Revista - Bicycle Traveler 03 - Australia

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Lightweight touring Frank van RijnAmerica photo story Hitch-biking Africa- - -

International Magazine on Bicycle Touring Bic yc le Trave ler


2/38MAY 2012 - WWW.BICYCLETRAVELER.NL2



E QUIPMENT

over Photo: PAUL JEURISSEN

hoto Left: PATRICK HUGENS

CONTENTS

C OLUMN

INTERVIEW

Bic yc le Trave ler STORIES

P HOTOGRAPHY

ttp://picasaweb.google.com/racpat.hugens

24

THE A RT O F T HE U NPLANNED J OURNEY By Tom Allen34

W HICH W AY T O H YDERABAD By Frank van Rijn10

H ITCH -B IKING T HROUGH A FRICA By Jo Charnock

27

P HOTO S TORY - AMERICA By Adam & Christy Coppola16

TEST C ROCS F OOTWEAR By Igor Kovse14

TRIP G EAR By Grace Johnson12

32 IMAGE F ROM T HE R OAD - I NDIA By Paul Jeurissen

30 J IM VAN DEN B ERG - L IGHTWEIGHT T OURING By Grace Johnson

06

34 IMAGE F ROM T HE R OAD - M ALAWI By Peter Gostelow

H IMALAYAN T RADER By Scott Stoll

W ELCOME T O L AOS By Ian Mitchell

38 P ARTING S HOT - A MERICA By Paul Jeurissen



Bicycle Traveler is copyrightGrace Johnson. All material has

been used with permission and iscopyright original sources.

The articles published re ect theopinions of their respective authors

and are not necessarilythose of the editor.

COPYRIGHT

CONTACT

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER

Grace Johns A

fter reading Igors review of Crocs, I couldnt resist buying a pair here in Asia.

Theyre great; well ventilated, comfortable to cycle in and easy to take off whenvisiting temples. Now if I could only get myself to throw away the other pair of shoesand sandals that Im still carrying in my rack pack

From the editor

P h o t o s : P A U L J E U R I S S E N

CONTRIBUTORS

Adam & Christy CoppolaFrank van Rijn

Ian MitchellIgor KovseJim van den Berg

Jo Charnock & Jan WoutersPatrick & Rachel Hugens

Paul JeurissenPeter Gostelow

Scott StollTom Allen



While squatting behind a rock, I admire the scenery. Thesun pierces the thin atmosphere, bursting throughbrilliant white clouds and shattering into sparkles on

the rocks. Shadows pan across the ground and up the moun-tains like disco lights. It looks as if Ive entered a oorshow,And here we have the deluxe, super-size Himalayan Model.

traderHimalayan

By: SCOTT STOLL

A Tibetan shepherd teaches westerncyclists the true value of a pen.

P h o t o : S

C O T T S T O L L


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act his part in the bartering drama. He getsangry and pantomimes, This is a tasty

lamb. Youre stealing the food from mychildrens mouths. Hes using the basicargument Ive heard all over the world,You have everything. I have nothing.Edwin holds up his pen and icks thebutton several times, scribbles on hishand then tucks it into his shirt pocket bythe clip. The Tibetan is entranced and,

suddenly, he agrees to the exchange,sealing the bargain. So far, the barteringhas followed the usual custom and Ed-win has to follow through, or risk insult-ing and angering the shepherd.

The shepherd reaches for the pen, butEdwin indicates he wants the lamb rst.

After a couple bungled attempts, theyswap simultaneously and I photographthe moment for posterity. The shepherdquickly stuffs the pen behind the silverbuckle on his belt and Edwin is left cud-

dling the lamb. For a moment, Edwinsbrown eyes are as big and bewildered as

the lambs. I never thought hed go for it,he says, wincing at the loss of his pen.

What are you going to do with her?Dont worry, he brightens, Its a

bluff. Hell never let me ride away withhis lamb.

What if he does?Then well have a mascot.

We can eat it, I suggest.

Lamb soup?We mount our bicycles, and as we pedalaway, I think, Lamb noodle soup. Lambsteamed dumplings. Fried lamb chops.Meanwhile Edwin is wondering what toname her, The Dalai Lamb-a or BoPeep the bicycling sheep. He strugglesto hold the lamb in one arm and navigatehis bicycle over the dirt road. The lambbleats pathetically and 100 meters down

Edwin holds Bo Peep the bicycling sheep.

