For this years Cycling East Adventure, Ed and Marion will cycle from the UK and head east, and well, just keep on heading east.
Like all true adventures we have no end point, no timescale, no flights booked, nor any specific route. We do know roughly where and how we can get visas but we have never undertaken something so unknown in all the years we have been adventuring around the world. I will however certainly be regularly be sharing lots of great photos and all of our experiences, thoughts and stories, so please keep following to see how it progresses! To live up our We Love Mountains name we hope to visit the great mountain ranges of Europe and Asia such as the Alps, Caucasus, Tien Shan, Pamir, Karakoram and hopefully if Tibet allows us into the heart of the Himalayas. We hope to trek a little in each mountain range before making our way by bike to the next spectacular area. This trip also has a bigger message that I really want to promote. Essentially I am cycling because I love cycling, however I am also doing it through a necessity, using it as a pure form of sustainable transportation.
I have always wanted to visit the areas I will pass through, all these stunning landscapes have an alluring charisma from the misty hills of rural Romania to the vast steppes of the silk road and then up into the peaks and glaciers of the Karakoram mountains. The easiest way to experience all this would have been to fly into the cities and drive out into the mountains, trek or cycle and then fly out again. This approach is something that we all take for granted but it is just not sustainable. By cycling I am experiencing these stunning locations in a more engaging way that is both more sustainable and fulfilling; outdoor adventures should always be about not leaving a trace nor destroying the very places you travel to see.
I want people who follow this trip to be inspired to commit an everyday #greenpledge that helps the world around us something as simple as eating less meat or cycling to work more often. It would also be great to inspire others to take up their own #greenchallenge like I have. I want to promote the relatively new concept of DoNation.org.uk, a great idea that throwing money at climate change is not the solution, it is about DOING! Please commit your green pledge at DoNation.org.uk for more information on how to pledge and what to do please click on the link here: Cycling East Challenge http://www.thedonation.org.uk/doers/we-love-adventures/cycling-uk-china-and-beyond! I hope that by attempting this journey I can inspire others to make smaller green pledges at home or take a similar challenge and shun that dull, generic luxury holiday to tackle a more inspired and greener adventure!
If anyone wants to get involved or are cycling a similar route through central Asia please get in touch, the more the merrier!
http://welovemountains.net