What keeps me going? Sonya & Aaldrik of Tour.TK

This article is one in a series of interviews with long-term international bike tourists.  This time I talked with Sonya and Aaldrik from Tour.TK to get their take on things.

World Bike Touring Examiner (WBTE): Would you please explain a tad bit about where you’ve been and where you’re going and how long have you been/were you on the road?

Sonya & Aaldrik: We sold everything and packed our bike bags on July 31, 2006 and set off for our round the world tour: http://www.tour.tk. Since then we have visited 36 countries in Europe; the Subcontinent; Central, South Eastern and Far East Asia; North and Central America and now we are about to embark on the South American leg of our journey. From here we’ll somehow make it to Africa, Middle East, back into China and Tibet, a few more countries of South East Asia before ending the tour in Australia sometime in 2012.

 WBTE: What prompted such an extended journey?  Had you done a lot of touring before?

Sonya & Aaldrik: Apart from a few short trips abroad, we have only ever cycled toured together. Our first journey was from Bangkok to Singapore over a three month period in 1996 and since then we have never looked back. We toured extensively in western Europe and quickly understood that this mode of transport is an amazing way to experience any country, its people and everything else on offer. We both had an ambition to see the world extensively and so it wasn’t a hard decision to make that this journey would be by bike. It’s a slow mode of transport and quite physically demanding as well. We figured, we had better do it while we still could and so here we are.

WBTE: I know there are plenty of wonderful days when the sun is shining and you’ve got the wind at your back.  But there are also days when it’s raining or you face a headwind or you’re climbing a hill that just won’t end.  How do you get through those days?  What keeps you going?

Sonya: I think, the reason many people cycle tour is because they like the freedom of being their own boss and the excitement of not really knowing what the next port of call will bring. The warm dinner in comfortable lodgings after a rainy descent; the shower at the end of a hard desert ride; the promise of tear-in-the-eye views at the top of the mountain: are all reasons to keep going. We also set short term goals like the reward of a fresh juice if we can push on another 30 minutes; a snack when we make it to the next town. Of course, occasionally we realise that we are not going to achieve our plan and have to make alternative arrangements. But, all in all I believe you have to have a persevering type of character to want to continue to travel this way.

Aaldrik: I agree with Sonya that the thought of the unexpected, just around the corner is motivating enough to keep on pedalling on no matter what.

WBTE: As hard as it is to pick out one or two highlights – would you, could you?   Tell us about a couple of those incredibly wow-ing, drop-your-jaw experiences you’ve had.

Aaldrik: Quite often the extremes of cycle touring become your most memorable experiences. When we had to camp at around 3000m in Yosemite National Park in sub zero temperatures because they had closed Tioga Pass, we were not particularly happy; but the next day when Park Rangers let us through before they opened the road and we had the whole virgin-snow descent to ourselves; well, besides the lump in my throat, it is a once in a life-time experience that we will never ever forget. And to top it all of, three days later we were flying down the magnificently stunning highway entering Death Valley in searing temperatures. Again, another amazing moment but even more so after the recent and extreme opposite experience.

People can also make your encounter special. Cycling down the Oregon and Californian Coasts became one of our touring highlights. The fond memories are not only due to the phenomenal views and easiness as far as camping and shopping logistics are concerned, but the camaraderie between the group of cyclists we met and journeyed with. At the end of the day, everyone ended up at the same campsite, we shared buying firewood, beers, anecdotes, bike repair skills and we have never laughed so much in all our lives.

Sonya: Besides lazing in a hammock, sipping on an exotic fruit juice, smack bang in the middle of a tropical beach paradise, being in the mountains is probably our favourite place. People are friendly, the landscape is not strewn with rubbish and we generally get to camp wild: which we love doing. Every mountain pass in this trip so far has been jaw-dropping, but I think one of the most beautiful stretches of road is the Karakorum Highway starting in Kashgar China and leading to Havelin in Pakistan. It is an untamed path at roughly 2000 altimetres weaving itself between some of the highest mountains in the world. You just feel so humble against the might and beauty of the rugged nature.

Like Aaldrik said, people can contribute greatly too. I will always remember cycling out of Tabriz in Iran and having families pass us food and drinks out of their car window, like we were in the Tour de France. That day alone, we received 4 cans of juice, a bottle of water each, 4 chocolate bars, a large packet of biscuits, two massive handfuls of toffee, 2 mandarins and 2 apples. It was a beautiful gesture on behalf of the Iranian people.

