Travel route

Countries on route...

UK – Holland – Germany – France – Switzerland – Germany – Austria – Slovakia – Hungary – Serbia – Romania – Bulgaria – Turkey – Georgia – Azerbaijan – Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan – Tajikistan – Kyrgyzstan – China – Laos – Thailand – Malaysia – Singapore – Australia.

We'll be publishing blogs as we go. Click on any of the links in the paragraph above to read about our travels - you'll obviously have to wait a few months for some of our later travels!

All roads lead to Rome...

Over the past two years of planning, our route from the UK to Australia has changed several times apart from a few key roads I've always dreamt to ride one day.

At first, before persuading Rebecca into being part of this trip for a least some of the time, I wanted to take a much more hilly route through Europe, riding through the Alps, parts of the Dolomites, eventually joining the Danube river at some point.

However, many discussions later, Rebecca and I agreed to take a much flatter route through Europe into Turkey, where Rebecca will finish her part of the trip in Istanbul.

We will follow the National Cycle Route 51 from Oxfordshire to Harwich on the East Coast. After an overnight ferry trip to Hook of Holland we will pick up the Rhine river route heading south.

Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland...

We will follow the Rhine river from Holland to Basel with a short detour along to Mosel River to go and finally meet my son's girlfriend's family. Sometimes in life we have to take matters into our own hands...

Once in Switzerland, we'll head to the Emmental region for a few days to have a short break with my family and friends. Cheese fondue will be on the menu...

Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungry, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey...

Most likely with panniers loaded with cheese, chocolates and my favourite sausages from the local butcher, we'll be heading up to the source of the Danube in Donaueschingen, Germany.

From there, we hope for more flat roads, mostly along the Danube river all the way to Bulgaria, where we'll head over the Balkan Mountains towards Istanbul.

Entering Narnia...

In Istanbul it will be the time for Rebecca and me to say goodbye to each other for a while. Whilst Rebecca will continue with a semi-nomadic lifestyle doing some travelling on her own, visiting friends and family back in the UK and probably also restarting some work, I will be crossing that bridge over the Bosphorus Strait into Asia or, in other words, crossing from the known to the unknown...

The ride should take me towards Georgia and Azerbaijan from where I'll take a ferry ride to Kazakhstan where I should have my first encounter with cycling through desert land.

Via Uzbekistan, I should arrive in Tajikistan where one of the highlights of this trip should be awaiting me: cycling the Pamir Highway via the Wakhan Corridor, which goes along the border of Afghanistan for several hundred kilometres before crossing some of the highest mountain roads in the world. The highway reaches heights of over 4,600 meters above sea level! I can't wait to make my way up those scenic mountain roads!

Kyrgyzstan will be next on the 'menu'. Anticipating that it will take some time to obtain a tourist visa for China, I will hopefully be able to explore this country in more depth and enjoy its natural beauty.

South East Asia...

If I'm able to obtain a visa for China, I will try to ride towards the Prefectures of Kashgar and Hotan. This will be followed by an overland train journey to Kunming before riding to the border of Laos and then heading south, cycling through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

And finally, Australia...

This is where the timeline could break apart. If I manage to be in Darwin before the wet season I might just continue to ride through the outback towards Mount Isa, Longreach, Cunnamulla, Dubbo to Sydney. If I do hit the wet season, I will have to come up with a plan B...

That's the rough outline of my journey to Australia. One thing I shouldn't forget is that things can change without much warning at any time of the ride. Flexibility will be a key ingredient of this adventure...

Let's ride!