P h o t o : S

C O T T

S T O L L



the road, near the edge of the ock,she wins Edwins heart and we stop.

The shepherd stares at us with atwinge of curiosity but shows little con-cern for his lamb. Perhaps, the shepherdhas called Edwins bluff.

Dang, Edwin pouts, That was mylast customized pen.

We can still eat it. Jabu and Dong-teng (our Tibetan guide and driver) willknow how to cook it.

Maybe we could just keep her in thetruck, he moves her from one arm to theother, away from me. Edwin is a vegetar-ian and I dont think he can bear to beresponsible for anyone eating his lamb.

Someone has to eat it.Edwin puts the lamb down and begins

herding her towards her mother. Shebolts underneath the legs of the nearestsheep. Edwin chases the lamb. The lambscrambles from sheep to sheep and Ed-

win scrambles after the lamb, zigzaggingthrough the ock until, suddenly, hesface to face with the shepherd. Just giveme my pen. You seetheres your lamb.

MayhemWhile Edwin was causing a stampede,the shepherd has gotten his sling out and

loaded it with a rock. He swings it aroundseveral times and sends the stone soar-ing over his ock. Edwin doesnt seem tonotice. With a soothing voice, he keepstalking to the shepherd. The shepherdreloads and releases a second stonewith a crack and it buzzes through theair, causing me to cringe, and shattersagainst a boulder. Undeterred, Edwinadvances, Just give me the pen. Hepoints to the hidden pen and then him-self. Hello. Pen?

Theyve both gone crazy, I think,laying my bicycle down and preparing torescue Edwin. The shepherd sees meapproach and grabs his dagger out ofthe ground and begins waggling it at Ed-win, then me, then Edwin, while yelling,Stay back or your friend gets it, or so Iimagine.

I freeze, but Edwin encroaches on theshepherds territory holding out his hand,Hello. Pen? Give pen!

The shepherd is behaving like a mad-man now. He shouts, lunges and feints astab towards Edwins belly. Finally, look-ing genuinely frightened, Edwin holdshis arms above his head. All right, keepthe pen, he says. Keep the pen.

The retreatWhen Edwin retreats, Im laughing sohard that my gut twists painfully. Buddy!What were you thinking?

I just wanted my pen back, bemoansEdwin. Just wait until everyone nds outthat Ia New Zealandertraded a penfor a sheep.

By now our Australian friend Matt hasarrived and we laugh. The competitiveand mischievous Australians have givenNew Zealanders a notorious reputation

with their sheep jokes.But you dont have either.Thats the worst part. He closes his

eyes and sighs, as if imagining the embar-rassment of confessing to his Kiwi mates.

Aw. You made a cute couple.

Scott Stolls book Falling Uphill is a col-lection of humorous and easy-to-read shortstories from his 4 year bike trip around theworld. You can read more about Scott andhis book at: http://www.theargonauts.com

B T



On the main roads in India youare often disturbed by the largeamount of traf c and the work be -

ing done to improve them, but small roadsalso have their own speci c problems. Inthis particular case it was a fork whereit wasnt clear in which direction I had togo. There was a road sign but whateverwas on it was illegible due to the massof election propaganda that had beenpasted over it. That was understandable,because road signs are very suitable for

that purpose. Also other important infor-mation is often glued to them. Everybodyknows which way to go, so for that youdont need signposts. Even if the post-ers hadnt covered the sign it probablywouldnt have helped much, as on thesesmaller roads the signs were usually inSanskrit anyway. The few letters visible

below the posters con rmed this.In between the two roads stood asmall hut. The owner was digging on hisland next to it.

Asking for directionsDo you speak English? I asked him.

Yes was the convincingly soundinganswer.

Could you please tell me the way toHyderabad?

Yes.

Well, which way is it to Hyderabadthen?Yes.Left? I said pointing left.Yes.Or right? I said pointing right.Yes.So you dont really speak English

do you?No.Suddenly his vocabulary turned out

to be twice the size of what I had up to

Frank van Rijn on the road in Asia.

