On The Un-Road: 5,650km

Posted on April 2, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Your bike is discovery; your bike is freedom. It doesn’t matter where you are, when you’re on the saddle, you’re taken away.”

“All my troubles disappear once I pedal my bike.” Kevin turned to me on our second day of riding and announced that he would love to create a bumper sticker that said just that and attach it to the back of his bike. Though we had both been suffering from stomach problems (which I am quick to blame on the deathly spicy chowmein we consumed), the beautiful landscape we found ourselves cycling through was enough to dispel our stomach troubles. After a magnificent downhill through the small farming villages doted along the hillside, we arrived at the valley were we found ourselves following a river. Kevin, being an avid fisherman, proposed we stop early for the day in order to spend the afternoon exploring the river. I readily agreed, and spent a peaceful afternoon bathing, wandering, and watching life slowly pass by me.

On The Road Again: 5,500km

Posted on April 1, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“…How do you catch a cloud and pin it down.”

Leaving Kathmandu was hell. It was busy, complicated, and represented everything I have grown to hate about cities. About an hour in Kevin turned around and grinned at me as he exclaimed, “this is the coolest thing I have ever done.” Though I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the maze we were trying to extract ourselves from, I had to stop for a moment and remember that this really is the coolest thing I have ever done. That even if I am momentarily annoyed at the cars, dust, and people, there is still no where else I would rather be. The day steadily improved as Kevin and I soon found ourselves cycling up and down through the foothills of the Himalayas, surrounded by more farms and goats than cars. It was our first day cycling together, and though he was faster than me on the up hills, I could usually catch up on the downhills and flats. Overall our riding seemed very compatible.

Time To Cycle

Posted on March 23, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There’s something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym.”

After a four month break, a break about three and a half months longer than I had planned for, I am ready to hop back in the saddle and become a cycle-tourer again. India and Nepal have proven to be more of a cultural tour than anything else, which is exactly what I wanted. I have spent more time off the bike than actually riding, but I have also had some absolutely amazing experiences. Now though, I’m ready to start cycling a bit more, continuing to gather cultural stories as I go of course.

My Little Love Story

Posted on March 11, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed, maybe they’re supposed to run wild until they find someone, just as wild, to run with.”

You know that scene in a movie where the girl runs into some guys arms in the airport and they just stand there, holding each other, as if the thousands of rushed travelers around them seem to melt away? Yeah, you know that scene, and yesterday, I was that lucky girl. This very real movie-like moment took place at the Kathmandu airport when Kevin and his bicycle arrived in Nepal to join me.

Living A Double Life

Posted on January 24, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“The journey itself is my home.”

It has been nearly two months since I have cycled, and it will be a few more until I start again. I say I am cycling around the world, but that simplistic answer really doesn’t capture my current lifestyle as the cycling only accounts for a a small part. I am also living, and living takes time.

An Ever Changing Route

Posted on January 6, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road.”

People always ask me where I am going. Not just that day or week, I mean, overall. How long will I be on the road, what countries will I be passing through… It is understandable, I mean, you see a gal on a bike and you figure she has a destination, right? And I do always have a plan, my plan just tends to change dramatically on a monthly (sometimes even daily) basis.

180 Days and Counting

Posted on December 30, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.”

My tent has turned into my home, my bike into my best friend, and the world into my playground. I have no deadlines to keep or appointments to make. No stress or frustration to deal with. And my hardest daily decision typically involves picking what type of noodles I feel like making. I am living in an alternate universe, in a world where nothing can take me by surprise. I live in a world where seeing an enormous yak meander down the street, sleeping in a small stone hut with a tarp for a roof, and showering in a river seems perfectly normal… because it is. For the last 180 days I have been living the life of my dreams, cycling through the unknown on a quest to live and experience life around the world.

What Cyclist Discuss

Posted on December 25, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.”

During my few weeks in Pokhara I was lucky enough to meet other cyclists, who, like me, are doing world tours. There were two couples (both Swiss) and a single Swiss man, all in their thirties, who have been on the road for varying amounts of time (one and a half to three years). The six of us hung out on multiple occasions, and even celebrated Christmas together. There seems to be an automatic bond between us cyclists as we are living the same lifestyle and can compare stories and anecdotes that “normal” people just wouldn’t understand. After the third or fourth evening together I realized that our conversations were quite different than those I have with other people, so I decided to share what an outing between cyclists looks like.

In A Day: The Nepali Valley

Posted on December 11, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“There are dreamers and there are doers, but what the world needs are dreamers that do.”

Everyday is different. Sometimes I cycle all day, while other days I will only do a few hours in order to spend the rest of the day doing something else. And somedays, I don’t cycle at all. Weather also plays a large role. If it is hot for instance, I do most of my kilometers in the morning, whereas in the mountains it is hard to get motivated at six when it is still below freezing out. That being said, everyday is pretty similar in many ways too, so I have decided to show you what a “typical” day of cycling looks like for me in the Nepali valley.

The Wandering Nomads

Two bikes, one life, and the whole world to see

Tag Archives: Cycling around the world

On The Un-Road: 5,650km

On The Road Again: 5,500km

Time To Cycle

My Little Love Story

Living A Double Life

An Ever Changing Route

180 Days and Counting

What Cyclist Discuss

In A Day: The Nepali Valley