Cycling Home

I cycled for 4 days with The Family (mum and kid), but it was time for us to go our separate ways.

It’s my first time cycling with a kid, a sweet little 2 year for this first part of my trip.

Trying to get away on a bike trip is a very anxious and stressful process for me. My body was exhausted and my mind weary.

Sorting, cleaning, organising, packing, worrying. For this trip too my packing base was not my home, so I had to make sure nothing was left over.

But I made it! After a nice and warm farewell session with my friend I pedalled off. I get a thrill in that leaving moment. Finally on the open road again!

After a few days driving across Europe together, it was time to say farewell to pops (and the comfort of the campervan). I packed the stuff I won’t be able to cycle with into his campervan and wished him farewell for his onward journey.

Here’s a little taste of our trip.

My brain knew we would get away. I had been furiously researching the covid related requirements for weeks and felt confident. But part of my body didn’t quite believe it. Travelling anywhere seemed so difficult.

The basic purpose of my upcoming trip is collecting my bike from where I left it last November, but the trip is infused with so much more meaning. “Cycling Home” is the overall sense I have about it.

My first bike travels didn’t involve a lot of technology. I used paper maps, no mobile phone, and just a basic film camera. Now, I use quite a lot of technology (hopefully quite selectively though!). The maps are one of the most amazing things to me, so I thought I’d share my setup.

I’ve had some tricky times in the last year, and one of the things that has kept me inspired has been memories of previous trips, here’s a selection of 8 that I got printed and put on my wall, next to my bed.

Soon I’ll be on a cycling trip, and I previously enjoyed sharing some of my thoughts and experiences as I travelled, so I thought I’d do it again.