Blog - Cycle Trekkers

April 15, 2016June 9, 2024

What made our first cycle trip different?

What made our first cycle trip different? I’ve decided to reflect upon this, while shivering to death in the middle of some Kazakh desert, and this is what I came up with.

Planning

Most people plan their cycle trip over the span of a year, sometimes 2, sometimes even longer. I suggested the trip to Michael while we were working the ski season in France, and within 6 weeks we were on our way to China. I had looked up the route to get us out of France and into Italy, but apart from that our plan was just to head East and take it as it comes.

To be perfectly honest I didn’t think we would make it as far as China. I was happy just to make it across Italy. That’s still an entire country we crossed on a bicycle, and still an awesome feeling. I guess that’s one bonus to lack of planning and the lack of money spent on equipment, we were less likely to be disappointed with the outcome if we didn’t make it the entire way. We had no expectations on our first cycle trip!

Equipment

We were on a very tight budget, which meant we had hardly any money to buy good gear. We were also living in a very small, remote ski station. The closest town was about 20km away. We only had limited access to a car, which made getting all the gear together, within a fews weeks, also a bit of a challenge. The end result was that our gear was complete shit and not really designed for the kind of travel we were planning. To prove this, below is a photo of my pannier, taped together with duct tape.

the turkmen dash — Having breakfast in the truck queue

To give you an idea of the shit gear we got together:

Our Hybrid bikes, were second hand €250 bikes. This versed the touring bikes of every other cycle tourist we’ve met. Most decent touring bikes cost €2000-3000 and even some of the midrange touring bikes are in the thousands.

Shitty ebay panniers (mine started to fall apart on the day we left and weren’t at all water proof. I now have a plastic bag cover on them) $30US for the set vs. waterproof panniers that are anywhere from $100-500US.

Tent €70 Coleman 2 person hiking tent (I actually like our tent, but it’s a bit small for Michael) vs. tents from $300-800 plus.

Overall budget for all our gear €500 vs. the average cycle tourist €3000-5000+.

Pretty much everything we bought was the cheapest piece of shit you could find. If we had the money, resources and ability of going back in time, there are definitely a few things I would have invested a bit more money in. Not the bike (I liked my Trek), but definitely the panniers, good lights, a multi fuel stove and a good pump.

Budget

So as you know from the equipment budget, we were going to be doing this trip on a very tight budget. Luckily, as it turns out, bicycle touring is a super budget travel option. Originally we had hoped to do the trip on about €5 ($8) per day, and I don’t think we are far off it, maybe closer to $10-15 per day on average. The cheapest countries were Turkey and Iran where we spent on average $4-5 per day, and luckily this where we also spent the most time. The more expensive countries, unsurprisingly were in Europe about $20 per day.

Of course it would have been amazing to have more money to do the trip with. Things would have been a lot easier and less stressful. What it came down to was; if we don’t do it now, even though we have bugger all money, will we ever do it? Probably not!

Training

Well we had absolutely no training whatsoever! Actually, in my case I was probably at my lowest fitness level of the past few years. About 3 months before we started we set off on our first cycle trip I was in a skiing accident and tore a ligament and my mensicus. This meant I was pretty much doing nada for the months leading up to the trip. Actually, up until 2 weeks before we started the cycle trip, I couldn’t even get on the bike. I think in total we took the bikes out twice for about 20km and that was it. We decided the only way we could do this trip was to ‘train on the go’. So that’s what we did. And though it was not the easiest way at first, it worked.

cycling uzbekistan — The most horrible 60km mountain pass in the world

Experience

Nada! This was our first cycle trip. I didn’t know anything about bicycles, and hadn’t really cycled since I was 13. In fact, up until I started going out with Michael last year, I had never even considered cycling across a country or even part of it. I thought it was just nuts and sounded like hell! It was Michael that had the dream of cycling across a country. So we started talking about one day cycling across Canada. That day still hasn’t come.

Even more surprising, is that the whole cycling to China was actually my suggestion. I was bored at the ski station, feeling sorry for myself as I couldn’t hike, ski, run or do anything fun. I felt a bit trapped and just wanted to get out. We had to be back in Australia for Michael’s brothers wedding in less than a year, which had put Canada on hold. We also didn’t want to do the sensible thing and go back to work in Australia for the year. Originally I was looking at teaching English somewhere, such as Thailand, but Michael wasn’t to keen. Then we got talking about doing a cycle trip.

Originally we were planning to cycle to Croatia… With the time we had, why did we have to stop in Croatia? Let’s just see how far we can go… Maybe all the way to China?

Despite Michael’s dream of wanting to cycle across a country, he also knew nothing about bike mechanics, and we have just been learning as we go. Something that isn’t always very fun, but ‘touch-wood’ we’ve had no major problems so far.

