Where do we get the inspiration for a long-distance bicycle tour?
Englishman Anthony Watson didn't go any further than his morning cup of coffee.
Watson brewed his love of the bean into a full-blown bicycle expedition from England, through southern Europe and Turkey to the birthplace of the coffee plant, Ethiopia. He's sharing his adventures and discoveries for the past 7 1/2 months at his blog, Bean on a Bike.
Immersed
While many touring bicyclists take the time to enjoy and learn about the areas they pass through, Watson is totally immersed in the coffee culture and the people who make it happen.
Most recently, he's worked on a coffee farm in the Ethiopian highlands.
To get there, he had to pedal along highways that are home to bandits and legions of curious children.
Watson tells how the cheering children run to the road as he passes, sometimes jumping on his bike and at other times throwing debris at him. Mostly he responds by waving, making faces and bowing as he pedals.
Coffee farm
The family run coffee farm is a member of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union.
He writes glowingly about the life and work on the farm, but also informs that the chores are difficult and the living conditions primitive due to the lack of electricity, poor sanitation and spotty access to clean water.
Watson also has visited the mills where coffee cherries are processed and learned first-hand about the economies of the plant and bean that many people around the world have learned they can't live without.
The touring cyclist has bicycled more than 3,200 miles to reach his destination at the birthplace of coffee. He rode throughout southern Europe and took side trips in Lebanon and Turkey to learn about the coffee trade.
He decided to fly from Lebanon to Ethiopia, however, because of political unrest throughout the region.
I'm adding Bean on a Bike to the list of “on-the-road bicycle travelers” at left so I can read along as he dips into the culture of coffee.
First seen at monthly newsletter from Travelling Two.
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