Another heart-felt moment that overwhelms me every time I think about it was the day we were travelling up to Sparti in the Greek mountains. A man drove past in his little red car and then strangely enough turned around up ahead and zoomed back down. I imagined he had forgotten something and we just plodded on up the hill. About 20 minutes later he came speeding past us, pulled over to the side of the road and ripped his handbrake on with such a force that I thought: My goodness, what is going to happen now?

He jumped out and came running towards us, babbling excitedly away in Greek, which we didn’t understand a word of and handed us a big bag of navel oranges, obviously from his orchard. He was so happy to be doing this simple but kindly act. Although our contact was brief and I couldn’t tell you what he looked like, I will always remember it.

 WBTE: What about those days you wish you could forget (but you know you never will)?  Those days when everything goes wrong and then even more goes wrong?  Tell us about a couple of those.

Sonya: Being struck down suddenly with a chronic sciatica problem in India; losing my bike temporarily for two hours because I handed it to an old man in the blur of the pain; having the first hotel owner say his hotel was full when it wasn’t and needing to find the only other accommodation in town; riding to the local hospital in a taxi in absolute agony on atrociously bumpy roads; getting a pain killing injection to the audience of every bystander at the open-air emergency room; and simply not knowing what was wrong with me. And all this happened within a four hour time span. To cut the nightmare story short, we ended up moving to Agra after three days bed rest and no improvement. We stayed there for seven weeks while I learned to walk again. First with a stick; then without and finally getting my strength built up to cycle my loaded bike out of the place.

Aaldrik: The decision to cycle in India: period. I didn’t like the place nor the way the people treated us as cyclists. Everyday was a struggle on the road and often to the point where we had to fight to stay alive. We were pushed off the road intentionally and Sonya was quite often bullied by Indian men. At the end of the day, all you wanted was a place to eat and sleep, but even this proved a problem. So many people were dishonest and you would undoubtedly have to negotiate the price of your room, the price of your dinner and basically the price of anything you wanted. They saw us as walking dollar bills.

 WBTE: You’ve toured through many countries and I know they each are unique and have their advantages and disadvantages.  But, if you were to talk with someone relatively new to cycle touring, where would you recommend they go?  Why?

Sonya & Aaldrik: It depends entirely on their physical condition; experience in outdoor sports and how much they have cycled before. Still anybody can cycle tour, you just have to adapt the destination to your ability at the time. An easy spot to start would be South East Asia. Say somewhere like Thailand or Western Malaysia, where it is simple to get around and the food and accommodation are relatively cheap.

For those wanting something more exotic, the Pacific coast in Costa Rica, at the right time of year, is not your run of the mill destination yet it has a lot of nature and friendliness on offer. Accommodation, food and lodging is not difficult to find and the distances in between towns are not too long.

With a bit more stamina behind the handlebar, France is a great place to cycle tour. Cheap camping options and amazing food combined with stunning landscapes make it one of our favourite places to ride. Similarly, the Oregon Coast is quite doable for those with a persistent nature. The rewards outweigh the hard work by far: stunning views; ample shopping and food opportunities plus the bonus of knowing there’s a well catered for hiker-biker site with hot shower at the end of the day.

WBTE: Any special tips or advice to wannabe tourers?

Sonya & Aaldrik: If you really want to cycle tour, just get out there and do it. There is enough information on internet these days to plan a route that is suited to you; your ability and your dreams. Furthermore, if you try it and don’t like it there are plenty of cyclists out there who’ll take your second hand gear off your hands. Purchase good quality equipment: it really does pay off in the long run. Take it easy in the beginning and while it is advisable for most people to have specific goals throughout the journey on both a short and long term basis, never be scared to change them. If you don’t like somewhere, go somewhere else. Don’t ever think it is weak to push your bike; take a bus or flag down truck: even the strongest of us all have faced unconquerable situations. Always trust gut instinct; eat well and drink lots of water; make yourself well visible while riding; and please wear a helmet.

 If you enjoyed this interview, you might enjoy these other interviews with world cyclists:
Goat from Riding the Spine
Sean from Riding the Spine
Jacob from Riding the Spine
Friedel from Travelling Two
Sonya and Aaldrik from Tour.TK
Alastair Humphreys
Peter Gostelow
Tim & Cindie from Down the Road