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. 1d ago

    The Best Thing About Taking a Bike Adventure Is?

    What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Well I've been asking guests that very question for the last two years and today I'm sharing some of their responses, as well as from listeners in our community. The guests you will hear from have taken a myriad of adventures, some lasting for a few weeks, others for a few years. You'll notice there are some common responses from them all which and they are often linked to the feeling of feeling truly freed.  Of course the kindness shown to you by the complete strangers you'll meet from all over the world also popped up many times.  Guests featured in this episode David McCourt (Ep 99)Luke Grenfell-Shaw (Ep 170)Anna Ruddiman (Ep 160)Fergal Guihen (Ep 145)Tomas Mac an tSaoir (Ep 159)Leonie Katekar (Ep 173)Malachi Francis (Ep 157)Jamie Hargreaves (Ep 126)Steph Devery (Ep 139)Poli Berber (Ep 194)Alastair Humphreys (Ep 101)Jimmy Vervoort (Ep 188)Matt Whitley (Ep 165)Daragh Cronin (Ep 168)Javier Carrasco (Ep 172)Em Hulbert (Ep 127)Slauka Macurak (Ep 136)Claire Wyatt (Ep 86)What about you? I'd love to hear your answer to this question. Get in touch with the link below and let me know what you think the best thing about taking a bike adventure is. What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

  2. 4d ago

    A Bike Adventure from Europe to Australia: Episode 200 with Rebecca Gross

    For episode 200 of Seek Travel Ride, I’m joined by Rebecca Gross, a listener of this show who took a year off work, left her home in Austria with her partner Javi and set off for a bike adventure hoping to get to  the Pamirs in Tajikistan. Rebecca had never done any long distance bike travel prior to leaving but with a keen sense of adventure the lack of experience was no reason not to give it a go. She and Javi reached the Pamir Highway months ahead of schedule, so they kept going through Iran, China, Tibet, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand, until Australia became her finish line. Rebecca shares her experiences from this huge journey and how the trip has transformed her. How she went from hating gravel on day one to riding Western Mongolia and the Assy Plateau in Kazakhstan. How she is no longer a planner and learnt that often the best way to go is to leave things up to the road.  She also shares how they found themselves in a Tibetan town foreigners aren’t allowed to enter and the best sidequest of the whole journey wth an expedition to try and climb Mt Damavand in Iran.  We also discuss what it is like to travel with your partner on such a journey and be with them 24/7. Then dealing with life post adventure and feeling judged for riding as a couple.  If you’ve been holding yourself back from your own bike adventure, this episode is for you. You can keep up with Rebecca's future adventures via her instagram @Rebecca_grb What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

  3. Oct 27

    Bikepacking Turkey with Two Toddlers: Vanessa Ruck + Your Worst Mechanicals

    Vanessa Ruck and her best friend Tori have taken their e-bikes and two toddlers to Turkey, with 25 days to see how far they can ride and around 21,000 metres of climbing on the route.  Follow Vanessa: The Girl On A Bike on Instagram and Facebook Donate to Vanessa and Tori’s Leukaemia UK fundraiser I also asked you to share out your worst mechanicals. I put the question out on Instagram after Rob Maclennan’s episode, and you sent through some cracking ones, like brakes giving out on Bolivia’s Death Road and a frame welded back together on a Friday night in Canadian bear country.  Lastly, a reminder Episode 200 is out on Saturday 31st October. I’m also putting together a separate episode where someone else interviews me, so if you’ve got a question about the podcast or my own rides, send it through using the contact link below or DM me on Instagram at @seektravelride. What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

  4. Oct 24

    Bikepacking 13,000kms Around Australia Solo: Louann Perriere

    Louann Perriere arrived in Australia with the idea she'd get a bike and use it to get to work. Instead she ended up on a huge adventure, circumnavigating the entire country. What makes this even more impressive is she had never done anything like this before.  People warned her that  crossing the Nullabor in summer would be too hot, so instead she waited for autumn and was surprised by just how cold things would get. She also survived one of the most intense lightning storms, stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  Some of the highlights came with being in those big open spaces, such as when she was riding across the Barkly Tableland, and a place that stole her heart was Broome.  When she had setbacks like equipment failures, she quickly learnt to trust the road and that there would always be a solution. She loved how travelling solo in this manner across Australia also sparked countless conversations from curious strangers, and the kindness they showed towareds her. Like many other long distance travellers Louann also shares how she enjoys the solitude that comes with taking these kind of adventures on your own. Her advice to people thinking of doing something similar is to not listen to the fears others may put on your shoulders when you tell them your plans. It's not as scary as you think out there. Give it a go, and you can work things out as you travel. You can follow along with Louann's future adventures via her instagram @Louann.Perriere What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

