Photos – Page 3 – Solo Female Cycling Around The World

The Tibetan Camera Carnival

The Tibetan plateau is as alive as can be

Dotted with nomads and proud people to see

The Tibetans are spirited, gorgeous and photogenic

The magic is as large as the heart can be

Camera shy they are not, willing smiles they have got

Perhaps it is all part of the international plan

After all the Dalai Lama is their man

A welcoming glow, a handshake, and a shared laugh on the go

It’s a spectacular show

Memories to cherish of a people so grand

That only the altitude brave can stand

Best be conveyed in the silence of photos

Any more of this rhyming nonsense a definite no go

Therefore, I hope you have enjoyed this picture show!

Ego On The Rocks…Top 5 Bicycle Touring Buzz Kills

•There is an ego on my tail. Recently, I had the fine pleasure of pedaling for the first time in a group. One unique man decided to use me as a rabbit because I have less stuff and therefore faster. Therefore, he could stay in my wheels shadow on hills for as long as he could. Mixing egos and rabbits apparently doesn’t make for a very good cocktail. It was interesting for the first few long days and did make for a few laughs. However, it proved to be remarkably distracting to the silent meditative rhythm and peace I usually find while pedaling up mountains. Huffing and puffing all day to someone else’s speed and rhythm is nothing more than ego madness. It is pertinent for a pleasant ride to find and maintain your own pace while pedaling.

•Why do so many people become so narcissist while on a bicycle tour? Ego, ego, ego, issues, issues, issues…Granted bicycle touring does garnish a lot of attention but it is important to check in on your big fat head because you do want it to fit through the door when you get home. The occasional sing along in the mirror to “You’re So Vain” might do you some good. Also loosen the spandex it might be affecting the blood flow to other vital parts.

•Poor nutrition For instance, packaged instant noodle soup is cheap and readily available in most countries, especially Asian countries. However, noodle soup lacks nutritional and caloric value. The salt content in the accompanying spice package will make you more susceptible to dehydration rendering packaged noodles soup a weak choice for cycling. Make healthy choices from the foods that are available. Rice or bread is also cheap and available most everywhere and will sustain blood sugar and energy levels for far longer, making for a happier tummy and a more pleasant ride.

•Loosen The Spandex It Might Be Affecting Blood Flow To Other Vital Parts Packing too much into the day is a definite buzz kill. 100plus km a day, 7 days a week, is not a very sustainable, enjoyable pace for a happy multi-month bike tour. Life and travelling is far more enjoyable when not stressed to maximum levels all day, every day. Stop and smell the flowers once in a while, take photos, relax and enjoy. Life is meant to be, you know, FUN!

•Good Morning, Let’s Go Cycle The World. 24 hour a day map discussions, navigational dialogue and bicycle babble is energy suction and exhausting. Put the bicycle talk on lock down for at least a couple of hours a day. A positive attitude is important; however, an overly keen approach to bicycle touring will suck the life right out of the trip. Life is about balance, even on a bicycle tour. Other interests, hobbies and conversations can keep the fun up and essentially make the pedaling easier on the spirit and legs.

Trying Out For The Red Carpet, What To Wear On Your Next Adventure?

I would like to say as I round the world by bicycle that I am cloaked in a wonder women cape full of magic capabilities. Attire, that is suitable for the red carpet and engineered by fashion experts.

However, light weight astronaut specialists, or red carpet outdoor experts have not sponsored me to fashionably propel my hopeful thunderous thighs through the Himalayas foothills of China. I am a self funded human. After 21 months of solo female bicycle touring without sponsorship, I am existing on a budget of limited means. Likewise, I am full of realistic thoughts on the needed and affordable attire for the adventure.

However, it has become abundantly clear that bicycle touring reeks havoc on the wardrobe. My bags are tiny to say the least and my laundry capabilities are limited at best. Today’s tree strung clothes line, in the shade of the cold Laos mountain air, barely did the trick to dry my newly acquired Asian cycling pants made of thin cotton fabric.

The UV sun fading capabilities of hours cycling in the sun will fade the most well designed shirts into a seductive breezy veil. After hours of pedaling, my bronzed sun tanned back acquired through my shirts will attest to this. Fortunately, the majority of my clothing, which has disintegrated in the hours of sunshine while pedaling, didn’t cost very much.

