TravelBlog » Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike

Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike - Erika Bird and Robin Searle

We are Erika and Robin from Scotland (well Robin ıs kind of from Cymru/Wales really)and in April 2005 we quit our jobs and set off to cycle from Scotland to İstanbul.

We reached İstanbul in October 2005 having discovered that cycling truly is the best way to travel and so decided to keep going beyond the Bosphorous......

We had never cycled any long distance before but had been wanting to travel for a long time and had finally saved enough and realised ıf we didnt set off now we never would. We decided cycling would be the best form of transport as we wanted to learn more about the countries and people we passed through at a slow pace.
Also we are useless at makıng decisions so settıng off from our home on bikes at least solved the problem of where to go first!

The plan was to cycle across Europe to İstanbul. We also wanted to travel overland through Asia and then somehow get to South America too, but havıng never cycled more than a few mıiles a day before we did not want to commit to cyclıng all the way. By the time we reached İstanbul we had already decided to keep on riding, and even being run off the road on the way into the city - requirıng hospital treatment - did not put us off this ıdea.

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Joined on: March 18th 2005
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Banchory-to-the-Bosphorous-by-Bike, order by Date newest first.

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
April 25th 2008

On the Trail of Uncle Ho - Vietnam

Asia » Vietnam

Duck Seller
Pleiku

Borders are rarely this significant. Usually the fact that some imaginary line on a map has been crossed does not actually show itself on the ground. The Laos-Vietnam border is different; we went from a steep, almost vertical, climb up through thick jungle to a sudden line of no trees, flat, bare ground and huge excavators eating away more of the hillsides. Suddenly there was a 6 lane road and houses everywhere. These houses were not the bamboo and hardwood huts we were used to, they were tiny concrete boxes, housing large families plus their motos. Now “motos’’ (scooters and motorbikes) [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
March 23rd 2008

Down the Mekong - Southern Laos

Asia » Laos » South » Attapeu

The Mirror Tree

The long flat road stretched out endlessly south from Vientienne. The first day was ok; we made good progress despite a relentless headwind and towards the end of the day the forested hills of a National Park loomed up to the left of the road. We checked into a nice little guesthouse and set out to find the market in the tiny town. We managed to stock up with bananas and peanuts, which are about the only snack food we have found in this country. It was only then that we noticed the other more exotic foods for sale: kingfishers, herons [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
February 26th 2008

Lethargic Laos

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

Golden Wat, Luang Prabang

Ask me what I did in Laos I will say not much. Even though we have cycled from the Chinese border south to Vientienne we have also spent a lot of time still and resting. Drinking lots of wonderful 'Beer Lao' and eating many baguettes and doughnuts, we are definitely appreciating a rest and relaxation. Maybe it is where we are in our journey but I think that more likely it is Laos; it really is an infectiously lazy place. So we are off to drink lovely rich chocolatey Lao coffee, maybe iced with condensed milk added. A wander round the [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
January 25th 2008

Tibet to the Tropics: Yunnan

Asia » China » Yunnan

Tiger Leaping Gorge
The upstream end, where the wide and peaceful Yangtze is forced into a narrow, angry monster beneath the long, spiked back of the Jade Dragon Mountain.

We had done it, we were officially out of the permit zone that is the Tibet Autonomous Region, but in Zhongdian we were still very much in Tibet. The faces, clothing and houses all still looked Tibetan. Above the 'old town' stands a prominent Tibetan Gompa with an even more prominent prayer wheel next to it. In fact this is allegedly the biggest prayer wheel in the world, and as it takes at least 3 people to start turning the thing it’s not hard to believe it. The town is surrounded by pine forested hills and wide grasslands alongside the lake, [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
December 23rd 2007

The (Iced) Tea Road: Lhasa to Yunnan

Asia » China » Yunnan » Shangri-La

Namche Barwa
At roughly 7,900m the world's 15th highest peak, from the top of a frozen Sekye La.

