recent posts
- Day Of Food – Cambodia
- Cycling Flat Out
- Quiet Times At Angkor Wat
- On The Temple Trail
- 22,000 Kilometre Photo
- Laos By Numbers
- Lizard Days
- Cycling In Coffee Country
- Merry Christmas From Laos
- Adventures On ‘The Loop’
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- May 2011 (11)
- April 2011 (11)
- March 2011 (6)
- February 2011 (6)
- January 2011 (6)
- December 2010 (5)
- November 2010 (6)
- October 2010 (4)
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London Goodbyes
As time rushes towards our leaving date, London’s vibrancy and life almost floors me like it did when I was a newcomer. A few weeks ago I found myself walking across Blackfriars Bridge snapping pictures of graffiti on my old film camera. My hands freeze but the riverside, with its unique mash of architecture crowding behind it, still absorbs me. – Posted by Emma
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
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
Bug Bite Protection
I’m not a huge fan of mosquitoes. Ditto having thousands of tiny fruit flies hanging around my handlebars, feeding moisture out of the slipstream of air behind my head before being sucked into my nose. Neither do I like horse flies that dive bomb from overhanging trees and bite through cycling shirts. – Posted by Emma