Seek Travel Ride

Bella Molloy

Want more adventure in your life? Hear real adventure travel stories and practical insights from people who explore the world in bold and meaningful ways by bike, on foot, and close to home. Seek Travel Ride is an adventure travel podcast for anyone curious about travel and looking to bring more adventure into their everyday. Host Bella Molloy chats with adventurers and everyday people about bicycle touring, cycle touring, bikepacking, long-distance cycling, and other human-powered adventures. You’ll also hear slow travel, cultural discovery and micro-adventure stories that show adventure can happen anywhere. Expect travel stories, helpful advice and practical tips you can use to shape your own adventures, whether you’re dreaming of world travel, planning your first bike travel journey, or starting small with something close to home. Remember it doesn't need to be epic to be an Adventure!

  1. 15H AGO

    A Life in Tandem: Cycling 32,000km After Stage 4 Cancer, with Luke Grenfell-Shaw

    In 2018, at 24 years of age, Luke Grenfell-Shaw was given a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and told he had months to live. Within weeks, he also lost his brother John in a freak accident. Most people would have pulled the covers up. Luke signed up for a half marathon, hopped on a stationary bike in the hospital ward, and started planning to cycle from Bristol to Beijing. On 1 January 2020, Luke set off on a tandem bike. Over the next few years he rode 32,000 kilometres through 30 countries, with more than 800 different people taking a turn on the back seat. Some were strangers he met on the road. Some were friends and family. One was a puppy named Tarzan. The ride became the award-winning documentary A Life in Tandem, which you should watch immediately after listening to this episode. In this episode we talk about: - What it feels like to be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at 24 - Why Luke chose a tandem over a solo bike and what that decision changed - The science behind exercise during chemotherapy and what the research now says - Dev, the Indian man who turned up in jeans, hadn't ridden in three years, and became Luke's longest-serving stoker - The brake failure at 50mph on a Kyrgyzstan mountain pass that ended in a medical clinic  - Tarzan the puppy of Uzbekistan (fate: unknown but probably fine) - The post-adventure blues, identity after big goals, and what it means to turn 32 when you once didn't expect to see it - Luke's definition of a 'canliver' and why he prefers it to 'cancer survivor' - What it means to be a professional trail runner representing Great Britain, and what comes next Luke Grenfell-Shaw is a professional trail runner representing Great Britain, adventurer, filmmaker, and speaker. His documentary A Life in Tandem is available to stream now. Links: - A Life in Tandem documentary  - Luke's website and Instagram - Best Foot Forward short film (Luke and Dan in Sichuan):  If this episode moved you, please share it wi Check out Old Man Mountain's new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉  CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) 👉 Zorali  👉 Helinox  👉 Ombraz  Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRideFacebook - Seek Travel RideYouTube - @SeekTravelRideSeek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

    1h 41m
  2. 4D AGO

    Cycling Ireland to Everest Base Camp: 40 Days In

    Daragh Cronin is 40 days into his solo cycling expedition from Ireland to Everest Base Camp, and I sent him four questions via Instagram to find out how it's actually going. He talks about the send-off from Cork that genuinely blew his mind, how it compared to the low-key departure for his West Africa ride, and why the first two weeks on the bike were so much harder than he expected. He gets into the reality of solo wildcamping for the first time, hitting big milestones across Europe, and a very special stop in Germany to see the man he cycled more than half of Africa with.Daragh's route to Everest Base Camp is also currently under a cloud with the war that's broken out in Iran putting his planned route through Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman into doubt. He doesn't have answers yet. Istanbul is where it gets real. You can also watch the new Daragh YouTube video  on our Seek Travel Ride channel. Here's the link to Daragh's Africa episode . Follow Daragh via his instagram @roaminwithCronin for his latest updates.  Donate to his fundraiser. Old Man Mountain Big thanks to Old Man Mountain for supporting this episode of Seek Travel Ride. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉  CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) 👉 Zorali  👉 Helinox  👉 Ombraz  Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRideFacebook - Seek Travel RideYouTube - @SeekTravelRideSeek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

    23 min
  3. MAR 21

    Cycling the Length of Africa: Morocco to Cape Town with Daragh Cronin

    Daragh Cronin booked a flight to Marrakesh before he even owned a bike. He had no cycling background, no camping experience, but he had a goal to ride the length of Africa from Morocco to Cape Town.  Just over 200 days and 13,500 kilometres later, he arrived. In this episode, Irish adventurer Daragh talks through the mental and physical reality of cycling Africa's west coast: navigating borders, battling food poisoning, riding the notorious iron ore train in Mauritania, the strangers who became lifelong friends, and what it was like to finally arrive at the Cape of Good hope This episode was recorded when Daragh was days away from his next challenge: cycling from Cork to Everest Base Camp to raise funds for the Children's Unit at Cork University Hospital. Be sure to follow him on instagram - @roaminwithcronin and you can check out his fundraiser here. Other guests mentioned in this Episode: Rob MacLennan Tomas Mac An T-Saoir Fergal Guihen Check out Old Man Mountain's new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉  CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) 👉 Zorali  👉 Helinox  👉 Ombraz  Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRideFacebook - Seek Travel RideYouTube - @SeekTravelRideSeek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

    1h 41m
  4. MAR 14

    Cycling Iceland’s Ring Road with Skis on Your Bike: Cody Cirillo

    What happens when you strap skis to a loaded bike and set off to cycle 1,700 kilometres around Iceland in winter? Skier and filmmaker Cody Cirillo did exactly that on a trip he took with his good friend. What's more he also documented the whole experience in his film A Hundred Words for Wind. Cody is a professional skier who's chased remote lines in Mongolia, Morocco, and Iceland. In recent years he's started cycling to his ski terrain instead of driving, something we have called ski bikepacking. Using human powered forms of travel has now completely changed how he experiences the places he travels through. In this episode we cover: - How ski bikepacking started — including his first trip from Telluride to Utah, off the couch, on a wobbly Walmart rack - Iceland's Ring Road in winter : The brutal crosswinds, iced roads, blizzards, and dealing with it on 50kg loaded bikes - Tips and tricks for surviving headwinds when skis add extra sail area? - Breaking eight ribs, a scapula, and puncturing a lung weeks before departure  and why Cody went anyway - The vinarbröð, hot dogs, Snickers, and tortellini that held the whole thing together - What it feels like to park your bike roadside, hike for hours in ski boots, and ski a line down to the ocean - How going slowly created the human connections that made the trip - Turning a 40-day expedition into a film — and why that was harder than the riding **Links:** - Cody on YouTube and also Instagram - @Cody.Cir - A Hundred Words for Wind — Cody's documentary - Steph Devery's ski bikepacking episode Check out Old Man Mountain's new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉  CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) 👉 Zorali  👉 Helinox  👉 Ombraz  Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRideFacebook - Seek Travel RideYouTube - @SeekTravelRideSeek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

    1h 25m
  5. MAR 10

    Cycling Japan and Korea: Bears, Hiroshima and a Solo Round the World Bike Tour

    Ever camped in bear country in Japan? Brian Sampson has. This is his second update from his mission to cycle every destination in 1000 Places to See Before You Die. In this episode Brian shares stories from cycling through Japan, including encounters with bears and wild boars. He also shares his experiences exploring the Hiroshima Peace Museum.  From Japan Brian crossed into South Korea, where herides the famous Four Rivers trail and shares the buzz of cycling in the huge city of Seoul. Brian is now heading into China. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what happens next. You can follow his journey on Instagram at @brian.sampson4 and his blog. If Japan or Korea are on your cycling bucket list, you might also love Terri Jockerst's book Biking to Busan, her nine-month solo ride through Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. And if you haven't seen it yet, come ride with me, Claire Wyatt and Marta Ballús in the Pyrenees over on the Seek Travel Ride YouTube channel.  Check out Old Man Mountain's new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle  Support the show Buy me a coffee! I’m an affiliate for a few brands I genuinely use and recommend including: 👉  CycPlus– ePumps (enter code STR for 5% off!) 👉 Zorali  👉 Helinox  👉 Ombraz  Follow us on Social Media! Instagram - @SeekTravelRideFacebook - Seek Travel RideYouTube - @SeekTravelRideSeek Travel Ride Newsletter Leave me a voicemail message Seek Travel Ride Music Playlist available now on both Spotify or Apple Music

    30 min
4.8
out of 5
29 Ratings

About

Want more adventure in your life? Hear real adventure travel stories and practical insights from people who explore the world in bold and meaningful ways by bike, on foot, and close to home. Seek Travel Ride is an adventure travel podcast for anyone curious about travel and looking to bring more adventure into their everyday. Host Bella Molloy chats with adventurers and everyday people about bicycle touring, cycle touring, bikepacking, long-distance cycling, and other human-powered adventures. You’ll also hear slow travel, cultural discovery and micro-adventure stories that show adventure can happen anywhere. Expect travel stories, helpful advice and practical tips you can use to shape your own adventures, whether you’re dreaming of world travel, planning your first bike travel journey, or starting small with something close to home. Remember it doesn't need to be epic to be an Adventure!

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