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This week’s episode features a really thoughtful conversation with Claire Sharpe, a mountain bike instructor, community builder, and the founder of the Bristol Rally. It's a great listen if you’re curious about bikepacking, interested in community-led events, or if you’ve ever talked yourself out of an adventure because you thought you weren’t “ready” yet. In this episode, we talk about: Coming to cycling later in life and learning by doingHow community can be a gateway into bike adventureClaire’s journey into mountain bike instruction and coaching with empathyWhy lived experience matters when helping others build confidenceThe Bristol Rally and how it’s designed to feel welcoming and accessibleBreaking down barriers through inclusive event designRoute planning, rights of way, and riding with confidence in the UKMisadventures, muddy trails, hike-a-bike moments, and why they become the best storiesWhy you don’t need to be “fit enough” before startingAll Terre (Claire’s website): https://allterre.net/ The Bristol Rally: https://allterre.net/the-bristol-rally/ Follow Claire and her bikepacking projects via the links below: Instagram: @ClaireSharpe, her website - All Terre. Check out her event - The Bristol Rally EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Seek Travel Ride has just turned three, and for this mid-week episode I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of a highlights reel, I’m sharing why this podcast exists in the first place, and what three years of conversations with bike adventurers from all over the world has taught me. In this episode we talk about Why Seek Travel Ride has always been about experiences, not gearHow experience comes after you start, not beforeWhy you don’t need to identify as a cyclist to travel by bikeChoosing your own adventure and letting go of comparisonRiding as transport and sustainabilityThe bike as a connector to people and culturesThe Seek Travel Ride community and the power of shared storiesI also share insights from a recent article by Alee Denham from CyclingAbout, which analysed years of Seek Travel Ride episodes to identify the best places in the world to travel by bike, based entirely on guest stories and lived experience. Very cool!  Listen to my previous episode with Alee here. Finally, I reflect on the community that has grown around the podcast, how it has helped people take their first adventures, and why that community is the reason Seek Travel Ride has made it to three years. Thank you for being part of the journey! EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Why does riding a bike feel like the purest way to experience the world? In this episode, I sit down with Mark Beaumont to talk about bike travel, wanderlust, and what he's learnt after spending two decades taking human powered adventures. Beyond his achievements as a world record holder, Mark also shares how his relationship with adventure has evolved over time. Why endurance is often more mental than physical, and how cycling reveals the gradual shifts between cultures, geography, and ways of life. We discuss the accountability in professional adventure, and the key differences between riding for yourself and riding for work.  We also touch on how Mark’s travels have shaped his work in sustainability, using his experience and platform to connect people, ideas, and projects that can create meaningful impact. If you’re drawn to long rides, empty roads, and travel that prioritises experience over outcomes, this conversation will resonate. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

What is it really like to bikepack the Tour Aotearoa on New Zealand’s North Island? In this midweek episode, Rebecca Gross shares her experience riding the TA, including the Timber Trail, Warm Showers hospitality, lush North Island scenery, and how well the route is managed with clear detours for trickier sections. If you are planning your own TA ride or curious about what makes this route so unique, Rebecca's update offers up great practical insight into terrain, logistics, the NZ Bike Adventure community, and what to expect when riding the trail. Later in the episode I also share where our Seek Travel Ride listeners on Instagram are planning to ride in 2026  Also be sure to check out the  Snailblazers events happening in Ireland by @SnailBlazers.cc - You can sign up for more info about them via their contact form. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

What would you do if you suddenly had four months free to take a bike adventure? For London-based outdoors lover Anna Ruddiman, the answer was simple: buy a touring bike off Facebook Marketplace, catch a ferry to Spain with her girlfriend Fran, and start pedalling east across Europe. In this episode, Anna shares how that idea turned into a four-month ride through 11 countries, wild heatwaves, Balkan backroads and dreamy alpine passes. Along the way they wild camped in secluded spots, rerouted around wildfires, dodged territorial shepherd dogs, and survived on a heroic amount of pesto pasta. We cover:  • The serendipity of both losing work & suddenly having time  • Buying second-hand touring bikes for the trip  • Why rigid planning doesn’t work for long bike travel  • Ferry crossings, river valleys & heatwaves  • The wild camping learning curve (and mysterious eyes in the dark…)  • Mechanical drama & flat tyres in Albania  • The shepherd dogs outside Athens that forced a 60 km detour  • Finishing the trip in Turkey and what comes next  • Why comparison steals the joy from adventure Route Highlights: UK → Spain → France → Italy → Slovenia → Croatia → Bosnia → Montenegro → Albania → Greece → Turkey Follow Anna on Instagram - @annaruddiman Music Pick: Anna adds “Oysters In My Pocket” by Royal Otis to the Seek Travel Ride playlist. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