So, why did we set off so unprepared…

Stupidity? Maybe. Did we underestimate the entirety of the trip? Most definitely. But what really made us head off into the unknown, on bicycles, was the fact that we had this crazy opportunity to do it now. Would we get the chance to do it again, who knows, but what mattered was ‘the now’. So we seised the moment, and here we are. I write this as I freeze my butt off in a tent, unable to sleep because our gear isn’t fit for cold weather (one of the downfalls to lack of planning). I’m wondering how we are going to survive the approaching winter, but hey, I’m in Kazakhstan. I’ve made it here from France, on a bicycle. So as far as I’m concerned, I’ve already succeeded, and I’ve had the experience of a lifetime.

So basically, what I’m saying is there are no excuses not to give it a go. Head out on your first cycle trip. You got kids? Take them with you (I’ve seen people cycle touring with kids). A career? Then just go for a couple of weeks. No money (like us)? Work to a budget that suits you. It’s doable, I don’t want to hear the excuses, ‘just do it!’ It’ll be hard work, you’ll hate it at times, but it’ll be one of the best most rewarding experiences of your life. So, what are you waiting for, head off on your first cycle trip.

Chau for now from a frozen cyclist!

I actually wrote this blog post about our first cycle trip one night in Kazakhstan when I couldn’t sleep because our tent had frozen over. I’ve only just got around to typing it up. I hope you enjoyed it!

If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy our 10 secrets to cycle touring.

Cycling Kazakhstan — Still camping in the desert

April 13, 2016June 9, 2024

Route

France to China Route

Time: April – October 2014

Distance: 8,500km

This is just a rough map of the route we took from France to China. We started in Sty Foy (the French Alps) and cycled all the way to Urumqi, China. Google maps wouldn’t let me include a route in China, so the map only shows as far as Almaty, Kazakhstan. The total distance was 8,500km and took 8 months.

Canada Route

Time: June – October 2016

Distance: 7,000km

This is a map of the actual route we took across Canada. You can also check out our Canada trip notes for a more detail record of this section of our trip. We hadn’t originally planned on cycling the Maritimes in Canada, but we had a slight change in plan once we got to Ontario.

USA Route

Time: April/ May 2017

Distance: 2000km

From Halifax in Canada, we headed to the USA border and started cycling across the USA. We cycled 2000km to Buffalo, NY. Unfortunately, Kelly got bronchitis in NY and could no longer cycle, which put a bit of a dent in our plans.

Nicaragua Route

Time: May/ June 2017

Distance: 600km (mainly due to illness, and our constantly changing plans).

Originally we planned to cycle all the way to Argentina, but had a slight change in plan, and decided to end the cycle trip. You can read more about why in our article, Discovering you don’t want to be long term cycle touring.

November 15, 2015June 9, 2024

France to China by toilet: World Toilet Day

In honour of World Toilet Day, I’m reposting my ‘France to China by toilet‘ blog post, which I posted on my other site last year during our France to China cycle tour. During the cycle trip I was raising money and awareness about the global sanitation crisis, through the charity, Wateraid.

In 2014, I was cycling to raise money and awareness for the global sanitation crisis, however it never really occurred to me that while cycling I would find myself face to face with some of the issues related to this global crisis, such as open deification, no running water and poor hygiene.

The countries I cycled through aren’t necessarily the world’s poorest countries, however many of the countries (Turkey, Iran , Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and even China), are still developing and though many of the major cities in these countries have incredibly high tech, hygienic toilets with running water and soap available, this contrasted greatly with the more rural communities. The ‘average’ tourist that’s visits these countries are unlikely to see, experience or even be aware of some of the sanitation issues that the country is experiencing. I could even go as far as saying, most locals that live in the developed cities of these countries, in cities such as Almaty or Beijing, are unlikely to even be aware of the sanitation issues in their own countries. The extremes of toilet quality within one country is just unbelievable.

From France to Turkey, Iran, China and Australia, here is France to China by toilet.

EUROPEAN TOILETS:

We started our France to China by toilet journey in the French Alps. The standard Western toilet, clean, hygienic and private – they tick all the boxes on safe sanitation. My only complaint in Europe was, why do men always leave the toilet seat up? We also came across a ‘drop toilet’ on a hike in the French Alps. Though no running water, it still offers privacy and is in a much better condition than most the toilets I have used since.

TURKEY:

After Europe our France to China by toilet journey took us through Turkey. This is where we started to notice a difference in toilet quality throughout the country. We also were introduced to the ‘squat toilet’. With sore legs, ‘squats’ aren’t really that great for cycle tourists. Turkey is also a country where you couldn’t always flush your toilet paper. Toilets ranged from ultimate hygienic, with toilet seat covers, soap, air fresheners (this includes public toilets), to absolutely disgusting squat toilets. I even have my suspicions that a lot of the gas stations (that are mostly run by men), only clean the bloke’s toilets. Turkey was also the first country where we would sometimes cycle for an entire day before coming across a toile. So open defication became more frequent (hence the landscape pic).

IRAN:

More ‘squats’! Some people believe it’s healthier to use a squat toilet. There might be some truth in that, but I still prefer the Western. My worse memory of going to the toilet in Iran was using a public toilet in a park. The ground in the toilet block was soaking wet and dirty. Each cubicle has a hose, as people tend to use a hose instead of toilet paper and unfortunately, someone left the hose running.