  5. Oct 20

    Bike Touring With No Experience: Learning As You Go

    How much do you need to know before you set off on a bike adventure? Going back through nearly 200 episodes of Seek Travel Ride, I found the answer from guests is usually a lot less than people expect. For this midweek episode I’ve pulled clips from eight guests who started out with very little idea of what they were doing. Florence Cotel taught herself to ride a bike at night in Copenhagen so nobody would see her wobbling, and went on to ride from North to South America. Paul de Tilly’s only training for his ride from Paris to China was two kilometres around the Luxembourg Gardens near his house. In the second half you’ll hear how guests like Rebecca Lowe,  and Samer Abouhamad share how breaking down their big journeys into smaller pieces helped them believe they could make it happen. If you’re planning your first bike tour or bikepacking trip, I hope this gives you the push to start small and work the rest out on the road. Listen to the full episodes Ep 2: Dr Florence Cotel, Darwin to AdelaideEp 6: Mark Gresser, Perth to ParisEp 12: Paul de Tilly, Paris to ChinaEp 34: Pippa Langan, cycling around the worldEp 36: Rebecca Lowe, London to TehranEp 85: Rieke Schmees, Germany to TurkeyEp 91: Samer Abouhamad, Boston to Argentina and beyondEp 140: Laura Bastioli, Melbourne to DarwinWhat was the thing you had no clue about when you first set off on a bike adventure? Send me a message using the link below and I might read it out in a future episode. What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

  6. Oct 17

    Bikepacking Central Asia Then Racing Silk Road Mountain Race: Rob Maclennan

    Six days into a two-month ride across Central Asia, Rob MacLennan found himself driving a minibus over the mountains in Mongolia. His broken bike was strapped to the roof, there were twelve local women in the back, and the driver was having a nap in the passenger seat. It turned out to be a fair warning of what was coming. Rob first joined me on the show after riding from London to Cape Town. This time he’s back after bikepacking the ancient Silk Road through Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, using the whole trip as training for the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan.  He was sitting inside the top 15 when his cranks snapped deep in the mountains. Most riders would have scratched, and as Rob says himself, there’s no shame in that. He went the other way. He rode 50 kilometres with one pedal, found a rental bike that was far too small for him, went hunting through a scrapyard for a taller saddle, and spent around €800 on taxis bringing parts out from a bike shop in Bishkek. All the while he was racing the snail to make each checkpoint cutoff. We also talk about the numbness he felt after the race, which left his memories of the trip feeling like he was watching them in the third person. You can keep up with Rob's future adventures via his instagram @robbo_on_the_road What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

  7. Oct 13

    Bikepacking Wildlife Encounters

    This week’s episode has a Eurasian lynx attacking a cycle tourist through his tent wall and three lions calling to each other around a wild camp in Tanzania, so yeah, it’s a wildlife one.  It all started with an email from a previous guest, Robert Reynolds, where he shared a frightening experience when a Eurasian lynx tried to attack him in the night while he was inside his tent! It sent me back through the archives to my chat with Steph Devery, a kick-ass Aussie whose bike adventure took her right across Europe and down through Africa. Steph tells the story of sitting in the far corner of a campground in Uganda when a whole family of gorillas climbed into the trees right in front of her. She followed that up when she recalled a night wild camping in Tanzania when she woke at 3am to lions on every side of her tent, with a couple of millimetres of nylon between her and them. I also put the call out on Instagram for your own wildlife stories from the bike, and you came through. I share a few of mine as well, like riding over snakes on the bike paths in Canberra and a sleepless night of cowbells outside a shepherd’s hut in the Pyrenees. Then there’s the mule at the top of the Col du Soulor that nibbled my handlebars and disconnected my brakes right before the descent. Episode 200 of Seek Travel Ride is coming up in a few weeks, and a few of you have asked if someone could turn the tables and interview me. If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer, tap the “Send a message or voice note to the show” link in these show notes. You can use the same link to send me your own bike travel stories, and I’ll read them out in future episodes. Robert Reynolds’ episode Steph Devery’s episode:  What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer 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

  8. Oct 10

    Bikepacking Seven Countries in Asia with Shuhena Islam.

    Shuhena only learnt how to ride a bike as an adult and she's been rediscovering what is possible for her ever since. She shares how she always viewed bikepacking as a 'white persons sport' and also how she hopes more muslim women will take to doing what she has done.  Shuhena walked away from a corporate law career in London, bought herself a one way ticket to Asia and went bikepacking. She ended up cycling through seven countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia.  We talk visas (the Chinese one took a month), gear, and how cycling the mountainous roads in Java, Indonesia left her completely broken. She also shares how she has found community on the road, and the realities of what it is like to  go cycling through Asia as a Muslim woman. You can keep up with Shuhena's future adventures via her instagram:  @Cycling_Shu What's the best thing about taking a bike adventure? Send me your Answer Check out the new Axle Pack V2 from Old Man Mountain 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

4.9
out of 5
34 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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