Cycling Around the World

Laura and Tim Moss completed a 13,000 mile cycle around the world.


With the Sun on Our Right

With the Sun on Our Right


The full story of Tim and Laura’s 13,000-mile round-the-world cycle

330 pages plus 8 pages of colour photographs

Order now for delivery in May



Before

BEFORE: Cycling Around the World

Hampton Court Palace, August 2013

After

AFTER: Cycling Around the World

Hampton Court Palace, December 2014

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING US!

13,000 Miles on the Clock

13,000 miles on the clock

Menu

Scroll down to read more or click to jump to…

Map | FAQs | Photos | Videos | Articles

Charity | Sponsors | Kit List | Daily Stats

Highs & Lows

Duration

452 days

1 year, 3 months, 26 days

Distance cycled

13,054 miles

(21,008km)

Visited

27 countries

4 continents

Country Facts

Best food: Turkey, Iran, Japan and America

Best drivers: France

Worst drivers: Switzerland and America

Craziest roads: India

Best cycle lanes: Korea

Favourite country: Japan

Best hospitality: Turkey and Iran

Cheapest countries: India, Vietnam and Cambodia

Most expensive countries: Switzerland and Greece

Hilliest country: Armenia

Coldest countries: Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Iran

Hottest countries: UAE, Oman, India and SE Asia

Numbers

Average daily distance (while cycling): 44.3 miles (71.3km)

Average daily distance (whole trip): 28.8 miles (46.3km)

Longest day: 81 miles (130km; Malaysia)

Total days: 452

Days of cycling: 315

Days not cycling: 137

Nights spent camping: 119

Nights with WarmShowers/CouchSurfing hosts: 125

Nights with spontaneous local hosts: 59

Nights spent in hotels: 104

Number of punctures: 17

Number of crashes: 5 (4 Tim, 1 Laura, 0 involving vehicles)

Cycling Around Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo, New Zealand

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Map

We departed on 18th August 2013 and came home on 14th December 2014.


View map full screen…

Europe

France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece & Turkey.

Caucasus, Middle East and India

Georgia, Armenia, Iran, UAE, Oman, India.

(South East) Asia

South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia.

Australia & New Zealand

Adelaide to Melbourne. Wellington to Auckland.

North America

Return leg across the USA, from Oceanside to Orlando.

UK

Cycled to Hampton Court Palace (where we started).

Tim Moss - Cycling Around the World

Winter in Iran

FAQ

Where did you sleep?

We carried a tent so often just slept at the side of the road. We usually asked for permission first which meant we often got invited inside to people’s homes, churches, temples, mosques, police stations, kebab shops and petrol stations. We also used hospitality networks like Warmshowers and CouchSurfing. In cheaper countries, we sometimes used hotels.

  • Nights of camping: 119
  • WarmShowers/CouchSurfing hosts: 125
  • Hotels: 104
  • Random acts of kindness: 59

For a proper breakdown of where we slept each night (complete with pie charts), see our daily stats spreadsheet.

What bikes did you use?

We used Ridgeback Panorama touring bikes which were excellent. You can do long tours on a variety of bikes, they just need to be strong enough to carry all of your kit (e.g. with racks and panniers, back and front) and be comfortable enough to ride every day for several months. Read our full review of the bikes here.

What equipment did you carry?

You can see our complete kit list here.

We carried a tent and sleeping bags so we could sleep anywhere; stove, pans and “portable kitchen” to cook for ourselves; enough warm clothes for any environment; and Kindles for reading and a laptop for updating this website.

All of this fitted into four panniers on each bike. In the winter, we also each carried a small duffle bag on the back of our bikes.

More about our kit:

How far did you cycle each day?

We aimed to do at least 40 miles (64km) most days. Through the Turkish winter it was more like 30 (48km) but in the US it was closer to 50 or 60 miles a day (80-100km). Our longest day was 81 miles.

We would typically take one day a week off the bikes but that varied greatly.

