recent posts
- Thailand By Numbers
- Rolling To A Stop
- Sidecars And Side Roads
- Day Of Food – Thailand
- 23,000 Kilometre Photo
- Cambodia By Numbers
- The Hot South
- Day Of Food – Cambodia
- Cycling Flat Out
- Quiet Times At Angkor Wat
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Blogging From The Road
This is a technical blog post about the software and process we use for updating the Rolling Tales website while we are travelling. I have found a solution that allows us to compile our blog posts and website updates while offline and then with very few actions publish the changes when we reach our next access point. – Posted by Justin
Winter Gear Fixing List
The very same day we sat down to write a huge list of all the things that we needed to do before continuing our tour in April 2011, we received an email from a cyclist asking how our gear had performed in the first six months of the trip and if there were any choices we would make differently after being on the road. – Posted by Emma
Fattening Up In Thessaloniki
Last time we were in Greece we had just enough cash for a Giros and a beer before we pedalled on to Turkey and spent less than 24 hours in the country. Compared with two weeks in Bulgaria, five in Italy and four in Spain, our time in Greece was short to say the least. – Posted by Emma
Tent Repatriation
We don’t know if regular use by two (sometimes) stinky cyclist bodies are anything to do with our misfortunes but between the mysterious holes which appeared in France, a love-in with an over-amorous cat, a pair of trapped crickets and a troupe of hungry ants, our tent (lovingly known as Bessie) has a few holes after six months of cycle touring. – Posted by Emma
Turkish Gear Drop
As we mentioned a few weeks back, we have a lot of gear to be fixed over the coming winter. I still say “coming winter” as here in Istanbul its 20 degrees and sunny most days at the moment… Great! Our very good friends Cat and Graham have again come to the rescue, like they did with our Italian gear drop, but instead of posting our supplies this time they also came to visit us in Istanbul bringing a suitcase of bike bits in tow. – Posted by Justin
Weighing In For A Walk
It was only when I was selecting items to fill a backpack for a three day hike along some of Turkey’s Lycian Way that I realised quite how luxurious the baggage limit for fully loaded cycle touring is. Apart from boots which have been carried on my rear rack all summer like a pair of spoiled princesses, I don’t own hiking stuff. – Posted by Emma
Travel Plans 2.0
When we set out in April 2010 we were well aware that Europe was the easy part. We had ample time to reach our goal of Istanbul and with six months to our disposal we could afford to cycle around in circles and off in tangents before winter. Now with three months before we start cycling again our planning has become a little more intent. For this part we’ve got two big countries to cross – each of which could suck up six months on their own – and the tricky little complication of travel visas. – Posted by Emma
Mongolia Cycle Touring Tips
Mongolia has always been a much anticipated destination of our cycle trip. From the point we first opened the pages of the Lonely Planet guide in London and began to fantasize about wide open spaces and a daily routine focused on little more than reaching point ‘B’ from point ‘A’ we have been looking forward to reaching Mongolia. – Posted by Justin
Some Stinky Sandals
During most of my backpacking travels I hadn’t put any thought into what went on my feet, always opting for the basic kiwi jandals – known as thongs to the Aussies and flip flops to the rest of the world. But to ensure I could cope with walking up mountains at a moments notice, crossing river beds and completing other extreme cycle touring critical movements which required superior grip, I caved. – Posted by Emma
London Chores, Mates & Food
Over the past few months of so called winter in Istanbul we have been weighing up the pros and cons of a trip back to the UK. On one hand we get the chance to pick up some hard to find kit, catch up with old friends and indulge in food and drink while on the other hand didn’t we just spend six months cycling from London to Istanbul? As the list of things we could achieve in just one day in London grew the argument to go finally won us over. – Posted by Justin