Bamboo Odyssey » Women cycle touring | Bamboo Odyssey

Off to great places

Jules — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 00:44:58 +0000

While I have been tardy and behind in updating the blog….Thanks to The Star newspaper in Malaysia….href=”http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Features/2014/03/28/Wheely-good-fun-Two-women-cycle-across-the-world-on-bamboo-bikes/”>an update on Bamboo Odyssey

Merino wool clothing review….the essential cycle tourists’ yarn.

Jules — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 09:27:30 +0000

From conception we had about 3 1/2 years to plan for our bamboo cycle ride from London to Sydney. The UK was a perfect climate to try out clothing options that are light weight, warm and or cool with dramatically changing temperatures.

Early on in my 10 years residency in the UK, I realised synthetic or cotton base layers, thermal wear, was unsatisfactory, it retained the smell of sweat or was unable to wick or else it deteriorated too quickly.

Firstly, I tried Icebreakers merino base layers and despite the high cost I was hooked…..and my first items of clothing lasted for years…. The initial cost became much less as I did not need to replace items at regular intervals. With the properties of merino wool I was also able to wear my merino winter layers as outer layers during the summer…..ok….I am not that big on keeping up with the latest fashion trends.
Over the past few years there have been many more brands of merino wool garments hitting the market, including those that are cycle specific.. I’ve tried my fair share……Icebreaker, Howies, Sherpa, On One, Rapha, Smart Wool, Finisterre, Kathmandu, Ibex and Endura.

I’ll start with the cycle specific.
Rapha does a few items of clothing that are more suited to full on road racing, commuting, cafe culture and even the office, rather than an extended tour. My short sleeve jersey is incredibly durable due to the combo of polyester. It looks great and I’ve taken it on the trip as a smarter outfit for cities, socialising, border crossings, etc. It’s a great piece of kit but I wouldn’t go out and purchase it for a tour if I didn’t already own it. I’ve left my other quality Rapha merino jersey in London as these items are really too expensive for the trials of camping. Rapha’s sportwool merino/polyester combo fabric wear is quality, it lasts unlike some of their supposedly cycle specific trousers and shorts which acquire pills in the saddle area within a few weeks of wear.
The pros are it can be durable when fabric is a merino mix while all items look great. The cons…..really, really expensive and Rapha does not produce a large range of women specific items. Sizing can be strange and I recommend try before you buy.

On One, is a brand that produces a small range of everything from bicycles to cycle clothing.I purchased a male specific singlet as I liked the full length and round high neck that was not available for women in other brands. This is very thin and quickly began to look too thin…..but was always designed as a merino base layer. I also have On One merino socks. Great for the price, thinner than icebreaker, cool in summer without becoming stinky for days of wear. In 6 months of daily wear I did wear holes in both pairs. Fair do…..and the cheapest merino socks on the market by miles!

Endura…..cycle specific merino socks……great for summer, not much different to On One socks but twice the price. If you cant get On One I would go for these.

We have both worn a few items of Ibex clothing. I loved the arm warmers and they come with reflective detail. I decided arm warmers were surplus to requirements for our tour, opting for full layers for the colder months. Ibex clothing has proved incredibly durable and Li has been wearing a jersey more days than not, especially in countries where the bare shoulders of a singlet has been culturally inappropriate despite the heat. 12 months riding in London, almost 12 on this trip, it’s looking shabby for bike grease and ingrained dirt but free from holes and incredibly soft. For cycle specific and durable clothing I will continue to look out for Ibex. At the time of purchase we could only buy Ibex on line in the UK. It is an American brand and consequently their sizing I on the generous side.

Icebreaker….my favourite merino clothing producers. Not cheap but fair priced considering the years of wear you will get out of them if not getting the yarn snared up in the bike, cat claws, twigs, or your luggage. In recent years Icebreaker has begun to bring out a range of cycle specific clothing.
I have been wearing this brand for close to 10 years. Apart from a wee blip one year, where the wool appeared to lose its colour in strange patches after several washes…..the sizing and quality continues to be consistent. (I wash all of my merino in the washing machine on the same programme……hot because I am filthy….or hand wash, because there is nothing else). The wool does not fade, remains soft and the choices and styles change annually.
My liner gloves sadly only lasted 1 month of hardship about the camp site. But they were so warm and gave me dexterity that I would not find in any other glove. I abused them when they were not designed for this purpose. I am also wearing….and now slowly patching and sewing a base layer and jumper I have worn consistently in the UK for 7 years. They are warm and why purchase something new when it will be grotty within hours of cycling, dust or snow or whatever Mother Nature throws at you.
I also purchased a merino fleece outer layer for this trip. Their socks are also fairing well…..as I hole my other brands I gain Li’s hand me downs…thicker Icebreakers, as she generally wears sandals. Some of the lighter grade wool garments do gather holes quickly…. Not so much of a problem on the road but trying to look smart for embassy visits? Even Rapha gear looks pitiful when you ride, eat, sleep in your gear without flowing water for days on end.

