BIKES READY TO ROLL

Our first day in the saddle on this tour will be June 15th, but it's good to know that the equipment is good to go. Getting things here to Uzbekistan is not easy.

This will be my first tour with a four pannier set up. I've had enough of the Bob trailer, and heavy back end formats. 

Probably shouldn't tour on a road bike, but it stood up well in Scandinavia so I reckon it has one more in it.

Hoping that the roads of South East Europe will be smooth, and that the front hub and band mount rack will be kind to the carbon forks!?!??

Niamh's bike was a local purchase here in Tashkent, from 'The Master'. Solid on the trip to Buhkara and a bargain too. We've had to improvise with seat stem mount rear pannier bag, as the small frame would not allow for a regular rear rack to sit horizontally. 

Go flying Irish Woman- go! 

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- FINAL STAGE (9)

STAGE 9-

(Red Line- Alexandroupolis to Istanbul 322km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- STAGE 8

STAGE 8-

(Red Line- Thessaloniki to Alexandroupolis 320km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- STAGE 7

STAGE 7-

(Red Line- Bitola to Thessaloniki 238km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- STAGE 6

STAGE 6-

(Red Line- Prizren to Bilota 366km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- STAGE 5

STAGE 5-

(Red Line- Dubrovnik to Prizren 382km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- JUNE 2015- STAGE 4

STAGE 4-

(Red Line- Zadar to Dubrovnik 350km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL- JUNE 2015- STAGE 3

STAGE 3-

(Red Line- Rijeka to Zadar 250km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL ROUTE- JUNE 2015- STAGE 2

STAGE 2-

(Red Line- Venice to Rijeka- 238km)

MILAN TO ISTANBUL ROUTE- JUNE 2015- STAGE 1

STAGE 1-

(Red Line- 512km)

The Reason

My beautiful little nephew Max was born with Prader-Willi syndrome.

If you had not heard of this syndrome, it shows there is a need to raise awareness of it. PWSA UK needs your support, so please visit the donation page I have set up if you would like to help to fund research into this genetic condition which affects 1 in every 20,000 people worldwide.  

By strapping their logo to our bikes, we hope to open dialogue as we travel.

Thank you for your support.

Rider bio- Matthew

“Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”   Albert Einstein

I will always remember that the last thing my late Gran Nan said to me was, “What do you have to prove?”, as I left to cycle Scandinavia before moving to West Africa. There is nothing that I am trying to prove. I feel so lucky to have been born at a time one can research, plan and explore. I also feel lucky to have been born in the UK and carry a passport and debit card that allows for discovery. There are only strings attached to life which we create in our minds. If we spend our lives worrying about the dangers, then we would never leave the confines of our home towns.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain

Routes- Previous and Remaining

PREVIOUS RIDES:

See previous rides page here (in chronological order)    

2001- Sydney to Cairns (Australia)

2002- Land’s end to John O’Groats (UK)

2005- 90 Mile beach to the Bluff (NZ)

2010- 9 countries in 6 days (Italy to The Netherlands)

2013- Copenhagen to Narvik (Denmark, Sweden, Norway)
2014- Tashkent to Bukhara (Uzbekistan)

FINAL STAGES:

Stage 1- Milan to Istanbul

Stage 2- Istanbul to Baku

Stage 3- Tashkent to Shanghai

Stage 4- Carribean to Alaska

“A bicycle ride around the world begins with a single pedal stroke.” ~ Scott Stoll

Fifteen years in the making, now I am in a position to do this, rather than to dream about if and when.

The singular physical goal has always been to the cycle around the world.  The reason is unclear, even to me. Perhaps I don’t need one, or perhaps deep down my heart holds hope to discover what the world holds at a pace that permits sensing and understanding the differences between one valley and the next, one nation and another, one human kind.

I expect that this will be an emotional experience, and if I have learned anything from my adult years of travelling to over 60 countries, memories mean more when they are shared.  I think that the reason why I am finally creating this written record is because I have found someone who shares a desire to explore, to push oneself and to break from the shackles of convention, and I am proud and excited to tell everyone about it.

Now that our lifestyles enable us to try and our cause for trying is clear, the first of four ‘final’ stages to completing the circumnavigation will begin in earnest.  Together, we will discover more than we realised we experienced at the time, a source of reminiscence and happy daydreams for many years to come.

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta