Richie's World Tour or Go Mad on a Nomad

[Donnydid]

Bugger! I had planned to be in Iran in June, its now looking
as I will go via Georgia, Azerbaijan and the ferry from Baku
to Aktau in Kazakhstan. I'am really disappointed about this
as I was looking forward to visiting Iran.
Nevermind, its just a small part of my trip to Aus.

Dave

[StuntPilot]

Richie

So sad about independent travel in Iran. Perhaps we can start a petition to allow independent travel for bicycle tourists? 

Have you looked at Dropbox?

https://www.dropbox.com/

Its free and I have just been playing around with it. Seems like a solution to your storage requirements?

Happy travels!

[Matt2matt2002]

Bugger! I had planned to be in Iran in June, its now looking
as I will go via Georgia, Azerbaijan and the ferry from Baku
to Aktau in Kazakhstan. I'am really disappointed about this
as I was looking forward to visiting Iran.
Nevermind, its just a small part of my trip to Aus.

Dave

Me too.
And it never appears that these kind of changes are ever reversed.
Someone please.correct me.on this.
Please.
Matt

[richie thornger]

I've already got a dropbox account. 5gb free allowance got filled up the same day
Although I'm sticking with google for the time being...£1.79 per month for 100gb.
Ive since found A-drive offer 50gb free for their standard service.
Apparently the standard service can be a bit of a pain to upload to, so the advice is to take out the free pro trial and upload using that and then swap over to the free one

[richie thornger]

Not a day has gone by since I heard the news about travelling in Iran that I haven't thought of an experience or person I met or friend I made that would never of happened cycling.
These geo political things are normally tit for tat and with the new Nuclear talks on the horizon who knows what will happen in the future.
If things do change back and allow you to travel independently as a Brit, Canadian or U.S. of Aian than I would strongly encourage anybody to visit this country. The People are truly incredible.

In other news...
I can tell you that a bicycle costing £50 brand new needs both new rear bearings and the bottom bracket repacking after 500km and 750km. As the cost for both these jobs was less than £3 in total its not the end of the world
My chain I had put on in Jaffna snapped after 1000km and I took a link out and joined it again and got another 500km out of it
And my front Thorn and rear Rohloff rings have finally started showing signs of wear after 8000km.
My Schwalbe Mondial tires have seen 2700kms here in Sri Lanka with plenty of off road and jungle action. I've only had one puncture. That was hammering down the mountain road under braking so hard it was hurting my hands. So I'm definitely recommending these over the Duremes any day.

The football is no nearer to a conclusion and I may have to risk coming home for the last match and keeping everything crossed...until that time I'm off to Malaysia next week, I may get three weeks there, I may get three months. It's a nice problem to have.
 I'm looking forward to some new food as it's pretty limited here on the road and too spicy even for my curry lovin' lips. I finally took the plunge and shelled out over £4 for a pot of peanut butter which has been going down a treat on a plain roti/paratha.

And one last recommendation. My reversible reflective foldable hat has been amazing and keeping me cooler now I'm back in the lowlands. It's damned hot down here, the Garmin said 44.7 the other day. 100 rupees well spent. You do however need a couple of clothes pegs to clip it to the peak of your cap to stop it blowing off

[richie thornger]

Now in Kualur Lumpur , Malaysia enjoying metropolitan city life
Thought I'd just mention this nugget even though it doesn't apply to me yet...I have now heard from 2 separate friends. One in Nepal and one in Sri Lanka who say that to renew their British passport outside the UK has taken 8 eight weeks to sort out. They quote 4 weeks minimum but will only start to look into any problems after 5. Worth thinking about if your passport is close to ending, easier to renew at half the cost before you go.

[richie thornger]

Well that's it folks. Pt 2 of my "cycling" world tour has officially come to an end. My Nomad has been dismantled and packed up in a cardboard box ready for flying home. I've still got another 3 weeks in Malaysia and Indonesia whilst my bike stays with a warmshowers host in Kuala Lumpur.

I've been in Lombok and Bali for the last two months doing pretty much nothing and preparing for being back in the UK after such a long time away.
This has been an experiment for me to see how much I enjoy long term travel, what the difficulties are, could I cope, could I afford it, do I want to be on a bicycle???
The answer to all these questions is YES .
When I get home I'm putting some plans into action that are hopefully going to enable me to do this for a lot longer.
But first I have to get my backside seen too!!!!!
It's been pretty painful for the last few months even having rested off the bike for a good few weeks.
I've found my Brooks saddle to start rubbing the inside of my thighs and various adjustments haven't helped. So I'll be looking into an alternative when I get back. The whole time I've been away I never felt comfortable doing a whole days riding on the Brooks even with Asoss bib shorts. Boils, bumps and lumps have been pretty much everywhere in that area since the start and no amount of sudocreme or chamois butter has managed to totally clear them up. I don't think being in the tropics has helped either.

I'll finish off this thread with some other bits and bobs later.

In summary....travelling by bicycle IS THE BEST way to travel. For so many reasons. You just cant have the same experiences using any other form of transport.
Keep pedalling

[JimK]

Hats off, Richie, to such a grand experiment!

I have noticed that the heat and humidity of a New York July do get into the leather of my Brooks saddle and then the leather gets a bit sticky. Stickiness is not what you want in a saddle!

My mind does start to run over alternatives. How to build a better saddle? Merino wool woof over polyester warp, the polyester stretched hammock-style? Nah. The perfect saddle isn't likely to exist! Maybe one of those Brooks Swift saddles, the ones with hardly any sides at all. Nothing to rub on the sides!

My puzzle right now: when I ride, the saddle gets soaked with sweat. But then we get lots of rain storms, so I need to keep the saddle covered when it is parked outside. Maybe I need a cover more like an umbrella, that keeps the rain off but lets air flow through for ventilation. Hmmm, maybe the same old shower cap, but glue foam bits here and there on the inner surface, to lift the plastic off the leather and make space for air flow. Hmmm.

Anyway, good to get those sores looked at and all healed up! Best of luck with clearing the way for more riding!

[Andre Jute]

Fascinating reading, Richie. Thanks you so much for taking the trouble to keep us up to date. But for you, some of us would never know all the ins and outs, and be the poorer for it.

[mickeg]

Not sure which model Brooks you have.  I find that the popular B17 or Flyer is a bit too wide for me.  Instead I use a Conquest, that is a discontinued model that has the same shape as the Brooks Pro but is sprung.

[jags]

hell of a tour

[John Saxby]

Brilliant stuff, Richie, and a whale of a tale.  You've certainly earned your R & R, and a return to "regular life" will have its challenges, for sure.  I don't have many suggestions for a new saddle, though over the years I have found that sores, cuts, etc., are usually healed by swimming in tropical seas. Cool lakes on the Canadian shield are wonderful in their way, but lack the necessary brine.  :-)

Best wishes for the next grand adventure!

John

[jags]

my french buddy micheal rides a half saddle no nose he  loves it and believe me this guy can ride a bike.no idea the name of the saddle guess you will have to hunt for noseless saddles.
sorry

anto.

[Matt2matt2002]

Hi Ritchie. I have always found your trip updates excellent reading. They have inspired me and helped me on my own present tour, around Scotland. Not on your own scale but a big trip for me.
One thing I have learnt is that at the end of the day there is no guy with a chequered flag. So no rush. As my pal Dan o CE told me, smell the roses.
Matt

[jags]

any photos matt.

jags.