This week I'm  sharing some awesome bike adventure gear hacks from those of you in the community.  I also have an update from Giacomo Turco, who is currently on a huge ride from Cape Town to Italy. Giacomo is updating us from Benin and sharing how the journey has been so far on his bikepacking adventure. He talks about the intensity of the trip, how each day comes with new experiences, and also challenges.  He describes the challenges of getting visas for countries, a crazy experience of being invited as a guest to a wedding, and also the scary moment of being assaulted while in Cameroon, and how it nearly made him stop the journey. Giacomo also candidly discusses how despite the finish of his trip being almost a year away, he is already finding himself concerned with thoughts of dealing with post adventure blues.  You can follow Giacomo's journey via his instagram page - @cycling.beyond and also find out more about his work on the Water Cycle.  EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

In Part 2 of my conversation with Irish cyclist Tomas Mac An T-Saoir, we continue his nine-year journey around the world by bicycle. We begin in Syria and Afghanistan, where Tomas shares what it was like to travel through regions affected by conflict and have frank, human conversations with the people who live there. One powerful story includes an Afghan woman who was permitted by local authorities to guide him through her city, offering him a rare window into daily life under restrictive laws. From the Middle East, our conversation shifts right back to New Zealand, where this chapter of Tomas’s journey actually began, and where Covid lockdowns meant he ended up staying far longer than he ever expected. His time in New Zealand eventually led to Australia,  and onward to Timor Leste and Indonesia, where he dealt with blistering heat, remote roads and even a major earthquake on the Indonesian side of Timor. We also explore something many long-term travellers quietly struggle with: finishing. After nine years of life on the road, how do you return home? What happens to your identity when the bike stops moving? And how do you make sense of everything you have seen and experienced along the way? If you are interested in bikepacking, long-term travel, culture, human stories and round-the-world cycling, this episode offers an honest look at both the extraordinary and the everyday parts of life on the road. Follow Tomas on Instagram - @anbotharfada 📍 Listen to Part 1: Meet the Irishman who Cycled Around the World — Tomas Mac An T-Saoir (Part 1) Episodes mentioned during this conversation: Peter Gostelow - Part 1 and Part 2 Heinz Stucke - Part 1 and EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

This week I'm sharing a recap from our recent live shows which were held in Melbourne with guests Emily Hulbert, Fergal Guihen, and David McCourt. We  discuss tips on facing fears head on, wild camping, and the importance of leaning into adventure during these long kind of travel journeys. The kindness of strangers shines throughout our panelists stories and Em Hulbert also shares her perspective of travel as a solo female. Want to hear my full length episodes with these guests? check them out below: Emily Hulbert Fergal Guihen - Part 1 and Part 2 David McCourt - Part 1 and Part 2 You can also follow them on their social media channels below Emily Hulbert -@emhulbert Fergal Guihen - @Rossie_to_Aussie David McCourt - @longwayhome__2022 EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Ever wanted to go on a bike adventure that takes you from one side of the world to the other? Which countries would you choose to travel to? How do you decide where to go? Well this week I speak with Irish adventurer Tomas Mac An T-Saoir to hear all about his incredible travels across the last decade.  Follow Tomas on instagram to see where his future adventures take him: @anbotharfada Other guests mentioned in this episode: Rebecca Lowe EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Ever wanted to cycle in Kyrgyzstan? Well this week adventurer Olly Hargreaves is going to take us on his cycle tour and let us know what it's like to actually ride there. Goign up huge mountain passes, riding alongside the amazing Lake Issyk Kul, Olly tells us all about it as he shares the moments cycling from Osh all the way across Kyrgyzstan and into Kazakhstan, ultimately finishing in Almaty.  You can follow Olly's adventures via his instagram account - @Sagas.of_Olly.Hargreaves EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