All toilets are private and most are clean and have soap and running water. The ‘hole in the ground’ toilet photo below, was actually in a house of a family near the Turkmenistan border. It was the first toilet I had ever seen like that (and this one was actually really clean), but it wasn’t the last. I discovered, though they are rare in Iran and Turkey, they were common in Central Asia.

CENTRAL ASIA (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan):

It’s funny that I didn’t actually take any photos of the squat toilets. I feared I was going to accidentally drop my phone into the hole. The Western toilet was in a hotel (yes, most hotels that cater for Westerners), but the majority of toilets are ‘squats’. Similar to the ‘hole in the ground’ photo above, and usually in outhouses like the ones below. They usually don’t have a cubicle doors. I discovered this as I entered the shack below to find a girl staring at me, while squatting and ‘doing her business’. I screamed in shock, then retreated out of the toilet.

The lack of hygiene and privacy in these toilets actually meant I felt more comfortable ‘doing my business’ in the open. Strangely, this is now a issue in many of the slums in India where toilets have been installed. One thing that I always had that some people in these areas didn’t was hand sanitiser and toilet paper!

CHINA:

The country where there was the most extreme and noticeable difference in toilet quality. It was in China where I experienced the best toilet of my life and probably some of the worst. The fancy toilets, with heated toilet seat options and massage facilities, in contrast to the mould covered squat toilets. One thing about China is that there are plenty of public toilets. Probably more so than in any of the Western countries we cycled through. It was just the standard of toilet tended to vary largely. So, we made it from France to China by toilet, as well as by bike.

That sums up my toilet experience while cycling from France to China by toilet. One thing that I have gained from this experience is an appreciation of clean, private (and Western) toilets.

Find out how to get involved in World Toilet Day. Without access to a safe toilets, women and children (and even men) are forced to put themselves at risk of sexual abuse, disease and illness each and every day.

Happy World Toilet day!!!

April 25, 2015June 9, 2024

Home Sweet Home Australia!

Update from sunny Australia!

It’s been a while since my last post, so I thought it was about time I caught up on some blogging. Home Sweet Home, Australia! It’s good to be back! After finishing the cycle trip and leaving China it was finally time to return to ‘normality’. No more peeing outside, sleeping on the floor or worrying about where to get drinking water, or worrying about how the hell we were going to fund the rest of the trip. All the ‘little’, (though important) things that we usually took for granted.

It was time to live the ‘spoilt’ life and head back home – literally, back home to my parents’ house in Perth. Finally, I could relax and have someone look after me. Broke and tired, I arrived home… to an empty house! My parents decided to take a 3 week holiday in Vietnam the week of my return. So much for having someone look after me. Instead I spent 3 weeks trying to figure out how things worked in the house (I couldn’t even get the TV or heating working) and trying to find things that had been packed away in boxes (or thrown out).

I’ve always found it hard returning to normal life after travelling and this time was no different.

Well, that’s not entirely true, this time the feeling was magnified x100. I constantly felt like I should be doing something or going somewhere, and felt a bit… well lost! It took at least a month before I started to feel myself again… at first everything was just so overwhelming. Life was simple on a bike!

During the cycle trip we were so conscious about waste and keeping things until they literally fell apart and were unable to be fixed. It really shocked me seeing how wasteful people are. In my head Australia has always been mindful in things such as waste, recycling and the environment – which might be true in comparison to countries like China, however I forgot that this only went so far. You might not see someone throwing litter on the floor in Australia (which definitely is something I’m proud of) but people chucking out perfectly good TV’s on the bulk collection, seems to be the norm. It’s a kind of cultural shock I guess, and transition back to what we know as ‘normal life’ and it took some time to readjust.

Though completely irrational, it’s hard to not to subconsciously think that nothing has changed since being gone, that things are still going to be just as they were left. When my subconscious is reminded that life goes on, it’s hard to not feel out of place, like you no longer belong there. I’ve come and gone from Australia more times than I can count, so you would presume I wouldn’t feel like this anymore, but I still do.

Charly's alpacas australia — Charly’s alpacas

One thing I was looking forward to was running again.

It had been almost a year since my last run. Anyone that knows me, would also know, I’m a bit of a running-addict. So, of course the first week being back, I went out for a 10km run, sprained my ankle and couldn’t run for 2 months. Apparently all the cycling had caused my feet to flatten out. I started cycling because I could not run, and now I could not run because I cycled! Eventually my ankle was on the mend, and though I still couldn’t run, I was able to get a job waitressing on Rottnest Island (just on the weekends).

I only had 3 months in Australia before I was due to leave again.

3 months to catch up with people. Prepare for the next trip and most importantly rest. Oh and earn some money. Time flew by and before I knew it I was on a plane and out of there. I wasn’t entirely sure that I was ready for the world of travel again so soon. I was sad to leave. If given the choice I would have stayed longer, but my visa entrance cut off date for Canada was growing closer. So the choice was to stay longer and miss out on Canada, or go, and start the next adventure. So, of course I choose to go.

