Bikepack Adventures Podcast

In episode 004 of Bike Tour Adventures, I interview Scott Sharick, an American that decided to quit his job and cycle around the world after suffering a stroke. His views on life, love of cycling, and immersion into local cultures will surely keep you entertained.I first met Scott while on my short tour of Norther Thailand, through Adam and Lucia. It was cool to see someone that is not a young 20-something doing a multi-year tour of the world. At first, I didn’t give it that much thought, as I had no intention of doing a podcast or any other type of thing, but then ended up checking out his facebook, and his blog, and while reading it, I came to see and appreciate Scott, as he has the uncanny ability to capture people with his camera. There are two types of bike tourers. Those that bike because they love biking and those that use it a means of getting from A to B. Scott is the latter variety, having been a cyclist all his life, and conveniently using it as a means of achieve his goal of going around the world and seeing everything it has to offer. Having previously cycled across the United States when in his 20s, both East-West and North-South, he somehow never took it to the level of doing a world tour. After working a career in the medical field in various locations throughout the world, Scott suffered a stroke. Fortunately he was able to make a full recovery. This led to him deciding to make a drastic change to his way of life, get back on the bike, and to set out to achieve his long time dream of cycling around the world.“With seven billion people in the world, it’s kinda hard to get lonely!”Throughout this episode we talk about his past bike touring experiences, what types of challenges he’s had to overcome while on this tour, how his friends and family feel about his tour, and what some of his best memories are so far. Scott shared some amazing stories of riding in Bangladesh, running out of money in various countries, and how the generosity of strangers always seems to occur at the times of greatest need.Scott’s passion for photography and capturing people in their everyday lives, has led him off the beaten path while cycling around the various countries of SE Asia. Rather than a more tradition point A to point B bike tour, Scott’s path twists and turns, much like the Mekong River. While many bike tourists circumnavigate the world in 1-2 years, Scott’s plan will take him a minimum of 5 years. sure to check out my website www.biketouradventures.com for blog posts, pictures, videos, cycling tips and more.To support the Bike Tour Adventures podcast, follow the links below:https://www.patreon.com/bikepackadventures orhttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/bikepackadventures Find Scott at:INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/scottsharick/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/scott.sharick YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ScottSharick/featured?app=desktop Join the RideWithGPS Bikepack Adventures ClubFind me at…WEBSITEYOUTUBE<a href="https://www.facebook.com/biketouradventures/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

26 Maj 20191h 16min

In Episode 003 of Bike Tour Adventures, two French guys, Pablo and Guillaume, share their story of cycling a tandem bike from Paris to SE Asia, pushing their bike up mountains, and dealing with a broken bike in India.I had the opportunity to meet Pablo and Guillaume when they first messaged me asking if I would be their Warmshowers host. I was unable to host them for more than a few nights, but luckily they were able to find a place to host them for the week they planned to stay in Phnom Penh. They asked if they would be able to do a talk at a school while in Phnom Penh, as they are trying to raise awareness about people with disabilities. Although I work at a different school, I arranged for them to get in touch with the Principal of Ecole Francaise Internationale de Phnom Penh (French International School of Phnom Penh) and he was really excited by having these two French guys who’ve cycled around the world come and meet his students. Seeing as both school share a campus, I also took this opportunity to record my third podcast episode at the end of the day. There was a slight echo in the room, and for that I apologize.These best of friend’s planned for years to do a bike tour together around the world. While they were in the preparation stage of saving money, Pablo was working as a bike courier in Paris and started to suffer from some pretty serious knee pain. After extensive consultations with various specialists, it was determined (non-conclusively) that he most likely had arthritis in his knee. This was not good. They began to think that they need to cancel their trip around the world. Luckily, they came across a tandem bike made by a company called Hase Bikes which could be modified to allow the front rider to pedal with their hands. Unfortunately, it was way more expensive (8000 Euros) then what they could afford. Luck was with them again when they applied to various companies for sponsorship and one of them accepted, nearly covering the entire cost of the bike.With a tour that has taken them through 20 countries and over 14,000 km of cycling, these two friends have overcome extraordinary challenges. Riding such an original type of bike has resulted in them having some amazing experiences, as they stand out when on the roads and in towns. However, it’s not always easy, and sometimes they needed to get off the bike and push for two days to go over a mountain range in Iran, or struggle to get on a train in India when they had a major breakdown. Through it all, these two friends have stuck together and by using half feet, half hands, have created a story they will never forget. “We took two days to do like 37km. Just pushing and doing like 3000 metre climb … We always try not [to] take such really hilly roads, because we are not here to just push for days and days.”Although originally planning to cycle for 2 years plus, all around the world, they have recently decided to end this portion of their travels at the end of summer 2019. They have found the spending 24 hours a day together has proven to be quite the challenge and that they feel as though they have accomplished what the set out to do in March 2018, have no regrets, and are both planning to continue their trip around the world, but in their own way.“We decided one and half months ago to just stop in France … To stop travelling with this bicycle, because it’s, as we say, it’s hard and it takes a lot of you, a lot of your effort, a lot of your energy and everything … and we still want to be friends in one year.”To support the Bike Tour Adventures podcast, follow the links below:https://www.patreon.com/bikepackadventures or<a href="https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/bikepackadventures" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