Non cycle specific, Howies….I have only ever bothered with one singlet…..too thin and fragile for my liking but Li will purchase the occasional singlets for the bright colours or design. Still preferable to cotton or non organic. Neither of us bought along Howies for the trip as they didn’t last the test rides.

Finisterre, a small UK cold water surf company. Great……when it fits or does not shrink. I find the products too unreliable. The wool is not consistent from one year to the next. A small company and will hopefully sort this issue out as the designs are simple but colourful. Li continues to purchase singlets and underwear but I prefer to lean towards icebreaker…..products I can trust.

Kathmandu makes their own small range of merino clothing that changes style from season to season. I have bought t-shirts, underwear and long sleeve tops during their annual sales. My long sleeve top and a pair of underwear are still going strong with zero holes. Kathmandu merino has for me been the most forgiving yarn without being mixed with cotton, polyester or lycra. My only slight criticism of their merino is it does not stay quite as soft in our battleground of our changing laundry routine and the styling is not always to my taste. I am not a pink or pastel kind of girl. Thankfully they always include some black items of merino travel gear.

I have only owned one item of Sherpa merino clothing. These leggings are 260gsm grade merino and perfect for cold nights in the tent or when I want to run around looking like a jul tomte (Swedish Christmas Elf)…. Look it up…. with very bright red, red legs. I believe it’s a good way to embarrass Li when I chose to wear them on their own. This is the only item of merino that has ever made me itch. It’s also incredibly durable and warm . It appears to have shrunk in a strange way but as I have increasing lost weight apart from a beer belly, this has proved to my advantage. I may not go with Sherpa merino again but I would never go without merino leggings on an extended tour. They aren’t worn every day, but when you have exhausted all other clothing, are wet and cold….or simply all other clothing is in the wash, leggings are a luxury. This item is durable enough that I will have it for years to come.

Before I forget….do not leave home without a merino “Buff”. This multifunctional item remains a most treasured possession. A hat, come scarf, dust and grit mask, balaclava, head scarf for mosques and even a pillow cover.

Merino has properties that ensure your warmth, even when wet, and ensure you stay cool and dry comparable to other fabrics when the temperature soars. Merino is biodegradable and ties in well with sustainable, responsible travel, bamboo bikes and a love for the environment. On a tour….. most importantly, merino also repels the stink. Days of not washing…..no stink! Perhaps this is why people have, across the globe, remained hospitable to us. Unfortunately, I was recently forced to dispose of my very much loved, worn, sun bleached On One singlet which resembled…in looks, not smell, a very holey Swiss cheese. Well being world tourers it actually got repurposed as a chain rag. It was stop wearing the singlet or ride alone. Li very quickly learnt her mistake in suggesting I purchase a cotton replacement. Its hot, I am wet…I stink. Li’s birthday is coming up….on our travels, merino is scarce. If you feel like wishing her a safe and happy 30th birthday, you could send a merino singlet…..for me!

Will we survive the cold?

