First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Jamesjohnson
Posts: 28
Joined: 10 Mar 2014, 8:46pm

First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by Jamesjohnson »

Hello to everyone at CTC.

My name is James Johnson and I am not a cyclist. Well, I'm not a cyclist yet, but I will be soon. A few weeks ago I bought myself a second hand Surly LHT from this very site and on Monday I will begin my first ever tour. Where am I going? Around London, no. Down to Brighton, not quite. My first tour will be an attempt to circumnavigate the globe on a bicycle.

I decided to do this a few months ago as I was running out of ideas that would let me put off getting a job. I've also always wanted to see more of the world, but I'm not a big fan of anything touristy (such as famous buildings, churches ect.). I figure seeing the world by bike will give me an interesting new perspective, in more ways than one.

I should also mention that this tour is being done on the smallest budget I can manage, spending just £5 a day for 404(ish) days. I will pass through Europe, the Middle East, China and the USA before returning home sometime in March 2015.

I hope you will wish me luck and if you are interested check out my blog http://jamesvsworld.com/

I will probably be asking a few questions along the way and I hope you'll help me with those too.

Thanks,

James
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by mercalia »

this for real?
Jamesjohnson
Posts: 28
Joined: 10 Mar 2014, 8:46pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by Jamesjohnson »

Hi mercalia,

Yes, this is for real. Before this trip I was in Korea for a year and that's all in the blog too, I've been running it for over a year. I'm 23 and live in London.

Another CTC member, rory, should be able to vouch for me, as I bought his bike a few weeks ago. Not sure how to link him into this thread though, I'm pretty new to forums. Not sure how else I can prove I'm genuine but if you have any questions I'll answer them.

I know it sounds pretty bold.
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by mercalia »

just seems strange for first tour to be the big one, You may not like cycling, other than for a few miles?
Jamesjohnson
Posts: 28
Joined: 10 Mar 2014, 8:46pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by Jamesjohnson »

It is pretty strange.

I decided I wanted to travel the world but can't afford a RTW ticket on a plane and reading blogs and books such as Tom Bruce's 'Every Inch of the Way' made me want to try.

If I don't like cycling at the start then hopefully I'll like it by the end.
beardy
Posts: 3382
Joined: 23 Feb 2010, 4:10pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by beardy »

spending just £5 a day for 404(ish)


I know there are plenty of cheap countries and ways to avoid expense but my bike costs me 5p per mile on all the consumables, brakes, tyres, chains etc not including the initial price of the bike.
So at 50 miles a day that would be half the budget blown!

Hope you have a nice trip, I do agree that you only make these things happen if you just go and DO them. If the cycling isnt to your liking then you can ditch/sell it and carry on by other means, not difficult to change like that.

It would make sense not to overdo the cycling at first and to build up the miles slowly, after all you will not be short of practice by the time you finish. However, human nature almost guarantees that you will overdo things at first. :lol:

Best to buy a tube of Conotrane (Boots sell it) before you leave.
22camels
Posts: 302
Joined: 21 Sep 2013, 8:15pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by 22camels »

James, I wish you luck! I think it's a brilliant idea. Who here doesn't want to go on a year long multi-continental bike trip? The difference is the amount of planning.. most people will first have done some long day rides, then a weekend trip around their county, some one week tours in Wales, a couple of weeks abroad (in France!), before contemplating such a trip. But surely this is the way to go, everyone should do this, stop over thinking it, and just go! I've been thinking for almost a year of a similar trip which won't begin for another year at least (have other things on my plate) and by the time I set off I will have spent thousands of hours debating the merits of gear, staring at maps, reading blogs and forums, thinking which bike to get, learning maintenance, and done a few short tours to test out the kit, and I sometimes wish I had none of that and could have just gone a few weeks after the idea first hit me. On the other hand when it did, I had already done many long day rides to know I like cycling enough and a fair bit of non-cycle travel to have a feeling this would suit me, though I still wonder if three months into it I will get sick of it.