Before heading off to Canada, Michael and I spent a week in Victoria. “The Wedding” that had influenced all our plans for the past 12 months had finally come around. It was because of this wedding that we cycled to China and even decided to work in France. It was hard to believe the day was finally here and it did not disappoint. The wedding was beautiful! It was also lovely spending time with Michael’s family for a change. After the wedding we drove down the Great Ocean Road with Michael’s parents and some of his family from the UK. My last chance to enjoy some of beautiful Australia for who knows how long.

Having high tea with my parents in the Swan Valley

It was then time to say “goodbye.”

Not only to Australia, but to Michael. I was leaving him in Australia for another 2 months, while I head off to Hawaii and then Canada. Michael had a difference entrance date for Canada than I. So he decided to stay in Perth and earn some more money before meeting me in Canada in a few months time. Ah, home sweet home Australia – I will miss you, but I will be back.

Excited for some solo travel adventures – it’s been a while! Aloha Hawaii!

February 7, 2015June 9, 2024

China: the transition from cyclist to backpacker

transition from cyclist to backpacker, The summit at Emei Shan National Park

It all happened so quickly!

One second we were cycle tourists, where the most important things in our lives were our bikes, our panniers, our camping stuff and food and water. The next second we were just backpackers. We no longer owned bikes and were throwing out our tattered panniers and old reused ziplock bags, something that once seemed so important to us. It was a strange feeling, like losing a limb. It all just felt so wrong and so surreal – the transition from cyclist to backpacker!

Rules are really just guidelines!

We reorganised our bags and made our way, via public bus, to the train station, to catch the 2 day train to Chengdu. The one place in China I’ve always wanted to visit. We didn’t have any problems with our bags during the entire cycle trip until we reached the train station at Urumqi. For those of you that don’t know, there was a terrorist attack at the train station in Urumqi about 2 years ago, so security there is quite high.

After going through several check points and security screenings we were asked to step aside and have our bags searched. This resulted in them removing our camping knives, my Swiss army knife, our bike multitools and our camp gas. They tried to explain to us in Chinese that these items could not be taken on the train and there was no check in luggage. I loudly protested in English, obviously drawing the attention of others and soon we had a crowd. Eventually we did come to an agreement. I got to keep the knives, they got to keep our camping gas. A fair, but rather strange agreement, which is just one example of the flexibility of laws and rules in China.

Riding the trains in China

We were in the economy sleeper, which had no door and slept 6 people. Unfortunately for us, (like in the whole of China) smoking was permitted, though admittedly only at the far end of the train. It didn’t take long for the smoke to whiff down the entire carriage.

After spending 7 months traveling and being ‘on show.’ Having limited privacy to people, whom think you are an ‘exotic species,’ you might think we would be used to all the attention by now, however, our patience had worn thin. We seemed to draw the attention of people wherever we went. We assumed this would stop after getting rid of the bikes, but we were wrong. It wasn’t long before we had people taking sneaky (or not so sneaky) photos and video of us. Not something you want when you’re trying to sleep. Overall people seemed quite friendly and attempted to make conversation with us. Though, all we really craved with some privacy and some normality.

The 2 days on the sleeper train dragged. We feasted on pot noodles (China knows how to do a really good pot noodle box) and snacks that we picked up from the supermarket before catching the train. A healthy assortment of packaged dry cakes, nuts and freeze wrapped foods – extremely healthy!

Chengdu: the transition from cyclist to backpacker, complete!

Finally we made it to Chengdu! Stinking like cigarette smoke and feeling more drained than after a week of solid cycling. Chengdu was a paradise compared to the polluted city of Urumqi. It was a modern, pretty and unpolluted (in Chinese standards) city. There were lots of parks, Western and even vegetarian restaurants and it was very easy to navigate around without the bikes. This was just what we needed.

I can honestly say, I loved Chengdu. We visited the pandas, explore the ancient towns, the markets and of course the restaurants. We also decided to visit the nearby Emei Shan National Park – a Buddhist monastery mountain/ jungle national park, which was extremely touristic and quite expensive (as was everything related to tourism in China). Finally, we got to do some hiking! Though hiking up ancient stairs for hours on end isn’t quite the same as hiking on a mountain trail. It was still an awesome place, which I definitely recommend. We were feeling happy for the transition from cyclist to backpacker, though we still felt a bit ‘lost.’

From Emei Shan we visited Leshan and the giant Buddha, before jumping back on another 2 night sleeper train to Beijing – our final destination.

Our final destination: Beijing!

I was happy to finally arrive in Beijing. We made our way to our hotel, and I couldn’t help but reflect on my life since the last time I was in China. 5 years has passed and a lot had happened since then. I definitely couldn’t have predicted any of it, but that’s life. Wouldn’t it be boring if you knew where you’d be in 5 or 10 years?

By chance, my brother, Michael (yes, another Michael), just happened to be in Beijing for work at the same time as us. If you know my brother then it wouldn’t surprise you that he just randomly turned up a day early at our hotel, unannounced and with no money to pay for the cab. Luckily for him (and he does tend to be quite lucky) we just happened to be at the hotel when he arrived.

