Tristan Ridley | From Bike Tourer to Bikepacker + Tips on Cycling the Middle East and Africa

In Episode 032 of Bike Tour Adventures, I have the chance to catch up with Tristan Ridley while he on a 100 country journey with the plan of cycling 100,000km. In this episode we talk about his original 13 month tour from New Zealand to the United Kingdom, his current tour, what he considers to be the best country for bike touring and what is the most dangerous country he has ridden in.

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INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/tristanrid/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/tristanrid

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TristanRidley/videos

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ITUNES: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bike-tour-adventures/id1464406852

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Show Notes

~ 30 sec Intro to episode and Tristan Ridley

~ 4m 30s Disastrous first bike trip

~ 7m 30s From hitchhiker to bike tourer; Cycling in New Zealand

~ 12 min Cycling in Papua New Guinea; taking boats; almost sinking; getting dengue fever

~ 16m 30s What bike he used for his first tour and about his setup and why he changed to a bikepacking setup for his 2nd tour

~ 22m 30s Talking about allemansrätten (every man's right); favourite piece of equipment; why aero bars are under-rated

~ 32 min Discussing his planned route for phase 2 of his tour - 100,000km and 100 countries

~ 34 min Cycling in the Nordic countries; why Estonia is better than Thailand for first time bike tourers

~ 37m 30s Cycling in Jordan (Petra and Wadi Rum); Going to Israel and not getting stamps

~ 42 min Attempting to cycle in Sinai, Egypt; Problems with Egyptian police; avoiding the police escort and being robbed at gunpoint

~ 48m 30s Discussing media bias and how it's not the reality for Sudan

~ 53 min Fundraising to build schools in Kenya and Uganda with Build Africa; Why some African countries are completely dependent on charities; The importance of schools in African villages and towns

~ 1h 6m Population density and why he doesn't like some countries as much as others

~ 1h 12m Why Tristan loves Namibia; best countries in Africa for cycling; best country in terms of the people

~ 1h 16m Tristan's planned route through the Americas

~ 1h 19m Discussing burnout and road fatigue

~ 1h 22m Talking about his bike setup and where he carries his gear; seat post bag vs rack bag

~ 1h 27m How much longer he will be riding with Craig and why they probably won't continue together

~ 1h 29m End of episode and what's next