Jules — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 04:53:05 +0000

Will we survive the cold in Central Asia? Will we enjoy it? Is it possible……passable?
On the ferry to Kazakhstan. “You are the last for the season”……well not quite as we know Ross and Laura other Brit and Aussie cyclists are not far behind…..hoping to catch up if visa dates are not so restrictive.
They were sensible enough to refuse joining us to ride the Pamir Highway…..more research and we have to give it a miss…..mountain passes will be closed, risk of avalanche…..freezing to death. We look at other options. We are still in Beynue…..making the most of the Internet to study our options…..there are not many. We planned to go to China…..very few border crossings, all at altitude or desert at -30 with no towns or shelter.
Who has done it at this time of year…..on bicycles……more research……not many. One blogger had to hitch thousands of kilometres.
There is not much daylight any more and there will be less. Currently the sun rises at 8am and we start looking for a camp by 4.30 as it is pitch black by 7pm. Stealth camping can mean no torches once it is dark so we huddle in sleeping bags till just before dawn. Less hours so we are not traveling as great a distance which is problematic with such short visas in Asia.
And the problem of where to get a Visa for China……all the capital cities within reach only issue visas to the residents of that country with the exception of possibly being issued a visa in Astana…..possibly……a 20 plus hour train ride to an embassy that may or may not issue a visa. We have been tossing up storing our bikes and flying to Hong Kong where the issue of a visa is more likely….where do we store our bikes?
Ok….look at our options again…..a second night in Beynue…..a third…..Li’s eyes tired looking at computer screen.
From Almaty only one air line is recognised as safe by EU standards…… Where can we fly to and maybe cycle back? Hanoi? Bangkok? More procrastinating…..disappointment….confusion. We look at options of having more cold weather gear posted to us…..almost as pricy as an air fair and less reliable.
Hong Kong is marginally the cheapest air fair……why not fly the bikes and cycle back?…..away from our final destination……it all feels bonkers…..but doable. First we shall ride to Almaty our second entry into Kazakstan.

Mangystau

Jules — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 04:03:59 +0000

After a few hiccups we did not leave Aktau until 3pm. Not such a big deal as we had already planned to stay until noon making the most of our hotel. We pedalled off on a lesser road to Shetpe. Travelling along what felt like an industrial waste land, the road quickly deteriorated and we followed power lines, a train line and gas pipeline into the starkness that was the desert.
I was feeling on edge, we knew finding ‘stealth’ camp sites was going to be difficult and I was feeling very, very exposed. Sooner than necessary we chose a place to pitch the tent….behind the pipeline and a few piles of rubble.
Fortunately we only traveled 36km as the next morning after another 2 km a car pulled us over enquiring as to where we were going. Much gesturing and crossing of arms later we understood the driver was saying the road to Shepte was impassable. We deliberated, looked at our map, looked at Google maps…..where the road mysteriously disappears about 30km before our first town….and turned back to Aktau. We would trace our steps, our pedalling, and take the longer route.
After Aktau, the road deteriorated further. The asphalt appeared fine, until we rolled, bumped….bumped, and jumped along it. The road was crazed and in places patched, thousands of patches never flattened down so that despite an absence of pot holes the road was slow and uncomfortable. Like cobble stones….irregular cobble stones. Occasionally we would be blessed with 10 meters, even 50 meters of a thin veneer of smooth bitumen but you could still feel many of the old patches underneath.
Again I began to feel edgy, where would we spend our night…..there was absolutely nothing, not a hill, tree, hump as far as the horizon. We descended into a valley situated well below sea level and as evening approached we noted a big climb back onto the steppe. Just before the climb a sign indicated a picnic area and small scrubby plants off the side of the road. We investigated. A small spring from the ground explained the plants but nowhere was invisible from the road. Li strolled off to further investigate the ridge we were soon to climb. She soon returned saying she had found the perfect camp spot. Puzzled….”but I could see you the whole time?”
“Can you see the 5 camels”
Well….”No?”
“Good…..then no one will see us”
“What about the camels?”
“There is plenty of room for all of us!”
The camels did not think so and wandered off as we descended into the banks of a dry river bed. Wild horses strolled the ridges as we pitched for another night.
…….more crap roads…..ferocious headwind. The wind was hindering, bitter, cold…..crap wind. Still on asphalt and so very slow. We took refuge in our music and after a 90 degree bend in the road, music and tail wind, we were feeling euphoric as we clocked 9000 kilometres on the odometer. We celebrated with a brief rest to watch the mechanical donkeys, oil and gas fields, and shortly afterwards an unexpected town to purchase some extra food and some beer. We requested and were given well water at the mosque.
With the beer we celebrated our next found refuge for the night. Our first experience of sleeping in a culvert, a small concrete tunnel directly under the road……after we cleaned out the fossilised human crap.
Shetpe…..our last chance to stock up on supplies, and we made our first purchase of water for the entire time we have been traveling. We knew there would be the occasional tea house and as it is getting cold we use less water so we only purchased two 5 litre bottles. We still had a small supply from Aktau.
Not far after Shetpe, about 30 km , the crap road ceased to exist and became a crap track. A very wide track as the 2 lanes became 6 as trucks and the fewer cars have over time worn a super slow ‘highway’ further and further into the desert, away from the centre of the “road” in an attempt to avoid the bumps and sand and dust holes and crevices of the original path. In places up to 7 further tracks weave their way in roughly the right direction, occasionally diverging and criss crossing and the traffic including ourselves, moves between all the lesser width tracks looking for the smoothest way forward.
Bull dust……Li thought I was making the word up, but the Oz outback is full of it…..this track was full of it, as were our eyes, noses, clothes, our underpants. Unlike sand it is not so abrasive, but gets in even more places, is sticky and cloying…..Especially in your mouth……We put on our ski goggles. Fortunately it was mostly shallow bulldust…..when not in the air…. and we rolled…..ok….bumped, relatively easily over most of it. In other places it was a foot thick.
We found another camp site between 2 hills above the road. It had been a beautiful day, riding in T-shirts. The temperature plummeted. As we finished our camp meal ice crystals formed on the remains. We woke struggling to remove the frozen caps of out water storage. Both 5 litre containers almost solid….we peeled our frozen bananas, packed away our frozen eggplant and remaining tomato for later on. Too cold to check the temperature over night it must have been our coldest yet going by the degree of ice. It was -2 when we climbed into the not so welcoming tent at 8pm.
More tracks, more wind, no wind, beautiful sun shine, even tail winds. The wind bought on the cold and we were in and out of layers of clothing as it picked up then abated. The wind chill could make a high temperature of 20 degrees feel like zero.
More culverts…..we slept in 6 tunnels under the road out of the ten nights. Mostly they were clean and a refuge from the wind, occasionally they became a wind tunnel. There was evidence camels had entered some, crawling on their knees which must be a sight. Their fur stuck to the small circular walls.
Despite the refuge from prying eyes I did not overly like sleeping in tunnels but I loved our desert adventure. The cold and our troglodyte adaption was well worth the extremes of experience. Starry nights void of all light pollution. Shooting stars. The sun rising, pinks, reds, blue hughes and camels silhouetted on the horizon. Picture books becoming reality, the real sounds of silence.
And occasionally the road became pure bliss, fresh new Tarmac for 20 kilometres or so, then tracks, then Tarmac. We rode on the unfinished road that is years from completion and joining up, but the small sections were a well earned break, briefly from the filling, teeth jiggling kilometre after very long kilometre to Beyneu…..our last town before Uzbekistan.