We had a great few days catching up, eating lots of food and exploring the sites of Beijing and the surroundings. Though, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tired. Really I was just looking forward to getting home and back to a ‘normal’ life.

The small things in life

Even after a few weeks of living as normal backpackers, we were still adjusting to the simple things in life, such as having access to toilets, and for that matter, western toilets, as well as having access to water, shops, food, internet, beds. We were slowly making the transition from cyclist to backpacker. All the things that most people take for granted in everyday life. Even meeting people that spoke English seemed strange, and even stranger was seeing other Western tourists. It was hard to believe that just over a week ago we were cycling in the middle of the desert. That life already seemed a million miles away.

On top of tha was returning to a world of materialism. After living with the essentials for so long. The ‘luxury’ items just seemed so pointless. The other thing that got me was the amount of waste. Waste itself is a ‘luxury’ item and we had been living in conditions that meant we limited our waste. Nothing from food, to plastic bags, to clothes was wasted. We made everything last (though admittedly packaging from food was still waste – except for our recycled bowls that were actually chocolate spread containers). We didn’t do all this to save money, but rather because we didn’t know when we could get more of something, or replace the old one. So just made do with what we had. I guess the transition from cyclist to backpacker is not an easy one, especially when factoring in the culture shock and readjustments.

Even as I try and explain how surreal the entire transition was. I’m a bit lost for words. Unless you experience first hand the transition from cyclist to backpacker, I don’t think someone can truly understand. The transition isn’t over yet. Returning to ‘normality’ aka Australian life is the next. step.

December 7, 2014June 9, 2024

We made it to China by bicycle… what the?!?

We made it to China by bicycle!!!

We cycled over 8,000km, from France to China by bicycle!!! WTF?!? It’s been over a week now, and I’m still in shock. It was a rather surreal, but extremely rewarding feeling when we crossed the border into China. We had finally made it. It just didn’t feel real. We had been working towards this goal for over 6 months. The longest marathon of my life, and we finally crossed the finish line.

I’d be lying if I said it was easy, or that I enjoyed the cycle tour the entire time. But, if I was to go back in time, I would make the same decision again (only maybe with better panniers).

We crossed at the Khorgas border crossing.

This is apparently the busiest border crossing between the 2 countries. For once we got lucky, and crossed both borders within 2 hours. We were even allowed to cycle the 5km of no-man’s land, which is not always possible.

The Chinese border town was extremely modern with skyscrapers, shopping centers, wide and flat roads. There were even bicycle lanes. We checked into a hotel, washed then headed to the shop to get some celebration beers!

After spending a couple of nights recovering at the border town, we headed off on the bikes to discover China by bicycle. Our aim was to make it to Urumqi (about 750km from the border), then catch the train to Beijing.

The roads in China are amazing.

The first couple of days on our route through China by bicycle, took us through a valley with beautiful scenery, and the occasional yurt. Despite this we just didn’t have the motivation to cycle. We made it to China, why are we still cycling? Our bodies were also objecting to cycling, or so we thought. It actually turned out we were gradually ascending up a mountain pass for the entire day, only we didn’t realize – possibly due to the smooth road that we weren’t used to?

We were making rather slow progress, which was slowed down even more when the road was closed for about an hour due to a rock fall. It was starting to get dark, and we were nowhere near the lake that we had planned to camp at. This is where we discovered we had been ascending the entire day (over a 1300m ascended and still climbing). We were surrounded by snow and couldn’t find anywhere suitable to set up camp. Lost for what to do, we came across an emergency outpost. Luckily the outpost was manned and we were welcomed to stay in one of the spare rooms, and even given tea and breakfast the following morning.

There was a mixture of different people living at the outpost, (Han) Chinese, Uhguir (the Turkic, nomad people that lived in the province), Kazakhs and Mongols. Though we couldn’t speak any Chinese, it turned out we could communicate (with everyone except the Chinese people) using some Turkish. Who would have guessed that Turkish would come in handy this far East? In fact, Michael had managed to communicate (somewhat) with Turkish, in every country we had been in, since we left Turkey – crazy ay!

The following morning the weather was terrible

It was freezing, foggy and rainy. We discovered we still had another 40km ascent, to reach the top of the pass at about 2200m, which meant a long, horrible day of cycling, and most likely, an icy night sleep. Already feeling fluey, we decided to do what most sane people would do. We hitchhiked over the pass! After 10 minutes, a truck stopped, we tied the bikes to the top of a truck. Michael lost his helmet, my pannier strap broke, but at least we didn’t have to suffer the cold.

We got off the truck after the pass, had lunch and set off on the bikes again. After the pass, the scenery became very bland. It almost looked like we were back in Uzbekistan again, only this time with good roads. The wind picked up, so we made very poor progress. Cycling in wind is like cycling up an invisible hill. What little motivation we had left, quickly disappeared. We just wanted to be in Urumqi. We didn’t want to be exploring China by bicycle!

