Page 4 of 5

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

Posted: 18 Jun 2014, 1:37pm
by TomBruce
Good luck James, really glad my book helped you decide to do this trip. Feel free to give me a ring if you want a chat about any part of the route. number is on my website.

Cheers,
Tom

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

Posted: 23 Jun 2014, 11:44pm
by JosephCallard
I can vouch for him, he's not lying :) He met up with me and others in the French Alps and has carried on to Italy, best of luck James :)

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

Posted: 25 Jun 2014, 11:48pm
by Jamesjohnson
Thanks Joe, really good to see you and the guys and gals in the alps.

Also a huge thank you for adjusting my handlebars. The wrist pain that I was suffering daily (which I assumed was just something I had to deal with from cycling everyday) has totally gone. Now I jut need to work out what's causing the twinges in my knees :/

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

Posted: 26 Jun 2014, 11:37am
by dakari-mane
Jamesjohnson wrote:Now I jut need to work out what's causing the twinges in my knees :/

The Alps? :D

Sorry :oops:

You ought to try moving the saddle around a bit to see if that helps. It could be too high/low/forwards/backwards try adjusting it half an inch one way or another each morning to see if that helps. I know when I was getting some back pain cycling up the UK I moved my saddle half an inch forwards & it cleared up pretty much immediately.

P.s. keep up the good work! I have total cycling envy!

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

Posted: 2 Jul 2014, 1:10pm
by Jamesjohnson
dakari-mane wrote:
Jamesjohnson wrote:Now I jut need to work out what's causing the twinges in my knees :/

The Alps? :D

Sorry :oops:


Haha, the alps certainly didn't help much. I'll try playing with the seat and see if it gets any better. Thanks.

Also, I hope some of you will be happy to hear that I have posted a new blog on JamesVsWorld it's called 'Solo and Unsupported (or Alone With No Help). Read it here http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/06/29/solo-and-unsupported-or-alone-with-no-help/

Have a read and please comment, share and follow if you like it.

I've now left the Europe I know and entered the more mysterious Eastern Europe! Currently in Croatia having passed the beautiful Slovenia an I'm headed I the coast, it's about time I had a wash :)

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

Posted: 9 Jul 2014, 4:44pm
by Jamesjohnson
Hey!

This week I had the worst nights sleep of the trip followed by an unexpected few nights at a House music festival after meeting a few DJ's. Not what I expected when I set out six weeks ago.

I've also passed 2500km, meaning I am noe 1/8th of my way around the world :)

Read all about my horrible night and unexpected party here (http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/07/09/an-u ... ival-2014/)

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

Posted: 19 Jul 2014, 4:00pm
by Jamesjohnson
I'm a Scout at home and this week turned out to be great fun after I spotted a few Scouts on the road and stopped to say hello. This led to me being invited to the Montenegro Scout Jamboree, which was taking place nearby. It was great and I was treated like a celebrity, but it wasnt't all fun and games as there was also some snake hunting and bad news from Iran.

Please have a read of my newest blog on James Vs World - James Goes To Jamboree

http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/07/19/jame ... -jamboree/

Thanks :D

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

Posted: 20 Jul 2014, 6:49pm
by Walden
Hey James,

This may have been mentioned already, I did not read all the replies, there were a lot.

Warmshowers is a great way to keep your budget low as well as meeting great people. I have has excellent experiences using it in Norway and also as a host when I lived in London.

I think it is excellent that you are doing this, no fear! the best way to live.

Good luck.

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

Posted: 21 Jul 2014, 6:47pm
by Jamesjohnson
Walden wrote:Warmshowers is a great way to keep your budget low as well as meeting great people. I have has excellent experiences using it in Norway and also as a host when I lived in London.


Thanks Walden. I'm signed up to WarmShowers, and Couchsurfing too, but I haven't used either of them yet on this trip. It's probably something I should look into, I think most of Macedonia would agree that I need a shower :)

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

Posted: 31 Jul 2014, 11:32am
by dakari-mane
Woah dude, pony news on the Iran Visa.

So you gotta go round then. To the north is the way that I've seen most people do it, Kazakhstan & China. Can you even go round to the south? Greece, Crete, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & a ferry to Pakistan, is that even doable?

All the best finding another route!

