This page is about you the readers and followers who I don’t know personally. I’m flattered by the increasing number of people following my trip via my site and social media and would like to hear who my readers are and why you chose to follow me.
You know my story but whats yours? This is a chance to share your story, plans or maybe just introduce yourself rather being a nameless reader, or facebooker who’s profile I can’t see……..
Leave your comment here or if you wish to keep your privacy maybe just send me an email via the contact page:
Hey hey hey!!! Keep up the good work, stay strong, and keep dancin’!
Tailwinds fellow 2 wheeled vagabond-er!
Good luck on your trip too, 10,000miles in 10 months is serious stuff:)
We are following you from Canada. My daughter and her partner began their first cycle tour Sept/2011 in Barcelona intending to travel as far south as they could through Africa. They cycled through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal. By the time they reached Banjul in The Gambia they decided that 5,400 km was enough. We followed them on their blog (Wingin it on two wheels) and searched out others who are cycle touring. Came across your blog and became intrigued with the idea that you might cross paths somewhere. Not to be now that they have stopped. We enjoy following you – Stay safe!
Thanks for getting in touch Sheila, I hope I can entertain you for more than 5400km, Shame your daughter and partner had had enough but I can understand that in West Africa.
Sometimes enough is enough:)
Hi Shane,
The Journey and diary get better everytime I check in. Im following you because its an inspiring trip,wrote with honesty and feeling ,also your originally from my part of the world. Im planning a trip to Holland in June then tour Europe in 2013 for a few months hopefully 6. Im reading as many blogs/diarys as i can .At the age of 47 ive decided that its time for me to do what ive always wanted too do and thats tour on my bike. The brooks flyer is breaking in well (thanks for the advice) and today its actually snowing in Durham, not a problem for you!! I came off my bike 3 weeks ago on a patch of black ice, went on my arse for about 10 metres like a bowling ball, only pride hurt, the pannier took the impact. Weeble(nickname) comes from Weebles wobble ,but wont fall down ,thats what my mates call me if ive had a drink , The weather isnt stoping me from getting the miles in , because were hard in the North (or so we like to think) will keep checking in to read the diary, All the best. Alex.
Thanks for leaving your story Alex, I was wondering if the weeble had something to do with a portley stature:)
Thanks for donating a pint and coffee Alex, I’ll try try not to wobble:)
Hi Shane, I was just on cycle chat and stumbled across a post I’d made about my African tour that you replied to before leaving. I’ve book-marked you and will back-track on your old blog post’s and keep up to date. Looks like you’ve seem more wild-life than I ever saw! I was surprised to read you’ve had 4 punctures so far! I only got 1 over the entire journey! Hope all is going well. Mark.
Hey Mark,
The punctures where all with my Marathon Extreme in the first 2000km, I’ve since binned that crap and the Schwalbe Marathon XR’s are still puncture free.
Front 5000km, rear 3000km……
So you want us to leave our stories Shane – I’m from Newcastle, land of the Magpies.
My first (and last) big trip was in ’85 when we took off in a VW Van down the Sahara, Chad, Central Africa, Zaire, and onto Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi – couldn’t go any further due to wars and politics.
After some backpacking in India, we arrived in Tourist Thailand and had to resort to having a couple of bikes made in Bangkok with Steeles Bikeshop in South Gosforth (remember them?!) sending out the bits to make Thai bikes into Touring bikes – the only way to escape the moaning “travellers”!
As complete novices with no means of getting any advise etc, we had a ball cycling down Thailand, Malaysia and Bali.
We then flew to Darwin in Northern Australia where we decided to turn right towards the bush and Perth in Western Aussie, rather than left for Brisbane etc and more tourists, and all in the hottest time of the year – Doh!
But what a trip, and “100” years later I’m desperate to do the same trip as you – I have to warn you that once you’ve been the Spirit of Africa will draw you back again.
Best wishes and keep on gannin tappie lappie doon the lonnen!
Nick
Nice one Nick, the north seems well represented here :).
Thats quite and adventure you had, and all that before travelling got easy with internet and lonely planet :).
There is indeed something addictive about Africa, such hard work sometimes but so rewarding….
Hey, I was thinking about Uganda a little while ago and thought about you and the website. Good luck on your tour!
Amber
(You left your bike box under my bed at Entebbe Backpackers last year)
Hey Amber, nice to know you’re thinking about Uganda, happy memories I hope?
Bed you never want to see the backpackers menu again? 🙂
Hi shane , very nice to follow you from home ( Chamonix, France). I lived for a while in south Africa and spend some time in Rwanda which is really great to cycle but quiet hard , land of thousand hills…Keep up the africa beer guide , might end up as a book ?
Myself just doing short cycling holidays for the moment but might do north thailand after I read your story.
