Seek Travel Ride

Six days into a two-month ride across Central Asia, Rob MacLennan found himself driving a minibus over the mountains in Mongolia. His broken bike was strapped to the roof, there were twelve local women in the back, and the driver was having a nap in the passenger seat. It turned out to be a fair warning of what was coming.

Rob first joined me on the show after riding from London to Cape Town. This time he’s back after bikepacking the ancient Silk Road through Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, using the whole trip as training for the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan. 

He was sitting inside the top 15 when his cranks snapped deep in the mountains. Most riders would have scratched, and as Rob says himself, there’s no shame in that. He went the other way. He rode 50 kilometres with one pedal, found a rental bike that was far too small for him, went hunting through a scrapyard for a taller saddle, and spent around €800 on taxis bringing parts out from a bike shop in Bishkek. All the while he was racing the snail to make each checkpoint cutoff.

We also talk about the numbness he felt after the race, which left his memories of the trip feeling like he was watching them in the third person.

You can keep up with Rob's future adventures via his instagram @robbo_on_the_road

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This week’s episode has a Eurasian lynx attacking a cycle tourist through his tent wall and three lions calling to each other around a wild camp in Tanzania, so yeah, it’s a wildlife one. 

It all started with an email from a previous guest, Robert Reynolds, where he shared a frightening experience when a Eurasian lynx tried to attack him in the night while he was inside his tent!

It sent me back through the archives to my chat with Steph Devery, a kick-ass Aussie whose bike adventure took her right across Europe and down through Africa. Steph tells the story of sitting in the far corner of a campground in Uganda when a whole family of gorillas climbed into the trees right in front of her. She followed that up when she recalled a night wild camping in Tanzania when she woke at 3am to lions on every side of her tent, with a couple of millimetres of nylon between her and them.

I also put the call out on Instagram for your own wildlife stories from the bike, and you came through. I share a few of mine as well, like riding over snakes on the bike paths in Canberra and a sleepless night of cowbells outside a shepherd’s hut in the Pyrenees. Then there’s the mule at the top of the Col du Soulor that nibbled my handlebars and disconnected my brakes right before the descent.

Episode 200 of Seek Travel Ride is coming up in a few weeks, and a few of you have asked if someone could turn the tables and interview me. If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer, tap the “Send a message or voice note to the show” link in these show notes. You can use the same link to send me your own bike travel stories, and I’ll read them out in future episodes.

Robert Reynolds’ episode
Steph Devery’s episode: 

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

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Shuhena only learnt how to ride a bike as an adult and she's been rediscovering what is possible for her ever since. She shares how she always viewed bikepacking as a 'white persons sport' and also how she hopes more muslim women will take to doing what she has done. 

Shuhena walked away from a corporate law career in London, bought herself a one way ticket to Asia and went bikepacking. She ended up cycling through seven countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia. 

We talk visas (the Chinese one took a month), gear, and how cycling the mountainous roads in Java, Indonesia left her completely broken. She also shares how she has found community on the road, and the realities of what it is like to  go cycling through Asia as a Muslim woman.

You can keep up with Shuhena's future adventures via her instagram:  @Cycling_Shu

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

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What's it like to go bikepacking in Indonesia? Olly Hargreaves has sent through his last update all about cycling from Jakarta to Balin starting with a 38 hour ferry ride from Singapore!

Olly reckons Java has the steepest roads of his whole ride, steeper than the Alps, Afghanistan or the Pamir Highway, with gradients up to 30% and descents where your fingers never leave the brakes. He also explains why he skipped the busy north coast road and the brutal southern route other bikepackers took, instead choosing to go through the middle of the island via Bandung, Borobudur, Yogyakarta and Malang instead. 

Then comes the climb to Mount Bromo, where his brother Jamie told him there was no way he'd ride the whole thing, and you can probably guess how that went. They cycled through the sand of the Bromo crater and watched Mount Semeru send up a cloud of ash every 20 minutes. After that came a night hike to the blue fire and sulphur mines of Mount Ijen, the ferry to Bali, and one last steep valley before they flew on to Australia.

If you're planning a cycling trip in Indonesia, Olly's advice is to be ready for the hills and make time for the volcanoes. 

Follow Olly;s future adventure via his instagram @Sagas.of_Olly.Hargreaves

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

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Wes Murray has been hosting cyclists on the TransAmerica Trail since 2012 at his home in Houston, Missouri. Since then he's hosted over 300 bike adventurers who have stayed at 'The Shack'. His hospitality and kindness is legendary and now many riders have 'staying with Wes' as a milestone when they plan their ride across the USA. 

It's a pleasure to chat with Wes and hear how it is he and his late wife Judy got into hosting cyclists in the first place, and hear him share his experiences from doing so. Wes definitely feels hosting cyclists is a gift for himself as well and he enjoys broadening his view of the world by listening to the stories of touring cyclists and bikepackers he hosts. In turn, they learn more about Houston, Missouri and often get to meet locals while trying out frozen custard from the Corner Store or departing with the hospital breakfast. 

Never Miss an Opportunity is the phrase that Wes imparts on those who stay with him on their ride, and it's a privilege to have had the opportunity to share the other side of the hosting experience. 

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

Head over to Old Man Mountain and checkout the Manzanita Cradle 

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Going on a bike adventure can be a huge deal and perhaps you've found that fear is holding you back from going out there and exploring. This week I'm sharing excerpts from my original interview with Saoirse Pottie, which give insight into how she pushed her fears (and those others had for her!) aside and how she did this one small step at a time. 

Firstly with getting used to riding alone, then wildcamping solo, to taking a journey that would last weeks before going ahead and spending months cycling through Africa. 

You can listen to the full episode with Saoirse here and be sure to give her a follow on instagram to check out her future adventures in her snailblazers community via @snailblazers.cc

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

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This year Ash Eagles won the 1700km TransAtlantic Way which was his first ever ultracycling event. What makes this even more incredible is that it came almost 5 years after surviving a very rare form of bone cancer where doctors warned him he may never ride his bike again.

The day after going through the operation, Ash promised himself that he'd cycle 100kms within a year and it's incredible to learn more about his story and see exactly what he has achieved on the bike since. 

This includes cycling 4,300miles across the USA on the TransAmerica Trail, then cycling LEJOG a route he'd dreamt of doing for 20 years, albeit Ash thought he'd be hiking it!

LEJOG was the tester to see if an ultra like the TransAtlantic Way in Ireland could be possible. The results certainly speak for themselves, with Ash ending up first place finisher for the 1700km category at this years race. 

To keep up with Ash's future adventures check him out on instagram - @AshEagles

You can also listen to his partner Becky's experience on teh TransAmerica Trail here.

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

Head over to Old Man Mountain and checkout the Manzanita Cradle 

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

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Imagine setting off to cycle from Cork in Ireland all the way to Cape Town South Africa. Then picture yourself doing it while towing a surfboard on a trailer! That's exactly what James Ryan has just set off to do!

In this episode we are getting to know James, his reasons for this particular adventure and what he is especially looking forward to wiht the huge journey that lies ahead. This update comes to use while he is currently in Northern Spain cycling on the Camino de Santiago route, and James will be giving us updates every few weeks as his adventure unfolds. 

To follow along with James' journey you can check him out on instagram - @JimmyGoodTimes

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

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Poli Berber started out being fearful of riding her bike in traffic. Then she went on a 10 month tour from Paris to Yereven which ended up being life changing. 

She returned back to Mexico City and through bikepacking rediscovered her own city. Since then she's taken to mapping out off-road routes around Mexico as well as lining up for ultra racing events, such as Tour de Frankie and the Japanese Odyssey. 

We talk about how she managed to overcome her fears and what it's like to look at a map and transform it into a bikepacking route others will enjoy. Poli also shares her experiences of having to problem solve a broken rear derailleur at 5000m of elevation in an ultra race in Peru! 

Be sure to check out Poli's video from her Tour de Frankie race and give her a follow via her instagram to keep track of her future adventures. @Berber.Poli

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

Head over to Old Man Mountain and checkout the Manzanita Cradle 

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

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👉 Zorali 

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If you could relive one moment from your bike adventure what would it be? 

Earlier this year I hosted a series of live shows in Melbourne featuring previous podcast guests Fergal Guihen, Em Hulbert and David McCourt. 

This exact question was posed during one of those Melbourne Live shows and the answers were so good I'm sharing it with you today. 

Fergal takes us into the Taklimakan Desert in China, stranded with no food or water until a local guide turned up out of nowhere on a tiny bike. Em goes right back to the very first pedal stroke of her trip, heading up the coast out of Margaret River. David remembers a night in Malaysia, being chased by a storm in an area inhabited by wild elephants and I couldn't resist sneaking my own moment in too which will transport you to the Ireland at the Cliffs of Moher at sunrise.

Plus, in this week's listener shoutouts, Anthony shares his own wild camping story from the Goulburn River in Victoria involving a very determined possum!

Send a message or voice note to the show. I read every one, and some might make it onto a midweek episode

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

👉  CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)

👉 Zorali 

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👉 Ombraz 

Follow us on Social Media!

• Instagram - @SeekTravelRide
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Leave me a voicemail message

Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music