Chris Petermnn has been cycling across the world for four years. When he set out to cross the Sahara on the final leg of his Africa circumnavigation, he was craving one silence. After months of never being alone in West Africa, the desert felt like it might finally offer him some peace. Unfortunately, what he got instead was 1,500 kilometres of relentless headwind.

In this Tuesday snippet, Chris takes us through his ride north from Nouakchott in Mauritania, through Western Sahara and up toward the Atlas Mountains. Fair to say it was a stretch that pushed him to rock bottom more than once. He talks about sandstorms, sleep deprivation and a strange sense of envy from watching other cyclists cruise past with the wind at their backs.

It's a raw and honest account of what long-distance cycling in one of the world's most extreme environments actually feels like and how the headwind becomes a relentless mental battle.

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What does it take to cycle 15,000 kilometres from Scotland to China along the ancient Silk Road? And what happens when the countries you just rode through are plunged into war the moment you get home?

In 2009, Helen Watson and her husband Ed clipped in at Glasgow and pointed east. Their route took them through Syria, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and into China, riding one of the most remote, politically charged and culturally rich corridors on earth.

Months after they got home, the Arab Spring broke. And the world they had just ridden through started burning.

We discuss:

• What it really means to cycle tour through the so-called Axis of Evil
• How bike touring gave them access to homes and lives no other travel could
• Riding as a woman through deeply traditional societies across the Middle East and Central Asia
• The moment the Arab Spring broke and the helplessness of watching those places burn
• How the hospitality they received on the road led them to sponsor the first Syrian refugee family into Scotland

Helen's book Tea and Grit: A Bicycle Journey Along the Silk Road is out now and available for purchase here here: https://www.helenwatsonwriting.com/

If you've ever wanted to cycle Central Asia, ride through Iran, or just hear one of the most extraordinary bike adventure stories to land on Seek Travel Ride, this is the episode for you.

Check out the Manzanita Cradle from Old Man Mountain

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Brian Sampson is cycling through China for the second time, and this update is packed with everything you'd actually want to know before attempting it yourself. He covers the apps that make daily life manageable (WeChat, Alipay, trip.com, and a VPN you'll need from day one), how to find hotels that accept foreign passports, what border crossings look like, and why cycling in northern China is a completely different experience to the mountainous south.

Brian also shares his highlights so far including the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall at Yanmen Pass, and a hidden ancient town in Hunan Province he thinks deserves far more attention than it gets.

Be sure to follow Brian via his instagram @brian.sampson4 - to keep up to date with his adventures.

Check out the Manzanita Cradle from Old Man Mountain

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)

👉 Zorali

👉 Helinox

👉 Ombraz

Follow us on Social Media!

• Instagram - @SeekTravelRide
• Facebook - Seek Travel Ride
• YouTube - @SeekTravelRide

Seek Travel Ride Newsletter

Leave me a voicemail message

Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music