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

Posted: 18 Aug 2014, 6:36pm
by Jamesjohnson
Hi Everyone,

It's been a tough week crossing the mountains of Georgia after a few weeks baking in Turkey.

I am thrilled to be able to say that JamesVsWorld has now had over 10,000 hits! This is largely thanks to you guys and I wanted to say thank you for supporting me and supporting JamesVsWorld.

I have just posed a VIDEO SPECIAL blog to say thank you and give you a taste of some of the videos I have made on this trip, over 8 hours in total!

Check it out at http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/08/18/1000 ... o-special/

Also, on Wednesday will be my belated post on Albania (Of Wolves and Wild Camping), and Istanbul and Georgia shouldn't be too far behind.

dakari-mane wrote: Woah dude, pony news on the Iran Visa.

So you gotta go round then. To the north is the way that I've seen most people do it, Kazakhstan & China. Can you even go round to the south? Greece, Crete, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & a ferry to Pakistan, is that even doable?

All the best finding another route!


Thanks dakari,

I was gutted about Iran. I even went to the consulate in Trabzon, Turkey, in person. Unlike the Germans, Dutch and Moroccan people I was queuing with, I wasn't even allowed in the door. I was turned away after the guard saw my passport.

I decided to take the most commonly travelled route, across Turkey to Georgia and Azerbaijan and then a ferry to Kazakstan and Uzbekistan. My plans get a little hazy after that.

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

Posted: 21 Aug 2014, 6:44am
by smuggers
Hello James... Just in awe with your planned trip. I love your attitude and outlook on life & I'm sure the trip will be life changing. Just had a lovely read here of your blog and will be following you on twitter also. Best of luck & take good care..

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

Posted: 21 Aug 2014, 3:17pm
by Jamesjohnson
smuggers wrote:Hello James... Just in awe with your planned trip. I love your attitude and outlook on life & I'm sure the trip will be life changing. Just had a lovely read here of your blog and will be following you on twitter also. Best of luck & take good care..


Thanks Smuggers,

If you've seen the blog recently you will have seen my newest post on Albania. It was certainly a change from Croatia and Montenegro. Right now I'm in Georgia, staying in The Travel House, a Serbian run open house project for travellers. I'm going to be here for a bit longer than I expected after discovering that I lost my bank card and need to get a new one sent out to me here. Thankfully, my bank (Natwest) is amazing and they arranged for a private courier to bring it to me here in Tbilisi.

This was one of my favourite posts to write so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Albania (Of Wolves and Wild Camping) - http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/08/20/alba ... d-camping/

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

Posted: 28 Aug 2014, 10:24pm
by freerider
Jamesjohnson wrote:Now I jut need to work out what's causing the twinges in my knees :/


Hey buddy - I suffer from twinges in my knee - I was touring with a friend who did sports science and he told me to get some bandages to wrap around my knee keeping it open on the patella itself - this did the job - I went from being in agony on each pedal stroke to fluid and painless. (apparently the bandages stop the patella from moving around which stops the tendon flaring up).

Hope this works for you and good luck for the rest of your tour!!!

Craig

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

Posted: 30 Aug 2014, 3:46pm
by Jamesjohnson
freerider wrote:
Jamesjohnson wrote:Now I jut need to work out what's causing the twinges in my knees :/


Hey buddy - I suffer from twinges in my knee - I was touring with a friend who did sports science and he told me to get some bandages to wrap around my knee keeping it open on the patella itself - this did the job - I went from being in agony on each pedal stroke to fluid and painless. (apparently the bandages stop the patella from moving around which stops the tendon flaring up).

Hope this works for you and good luck for the rest of your tour!!!

Craig


Thanks Freerider,

I'm happy to say that after a few weeks on the road and a few adjustments to my cycling style and cleat position, the knee pain had stopped. My brother uses bandages as he has more severe knee problems, sometimes the knee cap moves a few inches to one side.

Today I have publised the second of a two part post about being rejected by Iran and changing course and going to Georgia. This led me to cycle The 'Road'. A mountain road with a surprise 2025m pass and a road surface that better resembled an elongated pile of rocks.

Part 1 is here - http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/08/25/the-road-part-1/

Part 2 is here - http://jamesvsworld.com/2014/08/30/the-road-part-2/

Thanks for reading, please comment and share :)