I am wearing most of my clothes; leggings, trousers and waterproof over trousers, 5 tops, a down jacket and my over jacket, plus two hats, 3 pairs of gloves and 2 pairs of socks. My fingers and toes are still completely frozen, but none of this is bothering me as the amazing night sky full of stars is reflected in the big river which is gently flowing past me on my right. The moon rose at about 4 am as we were packing up our camp, struggling with the ice encrusted tent and stiff bags. Now this silver light casts long [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
November 14th 2007

Chomolungma and The Friendship Highway

Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Chomolungma Sunset

From a narrow point in the valley we glimpse the friendship highway for the first time. Wow, we have been cycling to this point for so long and now the road to Kathmandu is before us, but happily we do not have to turn right up the long climb and another 5000 m high pass. Instead we turn left and downhill for once towards Lhasa, passing a large chorten and ruined fortifications, and swing on to the wide but surprisingly still bumpy and corrugated main road. White washed Traditional Tibetan houses dot the valley and loads of ruined forts and manor [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
October 31st 2007

Across the Wild West: Kailash to the Friendship Highway

Asia » China » Tibet

Gang Benchen at sunrise.

The road east from Horchu was bad and we were climbing up towards the high pass of Maryam La. Those two nights were really cold, but the scenery was great. A big salt lake surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of kiang (Tibetan wild ass). That morning we were able to act as hosts as we shared a cup of tea with a nomad guy who was walking across the vast wide valley, presumably to get to the houses on the far side. As we got close to the pass though we were greeted by yelling happy children, part of nomad families, [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
October 20th 2007

To the Holy Mountain: Ali to Kailash

Asia » China » Tibet

Kailash North Face at Sunset

After a short but well earned rest at Ali it was time to leave again. We had not quite got used to our luxury room with en-suite, breakfast and TV. This was good since we needed to be tough. We had passed the least inhabited stretch of our route across Tibet but the road ahead was not going to fall below 4000 metres until Lhatse, well over 1000km to the east and mostly along the same terrible unsurfaced roads. The first day was a breeze: fresh legs, good new tarmac and easy passes. Leaving Ali we cycled across the Indus valley [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
October 9th 2007

The 219 - The Road Sublime: Kashgar to Ali

Asia » China » Tibet

Chang Thang
Approaching Tibet at last.

High altitude, thin, freezing dry air; intense harsh sunlight, galeforce winds with sub-zero windchill, hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of the worst road surface imaginable; deep soft sand or gravel, rutted, corrugated dirt tracks, many stretches with no water or food for tens or hundreds of kilometres, dozens of high passes, no shower or even a wash for weeks, and nightime temperatures of -25 degrees C or lower. Welcome to the 219; Not an Easy Road, in fact probably one of the hardest and worst roads in the world, but at the same time one of the best and most rewarding. [View Full Entry]

By Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike
September 15th 2007

Turkish China

Asia » China » Xinjiang » Kashgar

Muztagh Ata

The Traffic Hotel in Tashkurgan loomed high and soviet-esque above us. It looks a bit posh and expensive I say to Robin, so does this whole place he replies. It was true China looked amazingly different to Pakistan. We noticed it immediately on crossing the border at the top of the Khunjerab Pass, even close to 5000m the Chinese have managed to build a super wide and smooth perfect new road. We watched the miles slide by effortlessly and we lamented the fact that Chinese regulations meant we were on the bus at all, but we were together with our soldier [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike

Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike | Erika Bird and Robin Searle | Travel Blog

Banchory to the Bosphorous by Bike - Erika Bird and Robin Searle

Blogs & Travel Journals

On the Trail of Uncle Ho - Vietnam

Down the Mekong - Southern Laos

Lethargic Laos

Tibet to the Tropics: Yunnan

The (Iced) Tea Road: Lhasa to Yunnan

Chomolungma and The Friendship Highway

Across the Wild West: Kailash to the Friendship Highway

To the Holy Mountain: Ali to Kailash

The 219 - The Road Sublime: Kashgar to Ali

Turkish China