The Next Challenge

Author: Laura Moss

  • Turkish hospitality

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    Laura Moss
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    We spent forty nine nights in Turkey, and used our tent on just four of them. Many of these nights indoors were impromptu acts of kindness, when we knocked on a random door at the end of a day of pedalling and were invited in to share a meal and have a warm bed for…

  • Join the Database of Long Distance Cycling Journeys

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    Laura Moss
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    We are very excited to announce the launch of our latest project, a database of long distance cycling journeys. Visit the Database of Long Distance Cycling Journeys This database has two broad purposes: 1) A resource for those planning their own cycle tour. 2) A record of long distance cycling journeys. We started by asking…

  • Ten things I know about long distance cycle touring

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    Laura Moss
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    1) It’s not that difficult, and gets easier Before we left the UK, many people asked what training we were doing. Although we cycled most days in and around London, during the final few weeks before departure, training largely consisted of eating and drinking too much, watching DVDs and driving up and down the M6…

  • How much does it cost to cycle across Europe?

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    Laura Moss
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    We are often asked on this trip how much it costs to cycle around the world. Are we really rich? Is a company paying for us? How can we afford to leave our jobs and set off on what is essentially a glorified holiday for a whole year or more? We are only a few…

  • Why Sean Conway’s swim is the greatest expedition of 2013

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    Laura Moss
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    A couple of years ago, Dan Martin wrote a guest blog on this website predicting that swimming would be the next big thing to hit the expedition world.  It often feels as though the world has now been fully explored, and that ‘world firsts’ are increasingly arbtirary – Tim and I joke that we are…

  • My favourite part of cycling across Europe? Lidl.

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    Laura Moss
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    It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog post. A few days ago, Tim and I said goodbye to a dear friend who has been a regular companion on this trip. After one final lunch together, we pedalled away towards the Turkish border, knowing it would be several months before we saw…

  • Anatomy of a wet weather cyclist

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    Laura Moss
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    As winter descends on the northern hemisphere, regular cyclists begin the annual search for the perfect glove, overshoe or waterproof to help insulate them from the elements. Cycling in the wind and rain can be miserable, but the right gear can make all the difference. For this cycle trip, we drew on our years of…

  • Go Away and Leave Me Alone (or, Miserabilis Buggeritis)

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    Laura Moss
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    We were hit with some huge storms in the Balkans. In places with less-than-perfect roads, this meant pushing our bikes through deep puddles of mud. On one memorable occasion, I (Laura) lost my patience with picking my way carefully and instead stomped across a muddy patch, only to find myself ankle-deep in a swamp. After…

  • Random Italia

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    Laura Moss
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    The definition of ‘literally’ was recently amended so that it can now be accurately used to mean metaphorically: a change which provoked the wrath of my more pedantic Facebook friends. Status updates from the Outraged of Facebook declared that they were hopping mad, or seeing red, or speechless in disbelief (literally). A word whose definition…

  • Sit back and spin

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    Laura Moss
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    “It’ll be easy”, he said. “They manage the gradients over there. You just have to sit back and spin your feet round”. These were the wise words from our friend Dave, who had previously cycled through the Alps on a road bike, ‘credit card touring’. He persuaded us that we would be fine on our…

  • Cycling in France

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    Laura Moss
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    We pass through a  succession of tiny villages, each identical to the last. Mass times are displayed on entry to the village and we stop to rest under the trees in the central square, watched over by the mairie. The war memorial displays the red, white and blue: fierce nationalism not often seen in Britain,…

  • F.O.M.O.

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    Laura Moss
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    Today, a guest post from my wife on the life-long condition of FOMO from which she, and I by association, suffer. [divide] F.O.M.O. By Laura Moss I have a fairly serious condition, unknown to the medical profession and undocumented by science. It can produce agitation, anxiety, aching muscles and exhaustion. It frequently leads to lack…