Seek Travel Ride

What does it actually take to spend three months a year cycle touring through Europe? This week, Alison Fullerton shares how she and her husband make it happen every single year . She talks about the budgeting, the fitness worries, the accommodation, navigating trains with bikes, and the mindset that has turned their bike adventure dreams into a yearly reality.
The thing I love is that Alison and her husband are retirees and they are making this work for them, but her tips are relevant regardless of your age  
If you've been telling yourself a big cycling adventure isn't possible yet,  or isn't possible anymore, Alison's story might just change your mind.
Follow Alison on Instagram: @loose.spokes
 Gear I trust: You've heard me talk about my own bike adventures. Whenever I head out, I'm running Old Man Mountain gear. Their racks are the most reliable work horses out there. Check out the Divide Rack for a bombproof set up that fits almost any bike!
🚲 Explore the Old Man Mountain Collection
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👉 Zorali
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What happens when you strap skis to a loaded bike and set off to cycle 1,700 kilometres around Iceland in winter? Skier and filmmaker Cody Cirillo did exactly that on a trip he took with his good friend. What's more he also documented the whole experience in his film A Hundred Words for Wind.
Cody is a professional skier who's chased remote lines in Mongolia, Morocco, and Iceland. In recent years he's started cycling to his ski terrain instead of driving, something we have called ski bikepacking. Using human powered forms of travel has now completely changed how he experiences the places he travels through.
In this episode we cover:
- How ski bikepacking started — including his first trip from Telluride to Utah, off the couch, on a wobbly Walmart rack
- Iceland's Ring Road in winter : The brutal crosswinds, iced roads, blizzards, and dealing with it on 50kg loaded bikes
- Tips and tricks for surviving headwinds when skis add extra sail area?
- Breaking eight ribs, a scapula, and puncturing a lung weeks before departure  and why Cody went anyway
- The vinarbröð, hot dogs, Snickers, and tortellini that held the whole thing together
- What it feels like to park your bike roadside, hike for hours in ski boots, and ski a line down to the ocean
- How going slowly created the human connections that made the trip
- Turning a 40-day expedition into a film — and why that was harder than the riding
**Links:**
- Cody on YouTube and also Instagram - @Cody.Cir
- A Hundred Words for Wind — Cody's documentary
-
 Gear I trust: You've heard me talk about my own bike adventures. Whenever I head out, I'm running Old Man Mountain gear. Their racks are the most reliable work horses out there. Check out the Divide Rack for a bombproof set up that fits almost any bike!
🚲 Explore the Old Man Mountain Collection
Check out Zorali for all your outdoor adventure needs!
Support the show
Buy me a coffee!
I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:
👉 Zorali
👉 Helinox
👉 Ombraz
👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)
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 camped in bear country in Japan? Brian Sampson has. This is his second update from his mission to cycle every destination in 1000 Places to See Before You Die.
In this episode Brian shares stories from cycling through Japan, including encounters with bears and wild boars. He also shares his experiences exploring the Hiroshima Peace Museum.  From Japan Brian crossed into South Korea, where herides the famous Four Rivers trail and shares the buzz of cycling in the huge city of Seoul.
Brian is now heading into China. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what happens next. You can follow his journey on Instagram at @brian.sampson4 and his blog.
If Japan or Korea are on your cycling bucket list, you might also love Terri Jockerst's book Biking to Busan, her nine-month solo ride through Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
And if you haven't seen it yet, come ride with me, Claire Wyatt and Marta Ballús in the Pyrenees over on the Seek Travel Ride YouTube channel. 
 Gear I trust: You've heard me talk about my own bike adventures. Whenever I head out, I'm running Old Man Mountain gear. Their racks are the most reliable work horses out there. Check out the Divide Rack for a bombproof set up that fits almost any bike!
🚲 Explore the Old Man Mountain Collection
Support the show
Buy me a coffee!
I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:
👉 Zorali
👉 Helinox
👉 Ombraz
👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)
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

What would it look like to tour a concert by bicycle?
In this episode, I’m joined by musician Sarah Small, a viola da gamba player who chose to cycle between performances rather than travel by train or plane.
Between May and July, Sarah rode across the UK with her instrument on the bike, playing concerts in village halls, churches, community spaces, and remote locations. Her route took her along coastlines, across islands, and as far north as the Hebridean Way and the Shetland Islands, bringing live music to places that rarely host performances.
We talk about the realities of cycle touring a concert, the challenges of carrying a fragile instrument by bike, and the generosity Sarah experienced when she arrived under her own steam. We also explore topics such sustainable travel, taking music to people rather than the other way around, and how taking a bike adventure can give you that hit of self confidence you didn't realise you needed.
Sarah also shares her experience using low-impact transport options, including the SailLink ferry between the UK and France.
You can follow Sarah's future adventures via her instagram - @SmallSarah
 Gear I trust: You've heard me talk about my own bike adventures. Whenever I head out, I'm running Old Man Mountain gear. Their racks are the most reliable work horses out there. Check out the Divide Rack for a bombproof set up that fits almost any bike!
🚲 Explore the Old Man Mountain Collection
Check out Zorali for all your outdoor adventure needs!
Support the show
Buy me a coffee!
I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:
👉 Zorali
👉 Helinox
👉 Ombraz
👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)
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

Imagine cycling from Glasgow to China for your honeymoon! Well that's exactly what guest Helen Watson did with her husband Ed, back in 2010. That extended honeymoon turned into a huge 15-month adventure across Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and into western China.
Helen gives us an insight into what it's like to use cycling as a way of moving slowly through cultures, and about what it feels like to experience places that are often reduced to headlines. She shares powerful stories of hospitality in Iran and Syria, including an experience which left her husband needing treatment in a Tehran hospital.
Helen has recently published a book about this journey, Tea and Grit: A Bicycle Journey Along the Silk Road
 Gear I trust: You've heard me talk about my own bike adventures. Whenever I head out, I'm running Old Man Mountain gear. Their racks are the most reliable work horses out there. Check out the Divide Rack for a bombproof set up that fits almost any bike!
🚲 Explore the Old Man Mountain Collection
Old Man Mountain
Big thanks to Old Man Mountain for supporting this episode of Seek Travel Ride.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show
Buy me a coffee!
I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:
👉 Zorali
👉 Helinox
👉 Ombraz
👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)
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