After weighing up the pros and cons we decided to not cycle the whole way to Urumqi.

The scenery was boring (grey desert, cotton fields, rubbish, power plants), the air was polluted (yes, even this far out in the middle of nowhere) and we weren’t enjoying it anymore. We had reached our goal and now it just felt like we were wasting time – and for what? Just to say we cycled to Urumqi? It made no sense to us to continue when we could use that extra time to actually see some sights in China. So the following day we ended up hitchhiking the rest of the way to Urumqi.

We arrived in Urumqi feeling accomplished!

8,500km cycled, through 14 countries, and in only 6.5 months. To celebrate we checked into a 5 star hotel. This turned out to be a great idea, as Urumqi was too polluted to explore by foot or bike, and we ended up spending a lot of time in the hotel room.

Our next mission was to get rid of the bikes, sort through our gear, try and fit everything into one backpack, then decide what we are going to do for the next 3 weeks.

Saying “goodbye” to the bikes. No more China by bicycle!

I had spent the past 3 weeks trying to contact charities and orphanages in China to see if they wanted a donation of 2 bicycles, without any success. Who would have guessed it would be so difficult to try and give away a couple of bikes for free? Apparently there is a lot of corruption in government charities, and other NGO’s have lots of red tape, including red tape on receiving donations – so maybe this is the reason I had no responses.

We decided we would try and sell the bikes, not thinking we would have much luck, and would end up having to leave them in the hotel lobby. Surprisingly, we actually sold them, one to a hotel guest and the other to the hotel security guard. We only got $80 for them, but hey, we were going to give them away for free anyway, and if we were try and take them on the train with us, it would have cost us $50-100 each.

Suddenly we were bikeless!

It was a very strange feeling. The bicycles had been with us for so long, they were an extension of ourselves, a friend, a family member. They had been with us through thick and thin and now they were gone. Just like that, we were normal backpackers again.

We threw away my panniers, bags, ground sheets, extra tubes. Items that had seemed so important to us throughout the trip, we discarded as rubbish. It felt so wrong. One of Michael’s bike bags was actually a backpack, so we had to cram most of our remaining gear into the one bag, which was a bit like a puzzle.

Though we didn’t particularly enjoy exploring China by bicycle, I believe there are some really nice places in China to cycle. Just not where we were. It’s easy to forget how big China is, and that discovering China by bicycle takes A LOT of time and some planning!

Looking back, when I suggested the cycle trip to Michael, I didn’t think we would actually make it this far.

No experience. Shit equipment. Extremely tight budget. Buggered knee. People were questioning our sanity, and putting doubts in our heads. It’s true the odds were probably against us, yet we still made it! What did that prove? It proves that you can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If someone doubts your ability to succeed, prove him or her wrong! You’re the only person preventing yourself from achieving your goals and dreams. We need to accept that there will always be someone questioning our life decisions: ‘The haters’ or ‘The worriers.’ Use that negative energy to fuel your determination to succeed, instead of doubting your decisions.

As I mentioned earlier, the odds were against us, and there were many ‘excuses’ not to attempt the cycle trip, but there will always be ‘excuses’ not to do something! I learnt this a few years ago, when I was living and working in the UK. I was constantly making excuses not to leave my job and go traveling, though I knew if I didn’t go, then later in life I would regret it.

Yes, it may be scary at first, but one day you will look back and wonder what you were so worried about.

Our France to China trip made us realise how awesome travelling by bicycle is. This has lead to our current trip, a world cycle tour. First starting in the Americas and then taking on the rest of the world.

December 2, 2014June 9, 2024

Cycling Kazakhstan! The land of yurts and Borat!

Kazakhstan wasn’t a country we had originally planned to cycle thorough.

With the unpredictable closures of the borders from Kyrgyzstan to China, we decided to play it safe and decided cycling Kazakhstan would be the best option. It’s a country I didn’t know much about. A country I didn’t really give a second thought to, and a country, I admittedly didn’t have high expectations for. All I knew about Kazakhstan, was that it was once apart of the USSR (like most of Central Asia), it was also very flat and empty and some regions were still radioactive from Russian nuclear testing. Other than that, all I knew Kazakhstan to be famous for was “Borat”. I was excited to be cycling Kazakhstan!

No, we didn’t meet Borat.

Admittedly I was too scared to even mention ‘Borat’ to any locals – and honestly, it was a shit movie anyway. To my delight, we did see plenty of yurts. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay in yurt while in cycling Kazakhstan, so I still have that dream to fulfil.

Kazakhstan was a country where I thought things would be easy.

Flat, for easy cycling. Empty, for easy camping. And, well, we left the shit roads behind in Uzbekistan, didn’t we? I wasn’t entirely wrong about that. True, Kazakhstan is largely flat, except for the route we took! It’s also very empty, but also very freezing cold – despite being told October was a good month for hiking. The roads – the roads were terrible! Despite all that, cycling Kazakhstan exceeded my expectations, and is a country I would definitely consider returning to.