P h o t o : F

R A N K V A N R I J N

Dutch long distance cyclist Frank van Rijn discoversthat such a simple matter as going to Hyderabad is a

very complicated expedition after all.

Which way to Hyderabad?



then presumed. This answering in thenegative to a negative question is reallyconfusing in India because, contrary topractice in Europe, it is often used cor-rectly here. The man was probably deny-ing that he didnt speak English, whichcon rmed his rst answer. So his an -swers were logical, but I was beginningto doubt if he was speaking the truth.

It reminded me of a situation wherethere was also a house situated betweena fork in the road where two brotherslived. Knowing that one always lied andthe other always spoke the truth, youcould nd out which was the road to Am -sterdam by asking just one question.

Spoken truthHere the situation was a bit more com-plicated. On the one hand the man hadlied when he answered my question if hespoke English with a yes, but on the

other he hadnt. He just didnt speak alot of English and that is something hehad never claimed to do anyway. Apartfrom that, he had resolutely answeredme truthfully when he said that he couldtell me which road went to Hyderabad.He just hadnt told me though. He hadlied once and spoken the truth once to

my questions whether Hyderabad was tothe left or to the right, unless both roadsactually led to Hyderabad. In that case hehad spoken the truth twice, but if neitherof the roads led to Hyderabad he had liedtwice. From this analysis it could be con-cluded that even the simplest of conver-sations can still be rather complicated.

Second attemptI thanked the man for giving me this abun-dance of information and with plenty of

misgivings and doubt chose the road tothe left. Luckily I encountered a man on ascooter a little further down the road whostood talking to a group of men. Again Iasked if anyone spoke English and theman on the scooter said he did and evencommanded a greater vocabulary thanthe farmer who always spoke the truthback on the corner. Unluckily though hedidnt know if this was the correct road toHyderabad as he wasnt local. But not toworry, he would ask the others who, al-though they didnt speak English, wouldundoubtedly know the way to Hyder-abad. Much to my surprise a long andlively discussion ensued. Hands pointedin the direction I was already heading,while others pointed back down the roadand everybody had a different solution. Itseemed that such a simple matter as go-ing to Hyderabad was a very complicatedexpedition after all. Eventually it seemed

they reached some sort of consensusas everyone suddenly was in agree-ment and they all set off in various direc-tions by bike or on foot. Even the Englishspeaking man on the scooter left withoutbothering to tell me what the outcomewas. In the heat of the discussion he hadprobably forgotten all about me.

Dutchman Frank van Rijn is a bike touringlegend. Hes cycled over 500,000 kilome-ters, written 11 books and inspired genera-tions of Dutch people to take up bicycletouring. His books are currently only avail-able in Dutch but Frank is searching fora publishing house in Britain, Australia or

America to print and distribute his booksin English. Learn more about Frank at:http://www.frankvanrijn.nl

B T



TRIP G EAR

Dual Eyewear sunglasses are bifocalsfor cyclists. The upper sections are nor-mal sunglasses and the lower sectionsprovide magni cation to be able to readmaps, GPS devices and cycling comput-ers. The glasses come in three levels of

magni cation: +1.5, +2.0 and +2.5Price: $50. U.S.

www.dualeyewear.com

Double Vision Glasses

Icebreakers Mens BodyFit150 BoxerBrief gives you all the bene ts of meri -no wool minus the itch. This lightweight

pair of underwear is odor resistant,breathable and wicks moisture away

from your body.Price: $40. U.S.

www.icebreaker.com

Merino Wool Boxer Shorts

Lightweight Duo Shelter

A look at equipment for bicycle travelers.By: GRACE JOHNSON

Ultralight cycling couples will appreciatethe Sea to Summit Specialist Duo Shel-ter. It weighs only 29 oz (846 gr.) yet isover 7 feet (220 cm.) long, 37 inches(94 cm.) wide and has two vestibule

entrances.Price: $499. U.S.

www.seatosummit.com



The Airstream Lite is a waterproof sackthat lets air out during compression.

