Just finished the story of Douglas Whitehead's bicycle travels across Europe and Asia in the UK Telegraph.
“The Bicycle Diaries: One man, one bike, 6,000 miles” is a good yarn by a 40-year-old Englishman who cut all ties to a normal life and takes off for 9 months across the unfamiliar territory of 19 countries.
After reading his wild and woolly tale, I'd say that training for such an adventure involves more than just trying to build up a good base of miles on the bike. You also need to practice:
— Sleeping under bridges or in abandoned buildings;
— Choosing ad hoc riding partners carefully;
— Finding food and water in arid countries;
— Avoiding bribes to police on trumped up charges;
— Creating false travel documents to enter a country;
— Hitching car rides with local gangsters.
Creativity
Obviously, these aren't things that cyclists can include in a training regimen. It shows that bike travelers need to be resourceful and creative on the road, especially the further they get from their own culture.
In another story, Whitehead offers some actual tips for long-distance bike travel that you might find useful.
Whitehead says that in spite of all the hardships, he might hit the road on this bicycle again. He ruminates about picking up where he left off in northern India and ride across the rest of Asia and hop over to South America. He concludes:
“What to make of it all? I’m still not sure. I travelled through 19 countries; met scores of fascinating people of all different types, creeds and backgrounds; witnessed the seasons change close up; experienced some of the best and also some of the worst moments of my life. But it was life lived to the full, with the volume, colour and contrast controls turned up to the maximum.”
Whitehead made the journey on a Dawes Galaxy steel touring bike. You can read all of Whitehead's blog articles about his trip at The Bicycle Diaries.
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