Comments for Ride Earth - Tom's World Bicycle Travel Blog

Comment on Moving Forward From Vanilla Cycle Touring by Andy

Andy — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:53:07 +0000

Good link there alastair, just what I needed especially:-

Give up this renaissance man, dilettante bullshit of doing a lot of different things (and none of them very well by real standards). Get to the guts of one thing; accept, without reservation or rationalization, the responsibility of making a choice. When you live honestly, you can not separate your mind from your body, or your thoughts from your actions.

and

In Dune, Frank Herbert called it “the attitude of the knife,” cut off what’s incomplete and say “now it has finished, for it has ended there.”
I wondered why I loved that book so much.

Comment on Moving Forward From Vanilla Cycle Touring by Alastair Humphreys

Alastair Humphreys — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:08:44 +0000

Really great piece. Well done.

Whilst I imagine there are aspects of this that really won’t float your boat, you may be interested in one of my favourite essays. Ignore the train-till-you-puke stuff and see what you think of the rest: http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=15

ps- glad you are seeing life after bike!
Time to buy a packraft…

Comment on Moving Forward From Vanilla Cycle Touring by Tweets that mention Moving Forward From Vanilla Cycle Touring | Ride Earth - Tom's World Bicycle Travel Blog -- Topsy.com

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:56:54 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tom / Ride Earth, Andrew Welch. Andrew Welch said: RT @rideearthtom Moving Forward From Vanilla Cycle Touring http://bit.ly/9B6Sw4 [...]

Comment on Extrawheel Voyager Single-wheel Bike Trailer Review by Fearghal

Fearghal — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:48:58 +0000

Glad to see bobby’s undue hegemony coming to an end.
Probably my biggest life regret to-date was buying that f%&king Bob trailer!

Comment on The Long Road Back To Yerevan by The long road back to Yerevan | Make Travel Fair UK

The long road back to Yerevan | Make Travel Fair UK — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:37:07 +0000

[...] Continue reading this article @ Ride Earth – Tom’s World Bicycle Travel Blog [...]

Comment on Mongolia: The Cream Of Adventure Cycle-Touring by Mongolia: The cream of adventure cycle-touring | Make Travel Fair UK

Mongolia: The cream of adventure cycle-touring | Make Travel Fair UK — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:34:43 +0000

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Comment on On The Rails – Sochi to Ulaanbaatar by Jools Stone

Jools Stone — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:23:25 +0000

Glad I found this blog! The 96 hour trans-siberian sounds like a great experience.
Happy travels
Jools

Comment on 10 Strange Things Bicycle Travel Has Done To Me by Tom

Tom — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:41:07 +0000

Yes, this has happened to me too, probably a result of having to concentrate all day every day on what I’m doing (i.e. riding a bike)!

Comment on Four Spectacular Moments From Mongolia by Tom

Tom — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:42:59 +0000

Ultrawide is my favourite…

But actually the last shot was taken with a 50mm prime!

Comment on The Long Road Back To Yerevan by Fort Lauderdale Airport Transportation

Fort Lauderdale Airport Transportation — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:50:40 +0000

Good post

Comment on Four Spectacular Moments From Mongolia by BenA

BenA — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:24:33 +0000

Bro,
Some truly spectacular scenery there. I need to get me a wider angle lens to have even the potential to take some similar shots!

Comment on The Long Road Back To Yerevan by Andy

Andy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:41:16 +0000

I noticed you look happier when it’s raining in photos above. It’s just not quite the same if it’s not raining on the black sea coastline.

Comment on The Long Road Back To Yerevan by Fearghal O'Nuallain

Fearghal O'Nuallain — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:12:15 +0000

I hope that tailor and his clan are behaving themselves : )

Comment on The Long Road Back To Yerevan by Liz Allen

Liz Allen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:46:16 +0000

Another eloquent and ‘well painted’ description of your journeying.

I’m glad the Hungarian cyclist enjoyed hospitality on his travels at last!

Comment on Rain, Train and Pain – Yerevan to Sochi by Tom

Tom — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:38:21 +0000

Yes, that is common knowledge regarding the land border. In my article I was explicitly was talking about the ferry being unavailable for non-CIS citizens, which is surprising, considering foreigners can arrive to Sochi from Trabzon and to Batumi from Odessa etc. Why not Sochi from Batumi, or Batumi from Sochi? Another political pressure point?

Of course the visa is overpriced – that’s another example of political blackmail. A UK visa for 6 months costs about $90.

Comment on Rain, Train and Pain – Yerevan to Sochi by Theijs

Theijs — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:27:40 +0000

If you have any sens of politics, than you know you can’t travel by train or bus from Batumi to Sochi, and that the border is closed for non-CIS citizens (as well at Kazbegi). And sorry to say, but 504 Dollar is way overpriced!

Comment on Mongolia: The Cream Of Adventure Cycle-Touring by Liz Allen

Liz Allen — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:20:39 +0000

Informative and enlightening piece of writing. Very useful for folk planning their travels.

An interesting debate has ensued too.

Comment on Mongolia: The Cream Of Adventure Cycle-Touring by Tim

Tim — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:38:46 +0000

Ripley’s certainly causing a few ripples at the moment, isn’t he?

It’s difficult to say anything critical without coming across as angry/jealous or bashing people for the sake of it. But I think you’ve raised an excellent point Tom…

What Mr Davenport’s doing sounds incredibly tough and all respect to him for taking on such a challenge. But just as it’s misleading to claim that an expedition has honourable and self-less aims when it’s more about an adventure for its own sake, it’s also misleading to portray a destination as something that it’s not.

Honesty and openness, as ever, are the best policies.

Thanks for sticking to them Tom.

Tim.

Comment on Mongolia: The Cream Of Adventure Cycle-Touring by Tweets that mention Mongolia: The Cream Of Adventure Cycle-Touring | Ride Earth - Tom's World Bicycle Travel Blog -- Topsy.com

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:36:17 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tom / Ride Earth, TravellingTwo. TravellingTwo said: Loving this helpful and inspiring tale of adventure cycling in Mongolia http://bit.ly/dstV4r from @rideearthtom [...]

Comment on Mongolia: The Cream Of Adventure Cycle-Touring by Tom

Tom — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 13:47:11 +0000

Undoubtedly he deserves credit for his undertaking, as a demostration of human strength and determination, especially if it is self-funded. I’m sure he wouldn’t offend any locals either – in my experience you’re often accepted wordlessly and so left alone as a traveller; it’s expected in Mongolia that if you need help, you ask for it, rather than invitations flowing from every direction as in some parts of the world!

Hopefully this debate, here and elsewhere, has shed some light on the complexities of communicating the reality of these kinds of journeys to lay audiences. It might just be true in the end that you can’t imagine it unless you’ve been there…