David Stanbridge. Cycling To Oz.
Written and photographed by David Stanbridge
David Stanbridge is a twenty four year old mechanical technician who works in Ballylumford Power Station. In 2016 he cycled from his home in Islandmagee, County Antrim to Sydney, Australia.
Here David shares some of his photographs from various points along the way, tells us about some of the highs and lows of his epic journey and what it takes as a human to embark on such a marathon effort to make it from one side of the world to the other by bicycle.
Not many people can comprehend leaving home on such a grand adventure, but in the summer of 2015 David bought a 1:25,000,000 scale world map and planned his route with a thick tip permanent marker in one swift movement. He booked one year off work so at that point the schedule was cast in stone. He had to be home in twelve months. During the winter of 2015 David spent most of his time planning, researching and preparing for the journey. Bike and equipment selection took precedence, followed by scrutiny of everything that had to carried in panniers on the bike. “Every ounce is critical as you will be hauling all of this - every single day!”
The European section of David’s route
What was the biggest challenge of the whole experience?
That’s a difficult question to answer as there were a lot of challenges but none which seemed too difficult to overcome thankfully. If I had to pick I would say the isolation. When I boarded the boat from England to The Netherlands I was leaving the last English speaking country until Australia. That’s a long time to get by on hand signals and relying on others English. I hope native English speakers realise what a privilege it is!
Just West of Ankara, Turkey.
This photo attracted the most attention and it’s the one everyone asks me about even after a further 10 months of travel. I was travelling along a main road in turkey at dusk, there had been some dogs around just before I stopped for the night which I was slightly nervous about. I turned down off the road which was banked high to smooth out some of Turkeys lumpy and bumpy terrain, fully intending to camp I searched for a spot but It wasn’t easy to find anywhere out of sight of the passing traffic. Until I spotted this homely looking tunnel, I checked it out and wasn’t disappointed. I spent a dry however dusty night inside and picked up exactly where I left off the following morning.
What did you miss most from home?
Absolutely no material things, not even my Mum’s cooking, which is what most people say they miss. I missed people the most. Family and friends kept me going even though they were not with me and communicating from the other side of the world could not be easier. To be honest, in that respect I never felt like I was any further away than normal sometimes.
Can you tell us some funny/scary stories from the journey?
I can laugh now but at the time it wasn’t that funny at all. I was travelling with a group of other cyclists through Tajikistan and we all came down with a parasite infection which you pick up though the water we were drinking. It sounds worse than what it really is, but it basically results in a lot of time spend on the toilet and you feel very weak. One of the guys I was with at that time was called Dan and was from England, he was the funniest guy on the road and we got on so well. I’ll never forget those few nights where we both sat beside each other on the toilet separated by a cubicle wall grumbling and groaning in discomfort but occasionally bursting out laughing at each other’s misfortune. If we didn’t laugh, then we would have cried.
Cappadocia. Turkey
Having been sent several nice pictures of the rock formations and hot air balloon displays in Cappadocia I wasn’t disappointed. I chose to take a couple of days off there and it was where I had a haircut and a shave for the first time since leaving home, my beard resembled more of a nerdy teenager than an intrepid adventurer. To get this photo I woke up at 3.30am on the morning I was leaving and packed away my tent by torchlight, several mini buses full of tourists passed me as I approached the hot air balloons being prepared by their owners. It was well worth the early start and I was able to make very good progress East on this day.
Erzincan, Turkey
I never pretended to be a shoestring traveller and after my trip I have so much more respect for those who are. The difference between myself and someone who travels on an extremely low budget is speed, I had made it 6000km in 2 months across mostly a very chilly Europe. I tried my best to haggle for the best price on this occasion and tried three different hotels. I do recall getting caught up on my blog and having a great night’s sleep.