So, what should we be wearing on a bicycle tour? For some the answer is simple, spandex, high end synthetic UV protective fabric and a reflective vest. Or, anything that northface, OR, mountain research, shimano or Patagonia recommends and the pocket book can manage. For me, it is whatever is given to me, or that I can find in the local inexpensive clothing market for imported spandex flatters my red carpet figure to an extent that the masculine conservative world at large need not distract ME by. Even in Australia, a country comfortable with flesh, attention levels rise to distracting levels, if I flash my legs in my favorite OR cycling skort. Besides, there are plenty of cheap, stylish, affordable, conservative outdoor clothing choices for women, choices that will work on any bicycle tour and outdoor adventure, anywhere in the world.

There are several options in the wonder women spandex line

And the vintage shabby chic of yesteryear

Then there’s reality. In some areas of the world, were husbands and brothers barely catch a glimpse of shoulders and thighs, I have always thought it was wise to dress like the locals and cover up. The added sun blocking benefits only add to my thoughts. A long sleeve cotton shirt and long shorts with gusseted crotch will do the trick in just about any climate. In colder regions, zip off hiking pants are helpful because of their lightweight, quick dry capabilities. A light rain coat such as the Marmot precip jacket works well for rain gear as does a poncho. Padded spandex cycling shorts fit fell under most clothing and there are lots of options where the padded bum is build right in for extra comfort.

Let’s cycle the red carpet in style……….

Obstacles To A Successful Bicycle Tour…Meet The Psychotic Roosters Of Asia

It is 4:19 am and I am awake. Click, clack, click there are tiny footsteps dancing outside the door of my bungalow. The mountains here in Laos are getting cold so I have ventured in for the night to a guest house bungalow. Click, clack, click the footsteps appear to be busting out with an early morning tango……Cock A Doodle DOOOOOOO, the song is startling, a disastrous operatic melancholy melody that could make Pavarotti roll over in his grave has just begun outside the thin walls of my wooden bungalow.

Asian Psychotic Rooster

They don’t seem to understand how early it is, psychosis from too much singing has surely eaten away their senses. Roosters have gathered like a doorstep Christmas carol choir, lacking any real talent to pull off a hit song and they certainly can’t skate by on their dance moves or cute looks alone.

The roosters here in Asia are not your run of the mill roosters, although I do wish they would run a mill instead of the roads. They are psychotic; their cock doodle doo is in need of a good dose of psychotherapy, a straight jacket and a voice coach. Their short tempered feathers are constantly ruffled and they have developed some serious issues concerning magic bicycles. For days now, I have been trying to quietly sneak by them unnoticed but they can smell a magic bicycle from a mile away. And despite my stealth bomber efforts as I pedal by them, they shed their straightjackets and click clack click themselves to the side of the road, cock their greasy uncombed feathery heads, open their alarming blood shot eyes and Cock A Doodle DOOO a psychotic howl straight out of a B grade slasher movie.

notice the hearing aid in the women’s ear due to the fact that she grew up around here

Magic bicycles are indeed a special breed, can render even the most secure, green with envy, however, psychosis and jealousy are a dangerous combination in a strange bird with a terrible singing voice, who has aspirations to form an early morning choir with all his equally ton deaf bird friends. It is now 4:36 AM, the morning rooster chorus is in full swing, busting out poor quality original tunes and discussing their application for the AM talk show circuit. Let’s applaud them for effort and secretly hope they do not find success for I assure you that if they went global, the world at large would suffer a serious shortage of high quality earplugs.

Although I agree that this would make a fine album cover, I assured them to keep practicing and Opera will just come to them!

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble…How To Turn A Backpacking Trip Into A Bicycle Tour

Let’s get ready to rumbleeeeeee…..As the echo of the announcer’s voice permeates throughout the walls of the world arena, the heavy weight champion of world travel is introduced. In the ring of dust and exhaust, in the veteran blue corner, we have the bus. A motorized method of vehicular transportation that is undefeated to date by a 13^th round popular decision on 4 continents.

Present Champion of World Travel by Popular Decision

A ‘as crowded as a Los Vegas boxing arena on title fight night’, a travel method which attracts thousands of world travelers yearly to the well trodden backpacker circuit of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, also known as the golden triangle of overland travel of South East Asia.

Often the bus is a crowded familiar means of transportation in which backpackers jabbed by right hooks and softened by uppercuts zip by villages and thousands of authentic experiences. Sporting fancy footwork unseen since the likes of Muhammad Ali, tourists with their belongings strapped to their backs dance from one bus stop to the next shucking and jiving from one must see destination to the next. Surrounded by familiar westerners and protected by the bus window, only a shield of glass, the size of a mouth guard away from a culturally enriching travel experience.

