Episode 209 of The Adventure Podcast features adventurer, writer, and filmmaker, Tom Allen. In this episode, Tom talks to Matt about the wild and winding path that shaped his life on the road. At just 23, Tom left behind a career in web development to cycle around the world with no real plan - a journey that would transform him in ways he couldn’t have imagined. From naïve beginnings and near-disasters to profound moments of liberation, Tom shares what it really feels like to embrace a life of radical freedom. He recounts moments that forced him to question the true value of endless wandering. Along the way, he opens up about falling in love, and the delicate balance between pursuing boundless adventure and choosing deep connection. The discussion also touches on Tom’s shift from pure adventure to purposeful projects, like building hiking trails in Armenia, and his evolving role as both a storyteller and facilitator of others’ journeys. This is a story of bikes, deserts, love, and finding home in unexpected places.

For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.

Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction

Matt welcomes Tom and sets up a conversation about adventure, risk, and the unexpected turns of life.

02:30 - From Northampton to Nowhere

Tom recalls his ordinary upbringing and the decision to abandon a career in web development for a round-the-world bike ride.

10:00 - Early Missteps on the Road

The chaos of over-packed bikes, failed routes, and falling-out with friends on the first stretch of the journey.

18:00 - Going Solo

Liberation, loneliness, and the first real lessons of responsibility when Tom finds himself riding alone.

20:00 - Meeting Tenny

Through couchsurfing in Yerevan, Tom encounters Tenny - sparking the love story that would change the course of his travels.

26:00 - Love vs. Adventure

The push and pull between a relationship rooted in Armenian life and the restless call of the open road.

32:00 - Cycling into the Middle East

Tom pushes south through Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, carrying both the thrill of freedom and the weight of leaving love behind.

40:00 - The Yemen Beach Epiphany

Stranded and questioning everything, Tom begins to see the diminishing returns of endless solo adventure.

43:00 - Choosing Connection

Tom returns to Armenia, and reshapes his understanding of what it means to “go forward” in life.

47:00 - From Story to Service

How Tom shifted from personal expeditions and films to helping others access adventure, including his work building trails in Armenia.

1:12:00 - Lessons in Meaning

Adventure, love, identity, and the biggest truths travel has to offer.

1:20:00 - Closing Reflections

Tom’s final words on freedom, purpose, and why he never really “went back.”

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Episode 208 of The Adventure Podcast features writer, adventurer and father, Mark Agnew. Mark is a self-confessed failed adventurer, at least he was, until he became one of the first people to kayak the entire Northwest Passage under human power. This is the second time Mark has been on the podcast. The first was not long after he’d come back from this major expedition, and it’s always fascinating to learn what’s changed in someone’s mind after time has gone by and they’ve had time to reflect. Matt and Mark cover some of the same ground in this episode, but it’s clear that Mark is looking at things differently now. In this conversation, Mark opens up with rare honesty about failure, redemption, and the shifting tide of ego. They discuss the year long court case hanging over him and the expedition. He talks about fatherhood, about needing adventure and feeling guilty for needing it. About rethinking what success looks like, and learning to pursue experience, camaraderie, and meaning, rather than just the finish line. This is a conversation about discomfort, doubt, and quietly rebuilding your inner world. It’s about how adventure can hold a mirror to who we are, and how the version of us that emerges on the other side isn’t always who we expected to become.

For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast.

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Episode 207 of The Adventure Podcast features runner and author, Elise Downing. Elise is, by her own admission, not your typical adventurer. She didn’t grow up wild swimming or scrambling ridgelines. In fact, she used to hate the outdoors. But in her early twenties, during a time of deep personal disquiet, she made a decision. She laced up a pair of running shoes and pointed herself at the coastline. What followed was a slow, vulnerable, and deeply human odyssey, running 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain with no real experience, very little money, and only the kind of faith that says ‘I’ll figure it out when I get there.' In this conversation, Elise talks with extraordinary honesty about imposter syndrome, crying in graveyards, running through grief, and the strange awkwardness of coming home after something that should have changed everything, but somehow didn’t. She also speaks to what comes next, how she’s slowly built a life that holds adventure in its everyday edges, and how she’s learned that the most powerful journeys often start not with courage, but with not knowing what else to do. This is a conversation about the long way around. About patience. About learning to move slowly, and gently, and with kindness toward yourself. And about the beauty of having no idea what you’re doing, but going anyway.

For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.