Just stuff your sleeping bag or clothinginto the bag, roll over the dry bag seal

to close it, then tighten everything upusing the side compression cords. Thesack can hold up to 620 cu. in (10 L.)

and weighs 2.6 oz. (75 gr.).Price: $25.40 U.S.www.podsacs.com

Waterproof Compression Sack

Tired of de-laminating air mattresses?Then check out Therm-a-rests light-

weight Z Lite Sol mattress. Its virtuallyindestructible closed-cell foam provideslasting comfort and the aluminized sur-

face re ects heat back to your body.Price: $35. U.S.

http://cascadedesigns.com

Camping Mattress

The Biologic Blast horn can produce upto 115 decibels of air-piercing soundto make your presence known while

cycling busy roads. It weighs less than3.5 oz.(100 gr.) and operates on com -pressed air which can be re lled with a

bicycle pump.Price: $34.99 U.S.

http://store.thinkbiologic.com

Handlebar Airhorn

EQUIPMENT



Pance is a small village near Lju-

bljana, Slovenia. The local cafhas a terrace in front, where any-body worth mentioning in Ljubljanas cy-cling scene comes to display his latestrig (pretending that they just came tobask in the sun of the caf terrace).

They come to see or show she latestDogmas, Madones, Cannondales, Col-nagos and Looks all big brands in thecycling world. I am a bit of disgrace thereas I regularly come wearing a cap insteadof helmet, prescription glasses instead

of Rudy Project shades and at pedals

with sneakers instead of clipless ped-als and Sidi shoes. Since the day when Ishowed up wearing Crocs, nobody theretalks to me anymore.

But other than the danger of becom-ing a social outcast, Crocs probablywont have any adverse effect on yourcycling life, or life in general. On thecontrary, despite everything that youvebeen taught about proper cycling foot-wear (i.e. special shoes with stiff solesand clipless pedals)you may nd Crocs

Igor Kovse wears Crocs shoes while cycling inNamibia, Lesotho and Paris-Brest-Paris.

Test: Crocs footwear P h o t o : I

G O R K O V S E



EQUIPMENT

B T

to be perfectly suitable for cycle touring.There are several good aspects to

Crocs. First of all they are lightweight; just 284 gr. for a pair, European size 44.Thats 300 gr. less than most road-racingshoes. And remember: when you cycle,footwear represents rotational weight -

just as if you had a lighter wheel.Next, since theyre plastic, they dry

quickly, making them ideal for rainyconditions and fording streams. In coldweather youll have to complement themwith some kind of waterproof socks but inserious weather conditions youll have todo that with most other kind of shoes any-way. Sealskin socks work well with Crocs.

Crocs also provide good ventilation toyour feet, reducing the need to wash yoursocks frequently, and they have rathergood pedal grip. Of course we are talk-ing at pedals here. No clip-on pedals.No cages and straps. No Power Grips.

The disadvantages are that you mightget blisters if you wear them barefootand that their t is too loose for hiking.

I wore my Chinese Crocs on a onemonth tour through Africa. Generallyspeaking they worked well. I didnt haveany problems cycling long days (up to 230km), or heading up the gravel roads in Na-

mibia and Lesotho, including 20% climbs.My biggest problem was that myCrocs were too big (although they weremy usual size), so my feet were oatingin them. I stuffed them with plastic bagsin front when I wore them barefoot butusually wore them with short socks, orwith slipper-like inserts. They were thenquite comfortable. Worn with waterproofsocks the t was rock solid. Crocs shouldbe one size smaller than your usualshoes, so they t tightly.

Some people have expressed doubtsabout the softness of their sole. My ex-perience is that if your feet sit snugly inthem and you have fairly wide pedals,then the softer sole is not a problem.

Its my conclusion that Crocs deservemore serious consideration as the onlyfootwear for cycle touring.

Update September 2011. I more orless realize that Im writing this only formyself, as the idea of riding with Crocssomehow didnt gain much popularity.

Crocs are perfectly suitable for cycle

touring

Partly it is a consequence of the dogmaof proper cycling shoes, which is ri-

diculous for non-competitive cycling.Nevertheless, heres an update af-ter my 2011 journey through France.In 36 days I rode 5,500 km includ -ing climbing and descending around140 cols and ctes and the 1,238km. Paris-Brest-Paris in 72 hours.Im happy with Crocs. I was practically

living in them, as they were my only foot-wear. I didnt have a single cramp, whichwas frequently the case when cycling inother types of shoes. I would de nitelychoose them as the only footwear for around-the-world tour.