18 Maj 201949min

In Episode 002 of the podcast, Fin shares his experiences cycling across Europe on a Brompton and tells us about some amazing cyclosportive events he's taken part in.I first met Finn in 2015 when I took a teaching job in southern Sweden. Somebody heard I liked cycling and said “you should meet Finn, he’s also a crazy cyclist”. Needless to say, we got on really well, and although we lived 100km away from each other, we did manage to get together a few times throughout the year for some pretty epic road and mountain biking fun. Having done a bit of touring myself prior to this, Finn and I started sharing stories about our experiences travelling by bike. I Googled, “can you ride 100km a day on a Brompton?”and the answer was yes.When Finn told me he used a Brompton, a bike designed as a compact folding commuter bike, something that is traditionally tucked under a seat on a train, or thrown in the trunk of a car, and rode it through 11 European countries and 5400km over two months. The next year he did a bike and sailing trip from Sweden to Spain and back. And just like that, my world changed and I started looking at folding bikes as a possible method of touring. As an expat teacher, I wanted to find a way to tour during holidays, while not paying a small fortune for my bike each time I wanted to travel by plane. Three years later I ended up buying a Bike Friday New World Tourist. Had I not met Finn and had a chance to hear his stories, it definitely never would have happened. I ended up doing four countries in one day… I did Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany. And had lunch in Germany.While many people opt to use bicycles as a means of travel that is faster than walking, but slower than a car, for guys like Finn and I, cycling is a part of our lives, and, by extension, they become a central aspect of our travel experience. From the long epic adventure cycling and camping across thousands of kilometres, short getaways with a loved one, cycling can be adapted to fit into any tour. More importantly, a bicycle tour doesn’t have to start and end on the bike, but can adapted as necessary. Such was the case when Finn and his wife Elaine planned their cross-Sweden tour, but decided to change their plans when the hot (Swedish) weather became too much. It was crazy, bailing on a bike tour in Sweden because of the heat.Unlike most cyclists, Finn has challenged himself repeatedly by entering big cycling events in Sweden and Norway, and also doing the Everest Challenge two years in a row. From doing cycling events for the simple reason that that is what people do, riding in Norway in memory of a friend that passed away, to doing the Everest Challenge twice in order to raise money for people in need, Finn has shown to have the kind of grit and determination that many people only dream of. He even kind of knows when enough is enough and is not afraid to throw in the towel once the objective is achieved.It started in the 50s. I was there for its 50th anniversary and there was like, 20 guys who had done every year. And these are guys, in their 80s, and, it’s incredible, but I didn’t really want to just keep doing the same race.Dreaming about future tours is something that cyclists/bike tourists always have on their minds. Finn dreams to tour somewhere less travelled, a place that would challenge every aspect of his cycling skill, and to experience a remote adventure of nature and wilderness. However, this epic adventure will have to wait a few years, as he is about to have his first child and will be relegated to safer touring options with a Thule baby carriage attached to the back of his bike.Cheers Finn. Keep on pedalling.To support the Bike...

