Bikepacker - Andrew John Ganner

“2001 a Bike Odyssey - Memorablog”. This blog is a memorial blog to the 2001 bikepacking trip which started out from central England on 1st June of that year. It is being updated every few days - exactly five years after the original trip took place, and written word for word from Andy Ganner’s journal. Andy Ganner set out with three people he had only met through the internet to travel completely by bike to Singapore. The planned route was eastwards across Siberia, and then down through Mongolia and China, finally crossing South East Asia to reach Singapore sometime early the following year. This journal is a memory to the good times (of which there were many), and the bad times. How we dealt with group politics, border problems, bike breakdowns, stress, illness, serious injury, and encounters with; military and rebel units, wild animals, and the break up of the group when least expected. To the reader: I sincerely hope you enjoy and are inspired by this memorablog, enjoy the photos, and please do not ask who made it eventually to Singapore… if anyone made it! I guarantee, it will be a surprise!! Enjoy…

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Joined on: June 1st 2006
Last Login: November 29th 2008

Blog Entries: 120
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Bikepacker, order by Date newest first.

By Bikepacker
April 4th 2007

2001 England to Singapore Bike Odyssey - Where are We Now (5 years After)? Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate

Reunion 2006 - New York State
We had our first reunion just over 4 years later at Scott's wedding in New york State. He's the first of us to get married and all of us just HAD TO be there!

FIVE YEARS AFTER - 10th April 2007. Time is an elusive thing - you can’t touch or hold it, you can’t speed it up or slow it down, it deposes kings, it moves mountains, it fades our memories, it strengthens bonds. Fives years after the England to Singapore bike trip, the five core members of the team have stayed in touch, met up for a reunion, and changed their lives completely. In this blog entry I’d like to briefly tell you what has happed to the other members of the group and to myself - this has been another amazing [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
April 2nd 2007

The Breaking Up of our Glorious Friendship - Goodbye Dear Friends... Asia » Singapore

Singapore Split-Up
At Hwachong College. This was our last group photo at the end of a talk. The day after our tightly-knit group began to go its own way...

Day 302, 29th March Around Singapore Today was our rest day, the first of a few that would shape our futures, and a good day to nurse a well-deserved hangover! We went for breakfast at the Fat Frog and then to check email. I had nothing from Kathryn which was a surprise, still, I sent her a mail and a block sender to everyone on my list to say we’d made it. The guys went to the pics while I went back to the hostal to pack my stuff ready to cycle to Lynley’s place on Bukit Timah Road. She’s a [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 28th 2007

WE FINALLY MADE IT!: Adventure's End - SINGAPORE ! Asia » Singapore » Sentosa Island

What a Feeling !
When one reaches a goal after so much struggle the feeling is so utterly amazing and so utterly un-describable. FACT: Stoke on Trent to Singapore is 13,661.82 Miles (not as the crow flies)!

Day 300, 27th March Johor Bahru - SINGAPORE This was it - our 300th day - 13,700 miles cycling - Singapore in our sights. We woke up at the crack of dawn, all excited oand anxious about our last day’s cycling together. Mr Chow cooked breakfast for us at the hostel and then we left at ten. John, a guy from the Singapore Sports Council had arranged to meet us at the Caltex petrol station just north of the Johor railway station at half-past. When we arrived there, there were some excited cyclists from the Singapore Cycling Assosiation waiting to accompany [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 26th 2007

The Final Leg - after 13,500 miles cycling: Singapore awaits us... Asia » Malaysia » Johor » Johor Bahru

Nearly There...
10 Months, 13,500 miles, 22 countries later... we stand, burnt, bleached, bony, and dare I say - brave! We stuck together despite what the world could throw at us. Now: THE FINALE...

Day 298, 25th March Melaka - Muar - Batu Pahat We awoke at around seven, or was it eight, and went for a slap up breakfast dowstairs. This was the day that we would travel again together as one group, after 6 weeks apart. We packed our panniers, loaded our bikes, and - there was an amazing amount of arsing about before we set off just after eleven on our final leg… We had people from the hostel taking photos and waving us off as we left, it felt somewhat strange to me, I was just a guy on a bike, [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 24th 2007

Friends Reunited - We gather for the Final Leg in Melaka Asia » Malaysia » Melaka » Melaka City

Melaka Paradox
Standing in a Portuguese Fort, looking at a Dutch Gravestone, in the distance British Colonial architecture, and sitting in the steps - a Muslim couple.

