Cycle Strongman

Black markets and cold smiles

cyclestrongman — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:05:35 +0000

Crossing into Southern China was another milestone. China was a country that sounded so strange and foreign, like it was in its own remote corner of the world. With a few billion people, China was big and, for the last five years, we’ve constantly heard people talk of China, China, China. But, [...]

The ugly side of tourism

cyclestrongman — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:44:12 +0000

Luang Prabang was an interesting place. The town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, cycling around town, it was easy to understand why. The city has a charm all of its own. It was also easy to see why the UN was contemplating taking the title from them as it was [...]

The hardy back roads of Laos – Part 2

cyclestrongman — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:01:12 +0000

… continued from a previous post.

In the valleys, I pushed my bike across the gravelly river beds and usually ended up giving Ruby (the bike) and myself a bath at the same time. Fortunately, with the airtight panniers, the bike could float across if need be but, being the [...]

The hardy back roads of Laos – Part 1

cyclestrongman — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:54:34 +0000

With an unusual rattling sound, followed by a ‘tink, tink, tink’ and a loud “SNAP!”, I knew I was in trouble. It was coming from the rear wheel and I hoped that it wasn’t anything major. The roads were some of the most gruelling I’d experienced on the expedition to date, and [...]

Paths diverge

cyclestrongman — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:51:57 +0000

I was quietly proud of my good friend Hannah. Three months on a bike, living on a miniscule budget and having cycled the length of Thailand, Hannah decided to continue riding solo into China. She’d hardly ridden a bike prior and now, after 3500 km from Malaysia to Laos, was ready to [...]

A cycling legend and the small town of Pai…

cyclestrongman — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:46:56 +0000

It felt good leaving Bangkok. Between the noise, the pollution and the traffic, the week there left me feeling drained. Hannah, Gemma and I had a quiet Christmas at Hannah’s place in the middle of the city. I spent most of Christmas Day with Ruby (the bike) cleaning, repairing [...]

A visiting cyclist

cyclestrongman — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:40:35 +0000

On the road again, I felt at ease. It was my ‘un-comfort’ zone, not knowing where I was going to sleep, not knowing what lay ahead and in all of it, learning to say yes to it all. With Buddhist temples everywhere in Thailand, we could always find a place to stay [...]

Reflections – A Year On

cyclestrongman — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:24:20 +0000

Wheeew, a year on the road already! It goes quick.

Recently I celebrated the first year (of many) on the road, not with a ‘POP!’ from an expensive champagne bottle, nor blowing out the flame of a single candle, but with a day just like every other. It lead to [...]

Massage with no happy endings

cyclestrongman — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:47:46 +0000

Males and females. We grow up together, live together, copulate together and grow old together (in no particular order), but we may never fully understand each other. One is from Mars the other Venus - yes we’ve heard it all before. But sometimes a unique experience can give you an insight into what it must [...]

Camp: Nightmare

cyclestrongman — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:23:29 +0000

After leaving Phuket, we headed north toward Surithani. The incredibly dramatic rock formations left me in awe of my surrounds as we continued north. Once again we met some incredible people who were happy to help us on our journey offering us a place to stay for the night.

Hannah, Gemma and [...]