In 2009, our founder Oli Broom left his desk job to cycle 28,000 kms from London to Brisbane, a tale he recounts in his book Cycling to the Ashes. Oli knew he wanted to do something epic and challenging, and was inspired by those who had undertaken great adventures before him.
Here are just some of the great adventurers and explorers – and their wonderful books – who influenced Oli’s cycle across the world and continue to inspire us today.
Laurie Lee
In 1934, aged 19, Lee left Gloucestershire to find out what else the world had to offer. Armed with a violin and one Spanish phrase “un vaso de agua, por favor,” he wandered through Spain, a country on the brink of civil war. Without a plan, he embraced each day’s uncertainty, travelled slowly, lived simply, slept on hilltops, relished spontaneity and conversed with strangers. His poetic account captures villagers’ struggle to survive and the timeless romance of youth – the desire to discover the world, wandering in benign aimlessness.
Read: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee
Alastair Humphreys
At 24, Humphreys embarked on a four-year 6,000-mile odyssey across the earth’s great landmasses, cycling through 60 countries while sailing the oceans between continents. This was an adventure that inspired breaking from convention to experience the true emotions that come from life on a bike: euphoric, boring, unrelenting, unique, exhausting, spontaneous, liberating and lonely. Dubbed “the first great adventure of the new millennium” by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Humphreys risked giving up everything for something he may never find. He chose his road and chose to ride it well.
Read: Moods of Future Joys by Alistair Humphreys
Elspeth Beard
In 1982, when she was 23, Beard embarked on a two-year solo motorcycle journey around the world, becoming one of the first British women to do so. In the face of misogyny, she covered 35,000 miles traversing through North America, Australasia, Asia and Europe. Amidst hospitalisation, hepatitis, biker gangs and forgery, this is a story of transformation, self-reliance and the intensity of the open road. To Beard, adventure lies in embracing the times when things don’t go to plan, testing yourself and finding out who you are. The people you encounter, the breakdowns, getting lost: these experiences are the journey, and they don’t happen if you are rushing through.
Read: Lone Rider: The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World by Elspeth Beard
Rory Stewart
“There are three meters of snow on the high passes, there are wolves, and this is a war. You will die, I can guarantee.”
In 2002, just six weeks after the Taliban’s fall, Stewart walked across Afghanistan from Herat to Kabul. Following in the footsteps of the emperor Babur, Stewart journeyed through a country ravaged by war and through snowy mountains relying on the kindness of strangers to stay alive. Sleeping on villagers’ floors and sharing their meals, he encountered tribal elders, teenage soldiers, and Taliban commanders. This perilous journey on foot is marked by resilience, beauty and human connections amidst conflict.
Read: The Places In Between by Rory Stewart
Fran Sandham
Driven by a desire to escape London life, Sandham embarked on a 3,000-mile trek across Africa. From Namibia’s Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar. With no grand plan, he traversed deserts, the Caprivi Strip and past Victoria Falls and Lake Malawi. He encountered landmines, bandits, malaria and a particularly troublesome syphilitic donkey. There was no profound reason for his odyssey but the desire to live with purpose and to have the freedom to be oneself. Through the simple act of walking, he discovered more than just Africa’s landscapes.
Read: Traversa by Fran Sanham
Rob Lilwall
In 2004, a high-school geography teacher left his job and arrived in Siberia with a bicycle. This began a three-year journey cycling back home. Starting in Magadan, along Stalin’s ‘Road of Bones’, in -40 degrees, he faced frozen rivers and wolf packs. His journey led him through the jungles of Papua New Guinea, being chased by machete-wielding bandits, hitchhiking across the ocean from Hong Kong to Australia and through the war-torn Hindu Kush. Amidst the isolation and hardships, Lilwall found profound beauty in simple moments, the warmth of strangers, sunsets and even his future wife. This ordinary man’s pilgrimage became a testament to human kindness and endurance.
Read: Cycling Home From Siberia by Rob Lilwall
Read more about Oli’s story. Or, if you’d like an adventure of your own, see the places you can explore on two wheels with The Slow Cyclist.
