CONVERSATIONAL

This is a collection of blogs and updates I’ve written from the road, while working for TDA Global Cycling. In the selection of blogs below, you’ll gain an insight into what it’s like to ride a bicycle from Egypt to South Africa, China to Singapore, Helsinki to Lisbon and other interesting “off-the-beaten-track” parts of the world like Madagascar.

TDA Global Cycling • 27th May 2020

TDA Reports From The Field: Feathering the Brakes in Edinburgh

Rather than slamming the brakes on everything and sitting at home waiting for change, I’ve opted to feather the brakes instead, and use this opportunity to adjust my lifestyle for the better.

TDA Global Cycling • 8th August 2019

Cycling Tours vs. Your Daily Commute

When your to-do list for the day is simply “Ride 140km”, it’s not daunting. It’s the best thing ever. Travelling across continents by bicycle isn’t impressive because of the distance… it’s impressive because of the experience.

TDA Global Cycling • 28th September 2018

High-Five To Our Five EFIs

To anyone whose only objection to doing a TDA tour is their lack of confidence in their own abilities, remember that half the 2018 Trans Europa riders were new to cycling, and still managed to ride Every F*#@ing Inch.

TDA Global Cycling • 21st August 2018

Mamma Mia! Trans-Europa Reaches Italy

It’s nice to see that all the cyclists are making the most of their time in Europe and enjoying the experience as we pass the halfway point of this epic journey from Helsinki to Lisbon.

TDA Global Cycling • 13th July 2018

TDA Trans-Europa: Starting With The Finnish

This year, the Trans-Europa started in Helsinki, which posed a logistical problem: how do you make day one of a cycling tour interesting when the first thing you’re doing is getting on a 2-hour ferry across the Baltic Sea?

TDA Global Cycling • 8th July 2018

TDA Pub Ride Reaches Copenhagen

For the first time ever, TDA Global Cycling has pedalled into one of the world’s most cycling-oriented destinations – Copenhagen, where bicycles outnumber people (literally, the bicycle population is larger than the human population).

TDA Global Cycling • 18th June 2018

TDA Pub Ride: Bonding Over Beers, Bikes and Banter

What better way to celebrate a sunny day spent cycling through the quiet backroads of the British countryside than with a well-earned British craft ale?

TDA Global Cycling • 24th December 2017

What Next? The Restless Return Home

After successfully completing something this big, it’s extremely difficult to resist the urge to follow it up with something even bigger. Perhaps that’s why everyone always does.

TDA Global Cycling • 14th December 2017

From Shanghai To Singapore, One Bowl Of Rice at a Time

From the delicious and ultimately filling oriental cuisine of China to the unique and “pretty far out there” delights on show in Cambodia, to the always satisfying Thai curry selections, food is always a big talking point when it comes to southeast Asia.

TDA Global Cycling • 5th December 2017

Coast to Coast: Crossing the Malay Peninsula By Bike

Today’s ride was an excellent route through the mountains as we crossed from the east coast of Thailand over to the west, coming within a few kilometres of Myanmar at one point, before turning south again towards Penang in Malaysia.

TDA Global Cycling • 1st December 2017

The Mood Shift of Cycling the Last Thousand Kilometres

With 3 weeks of cycling left until we all go home, we are fast approaching my favourite part of any TDA tour – the final thousand km's, when everyone reminds themselves the tour is nearly over, so enjoy every moment!

TDA Global Cycling • 22nd November 2017

Don’t Be Fooled: There Are Still Plenty of Hidden Gems in Southeast Asia!

Now that we’ve reached Siem Reap, having experienced a fair whack of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, I’m pleasantly surprised at just how many hidden gems still exist in southeast Asia.

TDA Global Cycling • 5th November 2017

6 Things That Will Never Be the Same After a TDA Tour

This blog is for TDA alumni, because only someone who has spent a few months travelling with the crazy circus of a TDA tour can relate to these things that will never be the same for you again.

TDA Global Cycling • 26th October 2017

Schwalbes Pass the China Test

Regardless of how good a road might be, cycling thousands of kilometres inevitably comes with the occasional flat tire... unless your bike is sporting a nice pair of Schwalbe tires!

TDA Global Cycling • 20th October 2017

China: Bonding Despite Language Barriers

As is the case with any TDA Global Cycling trip, many of the most memorable moments for riders occur at times when you’re not sitting on the saddle.

TDA Global Cycling • 28th September 2017

Cycling China: Not as Hectic As You’ve Been Lead to Believe

As long as you’re not whizzing along with earphones in, you wait a moment after the light turns green and you keep your head on a swivel, cycling Shanghai (a city with a population of 25 million) is a breeze.

TDA Global Cycling • 5th July 2017

Sharing Laughs, Triumphs and Km’s: The TDA Alumni Community

For whatever reason, this inaugural Madagascar tour seemed to strike a chord with alumni, and in fact all four riders who achieved EFI had done at least one other TDA tour previously.

TDA Global Cycling • 21st June 2017

The Hard Work, Positive Attitude and Interesting Insight of the Malagasi Support Crew

They are a tight bunch and they have a great deal of fun amongst themselves, which keeps morale high around the lunch table and at camp.

TDA Global Cycling • 18th June 2017

Schwalbe & Madagascar: A Perfect Pairing

While Madagascar's terrain is tough, the fact that basically everyone on tour has Schwalbe tires on their bikes made these stints a little more manageable.

TDA Global Cycling • 13th June 2017

The Halfway Point: Baobab Alley Behind Us and Tsingy Road Ahead

The cooler weather has certainly made the 120km+ riding days of the last week much easier to endure, and now here we are in Antananarivo, experiencing the vibrant markets right across the street from our hotel.

TDA Global Cycling • 10th June 2017

Five Questionable Modes of Transport at the Halfway Point of Magical Madagascar

Three weeks in, TDA’s inaugural cycling tour of Madagascar is at its halfway point. After reaching Miandrivazo last week, we ditched our bicycles in exchange for a two-day boat cruise down the Tsiribihina River.

TDA Global Cycling • 30th May 2017

The Perfect Day: Cycling Through the Rainforests of Madagascar

Yesterday's ride was so incredible that I decided the best way to give people an insight into how things are going on the 2017 Magical Madagascar tour was to simply describe the day from beginning to end.

TDA Global Cycling • 23rd May 2017

Magical Madagascar Begins

Well, here it is – TDA Global Cycling’s inaugural cycling tour of Madagascar, perhaps one of Africa’s most exotic countries, has begun.

TDA Global Cycling • 22nd May 2017

The 3 Underestimates of the Tour d’Afrique’s Final Section

This was the 15th year that people from all over the world flew to Cairo with the goal of cycling all the way down to the southern tip of the continent, and every year throws different curveballs.

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