  • Average daily distance (when cycling): 44.3 miles
  • Average daily distance (for the whole trip): 28.8 miles
  • Days of cycling: 315
  • Days not cycling: 137

To see how far we actually cycled each day, visit our daily stats spreadsheet.

How did you arrange all of the visas?

We got through Europe without them. The only visas we needed to obtain in advance from an embassy were Iran (which we got in Turkey) and India (which we got in Oman). The rest we just got at the border (e.g. Turkey) or registered for online (Vietnam and USA).

How could you afford to travel for so long?

For 16 months of cycling, we spent around £6,000 each. This included all of our food, accomodation, visas, bike repairs, transport and six flights – every penny we spent whilst away. The average monthly cost of the trip (~£400) was notably less than the rent we would have paid on our London flat.

We saved for the trip by putting aside £200 each month before we departed, selling lots of our belongings (including five bikes!) and doing a few bits of extra work on the side. On the road we earned a small amount of money (~£2000) by writing articles and doing a little web work.

More about costs:

Wheeling through mud in Albania

Wheeling through mud in Albania

Photos

There are loads of photographs from our trip, mostly taken by Laura.

Click the image below to flick through some or browse all of them on Flickr.

<< Click the image above to flick through our photos >>

Alternatively, you can follow our story in the following series of photo blogs:

Browse all our photographs on Flickr…

Videos

We filmed a series of short videos on the road. Each one is less than 90-seconds long. They were filmed using a GoPro and made with Magisto.

Browse all our videos on YouTube…

Cycling in Mojave Desert

Hot in the Mojave Desert

Articles

We maintained our blog through the trip, with new articles once or twice a week. The highlights are below or you can browse them all here.

Bivvying in the desert

Sleeping under the stars

Browse all the articles we wrote on the road…

Cycling through South East Asia

With fellow cyclists in Vietnam

Charity

We were supporting the charity JDRF during our cycle around the world. JDRF exists to find the cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications, and is the world’s leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research.

JDRF

Sponsors

We had a number of generous equipment sponsor for our trip:

Ridgeback

Provided our bicycles, two top of the range Panorama touring bikes.

Berghaus

Kitted us out with the latest GoreTex Active waterproofs and other clothing.

Adventures Insurance

Provided us with free travel insurance.

Lyon Equipment

Supplied us with Ortlieb panniers and handlebar bags, Petzl headtorches, Exped camping mats, Tubus racks and more.

Buffalo | Rab | Whitby & Co. | BrooksSealskinz | Keen


With the Sun on Our Right

Now available for pre-order!

With the Sun on Our Right


The full story of Tim and Laura’s 13,000-mile round-the-world cycle

330 pages plus 8 pages of colour photographs

Order now for delivery in May



Enjoyed following our trip or got a question?

Add a comment below!

39 Comments

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  12. 12

    John and Georgia Schuller Fort Hancock, Texas USA

    Just checking to see if you got home alright.

    Reply
    1. 12.1

      Tim Moss

      John, Georgia, wonderful to hear from you. We did indeed make it home last week in time to see all of our friends and family for Christmas. And we’ve already told plenty of them about the Texan hospitality!

      Happy Christmas,
      Tim & Laura.

      Reply
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  14. 13

    Senkayi Eric

    I just want to meet Tim and the female biker

    Reply
    1. 13.1

      Tim Moss

      Not sure how to respond to that Senyaki. Thanks!?

      Tim & Female Biker.

      Reply
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  37. 14

    Raheem

    Wow ? sure impressive travel blogs n ebooks
    I’m only just recording my trips around the world ?
    Thou I peddled from U.K. to South Africa ?? for free
    Taught 21,000 kids yoga ??‍♀️ and written an ebook ?
    Dance ?? of the Zebras ? ~ let the freedom reign…
    Wondering any advice on publishing be it self or via agents…?
    Warm regards
    Raheem
    ?
    ❤️

    Reply

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