Route
The idea was to cycle home from Singapore following sections of the old Silk Road – a classic route tested by the travellers of yore (and easy enough to explain to people!). But starting in summertime makes things tricky as I’ll be approaching the remote, high passes of Central Asia in the dead of winter.

There are also likely to be some diplomatic hurdles: I can’t get a visa for Iran, for instance. Likewise, the FCO advises against the parts of Pakistan that would be helpful for me. China meanwhile won’t allow independent travel through Tibet, is currently in the middle of a security crackdown in Xinjiang and reports suggest it’s a lottery as to whether you can get a visa that gives enough time to cross the vast distances required by bike.

Aside from this, I’ve no idea how much progress I’ll be making and at what rate (see note below on cake and custard).

For this reason the route is pretty TBC as it stands, but will vaguely involve cycling north-west in the direction of Europe (I’ve packed a compass!).

Why on a bike?
Some might be surprised about why I’m taking a trip by bike! I’ve never stuck to the gym, don’t do enough serious exercise and eat sponge cake and custard most days from the school canteen – where has the desire for this He-Man feat of endurance come from?

To quote a fellow fraudster, ‘It’s not about the bike!’. Instead, the bike is more of an adventure machine:

• It gets you places you would otherwise never find yourself in – be that a beautiful beach or the perimeter of an oil refinery
• Bike travel is slow enough to see the landscape and vignettes of everyday life change gradually, but fast enough to give you a kick when you look back at the distance you’ve covered
• It makes you vulnerable in a positive way – people want to stop and engage with you (and sometimes give you free yoghurt!)
• And importantly, it earns you the right to eat double helpings of whatever you like, no questions asked

Approach
I will stick to backroads where possible and stop to chat with whoever wants to!

There are no rules – if I’m in a pickle, I’ll hitchhike or take a bus. If I’m really not appreciating 3,000 miles of Chinese desert, then I’ll have another go at appreciating it from the comfort of a train window. And if I really can’t get a visa or if somewhere is totally unsafe then I will have to skip certain countries entirely.

Those disclaimers aside, I will cycle as much as I can – it is partly about the bike!