Tag Archives: Local Culture

Why I Can’t Live In Armenia (I’m Too British)

By Tom | Published: January 23, 2010
My life is boring. My daily routine consists of getting up an hour before sunrise, going for a run, jumping into (and rapidly out of) a cold shower, having breakfast and then sitting down for an 8-to-12-hour stint in front of my computer screen. I am making websites for a living these days. It puts [...]
Posted in Off The Bike, Random Musings | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Company For Christmas In The Caucasus

By Tom | Published: December 15, 2009
It’s December and the mercury is dropping fast. This week I experienced my first morning run in the falling snow, crunching quietly in the pre-dawn blue around the faded grandeur of Victory Park and its empty dilapidated walkways, crumbling statues and rusty fairground rides. The onset of winter took me back a couple of years to [...]
Posted in Off The Bike | Also tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Join Me On Sunday – Wherever You Are

By Tom | Published: December 3, 2009
This Sunday I’ll be dashing around the streets of Yerevan on my bike, furiously trying to film a bicycle demonstration that I’ve been organising for the last few weeks, together with a group of local cyclists, as part of the Ride Planet Earth project. Kim Ngyuen’s been cycling from Australia and is poised to arrive in [...]
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How To Camp Anywhere And Not Get Busted

By Tom | Published: November 17, 2009
It’s that time again – another ‘how-to’ sharing the essential tools of the adventure cycle-touring trade. This time I’m going to deal with what is often a stressful thought for every rider: “Where the hell I am going to sleep tonight?!?”
Posted in Off The Bike, Practical Advice | Also tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Perception Versus Reality In Travel

By Tom | Published: September 30, 2009
It was late April and the Ethiopian highlands had been rolling beneath my wheels for several days. Inching towards Djibouti, I consulted detailed road-engineers’ maps of the country to plan my route, and found an enticing-looking dirt track through the Afar region of the infamous Danakil Depression. I’d developed something of a romantic fascination with this [...]
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