Another Tom (Tom Allen), one of my favourite touring resources, refers a lot to this idea of spontaneous journeys e.g. http://tomsbiketrip.com/the-art-of-the- ... d-journey/ he has lots of other stuff I am sure you will find relevant if you haven't already. I like your blog, it reads well. One thing is it sounds like you have a fairly fixed idea of your schedule e.g. the second leg taking 83 days, I wonder how much flexibility you have in it, say if you run into visa issues or you just want to stay somewhere longer. Most people would probably say a year to circumnavigate the world is a bit too fast to do it justice but I think a faster sort of trip can be fun as well..

How's the Iran visa looking? I heard as of recently British citizens need a guide to get the visa, I wonder whether this is now being strictly enforced. You can probably go around the Caucasus and take the boat across the Caspian sea if Iran is out of the question..

Good luck! Will be interesting to see how you get on.
TonyR
Posts: 5390
Joined: 31 Aug 2008, 12:51pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by TonyR »

Deleted -read the OP wrong
Jamesjohnson
Posts: 28
Joined: 10 Mar 2014, 8:46pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by Jamesjohnson »

beardy wrote:

I know there are plenty of cheap countries and ways to avoid expense but my bike costs me 5p per mile on all the consumables, brakes, tyres, chains etc not including the initial price of the bike.
So at 50 miles a day that would be half the budget blown!.


That's definitely true. My on the road budget is £5 a day. If you factor in everything, including flights, visas and equippment plus the fact that I had to buy a bike, my budget is probably £12-£15 a day.
vjosullivan
Posts: 417
Joined: 31 Oct 2010, 12:06am

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by vjosullivan »

Jamesjohnson wrote:My name is James Johnson and I am not a cyclist.

Go for it. There are plenty of non-cyclists that have already done this, many of whom survived. Keep a diary and write a book about it when you get back and you might even cover the costs.

Plenty of similar books out there already though. The names Thomas Stevens and Dervla Murphy come to mind.
E25
700c
Posts: 535
Joined: 5 Jul 2007, 6:49pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by 700c »

It's a great idea, you're young enough (as in no job and no dependants) to just do it. So jump on and start cranking out the miles.
FatPunkOnBike
Posts: 43
Joined: 7 Aug 2012, 2:32am
Location: Almost Ayr, South West Scotland.

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by FatPunkOnBike »

Jamesjohnston there aren't enough swear words invented to describe how jealous i am. Good luck with your adventure, i will be a keen follower of your blog. May the wind aye be at yer back!!
Jamesjohnson
Posts: 28
Joined: 10 Mar 2014, 8:46pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by Jamesjohnson »

Thanks guys :)

The response has been great. I was half expecting to be told to get real and stay at home, your support is appreciated.

I recently posted my newest blog post, all about my preparation, or lack there of. The link is here http://tiny.cc/s3rwfx

22camels wrote:
How's the Iran visa looking? I heard as of recently British citizens need a guide to get the visa, I wonder whether this is now being strictly enforced. You can probably go around the Caucasus and take the boat across the Caspian sea if Iran is out of the question..


Well, I have applied for the visa through iranianvisa.com. I don't expect a reply until I am on the road but I'm hopeful as most UK citizens seem to be granted visas. Guides are only required for US citizens as far as I can tell. If not then I'll have to adapt my plan. I decided not to cycle across Pakistan after a recent incident that saw 6 guards, who were protecting a Spanish cyclist, killed on the road. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25849649)
Jamesjohnson
Posts: 28
Joined: 10 Mar 2014, 8:46pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by Jamesjohnson »

Just had a quick ride in the park to try out my new cycling shoes with SPD cleats. Only fell over once which I think is pretty good going :)
khain
Posts: 245
Joined: 5 Feb 2014, 5:42pm

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Post by khain »

I'm having a look at your planned route on your blog. It looks similar to what I'm hoping to do at some point.

Does your route through China avoid Tibet? If not I think you need to hire a guide. That's my excuse for putting 'the big one' off as I really want to go through Tibet. I might just follow your blog instead. Will you be teaching on the way or is it full-time cycling? You seem quite well prepared, possibly a bit over-prepared in terms of route planning as you might have to alter the route depending on traffic, weather etc.

Don't hang about though, just do it, though I would take a short practice tour in the near vicinity first, just to make sure you're happy with the kit.
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