The cycle from Bishkek to Almaty, for the most part was quite enjoyable. Relatively good roads, with a stunning backdrop of the snow capped mountains in Kyrgyzstan. The people were also surprisingly friendly, and we had several people stop to give us bread and fruit.

Kazakhstan did however provide us with 2 new challenges.

Frozen tents and bicycles, and shorter days! We experienced the coldest nights of the trip so far, waking up to a frosty tent and frozen bikes. It was not only hard getting out of the sleeping bag in the morning. We also had the challenge of defrosting all our gear. This meant some days we weren’t able to start cycling until 10am, or even later. The morning is generally when we do the most mileage, but with the reduced cycle hours we were struggling to smash out even 30-40km before lunch.

We weren’t really geared up for the cold weather, and spent a fair few nights shivering away in the tent with an emergency blanket draped over us. I guess we never really thought we would make it as far as Kazakhstan, so didn’t even consider that we could end up cycling in such cold weather.

The other challenge was the progressively shorter days. Before we were cycling from 6am until sometime as late as 9pm, now we could only cycle between 9am and 5pm (and that was on a good day).

By the time we made it to Almaty we were very excited for a hot shower and a warm bed to sleep in.

I really liked Almaty, probably my favorite major city in Central Asia. It was very western and modern yet still with a post-soviet feel and lots of history. They even had cycle lanes in the city! It was exactly what we needed. We fulfilled Michael’s desire and went to a lunch buffet (twice in a row). I couldn’t really argue for only $9, including a drink – total bargain! Other than that we explored the city, by foot.

From Almaty we had another 400km of cycling Kazakhstan to reach the Chinese border. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake – so of course, that meant it wasn’t.

Head winds, continuous inclines, crap roads with a gravel hard shoulder (at the best of times) and some real bad drivers. Of course this is also around about the time when my body started falling to pieces – constant aches and pains all over. Our gear was also falling to pieces. Daily we had a new problem or breakage. Note to self: don’t buy the cheapest stuff off Ebay for future travels.

Missing being invisible.

On top of this, I was sick of people staring, grabbing my stuff, taking photos, whether you want them to or not. I constantly felt like an animal in a zoo, and though many people were just curious and meant well, the last thing you want when you’re exhausted and haven’t had a good nights sleep all week, is people poking and staring. This is something we constantly put up with since leaving Turkey, and it’s not something we had much more patience with. It’s like it doesn’t occur to some people that we can see them. That we are people as well, and we don’t like to be poked and prodded constantly. There is such a thing as space and there is such thing as respect, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t seem to understand this.

Honestly, all I could think about was home. I was finding it extremely hard to stay motivated and just wanted the whole trip done and dusty. However, I had signed up to do this for an amazing cause. 2.5 billion people have no access to safe or hygienic sanitation and they have no choice in the matter. They risk abuse and illness daily. I reminded myself that I wasn’t cycling for me, I was cycling for them. So, I pushed on. If they don’t have a choice, then neither did I. My suffering was still only temporary and nothing compared to the risks they endured, each and every day. It also would have been such a shame, and regret if we gave up so close to reaching our goal.

The scenery was quite various, though the road remained poo.

We cycled through towns, gullies, deserts, mountains, canyons, forests and more towns before finally arriving at the border crossing. Every night we were cycling Kazakhstan, we wild camped. Finally I felt like I had somewhat overcome my fear of wild camping. It only took 6 months to get there. The best wild camping night was in the desert, about 500m off the main road. It looked like we were camping on the moon, with a strange mist that covered the land. Grey colours dominated everywhere, except for the star-filled sky and desolate environment just added to the eerie out-of-space feel.

Eventually we made it to the Chinese border. Bikes, bags and boyfriend. We all crossed the border intact. It took a few days for it to sink in, but we had made it! We cycled all the way from the French Alps to China!

October 31, 2014June 9, 2024

Cycling Kyrgyzstan

Hello Kyrgyzstan!

The border crossing into Kyrgyzstan was one of the quietest border crossings I have ever been through. A little shack on the side of a road with an old car barrier across the road and 2 friendly guards that spoke no English, but were amused by Michael’s attempt of communicating using his Turkish. Other than Russian, the languages in the Stan’s were a form of Turkic so some words were the same. After 5 minutes our passports were stamped, and we were cycling Kyrgyzstan. I have never been happier to leave one country and enter another, to the point that though the week to come everything went against me, the fact I was no longer in Uzbekistan kept my spirits up.

As soon as we started cycling Kyrgyzstan the scenery changed – gorges, mountains, canyons, rivers, lakes welcomed us into the country. A nice change to the desolate and rather boring Uzbekistan deserts and cotton fields. The roads also changed for the better – no more potholes and no more gravel, instead we had a newly paved bitumen road. Even the weather seemed to change for the better. Since we left Tashkent, it rained and even stormed everyday. It was hard to believe that just a week earlier we were cycling in 35-40 degrees heat. The days were also getting shorter, as well as colder, which meant changing our daily cycle routine and no more 5am starts, or midday siestas. The day we crossed the border was actually the first sunny day for over a week.