Igor Kovse is an ultralight cyclist who car-ries less than 20 kilos (including his bike)on trips all around the world. His websitehttp://ultralightcycling.blogspot.com is full oftips on how to pack light.



America Adam and Christy Coppola fall in love withcycling as they travel through all 50 states to

support the Give A Bike charities.Photos: ADAM COPPOLAStory: CHRISTY COPPOLA

P HOTO S TORY



I would never have argued that mylongest ride of 17 miles was enough

to qualify me as one either. Now, 7months, 9,000 miles, 38 ats, 3 sets oftires, and 2 saddles later, I still wouldntqualify myself as a cyclist.

The Tour De France was on the pastfew weeks and I didnt even have the

slightest desire to turn it on. Im prettysure the test in becoming a true cyclisthas to do with watching this race and un-derstanding it and the racers. That is onetest I would fail. I couldnt even namemore than one racing cyclist!

I could list for you a whole bunch oftouring cyclists, though. Does that count?

Iwasnt a cyclist before this trip...



So what makes a cyclist? The termcyclist almost has an elite feel whichmight be why I could never feel comfort-able qualifying myself as one. I have rid-den quite a few miles this year, but theyare slow miles with plenty of rest stops.

Over the course of this year, I havefallen in love over and over again withriding my bike and we see so many oth-ers doing the same thing.

But being a cyclist? Even though Adam and I look like them with ourspandex and jerseys on, I just dont feellike one.

The good news? You dont have to bea cyclist to ride your bike. You can wearwhatever you want, carry however muchyou want, and go as slow as you want.No, Im no cyclist. Im a traveler using thebicycle as my mode of transportation. B T



Above: Christy and Adam Coppola smile for the camera in Alaska.Right: A perfect start to a cycling day.


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Above: A cup of coffee before hitting the road.Left: Camping in Yellowstone National Park.

Photojournalist Adam Coppola and his writer wife Christy have combinedtheir talents to document their America trip and help raise awareness forthe Give A Bike charities www.giveabike.com.



An unexpected opportunity to take atrip through Africa arose that my partnerand I couldnt resist. The only questionwas how were we going to do this? The

most obvious way would be with a caror motorbike, but these would be ex-pensive, complicated and take too longto organise. After scrutinising the other,rather limited options, public transport ora bicycle looked best to suit our pocket.But why not combine both? Unlike myBelgian partner Jan Wouters, who has

been cycling his whole life, my cyclingexperience was minimal. The prospectof cycling the whole distance was pret-ty daunting, and so I liked the idea of afolding bike. We would still have our in-dependence and mobility, but, when dis-tances were great, a folding bike wouldgive us the added exibility of being ableto catch a train or bus. This wasnt goingto be a competition about how far or howfast we could cycle each day. This wasgoing to be about the journey.

Before the start of the trip neither of ushad taken into consideration the prospectof hitch-hiking. I mean, hitch-hiking in Af-rica? Wouldnt that be far too dangerous?

But hitch-hiking (or hitch-biking as wecame to call it) proved to be all too easy.

Our rst full days cycling, with all ourgear, would hopefully take us from Cairoto Beni Suef, a town 120km to the south.Initially spirits were high as we cycledalong the course of the Nile, enjoyingthe contrast of the green irrigated land

against the backdrop of the desert be-yond. But we had seriously underesti-mated the distance and the heat.

It was mid-afternoon when we cameacross a road sign which said we stillhad 50km to go. I dont think covering70km on our rst day was too disgrace -ful, but now my back-side was achingand my pack was digging in. Im not surehow it started, but in desperation one ofus stuck out a thumb in the hope of get-ting a lift. To our astonishment a small,

Travelling the length of Africa, from Cairo to Cape

Town, on folding bikes? Were we completelymad or had we come up with an idea that would

prove to be the simplest and most fun way to travel?

Hitch-biking

Africathrough By: JO CHARNOCK



P h o t o : J

A N W O U T E R S

The prospect of cycling thewhole distance was pretty daunting,and so I liked the idea of a folding bike.



battered truck stopped almost straightaway. Amidst fumbled sign language andbroken English, we folded the bikes andwere bundled inside. After numerous of-fers of tea, the driver dropped us at theentrance to the town of Beni Suef, beforecarrying on his way to wherever he wasgoing. It was as simple as that.