Day 294, 21st March Melaka This is it - I’ve come this far… It’s the last real stop on the odyssey…next big stop is the culmination of 10 months of Blood, Sweat, and Tears - Singapore. By pumping the pedals day after day 13,000 miles brings me to Melaka. I now have the first inkling of how those first Portuguese, Dutch or British colonisers must have felt after such a huge voyage of stress and hardship. I can’t imagine a journey by sea, would it have been easier to do than overlanding it? I have to pinch myself - am I [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 20th 2007

The Coastal Route - keeping klear of Kuala Asia » Malaysia

Peace Maaaan !!!!
The symbol of peace in the east - the Swastika. Unfortunately, a little man with a moustache in the west 70 years ago gave it another use...

Day 291, 18th March Jeram - Kelang - Morib As I dozed off last night there was a strobe-effect of distant lightning on my tent that lasted more than an hour, but no thunder. Animals kept me alert last night. All kinds of beasties were lurking around my tent having a nosy at the ‘New Arrival’ in their jungle realm. I remembered a guy in Gergetown telling me we had crossed the so-called ‘Darwin Line’, a point where species drastically change. South of the Darwin Line lies Malaysia, Indonesia, Australasia, and the Pacific islands. The guy, can’t remember hi [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 17th 2007

Crazy Roads - Jungle Camping - Exotic Creatures Asia » Malaysia » Perak » Ipoh

A Break from the Traffic
The Malaysian roads are narrow, busy, and stressful. This is a rare glimpse of a cyclists dream road through the jungle. Still, I'm alive and privileged to be here...

Day 288, 15th March Georgetown - Butterworth - Simpang - Jaram Mas It should be less than two weeks now before we arrive in Singapore and we are all alone doing our own thing! The trip is nearing completion, I wonder how I’ll feel when I actually arrive there? Actually, I feel a mixture of emotions; happiness, sadness, excitement, and a fear of the unknown… I awoke before anyone else in the dorm, packed quietly as not to wake anybody, and left the hostel by 8am. It was a national Muslim holiday today, so I expected it to be quiet. It [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 13th 2007

Ringgits, Rubber-Stamps, and Remnants of an Imperial Time... Asia » Malaysia » Penang » George Town

Penang - A Melting Pot
The culture of the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Europeans, and the predominant Muslim religion are evident around every corner in Georgetown. This place is a perfect example of a multi-cultural society wor... [more]

Day 285, 12th March Georgetown It felt great to spend the night actually sleeping and not having to think about wild animals and gunmen attacking me in my tent. So, I got a lie in…. Today was the inevitable ‘Lazy Day’ doing virtually nothing apart from wandering around town, buying food, getting stamps, eating food, writing letters, eating more food…and so on. All that weight I’d lost cycling over the last weeks, I piled back on in a few short hours! There were a lot of interesting travelers back at the hostel, most of which had interesting stories [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 13th 2007

An un-wanted Appointment with Drug Smugglers... Asia » Malaysia

Welcome to Malaysia
Where the people still smile and are genuinely happy to see a foreigner on his bike passing through their country.

Day 283, 10th March Kaki Bukit - Kangar - Alor Setar - Yan The bear didn’t return again last night and I surprisingly slept well despite nearly being mauled to death. So, when it was light enough, I hurriedly packed my tent, loaded my bike up, and decided to get the hell out of this jungle before anything else crazy happened. Back on the small road I had a two-mile climb which I didn’t really need, but was rewarded by the view from the top. Early morning mists rose from the misty hills which was the jungle / rainforest, whever you [View Full Entry]

By Bikepacker
March 8th 2007

Nobody told me that Bears attack in Malaysia! Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Trang

Thai / Malay Border
Arriving at this remote border post just minutes before it closed after cycling over 100 miles in the blistering heat - I was now in Malaysia, and had to find a place to free-camp in the thick jungle.... [more]

Day 281, 8th March Ko Lanta - Sikao - Trang I awoke at first light on the beach. Packed my tent, got on my bike and set out early taking the little long-boat over the water to the small Ko Lanta island, and then crossed to catch the big ferry to the Thai mainland. Ther were two Dutch couples on the ferry, all retired, doing a two-month bike tour of Thailand - respect! Once on the mainland I battled the headwind for the first 20 miles back to onto the main route number 4 south. The wind seemed relentless. When I [View Full Entry]

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