It has been a full year since we headed out on the Central Asian section of our ride around the world and we still haven't finished our gear list blog posts. Ah, well...better late than never. We ditched a lot of things once we arrived in easy Southeast Asia but were extremely fully loaded when we rode out of Uzbekistan and across China. Below is a complete list of all the clothes that I (Niamh) packed for this 6 month section. Matthew has no interest in writing a blog post a

We started our ride around the world in June 2017 in Uzbekistan, where we were living, and pedalled east through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China before heading into south east Asia. We both have a strong tendency towards over packing and were carrying a lot more gear than the majority of other tourers we met. We definitely carried waayy too much stuff on this section but I don't regret any of it. It was comforting to know that we had absolutely anything we could need in our

This is not a geeky review of bicycles. This is a basic summary of how they have performed after 10's of thousands of kilometres. I think this style is best as it is what I spent days looking for in preparation for our Round The World ride. When reading this, please consider that the pros and cons of our two bicycles are based on our fully loaded touring lifestyle. Both bikes usually get the TLC of a full service every 5000km or so. They are, however, maintained well. All m

Click here for an interactive map of our route in Sumatra. Ride Diary Week 2: Bukittinggi to Bengkulu A bit more than a week (10 days) but no point in doing a week 3 blog post for only 3 days. We ended up flying out of Bengkulu to extend our visas in Yogyakarta and carried on cycling from there. It was a much more pleasant place than Bengkulu to hang around for a week during processing. Key to Hotel ratings: £ = budget (less than 10 pounds) ££ = mid (10-20 pounds) £££=expens

We will post weekly accounts of our journey through Indonesia. Partly because we have noticed a distinct lack of web pages on bicycle touring here, so we hope that this may be of some use to people considering a visit. Click here for an interactive map of our route in Sumatra. Ride Diary Week 1: Dumai to Bukittinggi Key to Hotel ratings: £ = budget (less than 10 pounds) ££ = mid (10-20 pounds) £££=expensive (more than 20 pounds) C=Cleanliness: /10 F=Facilities: /10 V=Value

Most of the time bicycle touring is exciting and fun with plenty to see, hear and experience along the way. But sometimes you find yourself on a long, flat, straight road where hours can feel like days. One of the ways that we entertain ourselves and make the time go faster on days like this is listening to podcasts and audiobooks. I don't recommend this on roads that need your full attention but I find it perfectly safe on roads where you have your own space and little traff

Our route only took us through a small section of Vietnam. We cycled from the Xa Mat border with Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh to catch a flight home for Christmas and then rode back into Cambodia at the Ha Tien border. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh a week too early for our flight so had plenty of rest days in this busy city. They say you should write what you know, so instead of a guide to bicycle touring in Vietnam- here's a guide to rest days in Saigon. Click here for an interactive

Budgeting for a bike tour. Reflecting on the last 6 months and thinking ahead. If you are thinking of having a break of any form to go and wander, I suggest that you: 1.) Work out how long you want to go for, and divide your savings by that. In some parts of the world, a bicycle tourer who mixes camping with paid-for accommodation, and cooking with restaurants can live comfortably on $30 per day. But this is my own calculation taking an average of the many countries toured so

This post is not just for any would-be bike tourer. It considers an issue we could all think about. We have seen all sorts on this trip so far, literally from feast to famine. The extreme wealth of the flashy supercar driving Chinese high-fliers, to the maimed and forgotten street beggars in some parts of south-east Asia. This trip is a real lesson about economic development for an Economics teacher. For years I have taught middle school Humanities through to first year degre

*Wrote the post below months ago but never got around to posting it. We have now cycled the entire length of Uzbekistan from West to East.* Link to interactive route map for Uzbekistan here. We have lived in Uzbekistan for 4 years (well, Matthew for 4 and Niamh for 3....long story) and have cycled a fair chunk of the country. In 2015 we cycled from Tashkent (where we live) to Bukhara (famous Silk Road city). In the warm months we cycle up to the mountains and wild camp overni