After such an easy introduction thisbecame our modus operandi. Therewere a few exceptions when we did catcha bus or a train, but for most of the way,all through Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tan-zania, Zambia and Namibia, we startedthe day cycling. When the temperaturebecame too hot, or we were tired, or thedistance just too far we would hitch-bikea ride with a truck, often a governmentof cial, and once in Tanzania with theglamorous wife of a diplomat in her nor-mal four door sedan.

Performance bikesThe portability of the folding bike is notin dispute, but what about how the bikesperformed? Of course the 20 wheelswere a bit limiting, but even we weresurprised at how well the bikes handledthe rough mountain roads in Ethiopia(Im using the term road very loosely!).

After leaving Debark, high up in theSimien Mountains in the North, theamazing scenery kept us so enthralledthat we even turned down a kind, un-solicited offer of a lift. But the mountaintracks were brutal and not a single othervehicle passed that day. After a toughday of climbing and descending we wereforced to bush-camp for the night. Wewere both exhausted, but the bicycleshad stood the test with not even a punc-ture to complain about.

Although, that cant be said for therest of the trip; there were some frustrat-ing days when we had puncture afterpuncture with no respite. But all in all,apart from one broken wheel spoke anda rusted cable, punctures were the onlyproblems we had to deal with.

Travelling lightOf course the purists out there will wantto know all about the technicalities ofhow far we actually cycled, but I donteven know the distance we travelled,never mind cycled. As I mentioned thiswas about the journey and not about thenumber crunching. The people we metalong the way, through the novelty ap-pearance of our folding bicycles, morethan made up for any guessed at calcu-lations. Keeping things simple and trav-elling as light as possible made thingsless stressful in a crowd and, I guess, a

less likely target for any criminal inten-tions. We didnt have conventional pan-niers, which we considered too bulky.Instead we had small backpacks and5kg luggage racks. Our tent weighedless than 1kg and was probably moresuited to one person, but we managed,with synchronised turning. The spares

that we carried were limited, but thanksto the Chinese, freely available even ifthe quality was very much questionable.

All in all it was an incredible trip. If I hadthe opportunity, would I do it again? De -nitely; and I wouldnt change a thing.

Jo Charnock is the author of the e-book AHitch-Bikers Guide through Africa, Cairoto Capetown on a folding bike For moreinformation go to www.jocharnock.com orwww.foldingbiketravels.com.

B T



Ian Mitchell recalls two memorable cycling days

Laos!Welcome

to



Huay Xai, a short hop across the Mekong River from

Thailand this frontier town is the last taste of any

westernised creature comforts in Laos. As I head out

I soon realise this is going to be a special journeyto Pak Beng when a water stop in the

rst village draws half the inhabitantsaround my bicycle some shouting andexcitable, others inquisitive, some wary.The children pull and prod the bike, onelittle lad inspects the under-carriage likea motor mechanic under a car pit. Much

hilarity breaks out at my mimed requestto buy sunscreen!

Heading inland, villagers greet mewith excited shouts of 'farang farang'(long nosed white man!) and 'Sa-bai-dee'(bye-bye) from the children. It catches onlike a fever from house to house. Villagesare alive as pigs scurry around, chickens

forage, curly tailed dogs stare and wa-ter buffalo amble between the woodenstilt houses. The youngsters help pushmy bike up the steeper inclines. Adultsare more reticent and suspicious as I slipdeeper into the mountains. Older gen-erations smoke silver opium or tobaccopipes. Beautiful women bathe in earlyevening light at watering holes.

As I leave the paved roads behind, thered dust becomes all-consuming whentrucks rumble by thankfully sporadical-

ly. With my senses concentrating on thepeople and road surface, I hardly noticethe stunning mountain scenery that nowengulfs me: terraced rice paddies dottedwith wooden stilted houses and forest-clad limestone karst mountains.

