Cycle touring might just be the most sustainable way to travel. At least, that is what Zoe Ashbridge and Stewart Law would say.<\/p>\n
Cycle touring might just be the most sustainable way to travel. At least, that is what Zoe Ashbridge and Stewart Law would say. They\u2019ve spent more than a year cycling around the world and in that time have slowly adventured through 24 countries.<\/p>\n
The best bit, if it wasn\u2019t for the pandemic that paused their trip for a while, they would explored all of these countries without a single flight.<\/p>\n
How did they do it? Cycle touring, of course!<\/p>\n
Cycle touring is a form of travel where you explore by bicycle.\u00a0Cycle tourists carry everything they need on their bikes<\/a>. Traditional cycle touring set ups include pannier bags and cyclists carry tents, stoves, clothing food and more.<\/p>\n It\u2019s known that 8-10% of global CO2 emissions come from travel<\/a>. A large portion of these issues are generated from pollution, global carbon emissions and more.<\/p>\n This is where cycle touring comes in; not all travel is created equal and when it comes to sustainability, bicycle travel is far superior. Afterall, there are no barely any carbon emissions.\u00a0Cycling, at 33 grams of CO2\/mile is 30 times lower than a car<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first benefit is obvious, you will significantly cut your carbon emissions and by cycling around the world you will be making a huge difference to the environment, but what about the other, less obvious benefits of cycling?<\/p>\n Zoe Ashbridge and Stewart Law have been cycling around the world for a year. They claim that this form of slow travel gives them a more immersive experience.<\/p>\n Zoe says, \u2018The thing with cycle touring is that you travel slow through a country. It\u2019s not like flying to a country, heading for the biggest city and staying there, you weave in and out of small villages and get a real taste for the country and the culture.<\/p>\n \u2018I won\u2019t forget that while in Thailand Stew and I said that we\u2019d not eaten any Thai food yet. Funny because we were in Thailand! Wat we meant was, we hadn\u2019t eaten a Thai Green Curry of a Pad Thai. But, that\u2019s not what Thai people are eating in the smaller towns and villages. We were eating a wholesome and delicious meal of mince and rice instead.\u2019<\/p>\n Instead of flying in and out of a city, you get fit! Stewart and Zoe have now cycled over 13,000 miles and it\u2019s fair to say, in that distance you\u2019ll get fit on a bike. On top of that, the pair are riding bikes that, with luggage, weigh as much as 30kg to 40kg.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no way you can ride a bike that heavy without dropping a few pounds and building some muscle.<\/p>\n A cycle tour offers adventure quite unlike traditional travelling.<\/p>\nThe environmental impact of travel<\/h2>\n
Benefits of cycle touring on the environment<\/h2>\n
More immersive travel<\/h3>\n
You get fit<\/h3>\n
Adventure<\/h3>\n