We turn now to the contender’s in the world championship of travel title belt fight. In the red and black spandex corner we have the underdog, an unknown and newcomer to the sport, backpackers Alle Veenstra and Irene Bosma on holiday originally from Groningen now hailing from Amsterdam, Holland. By first round knock out, they blur the now defeated world champion and as quick as a good left hook; leave the bus staggering on one knee in search of a better experience. And with a one move victory, the well earned world champion of travel title belt is theirs to have. So, how did such an underdog defeat the bus, the world champion of travel transportation options? It’s simple, they announced their victory, got off the bus in Vientiane, Laos, purchased 2 Trek 4300 four series bicycles, a map and some quality gear for 1100USD ($550USD each), strapped their backpacks to the back rack and pedaled off into South East Asia basking in the championship glow of their impressive one move victory.

The Killing Fields, Slide Show of Cambodia’s Genocide

As I stand at the killing field’s memorial site I am reminded of the brutal capacity of the human spirit. During the 4 year period of 1975-1979, the Kumar Rouge governmental party took power of Cambodia and implemented a genocidal new regime, comparable to the brutality of the Nazis in WW11. And similar to the Nazis the Kumer Rouge meticulously documented the brutality with photos and records of their killing and torturous methods. The “museum” or Killing Fields site are preserved as they were found in 1979.

It was believed by The Kumer Rouge party in power in Cambodia in 1975, that the new regime began the world a new at year zero. During year zero and the 4 years that followed, the Khmer Rouge party implemented a mass exodus out of the cities and attempted to place the entire population in reeducation camps in the country side. The following photos were taken at the S-21 the school in the city of Phenom Pehn that was turned into a prison and torture camp. The second and third floor of The S-21 school was covered in barbed wire so people could not commit suicide which was a common issue at the S-21 prison/school.

Additional photos were taken at the Killing Fields memorial site approximately 10km south of the city where millions of people were transported to be killed and placed in mass graves. The mass graves usually consisted of dumping the bodies into trenches and streams. The bodies dead or alive where first covered in acid to cut back on the smell. Hundreds of “Killing Fields” sites exist all over Cambodia and The Killing Fields story has also been documented in the award winning film “The Killing Fields”. The remaining members of the Khmer Rouge party have still not been persecuted; the trial began in 2010 and is still being litigated today.

Click the photo to begin the slide show but before you do I must admit that I threw up behind a tree at the Killing Fields site after looking at teeth and bones that have been washed to surface of the site grounds after recent flooding. Therefore, some of these photos might be a bit graphic.

To Start The Slideshow Click Here

After watching the slide show, a historical overview of life under the Khmer Rouge party can be found here

Historical Overview Of The Genocide in Cambodia

No Money, No Honey…Budgeting For Your Outdoor Adventure

Prior to embarking on this outdoor cycling around the world adventure, I would not have even imagined living comfortably on $6USD dollars a day. Back in Alaska, $6USD a day pretty much got you a glass of water maybe some bread and a place to warm up prior to walking home in the cold arctic breeze.

The cost of fuel when it is cold always weighs on the budget like a glacier carving out a canyon in the springtime high noon sun. Therefore, walking or taking the shoe lace express always proved out to be cheaper and healthier than driving a gas guzzling environmentally destructive car or truck.

Here in Cambodia, the money story is a unique scene. Cambodia has 2 currencies. Pay in US dollars and then get change in riel (local Cambodian currency). It seems no one here can accurately calculate the change, so the exchange rate between riel and USD is a bit of a mystery. For instance today, I paid the bank 1$ USD to buy the local riel Cambodian currency, the currency that is used outside of the tourist center, where I spent most of my time cycling through the villages.

Bartering to keep your budget, is a common practice in most of the world and one that affects the budget quicker than a moving train. It is a necessary learned art by most people who travel. The general rules of the bartering game are offer low and work up from there somewhere between 1/3 and ½ of the starting price is what you will pay. In Mongolia, my favorite place, the popular Asian habit of bartering for the true price is not practiced and watching tourist who try it is nothing more than insanely comical. In Mongolia, in the center of Asia, just north of the bartering capital of the world, China the price for the coveted item is set and the local people can’t be bothered with bartering.

However, in a lot of Asia countries, the price is not set and it depends on how good you are at playing the battering game to determine the fair price of even a plate of rice. China and Vietnam being the prime examples of how low can you go in the bartering world. Often, the budget is nothing more than an estimated figure in which we hit the road for our adventures. So what can we do to lower travelling costs and stick to the budget? Here are 3 tips…

Tip 1 Avoid the lonely planet recommended anything. The lonely planet travel guide has become known as the bible in the budget travel scene. The book recommended restaurants, hotels etc. are indeed budget but the place next door is usually charging less and the owners are more than happy to have you there. Sad but true but at times the folks listed in the lonely planet travel guide haven’t asked for the notoriety and are understandably pretty tired of the volume. For only in the commercialized developed world is bigger, better, more a relished personal attribute.

Tip 2 Stick with the locals and avoid all tourist based marketing ploys to offer you tickets, cheaper eats etc. Often the third class or super budget class travel seat or area is where the locals park themselves. I heard from a solo traveler the other day that he was weary of going to these places because he wanted to meet other travelers. All of the places I have been in the less visited area always have other travelers and they are normally like minded super budget travelers as well. For instance, today in my guesthouse, three blocks from the double priced tourist center, I met a Korean man travelling on a bicycle, we will be venturing 3 days by bicycle to the next stop together.

Tip 3 Be Creative. Every outdoor adventure needs supplies. Be creative and make what you can. Instead of wearing the top end fashionable gear products find suitable local thing that will do the trick. For instance, I found a straw hat on the road which serves as a sun repellant. I also picked up a $2USD pair of local pants and a $4USD long sleeve shirt to keep the sun off while I pedal in the Asia sunshine. I could of spend double that on sport specific clothes, UV barrier tank tops etc. I now have a local look that does the trick and is more suitable for the climate. If it is good enough for the population of millions who have been living here for centuries it is good enough for me.

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How to Find Bomb Proof Gear For Your Outdoor Adventure?

Bomb proof gear because at times the road literally looks like it has been hit by a bomb!

It is December 1 2010, at 12:13pm. The short tempered, explosive, we are everywhere, terrorist sky glistens in suspense, as tropical shrapnel rays of sharp crisp sunshine ricochet through the villainous ocean top gaining velocity as the day advances into the trenches of the afternoon Malaysian humidity. The vehicle is a ‘hooded gangster up to no good’ dark green magic bicycle equipped with a rap sheet of 20,000km of world rolling experience and a long criminal history of destroying gear during outdoor adventures. The accomplice is a solo female bicycle tourist sporting a ‘not even Asama Bin Laden could destroy my gear’ kind of confidence. The accomplice is notorious for conspiring with terrorist type magic bicycles and plotting elaborate international outdoor adventures and considers her motive to be classified due the severity of the problem. The explosion takes place on a downhill section of a heavily trafficked coastal road in northern Malaysia. A giant pot hole detonates; the magic bicycle has been hit. Ortlieb panniers/bicycle bags that have been loosely locked to the back rack implode in seconds and bounce, drag and scrap over the unapologetic road as the accomplish clenches the handle bars and narrowly avoids a road side fatal injury. The Ortlieb panniers bicycle bags prove to be bomb proof and weather the attack relatively unscathed considering the magnitude of the blast, although, had the pannier attachment clips for the rear rack not succumbed to the blast, the capricious incident could have been avoided altogether.

How To Find Bomb Proof Gear For Your Outdoor Adventure?

Ortlieb Panniers/bicycle bags…these panniers prove out time and time again, they come with a lifetime warranty and replacement parts and clips can be ordered and shipped anywhere in the world. Ortlieb panniers are 100% waterproof, and slightly breathable therefore condensation inside the bag does not become an issue. My attachment clips have come 20,000 kilometers and have only now started to give way. I have mine secured with a back up piece of string in the likely case of other pot hole assignation attempts, replacement clips are also available. My 2 classic small size Ortlieb pannier/bicycle bags cost $220 USD in America. They originate in Germany and are available worldwide, however in Australia and New Zealand the costs can become prohibitive. For world wide locations on where to purchase Ortlieb panniers bicycle bags click here

http://www.ortlieb.com

Vaude Panniers/bicycle bags are less expensive and have a similar design. They are not as breathable therefore condensation can accumulate in humid climates. This is easy to deal with by opening up the bags at night and airing out the contents more frequently. For more info on where to find vaude panniers click here

http://www.vaude.com

Handmade handle bar bag on the front is hanging strong, it has come through the winter in New Zealand and the tropics. I have oiled the zipper a few times and that is about it.

