The people listed below have influenced me in more ways than they could ever imagine. Thank you!
- Alastair Humphreys: 4 years around the world by bike. Rode on $1–2 a day for the whole ride. Alastair’s blog was the first one I came across when I started researching for the trip.
- Conor Grennan: Traveled around the world for a year and volunteered at an orphanage as he passed through Nepal. He was so moved by the kids he started his own orphanage in Nepal. Witty writing and tons of inspiration!
- Daniel Martin: Young guy who rode from London to Cape Town. Dan is now riding from Seoul to Cape Town on his second multi-year ride.
- David Kroodsma: Rode from Alaska to Argentina to speak to students about climate change. Visited over 100 schools!
- Dominic Gill: A young Brit riding solo (kind of) from Alaska to Argentina on a two-person tandem bike. He invites people he meets along the way to ride with him on the bike for as long as they like. About half of his trip has been spent riding with complete strangers (whom he befriends while riding.)
- Eric Schambion and Amaya Williams: A couple riding down Africa’s western coast. Their journey has taken them over roads few tourists have ever seen. Eric has contracted Malaria three times already on the trip and is still riding—very inspirational!
- Heinz Stucke: The Grandfather of cycle touring. Heinz holds the world record for Epic Journey–he has been riding the same bicycle around the world for the past four decades (and counting). He has circled the world over 12 times and has visited every country in the world, most for at least two months. He makes Marco Polo look like a bumbling toddler. Sort of.
- Janne Corax: Adventure bike traveler, specializes in riding unsupported through the world’s most remote areas.
- Robert Thomson: Ex-English teacher in Japan who is riding from Pusan, Korea to London, England. The site is called 14 Degrees because he is not deviating from 14 latitudinal degrees throughout the entire ride…no matter what!
- Rolf Potts: Rolf, with the help of a few other travel writers, writes a travel blog that is filled with motivational travel-related articles, links, and book reviews. I check the blog as often as I can because it’s always being updated with current travel news. Check out his Travel Writer Profiles if you have any interest in travel writing.
- Rosie Swale-Pope: She’s 61 and she’s running around the world. Rosie started in 2003 and as of 2007, she was two thirds of the way around the globe. 61!
Travel Help:
- Warm Showers: The single most important site for a traveling cyclist looking to recover from the stresses of riding. This site helps cyclists find fellow cyclists along their route who are willing to give them a place to sleep, a warm shower, and often, a home-cooked meal. Using a Google Map, you can find hosts in your current area or along your future route. AMAZING website for cycle tourists!
- Thorn Tree: Run by Lonely Planet, this is the most active travel forum on the net. Most posts receive multiple comments and all posts are search-able. TONS of information broken up into different “branches” based on country/topic.
- Crazy Guy on a Bike: An amazing database of bike journals. Easy to use, lots of pictures, all search-able. If you are new to bike touring, this site will teach you lots (trust me!) Most bike journals contain gear lists, maps, and daily posts with mileage.
- BootsnAll: Another travel info site. A bit heavy on the advertising, but lots of info to check out. This site also allows aspiring travel writers to “publish” articles and create a type of BootsnAll portfolio.
- Transitions Abroad: Amazing site that explains the nuts and bolts of working/volunteering overseas. Contains many job postings. If you want to work overseas but aren’t sure where to start to get the ball rolling, this site is spectacular.
If you know of a great link that you think should appear on this page, email me!
