“What you doing?”
I’m cycling around the world but as I don’t have enough money to do it in one go, I’m stopping in some countries to work (as an English teacher or any other job I can find). That’s pretty much as far as the plan goes…for me this is an adventure where I can learn new things, meet new people, hear new stories and see new parts of the world. I really want to make some small changes in the world for the better (and help others do the same), and to do that I believe you have to understand as best as possible how it works in its current state.
“Where are you going?”
That’s a good question…I’m not really sure. Currently, my plan is to cycle from Spain to Thailand. But in true rambling style I haven’t planned much more than a few squiggles on a map. I wake up in the morning, look at the map and decide on somewhere to go next…or just stay in bed.
“How many punctures have you had on your trip?”
I think I’ve had about 4 now. For the first 23,000km I didn’t get one at all. I use big heavy Shwalbe Marathon Plus tyres.
“How many countries have you been to?”
Must be around fifty now? But I’ve only cycled in around forty odd.
“You must be really fit?”
I have a six-pack and arms of steel. My friends call me TANK.
No but seriously, I’m not that fit. I binge drink basically every week (I’m Scottish) and I’ve smoked nearly every day for almost 12 years. I’ve tried to quit smoking so many times that quitting is basically part of my life.
My CV says:
Hobbies: cycling, playing piano, quitting smoking
“Where do you sleep?”
Usually I just rock up with my tent and sleep anywhere suitable. In cities however, I usually stay in hostels or warmshowers or couchsurf.
“Isn’t it illegal to just camp wherever you like?”
In most countries, yes. But it’s also legal in some countries to kill people for “witchcraft” (Nepal, India), get sentenced to death for selling drugs (Thailand) or kill people under the age of 18 (Saudi Arabia). Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right. And just because something is illegal doesn’t make it wrong.
I’m from Scotland, and like many of the “northern countries” in Europe, it’s perfectly legal to temporarily camp basically anywhere you want…provided you don’t destroy something, leave a mess, or kill the farmer’s granny. And that’s the way it should be.
“How do you carry everything?”
I don’t take a backpack. There is a pannier rack attached to the back of my bike, which carries two pannier bags. My tent usually sits on top of that. And at the front I have a small bar bag on the handlebars. I used to carry five bags, but now owning less stuff, couldn’t justify it. You can read about the equipment I carry here.
“Do you travel alone?”
Technically, yes. In practice, not really.
Whenever you travel, you always meet people, great people in fact. Sometimes you make friends for life.
Here are some examples: I met a guy in a hostel once who cycled with me across The Netherlands and Germany for three weeks. I cycled with someone from Germany to Switzerland too for a couple of weeks. And Slovakia to Hungary, in Portugal and from Albania to Kosovo. In Azerbaijan I met someone and cycled with them all the way to Tajikistan. There are more but you get the idea. There are also way, way more people that I just meet when “stopped” somewhere and end up having awesome memories with. So why not in a group? You don’t meet as many people, and I also enjoy the solitude. I guess it’s preference in the end. Who cares? Go cycling.
Unfortunately goodbyes are hard when you meet such nice people, and there are a lot when you travel for such a long time.
“Do you cycle the whole way? Or do you ‘cheat’ sometimes?”
All the way!
“How do you navigate? GPS?”
Normally cheap maps and a compass, but more recently GPS on my phone. There are many benefits to maps over GPS. On a map, you can see a wider area and decide in the moment to make a detour to a national park, lake, castle or other point of interest. And you don’t need to recharge them. I also sometimes use one of these 12 ways of free navigation. Again, it’s all preference.
“How do you afford to travel?”
So far, I’ve been saving up a bunch of money and then travelling and then working again. There are plenty of ways to make it happen: teach a language, work in a hostel or farm, be a dog walker or nanny, or even volunteer in exchange for free food and accommodation.
On the other side of the coin (pun intended), I don’t spend a lot when I travel. Travelling by bike is free. If I “wild camp”, sleeping is free. Think about it. Free travel and free accommodation. Apart from food, what can I spend money on? (Answer: beer)
“How do you use your mobile abroad?”
Generally, I don’t use my phone other than to connect to the wifi. With the advent of Whatsapp and Skype, there’s really no need to make regular calls any more. I would need to buy a sim card for every country or spend a small fortune on roaming fees. I know many people who travel and spend hours getting sim cards in every new country. Simply put, I can’t be arsed.
As much as I hate them, McDonald’s and Starbucks are good places to get free wifi and often the staff don’t notice (or don’t care) that you’re there, so you don’t have to buy anything. If you hate them too, use their toilet. In non-western countries wifi is more commonly free everywhere. Also, I heard recently that it’s easier now to find free wifi than free water in the world. How terrible is that?
“How many miles/km do you cycle a day?”
I honestly have no idea. I used to count, almost religiously and it worked out at about 100km a day. Sometimes it’s more (record is 220km from just outside Berlin to Poznan, Poland) and sometimes it’s ridiculously less. Like I’ll go 5km to the next town, look at an interesting tree for half an hour and decide I want to camp next to it.
What I’ve started doing more recently is measuring how long I’m on the bike for. Five hours a day is pretty normal…so if I’ve done less, I’ll push on until it hits 5. If I’ve done more and feeling tired or lazy I’ll just stop. You’re your own boss when you travel alone, so it’s important to set some kind of target or you’ll never do anything.
“Have you had any problems?”
Every day I’m faced with a new set of challenges. They have been, in one way or another, overcome.
Happy travels dude!
Hello Jamie, my son is doing almost the same. He left South of France and cycling, the same way as you do, to Moscow. 5000 km. He didn’t quit his job though, he took an unpaid leave… here is his website that has not been updated recently https://www.raidfrancerussie.org but updates can be found on his Facebook page
Take care, Ariane
Very encouraging Jamie.
Thanks you also for validating how I feel about the peas.
Drew
Hi Jamie,
I just found your blog because I was searching for a explanation for what I saw today downhill here in Beneficio 🙂
I like your writing, thank you!
Enjoy your travellings!
Claudia
Keep on, bro! Amazing thing, lovely web page you have and – I just love your logo! 🙂
You are truly inspirational! Stay safe xxx
Cheers Sharon!