Swag Family World Ride

As the end of this two year epic journey closes in we discuss the two months of riding through China and Vietnam. There’s the embarrassing story of the attempted smuggling of an artillery casing out of Tajikistan; and an unfortunate broken finger to unpack.

Cycling along the legendary Pamir Highway was a huge test for us as a family. We had everything from close encounters of the very fast kind with the Silk Road Mountain Race, to altitude sickness and food poisoning. Along the way we found new friends and tested the limits of what is possible (or at least sensible) for a family to do on their bikes.

A fair bit to talk through on this episode! It includes an oopsie-daisie rear ender by Nic, a landslide, a near death truck crash and some dead end route finding. Enjoy our misfortune!

​We ride through some wild corners of Scotland, discuss train lockers, venture to the land of bike-love (Netherlands) and finally arrive in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek…. two bikes short of a quota!

It’s like a whole new cycling adventure in the UK and Ireland. We explain the new riding set-up, how we’ve found places to stay and how we dealt with a major mechanical issue!

In this episode we recap the ride from Bariloche as we head down and across to the Carretera Austral in Chile. South from there we face the challenge of the Villa O’Higgins hike-a-bike border crossing and the epic winds of the pampa back in Argentina.

We asked our listeners if they wanted to hear stories about the delicate art of toileting in South America while on bicycle tour. To Nic’s delight and Andrew’s horror you said loud and clear, ‘let’s have that conversation’. But please, be WARNED that this conversation is all about pooing in the wild, misadventures with bidets and the like. If you’re at all squeamish please DO NOT LISTEN to it. Fra...

Route 40 runs the length of Argentina. It is a famous bike touring heaven (and hell) in one snaking 5000km strip of dirt and asphalt. We see both sides of it in this episode as we sample the far northern section from La Quiaca to San Antonio de Los Cobres. Hear about Nic’s tangle with a puma at 4200m and the joys and struggles of family cycling in this extreme environment.

We were worried that Bolivia would be a big old boring high plain in between Peru and Argentina. So WRONG! In this episode we discuss the route we took from Copacabana in the north to the southern border at Villazon, and the amazing things we discovered along the way.

This episode takes us from the highway south of Cusco to the border crossing into Bolivia on the shores of Lake Titikaka. We discuss the challenges of navigating through Juliaca and how we dealt with some difficult road conditions south of Puno. Should you ride on highways with children? We have a sad dog story and lovely stay in an empty school classroom. We finish with the slightly confusing but...

After two months of riding and bussing through Peru with a hideously large triple and tandem bicycle, what have been the highlights and challenges? Find out on this long overdue podcast!

In this episode we describe the scene as we depart one of the largest cities in South America on a triplet and tandem bike! This episode recorded at Langa.

This episode is all about airports, airplanes and moving enormous boxes between them. From Auckland to Houston to Lima. We made it to South America!

It was so long ago who knows what happened from Punakaiki to Auckland! Nah, of course we remember! * 100km day *Timber Trail *more great people.

As we make our way up the west coast of New Zealand we discuss food wars, wonderful encounters and the plan ahead.

Earthquakes (super minor), sandflies and jet boats feature in this episode as we ride from Lawrence to Fox Glacier on New Zealand’s South Island. The weeks are building up and this adventure is just getting started.

Our first big test on the Plenty Link Road in Tasmania and then we pack up the circus and navigate the airline system to arrive in New Zealand.

We are officially riding around the world now. Sort of… we feel like frauds as we cycle through our own backyard but hey, you gotta start somewhere! This episode is a recap of the first four days on the road.

The days are really ticking down now. We discuss putting the triplet bike together and other final preparations. We also answer an email from a French family asking for advise on their upcoming Australian adventure.

With a month before departure we dissect all the important questions. Can a helmet double as a toddler potty? Has the triple arrived yet? (Spoiler…no)

"You're doing what?!"... Riding around the world with three kids. Tune in to find out about our plan for a huge adventure.