Ride Earth

I know you like reading about our misfortune. It’s dramatic stuff. I like writing about it, too, trying to commit the experience to words and take you to that place and time. I hope that the results are entertaining, but also resemble the reality of what happened, too - exaggeration and artistic license are not for the non-fiction of a travel blog.

But to put things into a wider context, it’s sometimes good to write about the times when things do go our way!

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We arrived in Istanbul after cycling through 75km of suburban sprawl along the dangerous highway. It was a traumatic experience. We rewarded ourselves with a gourmet kebab that we couldn’t afford from a small place full of old men drinking, smoking and chatting. It had become dark in the city, after watching the sunset on the cycle in, and we needed to find our place to stay for the night. It was in Besiktas over the other side of the Golden Horn, probably about 25km away. Tom and I were both tired and decided to split up to find it and we went our separate ways. I met Maria at the ferry port and followed her along past the Ottoman palace which looked amazing all lit up. The main street in Besiktas is lined by large trees with Turkish flags hanging between them. It was very atmospheric. I sunk into bed that night and slept very well after a very long day. (more…)

I am in Kadikoy on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. We have reached Asia by bike. Today commences our third week in Istanbul. It is a multi-layered and vibrant place, enough to make one consider staying longer. The open road and adventure beckons once again. (more…)

Hello. Mark here.

Just a brief word or two alerting you to the arrival of Ride Earth Podcast Episode 5, brought to you from the magicians at String Films. 

We suffer in this one. Well, Tom does. He recovers from a potentially catastrophic knee injury, has his trailer mysteriously broken in the night, and almost gets blown away by a freakishly fast-moving storm. But it’s not all candy and giggles for the rest of the team. When the weather turns one night, Andy is forced to construct an impromptu shelter using two of our bikes and a poncho, whilst Mark grows increasingly lovesick and suffers with delirium as a result of cheddar cheese withdrawal.  Drama, comedy, cycling… Episode 5 has it all and more. Don’t believe me, just watch for yourselves…

To view: simply click on Podcast, or subscribe on iTunes.

Enjoy…

Oh, and Episode 6 is nearly ready too…

Andy and I have been soaking up Istanbul for a fair while now. We’re both itching to get on the road again, and I’m excited and a little apprehensive at the prospect of seeing through the winter in Central Asia. But we’ve had more than our fair share of hiccups, and they are still preventing us from leaving. So here’s a run-down of how fate, or the process, or luck, has treated us in recent weeks. (more…)

We arrived in Istanbul a couple of days ago, cycling into this sprawling monolith of a city along one of the two main routes against about 9 manic lanes of rush-hour traffic, minibuses and not-so-mini-buses.

That experience recovered from, we have again been enjoying the hospitality of a variety of city-dwellers courtesy of the Couchsurfing Project website, which has again demonstrated its increasingly invaluable efficiency in finding local people in urban areas with the desire to help and host travellers - all over the world.

Our arrival in the city marks the completion of the European leg of Ride Earth.  We have successfully - albeit not without a couple of minor medical and mechanical hiccups - crossed Europe, from England to Turkey, by bicycle; a journey of almost exactly 5000km of pedalling, through 12 countries over 122 days of trial and tribulation.  The experience has been richly rewarding in so many ways, and now I feel the need to take stock of how the last 4 months of submission to the whims of the world has affected my outlook on life and how it has affected my future dreams for the expedition.

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Episode Four of the Ride Earth video podcast is now available for viewing. Road Kill Duck for dinner and Tom suffers his first injury, tensions in the group continue to rise as Tom and Andy take it in turns to get lost. The boys meet the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and get some insight into local climate change.

You can subscribe for free on iTunes or watch on the podcast page at www.ride-earth.org.uk/podcast/episode-four-switzerland-to-austria.

If you have any feedback about the podcast series, please email us on talk@stringfilms.com!

The String Films Team

Episode Three of the Ride Earth video podcast is now available to download! Sorting out their differences and changing the route, Andy, Tom and Mark cycle east, pick plums, make Jam, and sleep in some unusual places.

You can subscribe for free on iTunes or watch on the podcast page at www.ride-earth.org.uk/podcast/episode-three-amsterdam-to-switzerland/.

If you have any feedback about the podcast series, please drop us a line on talk@stringfilms.com!

The String Films Team

The first few days in Romania were mentally tough. We donned full wet weather gear and ventured into the terrible weather that the first day offered us. It was overcast, drizzle, cold and miserable. The road away from the border was full of lorries, one after the other, spraying bucket-sized amounts of water over us. In the morning we cooked a huge meal at a bus stop and washed pots in a puddle next to bemused-looking people waiting for a bus.

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We arrived in Romania a couple of days ago. We crossed the border and had a long night after realised we had crossed at a place we shouldn’t have.  We had to return to the official crossing and cross there.  It was dark, wet, lightning was striking around my feet, again, and the officials were stroking their moustaches with intent.   

We have the addition of a new member of Ride Earth, Maria.  We met her in Budapest.  She is cycling along on an old touring bike we picked up for twenty quid from the local scrapyard.  Last night we found a beautiful campsite on a hillside overlooking the vast plains that we have spent the last few days travelling across.

Romania, so far, is a feast for the senses.  It is beautiful, serene, wild, and moody.  Small farmholdings dot the land and shephards roams tending to their lifestock.  We have met a number of friendly people which we managed to communicate with despite the language barrier.  Romania promises a whole new adventure for Ride Earth.  It is a vast country with a range of geography, from imposing mountains to endless plains.  We plan to cross the Fagaras mountains in around a weeks time.