This was the first time I saw the sun after leaving England… Day 4
Day 8
Salon-de-Provence. With Donald at the Hotel Select – Fantastic hospitality, if you’re reading this, thank you!
Before she got dirty…
Lunch break in Beaulieu-Sur-Mer
Cannes – Day 9
Not the best view of Monaco
This was the view as I left France for Italy
Had to get a picture at San Remo – pretty iconic in the cycling world
Went for a little walk on my rest day….
photo credits to my Dad
This was a good day…
Somewhat ruined by the weather…
Saw this guy everywhere.. I’m led to believe it’s something to do with Croatian football
Goodbye Bosnia, hello Croatia
Dubrovnik
Dinner in Montenegro
Free breakfast in Montenegro
Out of Tirana and over a mountain…
I was chased up to this view by dogs…
First view of Lake Ohrid… not bad but not quite as spectacular as I’d hoped
A man and his goats
Final sunset in Greece
Starters in Turkey
Main courses in Turkey
Standing in Europe, looking at Asia
One of the hundreds of stalls in the Spice Bazaar
Anyone for chilli?
Spice Bazaar
Casually selling viagra…
The Blue Mosque
Doesn’t really do it justice, but the spice bazaar is well worth a visit if you’re ever in Istanbul. Unfortunately the Grand Bazaar was closed for us
My Dad has insisted I put this up…
I’ve seen a lot of these in Albania and Turkey
cheesy touristy photo in front of the ‘Blue Mosque’ with an even cheesier smile…
End of leg 1. London to Istanbul, the smile is genuine..
Fresh faced again after a Turkish shave
First Indian dinner – Vegetarian Thali
Mosin is the one who took me round Mumbai. Thank you so much if you’re reading this!
The beach in Mumbai
Home of Mukesh Ambani – wealthiest man in India: 27 floors, 3 helipads, six car parks, ballroom etc…
Haji Ali Dargah Mosque
Apparently this walkway gets covered at high-tide
Haji Ali Dargah Mosque
Gateway of India
Final view of Mumbai
My first of only a few hot meals on the road – still not sure what it was or how I ordered it
A beach in Goa..
Temple in Murudeshwar
Inside the temple
It’s actually quite impressive
2nd largest statue of Shiva in the world
Leaving Murudeshwar
A slightly unconventional road-block
This often happened right outside my room..
Freshly shaved
Kanyakumari – the Southern tip of India
These guys cheered me up whilst battling a headwind
They’re not homeless – they’re just on holiday…
This temple is important apparently
I decided against having a swim here…
No plates in this establishment… (or cutlery)
The salt farms were not very interesting
Not sure you’ve got enough…
Anyone in need of some hay?
Apologies, I didn’t get many pictures of the monkeys
A present from my parents.. I felt like a little kid at Christmas
Puducherry / Pondicherry
Puducherry was nice…
The French influence is clear..
Me – Two weeks into India and looking a bit tired
The t-shirt
Red light means Go in India…
Have you ever seen ducks being herded?
Don’t they have wings..?
A very enthusiast manager
This did not stay for long…
Not my choice of neck-wear
Slightly more rural
This is basically Indian Coca Cola.. It took me 3 weeks to realise they spell ‘thumb’ incorrectly
There’s always someone staring..
When’s the baby due mate?
That’ll teach you for driving on the wrong side of the road..
Are those flower pots?
How nice…
1/4 of the way round!
1/4 of the way Round
This is what I had to deal with whenever I stopped… And yes, I was sitting on the floor
This beach was needed..
End of India!
Finished the India leg – not really sure what to do with myself
A ‘bike service’ in Kolkata
Market in Kolkata
I think this had something to do with Queen Victoria..
Riding slightly ‘different’ bikes around Mandalay
This is a pagoda
16 lanes of nothing
This happened just in front of me… bit of a close call really
First proper climb in over two weeks…
I think this is all water in the wet season
A room on a lake
After 212 kilometres.. this was quite nice
Unfortunately I didn’t see any wild elephants
There are pagodas everywhere in Burma and I deliberately tried to avoid taking pictures of too many. Consequently, I probably didn’t take enough.. but regardless, this is what they look like
8 lanes on each side with very little traffic
Standard meal – Chicken fried rice
I wasn’t the only one sheltering from the heat..
…and it put me in a good mood
Hpa-An clocktower
That red soil made a right mess of my bike when it rained
I was told to look out for a famous statue in this town.. I think I may have taken a photo of the wrong one..
That is a frog…
This was pretty much what Burma looked like for 3 days
What happens at the border of two countries that drive on different sides of the road…
A very laid-back elephant
South China Sea (I think it is anyway – although it’s quite a way from China)
Another pagoda
Massive thanks to Jim and Mel at T3 Bicycle Gears in Singapore. Made my bike feel like new again
My first ride in a tuk-tuk
One of the many palm oil plantations
The extent of my bird-watching. These b*st*rds were making a racket outside my window all evening
After a very long climb. The camera doesn’t really do the view justice
Climbing through a forest at sunrise isn’t a bad way to spend a morning
Happy Birthday to my sister. For anyone wondering why I stopped between Leg 3 &4 – that is the reason
First Australian beach
Big thanks to the Rooney family to start off the Australia leg!
Surely they could have picked a better name?
‘Controlled’ forest fire
Not sure I enjoyed riding through that…
After my first night in a tent, this is the definition of an organised mess…
Oh good.
The first of many long straight roads
First broken spoke, with absolutely nothing around
Start of the Nullarbor
……
After a 90 mile straight with a headwind, I had a bit of a meltdown when I was told there were no rooms available…
The situation was not helped by the fact that the ground was too hard for pegs
What…?
There’s something wrong with that camel…
Impressive…
End of the Nullarbor!
That isn’t a joke sign…
9000 miles, halfway round the world!
Remains my favourite place name…
Thanks to all the guys who joined my for the ride out of Adelaide. And well done to Frank (on the left) who cycled the whole coast of Aus
London Arch (formerly London Bridge) has fallen down..
The Great Ocean Road…
Reminded me of England
Not exactly what springs to mind when you think ‘Australia’
90 mile beach
That is a koala…
Why?
Bondi Beach!
There’s this bridge in Sydney Harbour.. not sure what it’s called though
Is it a spaceship?
Thanks to everyone at Abbotsleigh school for coming out to cheer me on
Whoever said “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight” was a liar.. it rained in the morning
Love it. Doubt you’d ever see a sign like that in England
Final view of Australia (Brisbane) after 6 weeks and 6622 kilometres
First sight of New Zealand
Starting off Leg 6
After climbing out of Dunedin..
I didn’t go up it…
New Zealand takes the top spot with this sign…
The Moeraki Boulders were a bit anticlimactic and we didn’t bother going any closer..
Steampunk…..
I didn’t take this one…
Some seals 🙂
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a full rainbow before….
Picton Harbour
Goodbye South Island
Hello North Island
Not a great photo but that’s the mountain goat thing I saw
”home kill specialists”….. what?
Sheep-shearing capital of the world… I think that’s what this is about…
Oakland Bay Bridge
San Francisco!
That is a tram.
Alcatraz…
Despite driving over it, this is the best view I got of the Golden Gate Bridge
Still got the arm warmers on in ‘sunny’ California
The first Redwood forest
Chandelier Tree
It’s too big to get in the bloody picture!
A beach in Newport (not the Welsh one)
Not quite sure why I was this close to the snow line..
Straight out of the forest, into a desert
The Palouse region..
I wish my spokes always broke with a view like this…
It’s really not…
More emptiness..
This place felt even emptier than the Nullarbor
The centre of North America!
The Mississippi River
How can this be a lake!?
A lump of peanut butter and marshmallows… not a bad welcome to Canada!
The storm still got me
5 days later, and still on Lake Superior
I found this waterfall… Reckon it will become a big tourist attraction in a few years
Top of the final American climb
Boston seemed nice
Massachusetts state house
First view of the Atlantic in a very long time!
Getting ready for the final flight
Somewhere in Lisbon
A typical Portuguese village judging by what I saw
Everything I could possibly need for dinner – Rice, meat, spinach, beans, chips, ham, carrots and banana
This fountain saved me in the 40 degree heat. Something I have never really encountered outside of Europe
One of the more difficult border crossings I faced…
Ciudad Rodrigo
Final climb by myself
San Sebastián
The church that was not worth falling off for
The tan lines at their prime
Bordeaux
Staying in Pons – not far from Cognac… When in Rome
Crossing the Loire!
End of mainland Europe!
Penultimate day
The final day!
Thank you so much to everyone for all the support!
One Reply to “Round The World 2015 – Gallery”
Hi Tom, I hope you are well. My name is Wilma and I’m researching images for an educational publication. We like your story and we would like to have a photo of you on your bike in the textbook: would you give us permission to include it? If so, could you please contact me at wilma.stefani@zooid.co.uk? Thank you very much. Looking forward to hearing from you, Wilma
Hi Tom, I hope you are well. My name is Wilma and I’m researching images for an educational publication. We like your story and we would like to have a photo of you on your bike in the textbook: would you give us permission to include it? If so, could you please contact me at wilma.stefani@zooid.co.uk? Thank you very much. Looking forward to hearing from you, Wilma
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