INTRODUCTION
PART 1: PRACTICALITIES – Page 13
Planning and preparation – What kind of ride? – Which continent? – Seasons and climate – Budget and time – Travelling companions – Researching information – Documentation – Passports – Visas – Insurance – Money – Health preparation
PART 2: BIKES, CLOTHING & CAMPING GEAR – Page 34
Bikes: Narrowing down your choices – Expedition touring bikes – Traditional touring bikes – Mountain bikes – Fat bikes – Recumbents – Tandems – Narrowing it down further: Frame material – Wheel size – Derailleur gears vs hub gear – Rim brakes vs disc brakes – Drop bars vs straight bars – Choosing a new bike: Surly – Thorn – Koga-Miyata – Santos – Recumbents – More dream bikes – Cheaper touring bikes – Mid-range MTBs – Build your own bike – Gears, brakes and wheels – Bottom brackets – Headsets – Comfort zone: Saddles – Suspension forks – Carrying luggage: Racks – Panniers – Bikepacking setup – Pimping your ride – Tools and spares – How much stuff?
Clothing – Footwear
Camping: Tents – Sleeping bags – Sleeping pads & air mattresses – Stoves – Treating drinking water – Kitchen essentials – Toilet bag – Electronic devices
PART 3: ON THE ROAD – Page 99
Transporting your bike: By air – On buses & trains – On horses & mules – Boxing your bike – Navigating: GPS units – Smartphones – Staying in touch on the road – Health on the road – Altitude sickness – Hygiene – Women’s health – Pacing yourself – Food and water – A healthy diet – Purifying water – Staying safe: Avoiding accidents – Theft & robbery – Dealing with dogs – Dirt-road (off-road) riding
PART 4: ROUTE OUTLINES: EUROPE TO ASIA & AUSTRALASIA – Page 121
Europe – To the continent – The call of the Orient – To West Africa via Spain
Asia – The southern route – Turkey – Iran – Pakistan – The Karakoram Highway – India: Ladakh, Spiti & Kinnaur – Manali to Leh – Zanskar – Nepal – The Caucasus: Georgia – Azerbaijan – Armenia – Central Asia: Turkmenistan – Uzbekistan – Tajikistan – The Pamir Highway – Kyrgyzstan – Kazakhstan – The northern route: Russia – Mongolia – East Asia: China – Sichuan – Yunnan – Tibet – The Friendship Highway – Taiwan – South Korea – Japan – South-East Asia: Thailand – Cambodia – Vietnam – Laos – Malaysia – Indonesia – Philippines – Myanmar
Australia – New Zealand
PART 5: ROUTE OUTLINES – AFRICA – Page 229
The Nile route: Egypt – Sudan – Ethiopia – East and Southern Africa: Kenya – Uganda – Rwanda – Burundi – Tanzania – Malawi – Mozambique – Zimbabwe – Zambia – Namibia – Botswana – South Africa – Lesotho – Swaziland – West and Central Africa: Morocco – Mauritania – Mali – Senegal – Guinea Bissau – Sierra Leone – Liberia – Ivory Coast – Ghana – Nigeria – Cameroon – DRC – Angola
PART 6: ROUTE OUTLINES – THE AMERICAS – Page 255
North America: USA & Canada – PanAm route ideas – Riding Alaska to the Lower 48 – Pacific Coast Route –
Riding the Great Divide
Mexico and Central America: – Mexico – Guatemala – Nicaragua – Costa Rica – Panama – Cuba – Crossing the Darien Gap
South America: Colombia – Ecuador – Peru – Cordilleras Blanca & Huayhuash – The Huascarán Circuit – Cusco and the Sacred Valley – Bolivia – The Salars – Chile – Argentina – Patagonia – The Carretera Austral – Venezuela
PART 7: TALES FROM THE SADDLE – Page 311
The Wild Corner of Myanmar – Stephen Fabes
Kidnapped by Comedians – Emily Chappell
Crossings and Encounters – Anna Kortschak
Go with the Flow – John Burnham
Now or Never – Charlie Walker
Alaskan Epiphanies: Finding My Roads – Nathan Haley
Just Don’t Stop – Helen Lloyd
APPENDIX Bicycle maintenance
GLOSSARY
CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX