Why don't you fly?

I have recently been reading a book by Christopher Smith called 'why don't you fly' and has inspired me to want to  explain our reasons below for choosing to travel by bicycle rather than fly/drive/bus/hitch-hike.

1. Bicycle travel means you can interact with the country in which you pass through. It will be necessary to stop and talk to people, we will be travelling slowly in order to take in all our surroundings and we will be sticking to small roads and not just buzzing down the motorway.
2. Bicycle travel is cheap. Well by cheap it is as cheap as you wish it to be. We plan to free camp and are taking along a stove with cooking gear so will cook the majority of our meals. We will also not have to pay for transport since that is up to how strong we feel! It is possible to upgrade and stay in nice hotels and purchase steak dinners but we cannot afford this. Our budget is £10 per day between us.
3. The journey is the destination. By travelling by bike the travelling becomes part of the journey and not an opportunity to grab some sleep on a long windy bus journey. We decide to stop or carry on, we decide to take the high road or the low road and we decide how fast we travel. Every decision made is ours and we will have greater control of our adventure. FREEDOM!!
4. Life becomes simple. In my opinion, life is moving too quickly, everything is rushed and the world is now seen from the base of your mobile handset. I don't think this is a good thing and live interactions are being replaced by digital ones. By travelling by bike it gives you the opportunity to strip life down to its bare bones of where to go, where to sleep and  what to eat. We aim to use paper maps and ask for directions if we get lost, we will relish the opportunity to meet strangers and will welcome offers of hospitality. We will say YES more, have a greater experience for it.
5. The Challenge. By travelling by bicycle, we aim to pedal 32,000 miles, carrying everything we need on our backs and this will make us fit and then even fitter. Most people say we are crazy and that it will be too far, but this will drive us further. To get up and get active is good for the soul and we will be going to bed tired and waking up refreshed as opposed to the other way around.

This I hope explains why we choose to travel to bicycle as opposed to any other form of transport-this is the adventure and we can't wait to begin. On May 3rd 2015 we will be going from Reading to Reading and we cannot wait!!

tim&fin