With little light to spare, I roll into Pha

Oudom. It's a town so busy and colour-ful that it makes my jaw drop. Aroundme, extended families eat together whilehouses, motor cycles, carts and farm ma-chines are tended to by swarms of noisytownsfolk. They all stop to watch me, thefarang, as I pick my way across the pot-holed and dimly lit marketplace, looking

for an evening meal. I end up with waterybean sprout noodles and go to bed earlyin a windowless room of a family guest-house. Cackling and merriment echo onthe dark streets, keeping me awake untilthe small hours before I slid into a deep,exhausted sleep.

Day two from Pha Oudom over themountains to Pak Beng in searing heat isquite simply brutality on a bike. It is eas-ily the most arduous 65 kilometres I haveever cycled. The red dirt roads keep ris-

BY: IAN MITCHELLPHOTOS: PAUL JEURISSEN



All activity stops when a farang cycles by.

ing and rising. Ironically, the dirt roadsare only punctuated by tarmac when thegradient becomes too ridiculous to ride.I head into the heart of Khmu commu-nities and nd some of the most basicsubsistence living anywhere in Laos.

What they lack in material possessions,they make for with an undoubted spiritof community and togetherness. Thirtyvillagers in studious concentration watchmy every move eating a snack. Ironicallythis is women's day in Laos not so forthe women of the mountains. Young andold alike, I see them carrying hefty loadsof food, water and branches.

After 5,000 feet of uphill endeavour,and every one of the kilometre posts bythe roadside counted down, I roll into the

Mekong town of Pak Beng. I am coveredin red dust and totally exhausted. Guidebooks and blogs bad-mouth Pak Bengas being a seedy one night stopovertown where river tourists are pestered bytouts and charlatans and they are not

far off the mark. But Pak Beng was likeNew York to me: a luxurious place whereI could enjoy a seat at a cafe, bread,beer, a bed and a warm shower. And asunset of unimaginable beauty. B T

Ian Mitchell started cycle touring 10 yearsago and hasnt looked back. You canread more on his trips through New Zea-land, Australia and Asia and throughoutEurope in partnership with Liz Riach at:www.crazyguyonabike.com/mahestephane.



Weve also asked Jim some ques-tions about lightweight packing:

Q: What are the advantages of

traveling so lightly?

A: Its easier to get on buses, trains andairplanes. I simply grab my two panniersin one hand and the bike in the other.

Q: What advice do you have forpeople who want to cut downthe weight of the gear that theycarry?

Invest gradually in lightweight equip-

ment since its so expensive. It tookme a few years to buy everything Iwanted.

Dont take cotton clothes. Just use one type of soap for

washing yourself, dishes, clothesand shaving. For example I useshampoo.

Limit the amount of cooking gear youtake. I only carry garlic and bouilloncubes. I dont carry oil, herbs, etc.

Jim van den Berg A lightweight bicycle traveler who devised an equipment spreadsheet to help cut down on gear weight.

Interview: GRACE JOHNSON

Jim in the American Southwest.

Dutch bike tourist Jim van Berg wasinspired to take up lightweight cyclingby his mountaineering experience. Ev-ery gram counts when youre haulingit up a mountain on your back! To helpminimize the amount of gear he carries,Jim devised a packing list spreadsheetthat calculates his total load.

Here at Bicycle Traveler, we couldntresist creating a spreadsheet based onJims original. Fill in your own equip-ment and see just how close you cometo Jims total weight: 14 kg. of gear and

13.5 kg. of bicycle (excluding water).The free Bicycle Traveler pack-

ing list can be downloaded at:www.bicycletraveler.nl.

P h o t o s : J I M

V A N D E N B E R G



Q: When deciding which gearto bring, do you have a trickfor balancing comfort againstweight savings?

A: Ive found a good balance just bylimiting my gear to what can be carriedin my back bags. I carry a tent (not justa bivy bag); a warm sleeping bag (up tominus 5 Celsius) and a comfortablesleeping mat yet each of these itemsweighs only 1 kg. As for clothes, I dontcarry too much but enough to stay warmin different weather conditions.

Download Jims packing list atwww.bicycletraveler.nl. Click on the bot-tom tab: Jim van den Berg packing list.