Good luck and keep making nice pictures for us.
Rik
Thanks for leaving your message Rik 🙂
Hi Shane!
Really enjoying your stories and the beautiful photos via facebook.
I have travelled a bit, but not to Africa so this is a cool way of doing it vicariously without getting saddlesore or threatened by lions…
My mum went through Africa years ago and has a few hair-raising stories. It seems like little has changed.
I have a bike but we have an on/off relationship. As in, it takes me ages to get on then I’m usually eager to get off. So you are a total inspiration and I hope that when I start training for Ironman, I will tell myself “But Shane did it much tougher, what are you moaning about 180km for?”
Keep the updates coming & enjoy this amazing experience 🙂
Janna
Thanks Janna, when I grow up I want to be an Ironman 🙂
Have you seen my friends blog http://ironmom.blogspot.com/ ? Good luck with the training
Wicked thanks, I’ll check it out 🙂
Wow man! Saw your film at friend’s facebook page. Keep living your dreams! May be do that.. it a little for us as well! I recognize a lot of the places you’ ve been to. I try to go there every year! My heart is in southern Africa as they say! Best time of my life. I’ll be back I know Not on a bike… but still!
Keep enjoying, keep living your dreams.. you’ll never forget it!
Manon
Thanks Manon!!!
Hi it’s great to read about your tour of Africa, I planned for two year’s to go to Africa (again) and cycle from Cario to Cape Town.
To keep my Mum (and Friend’s) happy I charged the plan from a Solo cycle tour to going with “Tour d’Afrique” this year! it cost a lot (to much) but was ok until I got very sick in Sudan on 3rd Feb!
I was very lucky that staff noiced that I was going down hill fast, They got me on to “Flying Doctor’s” to Kenya and saved my life. After 7 weeks I got send home to NZ.
Well how i’m building up a touring bike and going back to work this week to start saving and planning to go back and Cycle Africa Solo, I look forward to reading more about your Tour and have a Safe trip.
Peter, See you on the road 🙂
Thanks for leaving a message Peter, I’m sure you’ll find solo cycle touring much more fun and rewarding than the Tour d’Afrique….
Hi Shane,
Just when I got definitely interested in long cycle trips and wanted to follow others on their wonderful struggles through unknown fields and jungles, you announced your departure. You came along at the right moment and the way you write about your adventures keeps me curious and interested. My emerged interest in cycling led me to planning trips myself of increasing length and toughness. Starting with a weekend near home I fantasized about cycling a week around Holland and a subsequent ride to the southernmost point of Spain. Today these trips are behind me (pics visible on Facebook now), I did it and I’m hungry for more. So now I’m in the middle of the preparations of my ultimate journey. The more information I get the more often the plan changes, but the general idea is traveling the world for 4,5 years, on my own, starting with a long trek eastward. If life on a bike is just as great as I think it will be, Africa and the Americas will follow, with some short returns home inbetween to have a quick recover and some time to plan ahead. Early next year I’m gonna surprise my boss by telling I’m leaving the IT-crew I am part of, after 14 years. And soon after that I’ll be part of the legion of explorers, entertaining the homefront with great stories and amazing pictures.
You still seem to have a good time there. To me that leads to a firmer belief that it really is possible to persist, after leaving home, family, friends and favourite pub.
Good luck on the remaining part of your journey!
Richard
Great stuff Richard!
I think popping home for a rest from time to time is a great idea, that way you can appreciate both lives more, especially on such a long trip. I’m considering going back to work for a short period next to keep my qualifications valid but haven’t decided yet, depends largely on weather its possible to Cycle through DR Congo next spring.
I have to warn you life isn’t always fun on the road, but generally a bad week on the road isn’t much worse than a bad week at work and they don’t happen as often :).
Thanks for your donation, hopefully I can repay the favor one day when you’re on the road 🙂
So, I stumble upon your website thru Fb, and found myselve engroced by the beautiful freedom of being on the road!! Like heaven and hell coming together, with all the dirty details in one….
I had a sabbatical in 2007-2008, which lasted 10 months and took me from Suriname, to Seattle, to AU and finally landing in peace for 2 heavenly freeflying months in NZ…
I learned a lot about myself, about being with people I did not know and found out we are all the same…. looking for the beauty in life, thus ourselves and only when we dare to step out and have courage to let go of the familiar do we really live…
So now back in Holland I learned to live with all the good an bad, all the better person for it but still learning to be free at heart… why does the caged bird sing?
so here´s to roadtrips… the pain, the gain and really bad food… showering under the blue skies and living each moment!
Enjoy it and make it last… Love from the heart…
Oh yeah, 15 september is ´Love is everything´ day here in Holland….So love to YOU.