Ferry from Baku to Aktau

Jules — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 15:06:41 +0000

Catching a ferry from Baku to Aktau appears complicated. Li my hero navigator has researched, read many, many blogs…..and attempted to read the finer details on line, in Azeri and Russian……even with the difficulty of translating…..there are no finer details.
So the process……we arrived in Baku as quickly as our legs would allow, giving us 2 more weeks on our Azeri visas to play the deciphering and more expectantly, the waiting game.
The first full day in Baku we apply for our Uzbekistan visas, and $US 75 later (for both Australian and British citizens ) we are granted visas without a hitch. Finding the embassy has been difficult for our predecessors so we take a taxi to avoid delays.
Day 2 we cycle in search of an unsigned, unmarked hut at one of the many ports. Again, thanks to a fellow touring cyclists blog and detailed directions and photographs the only difficulty is negotiations with the traffic. We locate the mysterious ticket office and are told to phone or come back tomorrow.
We plan to avoid Iran due to the new requirements of acquiring a guide so our only options are cycling through Russia….no…..fly……no……or catch a cargo ship to Kazakhstan …..this idea suits us well and we acquired visas in Tbilisi. (100 lari for me, 200 lari for Li.) But the ships only set sail once fully loaded and there is absolutely no schedule. We could wait 1 day…..or as others have done……2 weeks for a boat.
In the morning having been blessed to have met a Russian speaking English cyclist, she phones the ticket office to enquire for us…….and a ship is leaving “today”. This is far quicker than expected, our laundry is wet, we have not bought food supplies, and will need to purchase tickets at the hut and negotiate the city and cycle to another port in time……time for what, we do not know……no one knows no matter what language you speak. The ship will sail when it is ready and may take 18 hours to cross the Caspian Sea, the longest account we could find….96 hours…..dependant upon the weather and port authorities so we need food and water for the duration.
We arrive late at the hut……Li’s directions are spot on but we struggle for 45 minutes to cross 12 lanes of fast moving traffic. The secretary that sells the tickets is notoriously horrible……not so to us. I like her