For more information and tips onlightweight bicycle touring, check outthe following:

The ultimate ultralight cyclist has

Jim van den Berg is a fervent traveler wholoves cycling and hiking in exotic countries.Check out his trip reports (in Dutch) at:http://members.chello.nl/j.berg20/index.html

B T

to be Igor Kovse. Some might con-sider him a bit extreme (Igor sleepson a sheet of bubble wrap) but hissite is full of weight-saving advice.Igor carries a total of 18.9 kg. Thisincludes all of his gear, his bicycleand just under 3kg of food and water.http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.com

On the Lightweight Bike Touring pod-cast from Travelling Two, they inter-view Stijn de Klerk who travels up to 6months at a time and rarely carries pan-niers that weigh more than 8-10kg.http://travellingtwo.com/7595

www.bikepacking.net is a forum thatcovers lightweight cycling.

INTERVIEW



PAUL JEURISSENwww.pauljeurissen.nl

Image Roadthe

from India



PETER GOSTELOWwww.thebigafricacycle.com

Malawi Image

Road:thefrom



Unplanned

Theof theArt

JourneyBy: TOM ALLEN

What Bilbo said is true. Withouta solid and meticulous plan,a journey can quickly end up

somewhere you never expected. And who said there was anything

wrong with that? A couple of days ago I received emails

from two people planning long cycling journeys. There seem to be a lot of peo-ple interested in adventure cycling these

P h o t o : T

O M

A L L E N

Its a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.You step onto the road, and if you dont keep your feet,

theres no knowing where you might be swept off to.Bilbo, Lord of the Rings



COLUMN

days, judging by the number of mes-sages I get. If thats true, then Im happy.Travelling the planet long-term underpedal power is truly life-changing.

But riding off into the unknown is eas-ier said than done. Its an utterly terrify-ing prospect. You know nothing aboutwhats ahead, and you dont know whereto begin, and you imagine that withoutknowing these things, youre helpless.

The natural defense mechanism is totry and collect knowledge, to arm your-self against the unknown. Routes, logis-tics, equipment, itineraries, timescales,communications solutions you build afortress of categories, an insurmountablewall of planning. Then you feel a bit safer,and the unknown seems a little less scary.

It doesnt matterBut nobody tells you that it actuallydoesnt matter, that the world is not a

dangerous place. People are not bad.Nobodys out to get you. Visas and bor-ders are easy. Roads and routes comenaturally. And you cant just waltz into awarzone. (Its not your ght, anyway.)

Knowing everything is unnecessary- discovery is a better teacher than aguidebook. Where you actually end up -

and when, and how - is usually irrelevantto the experience you have on the way.Failures dont plan to fail; they fail toplan. So goes the saying. But bewareof dogma. Question everything, even thewisest-sounding quotes. Theres alwaysan exception to the rule.

I planned to be in Australia two yearsafter leaving home on my bike. As itturned out, I would be in the United ArabEmirates, having made an unforeseenhalf-year detour through the Middle East

Since 2007, Tom has undertaken bicycleadventures in more than 40 nations. Healso runs a popular adventure cycling blogat http://tomsbiketrip.com, and his frst bookand documentary flm will be out in 2012

and Africa. I never made it to Australia- bythen, my journey had deviated entirely.

Leave with a blank slateHad I not planned to be in Australia, ofcourse, it wouldnt have mattered. Fail-ure wouldnt have come into it. I wouldnthave had to swallow my pride, acceptthat Id been wrong to set myself sucha distant, abstract goal, and tell all thefriends, followers and sponsors Idbragged to that my plans had changed.

One of the emails mentioned records.I do have my reservations on whetherthis would detract from the journey,wrote my correspondee of the idea of arecord-breaking circumnavigation. Well,of course it would! If your aim is to havea life-changing adventure, to leave it allbehind why would you plan for it to endas quickly and predictably as possible?

If you want to learn something, leave

with a blank slate. Prepare yourself, byall means, but dont pad the whole thingout with so-called research, plans thatarent necessary, destinations you mightrealize you dont really need to reach.None of that matters.

If theres one thing I wish Id donedifferently, it would be to leave without

such a grand plan for what I was goingto achieve. And if theres one decision Im glad I

made, it was to drop that plan and to pur-sue the honest and ever-changing focusof my wanderlust. B T


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Photo: PAUL JEURISSEN

Trave lerBic yc le

Parting shot

Revista - Bicycle Traveler 03 - Australia

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