Make Your Own Panniers/bicycle bags. Cut the arm straps off of an old backpack, tie to the back rack of the bicycle with rope or a bungee cord and off you go! My third pannier that sits on top of the rack is a light weight Seal To Summit dry bag it cost $28USD in Australia. My front handlebar bag is made from the top of an old backpack that I purchased in Nepal. I strap it on to the handlebars with the webbing that came from the backpack. It cost me next to nothing and works like a charm. For more ideas on how to make panniers/bicycle bags yourself click here

http://www.bicycletouring101.com

Mr. Potato Head Comes To Town…How To Find a Cycling Partner

When a big, fat bald man who looks like a Potato says “hey do you want to join up for a while and pedal through the Middle East and into Africa?” my first thought as a solo female traveler is well Mr. Potato Head always was a fun activity and great company on a rainy afternoon. In the basement as a young little whipper snapper, I used to spend hours making up long traveler’s tales of epic journeys about Mr. Potato Head, the optometrist off to smell the world with his huge nose. Monsieur Potato Head when he visited France, would always wear his mustache, formal top hat and scarf and say “oh la la” as the rain cascaded off the basement window cell throughout a long afternoon. Mr Potato Head on a business trip at the international optometrist convention in Singapore would bring his suitcase, extra glasses and stethoscope and wear his travelers cap. Mr Potato Head, an impressive world traveler for such a stout round fella who always seems to wear such uncomfortable shoes. A glorious soul full of nomadic voyeuristic ambition and great company for the solo female traveler. Therefore, Me and Mr. Potato Head, an easily entertained fellow cyclist and avid reader of this website will be joining up and heading through the middle east and into Africa.

How To Find Your Mr Potato Head and Cycling Companion?

On the Road

South-East Asia, the loop of Thailand, Lao, Cambodia and Vietnam is a popular destination for bicycle touring. I met many cyclists there; I shared many a meal and headed north out of Vietnam into China with a fun kiwi fellow that I met on the road.

Mongolia, my favorite country has far more bicycle tourist then you would think. I spent several days camping with some new Italian friends I met cycling through central Mongolia. I also shared cycling maps with two German fellows and spent some time sharing stories with a Spanish man who was pedaling west out of the capital city of Ulanbatar, down the road I had just cycled.

New Zealand, the south Island of New Zealand is such a popular destination for bicycle travel that there is plenty of company here is you want it. My favorite people that I met were a family of bicycle tourists who were towing there super smiley baby in a trailer. The family had come 3000km (1865 miles) by bicycle on their family vacation.

On The Internet

Crazy Guy On a Bike is a website that serves as a resource for bicycle travel. There is a classified section that has a cycling partners section. I have met a few people here. Also, I met people who posted their bicycle travel journals on the site then later while travelling posted ‘a looking for other cyclists’ request through their journal. They formed a group of seven cyclists to share the costs of permits for the Tibet region.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com

The Lonely Planet travelers forum has a ‘On Your Bike’ section dedicated to bicycle travel and up to date information on road conditions. Several people I have met have connected through the forum and pedaled together.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com

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How To Crew On A Sailboat and Avoid A Sunshine Enema?

Hello Mr Lord Hemorrhoid, where IS your neighbor’s sailboat? I have been invited to crew on a sailboat heading around the middle east and into Africa, I have pedaled 900km in 7 days plus 2 ferry boats to reach the yacht on Langkawi Island. I was told to hurry. As I stand there next to the yacht owner, I realize I am getting blown off and shoved off without explanation to the neighbor. I do believe someone may have blown sunshine up my ass about this crewing thing, a sunshine enema of sorts that has the personnel growth potential of a inflamed hemorrhoid. Mr Lord Hemorrhoid the boat owner and captain has labeled his group the spirit sailors and they are looking for eclectic/good people to join them and have e-mailed me several times this month about crewing with them. The “spirit sailor” apparently loves the website blah, blah, blah.

As I process the fact that I have now pedaled onto an Island and my plans have been canceled, my behind begins to glow with the stench of a sunshine enema; the sunlight is indeed so bright I radiate effortlessly over to the neighbor’s yacht. He is looking for someone to yacht sit for a few days. The following day, I find out that Mr. Lord Hemorrhoid the spirit sailor didn’t like the looks of me on our first 3 minute meeting. You see, I arrived for the first meeting by bicycle in the pouring rain, I was wet, go figure. Apparently, the silly sailor, Mr. Lord Hemorrhoid flared up and decided he doesn’t like solo female cyclists arriving wet to his sailboat. As the comic irony of Mr. Lord Hemorrhoid the spirit sailor who doesn’t like to get wet sinks in Pandemic The Magic Bicycle is drenched in oil battling the salty air on the neighbors yacht and I am coordinated the pedaling for pennies Be The Adventure Africa T-shirt Project and sorting out my route through the middle east into Africa.

Another one of my favorite hemorrhoids

How to Crew on a Sailboat and Avoid A Sunshine Enema?

Find A Crew is a website dedicated to matching people up. I have met many legitimate, wonderful people who have found crew and boats to crew on through the site. The majority of the yachts, when I sailed from Australia to Indonesia found crew through the site, but as stated above there are a few Mr. Lord Hemorrhoids out there as well.