Chaotic and dangerous

Jules — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 14:47:10 +0000

Chaotic and dangerous. That, apparently is the condition of traffic riding into Baku. Actually I found that Azerbaijan…..ok…and Turkish….Men… Are chaotic and potentially dangerous. Riding into Baku was relatively easy, at least with Li’s expert navigational skills.
We have had mixed feelings in Azerbaijan. A days riding, the landscape, the weather, changes dramatically……beautifully. So too the towns and villages change dramatically, modern, clean, sparse, ancient, traditional……time honoured.
We cycle through one village, mostly women baking bread in tandoors on the side of the road….every 10 to 50 meters….the same produce, the same smiles, golden smiles, golden teeth. We are invited to cay, tea, pleasantly….by a woman.
Our first village….the men are excitable….excited….staring…..over familiar……we become…..to my standards, rude. We ignore…..move on…..ignore….move on. At one point, getting dark, middle of nowhere we hide behind a tree waiting for cars to pass and find camp. 5 men stop, approach…..I feel bad but it’s late, we are desperate for a safe camp, we ignore, move on. Angry, annoyed…..but mostly feeling unsafe. Hide and sleep in prickly thicket.
The landscape continues to entrance while we fly through towns wishing anonymity.
Our fourth night, the moon is almost full the sun just setting, I am in love with life, the scenery…..how romantic, a man cantering on horse back approaches us…….wanting sex. He goes and he comes again. We deliberate. We eat…..I the hungry cyclist can not eat…..throw away half my meal and pack up camp. In the dark we ride, we do not generally ride in the dark, but we ride to a cay house we spotted in the distance and we ask for refuge.
We are given a room, a dining room out the back, shown how to lock the room…..but the lock does not work. The men seem ok. We join them for drinks. In Azerbaijan you get vodka in 3 litre cardboard casks! I feel safe, the drinks can’t be spiked from a cask.
……and I can sport a shot gun….actually the men…..apparently police!….but I am not convinced, were very excited about their guns. Short of conversation I bought out our “point it” dictionary. Pictures of rabbit resulted in my journey to a car to inspect a gun…..more vodka, and time to shoot. We declined going hunting…..too tired , gesturing our bikes. More vodka, the car, the gun…….rather thrilling but in retrospect….. My, oh my…..if a car had been traveling in the guns path……photos. I note the cartridge taken from the gun, even in my drunken state…..I am aware and do not like the potential. Photos….. Man points at Li with the camera…..No…from me….No…..from man that owns the gun. No more pointing, I take and hold the presumably empty gun.
Bed…..too drunk…..hazy…..but I am sure one man enters the room…..ah…..a sleeping bag is not easy for another to enter…..slightly ashamed as I vomit….a room given freely. Man is angry, but no ideas of sex….. He hoses and destroys the carpet. We lock the room with our bike locks and drunkenly pass out.
In the morning we are asked to pay US$500 for cleaning. “I have no money” We are asked to pay $100. I ride a bicycle, I have no money. We leave and I am both angry that I messed up our free room, angry at myself, that I got , so, so drunk, and angry that even in supposed refuge, around men, we both feel so unsafe. My pepper spray cap is missing, but I was too drunk to remember where, or how?

A long way to go

Jules — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 19:14:31 +0000

Smelly, sweaty, dusty, dust sticking to sweat….clothes full of holes, baggy and now ill-fitting…..hair resembling road kill…..we should know as have seen a lot! …..tired…..cycling practically all day….who has desire….energy for sex? And they still ask! Are these men stupid…..they are certainly desperate.
After some unwanted advances, experiences, we have tried to curb our behaviour, have asked many locals for advice. We are not so smiley, do not offer our hand unless offered first. (A friend commented we are too polite, maybe, but i try to give the benefit of the doubt.) We overt our eyes….avoid eye contact. Place our bodies facing away, from him, them. We cover up more than we did previously when getting off the bike.
I say I am married, no…..no children. Have even said my husband is meeting us further down the track……I do not say, I sincerely hope you are not some poor woman’s husband.
At least the last man was polite enough to “ask” Li for a kiss and left her to depart unhindered when she said no. One man who stopped his car, offering us a lift, turned up hours later, another place on the road, wanting a photo, with a kiss. So insistent, unrelenting, I kissed him on the cheek so he would finally piss off…..photo evidence, no doubt, that he is such a “man”.
As already noted we meet many respectful men, hospitable men, helpful and honest men. Unfortunately too many that need a mighty kick….such behaviour breeds fear, absolutely no respect, shame on their country and their sex the world over. We pedal along , knowing the country is irrelevant…..safety…..joking…safety….black humour…..that we still have sex appeal…..and a long way to go.