Maku, Iran
For me this picture says 1000 words. Due to my lack of any research before my trip at all (yes, that’s right) I didn’t realise how difficult it would be to withdraw cash from a bank account while in Iran, how impossible it would be should I say. I had two debit cards, a credit card and a traveller’s cash card with me and not one worked when I tried a cash machine on arrival into Iran. I considered leaving and going back to Turkey to get cash before returning but realised my single-entry visa wouldn’t allow this. I considered asking a total stranger at the border to take my card and go to get me cash but decided that wouldn’t have been the best option either. Instead, I went to the national bank and begged. They weren’t able to assist me with getting any of my own money but the money in this photo is what 5 or 6 of the men gave me from their own wallets while I was in the bank struggling for a solution to the problem. This allowed me to pay for two nights in a tourist hotel and some spare cash to travel to the next city where I met with another travelling cyclist who carried me money across the border.
Semnan province, Iran
With the temperature rising every day as I was crossing the expansive desert like terrain of Iran I decided to hitch my first lift of the trip for a couple of hundred kilometres when my Garmin bike computer read 46 degrees Celsius. All was going well as this kind man offered to take me the direction I was heading until I realised there was no passenger seat in the truck cab and he began smoking what I assume was opium for the duration of the journey.
Pamir highway, Tajikistan
This is a great photo to cherish, it tells a story that along the most barren and harsh environment of my trip I was far from alone. There were travellers turned friends from all over the world cycling this iconic silk road route and I was lucky enough to be one of them. The food and accommodation was far from luxurious but the sense of achievement, scenery and memories will stay in my mind forever.
5 Star Hotel Tajikistan style
After climbing over the highest pass of my trip peaking at 4655m we descended to around 4000m and found this hut to our delight. It may not look like much but given the environment it was situated in we felt like we had struck gold. 6 or 8 of us lined our sleeping bags along the floor and we all kept warm burning Yak dung on the little stove inside. Our breakfast was prepared by the local family inside on the same stove, with the same fuel and we were on our way again.
What are your plans now, since returning home?
I’m still working on that, I am converting an ex library bus into a motorhome which I hope to live in. Everyone who sees it and knows that I cycled across the world expects me to drive it somewhere far too but that’s not the idea. I’ve had a burning desire to live in a van since before I went cycling and it worked on me the whole time I was away. I recall cycling across the Taklamakan Desert in China thinking about what type of vehicle I should buy and what way to modify it for days on end.
Would you recommend this to anyone else and will you ever ride a bike again?
I would, I really would. I would advise travel, travelling to a particular destination or travelling for a set duration, but I would strongly advise you to be careful when you set yourself a target destination and only have a set amount of time to get there! It can make you stressed about covering distance and not enjoying the journey, as cliche’d as this sounds, it is well founded.
A muddy road in Yunnan, China
This is funny now, but it wasn’t as funny at the time, especially for my friend Wolt in the picture. It’s hard to describe just how much construction work is ongoing continuously in China. Normally it’s easy to avoid getting caught like this, Wolt and I persevered down this road for about 10 kilometres when we should have known to seek an alternative route. We were filthy and it hindered our progress for the day massively but these are the memories you recall the most often.
What is the next adventure?
I’ve been toying with the idea of kayaking around Ireland, it may sound quite insignificant in comparison to cycling to Australia but it’s no mean feat. The waters around Ireland are very dangerous and this is certainly not something that should be attempted within a set time frame in my opinion. It would be dangerous, and I also want to enjoy the trip as I go instead of it being a blur. I’m competing in my first Ironman triathlon in 2019. I’m training towards that too which I am enjoying, it’s been very nice to do something other than just cycling.
How did you feel arriving in Sydney and how long did it take in total to get there after leaving Islandmagee?
I don’t mean to finish this article off in a negative tone because the trip was a positive experience I assure you, however I felt a little low on my arrival. It took me several weeks to appreciate that my journey was over. After spending 6ish months thinking about and planning aspects of my trip then 11 and a half months cycling virtually every day, when I finally arrived, especially alone, it was quite an anti-climax. Now that I’ve had time to reflect the scale of my adventure is beginning to sink in, I still maintain that anyone could do it though. It’s just a state of mind thing.
