Category Archives: China to UK by Bicycle

Eat. Sleep. Bike. Repeat.

It has been eight days now since we struck out from Saint Petersburg on bicycles. We are yet to have a day off from cycling, or a proper shower, and it is beginning to show.  Today has been hard work … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Entering Europe Proper

After more than a year away from Europe, it felt amazing to re-enter, cycling beneath the familiar blue sign with a circle of stars that symbolises the EU, at the border into Finland.  Our last couple of nights in Russia … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle, Europe, Overland Travel | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Tortoise and The Hare

We left Saint Petersburg three days ago and suddenly it felt like an entirely new trip! 🙂  All the hassle of my pannier rack breaking, the lack of fuel and my illness (which we now think was pneumonia) fell away … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle, Europe | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Shortened Tour

After a week in Almaty and a bicycle that finally seemed for for the job, Arron and I set off from Almaty with a plan. It might not have been the dream of cycling through Kazakhstan, but it would get … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New and Improved

Arron and I spent the best part of a week in Almaty, fixing my pannier rack, refixing it and generally tinkering and improving our bikes where we could.  In the end, I had to buy a second entire rear pannier … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged | Leave a comment

An Emotional Rollercoaster

On Sunday morning I woke up, poured a coffee and stretched myself into the day with half an hour of yoga. The night before, Arron had shared his worries about going back to the UK so soon, with no job … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Karakol

There are few places that I visit for such a short time that I fall in love with, but it has to be said, this small mountain town in the midst of central Asia is one of them.  I cannot … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, China to UK by Bicycle | 2 Comments

Learning to Fail

Last week, I started listening to a book about learning to fail well. I confess I didn’t expect to be implementing what I had read quite so quickly. It never really crossed my mind that I would not manage to … Continue reading

Posted in China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Dealing with Disappointment

​I woke up inside our icy cavern as the sun rose and turned our tent from darkness to an orange glow. I shuffled up into seated position, poured hot coffee from the flask I had stashed inside my sleeping bag … Continue reading

Posted in China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Entering Kazakhstan 

The excitement entering a new country still thrills me each time I do it. Though we had not entered Kazakhstan quite the way we had planned, it was still an adventure. Crossing the border with our packaged up bicycles was … Continue reading

Posted in China, China to UK by Bicycle | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment