The long term bicycle trip insurance mine field! In preparation for my trip through Africa I spent a lot of time looking into travel insurance. I thought I’d be done in no time but all that small print proved to be a problem. The info below is aimed at my own trip, but just maybe […]
Shane’s dirty dozen
As of this moment, I’d stack them up against any men in the Army. The Dirty Dozen (1967) I had planned to keep my blog alive this summer with the occasional guest post from some friends and cyclists I follow but instead went for an easy option for them (and therefore got some co-operations). I’ve asked a […]
Bike modifications for winter cycl...
Mr Hyde has been transformed in Winter Hyde. Before: For details of the original bike speccs scroll down. After: Work done : Handlebars : Against all my principles I’ve replaced my drop bars for flat mountain bike type handle bars, including LX brakes and Ergon grips and bar ends for a little more comfort. I have […]
Winter camping : cooking, food and...
During January and February 2013 I cycled for three weeks in Lapland in the middle of winter with Helen Lloyd ( her thoughts on winter cycling can be found HERE) We cycled and camped at temperatures between -10 and -30 degrees C. Here I’ll discuss the things learned in the cooking, food and hydration department. Cooking: At the […]
Winter camping sleeping system
A beginners guide to choosing a sleeping system for arctic use (assuming camping down to -30/-40 degrees C). There are several schools of thought for a sleeping system for use in the extreme cold here are the main ones that I know of: A synthetic sleeping bag rated at around the planned usage temperature. A down sleeping […]
Winter cycling in Lapland Video
Here’s the video for our trip in Lapland. With an average of only 6 hours sunlight a day, they were dark days…. Music by : Ryan Koriya Cycling in Lapland from ShaneCycles on Vimeo.
Carrying luggage on a Brompton fol...
I’m sure many people like myself have wondered how to get enough luggage on a Brompton for a couple of weeks touring. Last weekend I went away for a few days with friends and was able to try out various options. Here Andrew of Travellingtwo has a bar bag, Radical design Brompton “Rack sack” and a […]
What does a sabbatical cost?
How can you take so much time off work? How do you finance a big cycle touring trip? Is cycle touring expensive? Questions I get asked a lot. This morning I got another one of those “How do you do it?” emails from a blog reader. Now almost 18 months since I had my last day […]
The genius of Brompton touring
Cycle touring with a Brompton : Yes you can! Back in January I invested in a second hand Brompton to fill in the gaps between public transport now that I no longer own a money slurping car. Within hours of riding it I found myself wondering if I can go cycle touring on a folding […]
Hotpog Pogie review
Cold hands when cycling in winter has always been a problem for me. Wilst researching my trip to Lapland I stumbled upon a word I’d never heard before “Pogies”. As far as I could tell there are two brands on the market that look like good quality. Hotpog.co.uk in Europe and Dogwood Design on the other […]
Winter cycle touring in the Scanda...
As a contrast to the heat of Africa my first trip post my big ride across Africa was to Lapland during winter. Cycling and camping at temperatures between -5 and -30 proved to be quite a challenge. Winter cycling in Lapland pt I During January and February 2013 I teamed up with Helen Lloyd of […]
Winter tent : Hilleberg Allak
The tent I’ve chosen for my upcoming trip to Lapland is the Hilleberg Allak . Scroll down the page or click if you want to get straight to the post trip review… I know Hilleberg are not the cheapest tents around but I’m a fan of their ability to over engineer tents making them more suitable […]