Bristol2Beijing

Find out who's joined me on Chris the tandem over the last couple of weeks! I've cycled from Bukhara to Tashkent, and at last it hasn't been solo!

Kate's on holiday so find out from me about my initial impressions of Tashkent, the surprising guest who's joined the ride and why I was so impressed with 17 year old student Sunnat from Bukhara.

Haircuts, timings and the silk road...

Download this week's episode of the Bristol2Beijing podcast to find out the highs and lows, challenges from the road, and the experiences of Luke Grenfell-Shaw as he rides from Bristol to Beijing on his tandem bike.

Last week I spoke about how I had 500+km to ride through the desert, with temperatures approaching 40 degrees and no water supplies en-route.

Listen to this week's episode to find how one of the 'hardest' stints on the tandem went, and the contrast between the town of Nukus and the emptiness across the Kazakh/Uzbek border!

Also I answer some key questions including how far am I cycling each day and what the best cycling shorts are! If YOU have questions that you'd like answered, send them to Bristol2Beijing on social media or email to [email protected].

We hope you enjoy this episode!

What's it like cycling a tandem in 40 degree heat? What physically hurts the most? How am I feeling about travelling along 500km of sparsely populated road across the Uzebkistan border?

Find out the answers to these questions (and more!) in this weeks episode of the Bristol2Beijing podcast

I've made it to Kazakhstan! After several weeks of waiting for a ferry I crossed the Caspian Sea last week and now am back on Chris and continuing to cycle east!

Listen to this week's episode to find out whether the ferry has arrived - and what happens if you MISS the ferry that you've been waiting for for over a month. Plus tune in to find out my thoughts on learning languages, dealing with disappointment, and how I'd deal with the hypothetical scenario of money being endless.

Having had a little break from the podcast for a few weeks we catch up again - and Luke is still in Baku. Tune in to hear about the frustration of waiting for visas to be issued, a ferry with no timetable, and how Luke has dealt with these challenges.

This week we chat to Luke in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as he waits for visas to be sorted for his onward travel. We answer questions from the audience ranging from which city does he prefer - Batumi or Baku, to the route ahead and future plans.

Plus, tune in to hear how Luke faced up to a cycling challenge of a different sort to usual last weekend...

After a fortnight on the road travelling, we catch up with Luke to hear about his journey cycling 700km from the capital of Georgia to the capital of Azerbaijan.

We're also joined by Pippa, who was on the back of the tandem, to hear her views about the visibility of women around whilst travelling through Azerbaijan, what it is really like joining the Bristol2Beijing trip, and how Luke can improve!

In my final week of exploring Georgia listen to this episode for the story of my trip to the Pankisi Valley, a visit to the EuroClub Kvareli, and you can hear a chat with the inspirational Nazy Dakishvili who is helping to bring opportunities to the Pankisi Valley.

Nazy's guesthouse, where I stayed in the Pankisi valley can be found online at: https://nazysguesthouse.com

Bristol2Beijing kit is available at: http://saddledrunk.com/bristol2beijing