Daragh Cronin is back with a wild update from his Cork to Everest Base Camp ride. This time he shares with us the extraordinary hospitality of Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. Then every bike travellers nightmare, a flat refusal at the Federal Iraq border crossing derailing his plans for his route.

This led Daragh to have to re-route through Dubai and Kuwait City where the intensity of the trip got turned to the max when he found himself trying to cycle through the desert in extreme heat leading to a stint in hospital to be treated for heatstroke.

Follow along with Daragh via his instagram - @roaminwithcronin

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This is a live show, recorded on stage at the Antique Bar in Melbourne. Joining me on stage were three guests who between them have cycled through some of the most remote, challenging and eye-opening places on earth, Fergal Guihen, Em Hulbert and David McCourt.

Fergal cycled from Roscommon, Ireland to Sydney via Mauritania, Iran, Afghanistan, the Tibetan Plateau and beyond. Em Hulbert is mid-journey on a solo ride around the world, delivering water filters to communities in need through her project The Water Cycle. David McCourt set off from Melbourne bound for Northern Ireland, taking a route through Central Asia, Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal and Turkey that took years and produced stories he'll be dining out on forever.

In this episode we cover:

• Going from thought bubble to turning pedals
• Luxury items on the bike and what actually earns its place
• Perceptions versus reality: China, Iran, Bangladesh and Thailand
• Getting drugged and robbed in the Iranian desert
• A sex dungeon in rural Thailand at 4am after 250 kilometres
• The Nullarbor without music, podcasts or any distraction at all
• Solo female bicycle travel and the extra layer that comes with it
• The spaces in between and why that's where the magic happens
• Why the hardest moments are the ones you'd go back and relive

Want to hear the full individual episodes with each guest? Find them here:

• Em Hulbert: Ep. 127:
• David McCourt: Ep. 99: and Ep. 120.
• Fergal Guihen: Ep. 144 and Ep. 145:

Follow the guests on Instagram:

• Em Hulbert: @emhulbert
• Fergal Guihen: @rossi.to.aussie
• David McCourt: @longwayhome__2022

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James Baile, along with two complete strangers (one of which hadn't ridden a bike since he was 13!) packed their Bromptons into IKEA bags and flew to Dakar. What followed was two weeks riding through Senegal and The Gambia: navigating Dakar rush hour, camping on school playgrounds by invitation of village chiefs, pushing loaded folding bikes through sand that felt like treacle, and sparking conversations with strangers over football allegiances.

In this episode we talk about:

• How a Facebook post about the Tropic of Cancer set the whole thing in motion
• What it's actually like to tour on a Brompton
• Riding a route that goes from the edges of the Sahara Desert to the beginnings of West African forest
• The reality of border crossings into Senegal and The Gambia for European travellers
• Taking an overnight ferry back to Dakar with Bromptons as hand luggage
• Why going somewhere with zero expectations means everything exceeds them
• James's next big adventure connecting a journey he started back in 1986

Give James a follow via his instagram - @jamesb.adventures and you can also listen to the previous episode with him here.

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Roisin Gallagher has cycled over 17,000 kilometres across two continents. Her adventure started by riding the Baja Divide with her partner before continuing through Mexico and Central America. After seven months on the road together, their relationship ended and instead of flying home, Roisin bought a one-way ticket to Japan and kept riding.

Roisin has now arrived in Istanbul to share the story so far. We chat loads about her route, the physical and mental side of bike travel and a whole heap about food!

In this episode:

• The brutal physical reality of bikepacking the Baja Divide
• Cycling the Nicoya Peninsula route in Costa Rica
• Three months cycling in Japan
• Wildcamping solo as a woman
• Cycling the Transdinarica Route through the Balkans
• The Croatian bora wind that trapped her for five days
• Getting to Istanbul on a sushi delivery truck
• A night in Bosnia drinking rakia with three war veterans until 3am
• Durmitor National Park as an unexpected landscape revelation
• Food - glorious food!

You can follow Roisin's adventure via her instagram - @ontheroadwithro

Check out Old Man Mountain's new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

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👉 Zorali

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Brian Sampson is cycle touring the world to tick off every destination from the book 'The Thousand Places to See Before You Die' This month's update covers the end of his time in China and his first stretch riding through England and Wales.

Brian shares his experiences of:

• Sleeping in temples and stealth camping in multiple continents
• Visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
• Daily routines and how they change with climate and daylight hours.
• Welcome to My Garden vs Warmshowers
• A crazy experience of encountering a mountain lion on the Pacific Coast Highway
• Reverse culture shock going from China to cycling through England and Wales.

Follow Brian via his instagram page - @Brian.Sampson4

You can also check out his blog for a breakdown of his experiences so far.

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Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

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A few weeks ago Robbie was 500 kilometres into the Monaro Cloudride, a thousand-kilometre ultra race through the Australian high country, when a night-time Snowy River crossing went very wrong.

They ended up stranded on a tiny island in the middle of the river with their bike, waiting for a rescue helicopter to winch them out.

Robbie shares their experiences of this event including he decision to cross at night, what happens when fast water takes you down, the hours of calm problem-solving from a very small island, and what every bike adventurer should know about calling for help without shame.

Since recording, I'm glad to say Robbie has been reunited with their bike, and Guinness World Records has officially confirmed their record as the first openly trans person to circumnavigate the globe by bike. What a legend!

Listen to the first episode with Robbie about their world record ride.

Follow Robbie via their instagram - @DirtDropRobbie

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Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

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You're four days out of London, somewhere in northern France, and every evening you check in with your body to decide how far you'll ride tomorrow. Nobody is telling you where to be. This is your life now.

Milica Kovačević was commuting through London on her bike, listening to this podcast for inspiration to take her own bike adventure. Then she decided it was time to leave the city, and that's when she started dreaming about cycling from London to Vukovar, Croatia, where her grandmother and mother are waiting for her.

Milica let's us know how she prepared for the trip, including practicing bike mechanics on friends' bikes before she left, and how she plans out her days on the road. She also shares about the nervousness that creeps in the days leading up to going, and how turning the pedals is the best way to rid yourself of them.

This is the first of several check-ins as Milica makes her way across Europe. Follow along as she rides home.

Topics covered:

• Cycle touring from London to Croatia
• How to prepare for a long-distance bike tour
• Solo cycling as a woman in Europe
• Touring with minimal planning
• Bike mechanics for beginners
• What to pack for a long bike tour
• Cycling through France, Belgium, and beyond
• Human connection on the road

Follow Milica's journey: @2Wheels1Milikov

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Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

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Eleanor Hulm left Bangkok on a loaded bike she'd just assembled in a hotel room at 6am, sleep-deprived, slightly terrified, and laughing her way through the traffic. Four months later she's ridden solo through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan and she's just getting started.

In this episode you'll hear about:

• The 20km of peanut butter mud in Laos that nearly broke her
• Pushing a loaded bike up a 20% gradient in Thailand until her cycling shoes had to come off
• Pako, a bikepacker from Chengdu who taught her to knock on strangers' doors and trust what comes next
• What Eleanor calls the mind prison, and why the road gave her the mind palace instead
• The moment of awe when she cycled past Mount Fuji
• Signing up for the Transpyrenees ultra race with half the world still left to ride

Eleanor is heading next into China, the Stans, Georgia and Turkey before cycling home to the UK. Be sure to follow her adventures via her instagram - @elbybike

Check out Old Man Mountain's new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle

Support the show

Buy me a coffee!

I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including:

👉 CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!)

👉 Zorali

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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