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| Tajikistan August 2013 |
Pedalling was always the pinnacle of freedom and cycling somewhere far away was a childhood dream that wasn't easily extinguished and gained more traction with each passing year, occasionally stoked with the bone dry kindling of Dervla Murphy's musings. Finally in July 2008, after graduating with a PhD in Geography and having spent a year teaching enthusiastic undergraduates about African geography and maps, it was time to hit the road. Crossing Europe and then taking the ferry to Morocco, Julian wiggled across the Sahara and down the western side of Africa. Having reached the intended terminus of the trip in West Africa after six months on the road, Julian wasn't ready to go home and South Africa didn't seem all that far away. Several months later he flew from Cape Town to Buenos Aires for the start of the American journey - spending two years cycling from Argentina to Canada. In Bolivia he met Ellie and after a scary test ride down the Death Road on an old bike with missing bolts and loose cranks, they decided to cycle from Colombia together.
From Canada they flew to Tokyo and began the Asian odyssey that ultimately led them back across Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Five and a half years later, Julian arrived back home on a stormy winter's evening.
