi
May 25, 2010 Adventures, Road, TransportHer familiar, tearful, smiling face was framed by the tinted window, then a silhouette, receding; finally she joined the flecked shapes swaying within the departing bus as it began its 24-hour journey to Tehran.
High-Tech or Low-Tech?
May 16, 2010 Adventures, Road, Technology, TransportThere’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.
