World Tour
On the final day of March 2019 we set off from Telford, Shropshire to circumnavigate the World on our bicycles. We planned to cycle 24,000 miles and cross more than 30 different countries.
5 Years and 1 global pandemic later we returned to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris on the 26th May 2024 to complete our circumnivation of the world by bicycle.
The stories below document our journey around the world. You can also find our route and stats here.
Here we are on Train Street, Hanoi. I’m posting this picture just because I really like it. I like that Stew’s mum managed to capture us in the moment; eagerly awaiting the train to come rushing by while we ate dinner.
You know how sometimes you can just walk into a place and feel right at home? Well that is exactly how I felt in Salon Blonde, 32 Lạc chinh, Hanoi. I hate having my hair cut by anyone who isn’t Kim, but the 10,000 miles between us making a hair cut impossible!
They came with 3 suitcases and a wheel bag delivering much needed items. Our 2 heroes brought all the snacks including chocolate hobnobs, marmite and walkers crisps.
We never planned to be in Hanoi for New Year it was more of a welcome surprise when we arrived. We were torn between staying in Hanoi or cycling to Ha Long Bay. We asked a few locals who suggested Hanoi would offer a better experience.
Vietnam and in particular, Hanoi has bought a whole new set of experiences. I’ve taken a series of videos to show you what it’s like…
The mountain views are breathtaking, especially the snowy tops. The roads are perfect for cycling. The traditional architecture is as beautiful as it looks and the changing landscapes, weather, food and cultures will keep your attention for as long as you can stay.
Our journey through China start in the Xinjiang province, to put it lightly this is not the friendliest welcome into China you’ll ever receive. Xinjiang is an automatous region of China and is a full-blown police state.
In Xinjiang we didn’t have a SIM card, so we didn’t have the “conversation” feature of Google translate. This meant we could only communicate by writing a message on our translator. Frequently people would look at my phone with the message, acknowledge it and then make no effort to help us.
Honestly, we did not expect to enjoy Shilin Stone Forest as much as we did. At an eye-watering 300yuan (£32.91) we were thinking about giving it a miss, especially as the weather was so bad yesterday.
The hotel owner invited us to sit with him and enjoy tea. For the first time we saw a Gongfu tea table, as pictured. The process of tea drinking seemed intricate and far from the mug of tea I get at home.
The ice is no more, the clouds have broken and we’re now cycling in glorious, glorious sunshine in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. The mountain roads are absolutely stunning as you can see.
This lovely lady sells street food on the back of her bicycle. What’s most impressive about this is that like most places in China this lady can accept electronic payments via WeChat.
Stew hates jet washing the bikes but they were so dirty it was just easier. We wondered if this car wash might help us out with 2 very dirty bikes. They were happy to oblige. Within moments they had the bikes in the wash!
The mountainous roads of southern China are proving a bit of a challenge. We only have to cycle an average of 40 miles a day to allow ourselves 3 days off between here and Vietnam. On a couple of days even that’s been too much.
If you’re in Shropshire make sure you pick up a copy of today’s (28.12.2019) Shropshire Star to read about our Christmas in China. I posted this picture of Stew because I love it! He’s got about 14 oranges in that bag. Someone stopped him on the road on Christmas Eve and handed them to him.
We’re in our fourth and final province, Yunnan. Tonight we’re staying in Shizi and what a warm and friendly place it is. Probably the warmest place we’ve visited in China.
I know that if I had flown to China with no experience I would look at a little cafe like this and refuse to go inside. When we walked past this little place, which was essentially in a garage, we looked at each other and said “that looks pretty clean!” Oh how standards have changed.
We plan to jump on the bike and RIDE on Christmas Day – well what else is there in China? We will ride a short day of maybe 30-40 miles, but don’t worry our shift on the bike will not be void of Christmas – we’ve been carrying this little decoration since we left home on 31st March.
We’ve been on the road for 9 months cycling almost daily and Christmas Day will be no exception… Visa time is a little tight, but there’s enough wriggle room! We need to average 50kms/day everyday to reach the Vietnamese border on time.
In Chengdu we decided to stay in a hostel and we absolutely loved it. The hostel was a welcome break from our new found norm. We played pool, spoke English, caught up with a couple of travellers, we drank beer and ate western food.
I’d never describe myself as an over-emotional person, but when I was knocked off my bike today it was one thing too many. We were riding down the scooter/bike lane less than 1km from our hostel when a scooter with 2 men on overtook me...
Sichuan, China has been a massive highlight of the trip. So cool, so beautiful and what an experience for both of us. Sichuan is closer to how we imagined China. We love seeing the Chinese architecture as we cycle by.
China is full of surprises and each province has something new to offer. A couple days ago we entered Sichuan and waved goodbye to Gansu; a province that had provided such a relief from the politics of Xinjiang.
I haven’t had a single puncture in 12,000+kms , Stew on the other hand has had 8 in China!! He had a run of getting at least 1 a day for a few days and it’s very frustrating. That being said it’s pretty common to get punctures in China due to the amount of trucks on the road.