What happens when two bike adventurers meet outside a supermarket in Turkey, buy a kebab, and end up riding more than half the world together? I sat down with Jamie Hargreaves and Malachi Francis just days after they rolled into the Sydney Opera House, for an in person interview We talk about how fast friendships form on the road, the reality behind the hardest days, and why some of the most miserable moments become the most meaningful in hindsight. Jamie reflects on following in his dad Phill's tyre tracks decades later, Malachi opens up about dealing with setbacks on the road and  together they talk about what it really means to share a journey this big. From cycling through Turkey, Nepal, and Central Asia to sleeping in toilets, carrying bikes to base camp, and rolling into the Sydney Opera House together this episode is honest, reflective, and sure to make you laugh. Listen to the previous episodes with both Jamie and Malachi here: Malachi Francis - Ep 102 Jamie Hargreaves - Ep 107 Jamie and Malachi - Ep 126 - Himalayan Challenge Phill Hargreaves Part 1 and Part 2 Follow them on Instagram - @J.A.hargreaves @Malachi_Cycles EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

This week I'm sharing some of my own riding adventures - specifically ones I took just a few days ago over Christmas. I was camped by the Ovens River near Bright in Victoria, and I enjoyed some fantastic riding. This included a memorable cycle to The Horn, a lookout located 11kms further on from Mount Buffalo in Victoria. It's a climb I'd dreamt of riding for over a decade, and I'm sharing my experience of that ride now with you. If you are interested in learning more about the riding around this area of Victoria, check out - Ride High Country, which is a great site for planning out your own stays. For those in Melbourne get yourself tickets to our upcoming live shows: January 07 - Antique Bar, Elsternwick January 08 - Moondog Wild West, Footscray Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Claire Wyatt returns for part two of her Mongolia to UK journey, sharing her experiences of cycling across winter roads, what it's like to hear wolves outside your tent in the night,the illness that put her in hospital and nearly ended her ride half way through and dreamy cycle routes through Northern Italy.  Claire also offers up practical advice for anyone wanting to start out on their own bike adventure, from choosing kit that actually matters - spoiler alert you'll want to get yourself some gardening gloves! - to how she plans out her routes.  This is part 2 of my conversation with Claire - listen to part 1 here. Follow Claire's future adventures via her instagram - @exploringbybicycle EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Guest Steven Cuthbertson takes us on a ride from Romania to the UK. He shares  the story of a 1,700 mile solo bike ride across Europe, ridden in support of a dog rescue charity that helped re-home his Romanian Shepherd dog, Stella. Steve’s journey begins in Romania, at the very kennels where Stella once lived, before heading west through Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and finally back to the UK. Along the way, he follows parts of the EuroVelo network,  adapts his route when plans change, and discovers just how important flexibility can be on a long ride. You can read about the full adventure in Steven's book - Going to the Dogs  EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

Claire Wyatt shares what it was like to be Cycling solo from Mongolia all the way back home to the UK We also candidly discuss the reality of life on the road beyond the highlight reels. Riding through torrential rain for days. Camping in flooded fields. Battling extreme cold in Mongolia and brutal heat across Europe. Facing fear, self doubt, and the weight of other people’s worries. And learning to enjoy the hard moments just as much as the good ones. We cover: What it felt like to leave Mongolia and ride into remote wildernessThe reality of bad days on long bike journeysRiding through extreme weather and harsh conditionsManaging fear and other people’s concerns as a solo womanActs of kindness that kept Claire moving forwardRoute decisions from Central Asia through EuropeA last minute decision to cycle across the PamirsThe mental shift that happens once you finish a long-held dreamPost-adventure blues and the power of micro adventuresWhy nature and solitude matter so much after coming homeCheck Claire out on Instagram via : @exploringbybicycle Previous episodes with Claire; Cycling Across Australia Part 1 Cycling Across Australia Part 2 Cycling Across SE Asia  Other guests mentioned in this episode: Terri Jockerst Laura Bastioli EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/STR Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  Check out Old Man Mountain for the perfect way to carry gear on your bike. Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉 Zorali 👉 Helinox 👉 Ombraz 👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRide Facebook - Seek Travel Ride YouTube - @SeekTravelRide Seek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music