An around the world cycling adventure
PROFILE
BREAK FROM NORMALITY
An around the world cycling adventure
words by carla hobbs
Draining his drink, Tom Bruce set the empty glass down and left his local pub. It had been a pleasant evening spent dining with his family. Stomach full, he hopped on his bicycle and began to pedal. Instead of taking the familiar route home, he headed south. It would be almost ten months before he came back.
It was March 2011 and the 24-yearold mechanical engineer had embarked on a journey that would take him around the world. Turning his back on his small home town of Peckforton in Cheshire, Tom was to cycle 14,379 miles through Europe, Asia, and North America, on a trip that would last until December.
Armed with a hip flask of Scotch whisky, a‘ point it’ picture book for communication, and a vague plan, he cycled to France where he began his eastward journey across the globe. Following the Danube from Germany to Bulgaria, he then travelled through Central Asia and China before crossing the USA.
It was a trip that saw him weather the sweltering Uzbekistan desert, sleep in drainage tunnels under Chinese motorways, and drink with lawyers and shepherds alike in Georgia.
Yet Tom is ordinary, or so he claims. Waving aside any ideas of existential
crisis or soul searching as his motivation for doing the trip, he explains:“ I’ ve always liked cycling and quite wanted to do some travelling. I also wanted to do it cheaply and doing it by bike meant there were pretty much no transport costs.”
The timing of his trip was equally straightforward. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh the previous year, Tom had begun working for a renewable energy installations company. Sensing the firm was heading towards bankruptcy, he left.“ I thought,‘ What better time than now to do the trip? Why not?’”
Nor did he set any other goal except completing the journey and having fun while doing so. He asserts:“ I didn’ t set out to break any records; I just wanted to enjoy myself and actually see the countries I cycled through.”
A further goal did exist in the form of a deadline however. Tom reveals:“ I promised my girlfriend I tom bruce tom bruce tom bruce
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