18 Maj 201952min

In Episode 001 of Bike Tour Adventures, I get to meet and interview Adam and Lucia of the Cycling Two, who quit their jobs and sold most of their stuff when they decided to embark on this journey of self-discovery and adventure.I first met Adam and Lucia when I was cycling the Mae Hong Son Loop in Northern Thailand in November 2018. I was fortunate to meet Adam’s friend Simon while cycling from Chiang Mai to Pai and he invited me out that night to meet his other cyclist friends. I planned to meet up with Adam and Lucia in Chiang Mai a week later and carried on with my bike tour. After a good couple days of hanging out in Chiang Mai and eating our way through Anthony Bourdain’s favourite places, it was time to wish them well and let them continue their trip through parts unknown. Lo and behold, a few months later, I had moved to Cambodia and they were passing through, and I agreed to host them while in Phnom Penh, and we took the opportunity to record this interview.From the insane driving in Cambodia, to eating bugs in Thailand, and seeing a dog being burned alive in China, Adam and Lucia have found that the biggest challenge of the bicycle tour is the cultural aspect. While most bike tourists start their trips in their home country, the Cycling Two dove in headfirst and started their trip in Singapore and cycled up through Malaysia, Thailand and Laos into China, before turning around and coming back down through Vietnam, Laos a second time, and into Cambodia. While seeing something such as a dog being burned alive can lead to an almost shell-shocked type of feeling which may seem as brutish mindless cruelty, the people carrying out the action were actually quite friendly and proud of what they were doing and that you have to realize that people do live different cultural norms.“It’s not for us as travellers to impose our ideals onto anybody. We are absolutely guests and visitors. It’s kinda the beauty of travelling by bicycle is you see these things that most people don’t normally see. It can be really rewarding and it can also change your views on the world in bigger ways.”Adam HugillOne of the bigger challenges with planning an around the world tour is deciding on the route to be taken. Cyclists often spend countless hours planning their route, looking up sights they want to see, figuring out likely places to camp, sleep, get hosted, etc. Adam and Lucia have changed their plans on many occasions. Because they make a lot of YouTube videos related to their travels, it likely seems that they are changing their minds too often. “That’s what I love about bicycle touring, you can be really flexible. You don’t have to be dead-set on a certain direction because it’s up to you. You’re on a bicycle and you pedal the way you want to go.”Lucia HugillAs a life-long cyclist and traveller, it’s interesting to hear how various people get the bug for cycling and travelling. Adam’s interest began while on tour in Afghanistan when he read a book by Alastair Humphreys and immediately got hooked on the idea of doing something to bring adventure and excitement into his life. After doing some smaller tours around the UK, Northern Ireland, and Europe, Adam decided that with all the external pressures of life coming into play, such as buying a house, starting a family, and beginning a new career, he was going to lose the chance of ever doing a world tour unless he did something soon.Once Adam and Lucia decided to do a multi-year tour, it was a matter of testing out equipment and seeing what works for them. By doing a short tour before the big one, it gave them the opportunity to see what they need and to help cut down on the amount of kit they are carrying. One of the biggest mistakes of most new bike tourers is that they

18 Maj 20191h 3min

I want to start off by welcoming all visitors to Bike Tour Adventures. All my blogs posts and podcast episodes can be accessed through my website.This podcast is about bike tourists, for bike tourists. These interviews will help bike tourists share their journeys, adventures, and experiences through interview style episodes.Chris

10 Maj 20192min