Hi! I’m Tom, originally from England, but the island was too small.
For 20 years I’ve been exploring the world by bike at every chance I get.
Why? Simply put: because it’s the closest thing you’ll find to pure freedom!
Here at TomsBikeTrip.com I share hard-earned lessons about cycle touring and bikepacking, tell original stories, and road-test new ideas.
A love of adventure has powered my 100% AI-free blog since 2006, when I first decided to travel the world by bicycle and write about it.
Welcome!
The blog: over half a million words of hard-earned, hand-written cycle touring & bikepacking advice.
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Bicycle Traveller Magazine Just Launched (From A Nepalese Hotel Room!)
It was half a year ago that fellow bicycle adventurers Paul and Grace emailed me from South-East Asia to ask me to write a piece for their upcoming international bicycle touring magazine, the snappily-titled ‘Bicycle Traveler’. After six months in the making, and featuring pieces from the now-legendary Peter Gostelow, the ever-productive Travelling Two and the aptly-named Cycling Continue reading →
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Review: Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro Studded Winter Touring Tyres
At the end of January 2011 I took myself and my bicycle to Oslo, Norway. My plan was to ride 1,600km north through Eastern Norway and Swedish Lapland before popping out of the mountains at Bødo in Arctic Norway. This is a review of how my Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro 26x2.1″ tyres performed during that Continue reading →
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Film Blog: I might live to regret saying this, but…
A word or two about this whole film thing, while it’s still a hot topic. (Warning — this post may contain ranting.) It was never my idea to video my bike trips. Andy gets full credit (blame?) for that. I was seriously unconvinced that it was worth the bother and stubbornly ignored his attempts to Continue reading →
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Janapar: A Long-Awaited Title (Thanks To You)
Writing and filming the bloody thing was the easy bit. After months of fruitless pondering and a last-minute flurry of readers’ ideas from Turn to Tom’s Bike Trip: What Not To Do If You Want To Cycle Round The World, it was only last night I finally decided on a title: Janapar. Most people’s reaction Continue reading →
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London From An Adventure Cyclist’s Viewpoint
A suitcase and a bicycle were the extent of my luggage for my recent ‘move’ to London (what — no panniers?!). The suitcase contained more camping gear than clothes. And the clothes were mainly of the breathable / waterproof / thermal / quick-drying variety. I’ve already bivvied inside Zone One. Such is the attempt of Continue reading →
Books, eBooks & Guides
I’ve written a range of guidebooks and travelogues to read at your leisure, whether you’re preparing for a bike trip, living life on the road, or home and dreaming of the next big ride.
How To Hit The Road: A Beginner’s Guide To Cycle Touring & Bikepacking
First published in 2017 and updated in 2021, this book is my comprehensive newcomers’ introduction to the art of the bicycle-mounted adventure.
Every aspect of a cycle tour or bikepacking trip is covered in 34 chapters, split over three parts: pre-trip planning, initial execution, and adapting to the long haul.
As well as broad, practical advice, I’ve woven inspiring and reassuring anecdotes throughout the book – because getting away from the starting line isn’t about knowing everything, but having the confidence to begin.
Drawing on my personal experience of almost two decades of adventure cycling, more than 50 veteran riders from diverse backgrounds have also contributed to this guide, making it one of the most well-rounded introductions you’ll find to this radically liberating form of independent travel.
Whatever you’re planning and wherever you’re going, if it involves a bicycle and the spirit of adventure, How To Hit The Road has got you covered.
Janapar: Love, on a Bike
My first travelogue, originally published in 2013 and the subject of a successful crowdfunding campaign, telling the true story of my first 3½ years on the road.
This was far from your typical long-distance bike tour, however. From the cover blurb:
When twenty-three-year-old Tom Allen and his friends set off from their English village to cycle around the world, they were expecting physical hardship, extreme conditions and a serious case of culture shock. But the hours spent poring over maps could never have prepared them for the experience of life on the road: the petty squabbles, the extreme hospitality, the unexpected joys and dangers.
And then Tom meets Tenny, a feisty Iranian-Armenian girl with dreams of her own, and hits a crossroad. Should he give up his grand plan for the girl he loves, or cycle off and risk missing out on the greatest adventure of them all?
Temporarily out of print (except in the USA), Janapar is still available as a Kindle ebook from all Amazon portals worldwide.