I am Stephen Lord, here seen struggling with the first puncture on a short trip along Germany’s Baltic coast, just a few kilometres into the tour. If only I’d checked the tyre thoroughly to find the bit of broken glass, I could have avoided the second puncture just a few hundred metres further on, though luckily for my waiting friends, it happened in front of an open beer garden.
I wrote the Adventure Cycle-touring Handbook (June 2006, published by Trailblazer Guides), a guidebook for bikers intending to hit the road on long overseas tours. The book has been a great way to meet more bikers and stay plugged in to the world of cycle touring when I’m at home. In fact I met Robb Maciag while working on the book. Another contributor,
Mark McLean, had met Robb in Asia and put me on to him. You can find the book in most large bookshops and loads of places on the web. I was particularly pleased that REI in the USA stock it in their camping mega-stores, as does the Adventure Cycling Association on their website.
When I’m touring, I love meeting other bikers and always like to ask them about their bikes and where they’ve been and what gear works for them. I think most bikers are like that, though some aren’t bothered about gear so much. Much of what I learn from others goes into the book and I’m always interested to hear from bikers who might have some ideas for the book or photos. I shall start writing the second edition of ACTH when I get back from this next trip and hopefully it will come out at the end of 2009.
Though I love cycling, I can’t say I’m obsessed with it. I also love long-distance walking and kayak-touring. Each has its advantages. I can carry my home on my bike, and several days of food too. I can cross continents. But walking takes me away from traffic and the risk of a traffic accident or crash. I don’t like carrying a tent and much food on my back though, it’s too heavy and uncomfortable, so I’m limited to areas where there are hostels and villages. Kayak-touring has a wonderful sense of being a part of nature due to the feeling of being close to the water in a very simple boat with no moving parts. The folding kayaks I use flex with the waves and have a very traditional feel to them. On our longest trip, a friend and I carried 10 days of food and drinking water with us on
the Green river in Utah. My longest paddle trip was 2,200km down the Danube. This photo was taken on the Elbe in April 2006. That’s a river I shall go back to, hopefully many times. The downside of travelling with kayaks is that they are useless and heavy out of the water, so it’s back to bikes, which can go anywhere as long as there’s some sort of road or track.