Unfortunately, the driver’s attitude to cyclists also changed.

In Uzbekistan it was the roads that made me feel unsafe cycling. In Kyrgyzstan, the roads were great, it was the drivers I was scared of! We found that in most countries, a honk of the horn is a friendly gesture, usually followed by a wave or ‘thumbs up’. Not in Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan a honk of the horn means, “Get the fuck out of the way or I’ll run you down” – and they mean it! I almost learnt this the hard way when coming into Bishkek.

Overall, I didn’t find the Kyrgyz people that friendly. Maybe that’s because I was coming from countries with unbelievable hospitality or maybe it is because Kyrgyz do have a chip on their shoulder, who knows? Admittedly, we didn’t have as much interaction with the locals as we had done in the other countries. At the same time, we weren’t given the same welcoming (friendly honks, waves, thumbs up, high-fives etc.) and the people we did have interaction with, either were rude, trying to rip us off, or had just ripped us off.

The exception to this was the old deaf couple in a rural village – they spent 10 minutes communicating with me through sign language, and no, I don’t know any sign language. This isn’t the first time on this trip that I’ve met some deaf people, and I actually find them easier to communicate with, as obviously, they use a lot of hand gestures, which is a lot easier to understand than someone just repeating the same thing over and over again, in a language you don’t understand.

We got off to a good start.

We crossed the border with no problems, the sun was out, the scenery was beautiful, the road was good, and we even bumped into another cyclist heading the same way. A rarity for us as we’d managed to avoid cyclists the entire trip. He gave us a few tips and cycled on. Cycling Kyrgyzstan involved several mountains passes to climb to get to Bishkek, including two mountain passes of 3100m plus, so it was great to get some tips from another cyclist. With the fast approaching winter, we wanted to get to the passes before the snow did. We really weren’t equipped for snow. A bit of a challenge, but we were feeling confident we could do it. Overall, things were looking good and we were on a high. That was probably where our luck turned, well my luck anyway.

Rocks falling from the skies.

After enjoying an afternoon of cycling we started to look for a camping spot. Just as the road narrowed and we started to climb a mountain, leaving us with very few options. We ended up camping in a very rocky gully, where we discovered Michael’s tyre was completely wrecked, and needed to be changed. A job for the morning we decided. At about 7pm the storm started and went on until about 10am the following day, so we stayed in the tent for most of the morning.

When the rain did stop, while packing up, a huge rock fell right onto my bare foot, my foot instantly swelled up and bruised. Obviously, a foot injury isn’t ideal while cycling. Anyway, despite this, I soldiered on for another 200km (which took about another 5 days) with the swollen foot. Cycling on flat ground didn’t seem to be an issue, but uphill, was not good, and with the approaching mountain passes I was worried. Then gastro returned and my dodgy knee started playing up, and that was it for me. No more cycling Kyrgyzstan!

Mini bus to Bishkek it was!

Just before the start of the pass climb, we caught an overpriced mini bus to Bishkek (about 200km). Bikes, bags, boyfriend and all. The driver was crazy, and almost made me regret taking the mini bus all together. Flying along narrow, icy roads. I was on edge the entire time.

The highest pass (3600m) already had a tonne of snow on. It was also snowing very heavy while we were up there. The wind was very strong and it was extremely cold. We would have frozen! That’s if we even made it that far!

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. While cycling Kyrgyzstan we got to see some of the most beautiful cycling scenery, and the views and wild camping were awesome. I also felt bad for Michael, as it was clear that he was disappointed in missing out on the stupidly high mountain passes. Sometimes however you have to face the music. I was not making it up that hill in the condition I was in, and honestly, after seeing the actual pass I think it was for the best. Sometimes things happen for a reason, even if the reason isn’t apparent at the time!

We finally got to Bishkek and I could breath again!

Eventually we got a place sorted out for a few nights, and I could rest my foot properly. The following day the weather was horrible, it snowed, it rained and it snowed some more. The temperature also dropped by about 10 degrees. I dread to think what it would have been like cycling up the pass in a snowstorm. The weather finally started to clear up the day we left, though it was still freezing! So much for a late autumn in Kyrgyzstan. Winter had arrived early!

We didn’t do a whole lot in Bishkek, just chilled out, recovered, cleaned, and caught up with people via the internet. One morning, we did go for a wander when the weather wasn’t too bad. After Bishkek, we had planned to head to Issyk Lake and cross the border into Kazakhstan from there, but it turned out that border crossing was already closed for the season. This meant we had to cross into Kazakhstan from the nearest border crossing, which was only 20km from the city. So, when it was time to leave Bishkek, it was also time to say goodbye to Kyrgyzstan, and hello to the next country, Kazakhstan!

Cycling Kyrgyzstan!

We spent just over a week cycling Kyrgyzstan, and to be honest I feel like we didn’t see much of the country. Though I didn’t find the people particularly friendly, I would like go back one day. Though next time we visit it won’t be in autumn/winter.

Check out this article to find out what made our first cycle trip different?