Seek Travel Ride

What's the best country to take a bike adventure? I put that question to the Seek Travel Ride Instagram community, and the answers poured in, from expected favourites to a few genuine curveballs. This episode is dedicated to running through every single one.
It comes on the back of a scorching European summer and a roadside afternoon spectating the Tour de France, which got me reflecting on how the race first brought me to France  and ultimately to the Pyrenees back in 2013, where I now live.
Countries featured in this episode:
Most votes: France, Turkey, Spain
Mountain destinations: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Bolivia, Norway
Off the beaten path: Tunisia, New Caledonia, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia
Classic bike-adventure countries: New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, China, Peru, Iran
The philosophical answer: "Wherever you haven't been yet" (and "any country" will do)
Got a country to add to the list? Get in touch and let me know your pick for the best country to take a bike adventure.
Mentioned in this episode
Slauka' Macurak's Norway episode (recently re-released)
Leonie Katekar's episode on cycling solo from Antigua to Ushuaia
My YouTube series on crossing the Pyrenees coast to coast

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

In 2022, German psychologist Rieke Schmees swapped a desk for a bike and cycled 12,000km through 16 countries. This adventure took her from Germany to Turkey, via Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy and the Balkans. It was the first type of adventure like this she'd taken with almost no camping experience prior to setting off as well. 
Rieke shares the reality of taking this adventure as a solo female, the toughest weeks in Morocco which also became teh most rewarding, and how it came to be that she rescued a puppy in Bulgaria. 
This episode originally aired in June 2024.
Be sure to follow Rieke's future adventures via her instagram - @riekeschm
Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike.
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

Rob MacLennan is back on the pod, this time mid-adventure sharing updates as he bikepacks from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to the start line of the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan. 
We learn about how Rob has transitioned from long-distance touring (London to Cape Town) to getting into the world of ultra-cycling and how he ended up signing up to one of the hardest off road ultras out there in the SRMR!
He also tells us why he is now out there combining both disciplines on this trip, and what it's actually been like riding through Mongolia's empty grasslands, staying in gers with hospitable nomadic families. He also shares a crazy story of ending up driving a minivan full of people after his bottom bracket failed after teh water exposure from 30 river crossings in the Orkhon Valley.
You can listen to the original episodes featuring Rob's adventure from London to Cape Town here - Part 1 and Part 2.
Be sure to also give Rob a follow via his instagram @Robbo_On_The_Road
Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike.
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

Back in 1986, two Englishmen in their early twenties flew to Delhi with brand new mountain bikes and a paper map, and set off to ride through the Himalaya. James Baile takes us back nearly 40 years to a trip that saw him carrying his bike over three high mountain passes, reaching Kalapattar at 5,545 metres as one of the first cyclists ever to do it, and crossing into India solo after his riding partner's frame gave out.
Highlights from the episode:
Two 20 year olds, no maps of their own making, no local language, and a bike that had barely existed as a category three years earlier
Two weeks of carrying rather than riding, before the terrain eased into Namche Bazaar
Reaching Kalapattar at 5,545 metres, among the earliest cyclists to have done it
The transition from cycling with a friend to riding solo across northern India
The hospitality of strangers shown throughout the journey
Five days in McLeodganj giving Tibetan kids bike rides outside the Green Hotel
Follow along with James' future adventures via his instagram - @JamesB.Adventures
This episode originally first aired on Feb 01 2025. 
Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike.
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

Ever wondered what it's like to cycle across a mountain range? Well in 2023 I loaded up my bike with gear and set off from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean at St Jean de Luz, to cross the Pyrenees mountains all the way to Argeles-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean Sea. 
The route we took was a mix of the Classic Raid Pyrenees road bike and touring routes and we took nine days to complete the crossing. All up it was 803kms, 24 Cols and almost 18,000m of climbing. 
You can watch the visuals behind this adventure via our Raid Pyrenees video series on YouTube
Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike.
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