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Journey Across Russia – Trans-Siberia

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:55:52 +0000

Bundles of Russians and an English touristka trundling across industrial city sprawls that churn smoke to the skies and spew cars along straight roads that cut through the vast swathes of taiga. And we go silently through the night except for the clickety-clack of steel wheels on the rail tracks or whistle of wind as two trains pass side-by-side and…

Made in Kazan

Helen's Take On.... — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:57:37 +0000

So, I hopped (more like stumbled with heavy feet and loaded rucksack) onto the train in Moscow, bound for Kazan. A ‘short’ overnight train journey that saw me greet the new day to a new town. I had a good feel about this one. Smaller, more my style. Not so lost in the crowds and away from the tourists. Kazan,…

Into Russia – Photos of Moscow Streets

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:57:48 +0000

Just a few more random pics from my wandering through Moscow… St Basil’s Cathedral Red Square Russian Dolls Basking in the sun Shopping Mall Backstreets Queueing for the Kremlin Alexander Gardens Kebab? Photo? Metro Subway London Grill…

Into Russia – Photos of Moscow’s Architecture

Helen's Take On.... — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:00:50 +0000

And so it begins… A new journey, a new country. Russia is unlike any other place I have been. I am struggling to describe it at the moment, so I’ll save that for a proper blog post. I have mixed emotions about this new trip. Possibly for no other reason than I arrived here just under a week ago with…

Desert Snow – One Girl’s Take On Africa By Bike – Out soon

Helen's Take On.... — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:57:15 +0000

The last few months I’ve been slaving away in the office earning money for the next trip, Take On Asia. And in the evenings I’ve been slaving away on the laptop finishing the book on my earlier trip, Take On Africa. Finally, 10 months after typing the first sentence, the book Desert Snow is ready to print. 160,000 words have…

Into The Cold – Winter Biking Blog part 1

Helen's Take On.... — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:52:42 +0000

I had thought that since Spring is just round the corner (although I’m not so sure having looked at the forecast for this weekend), I should finally write up about the winter bike ride in northern Scandinavia… (Feel free to skip the writing and go straight to the end where there’s a short video Shane put together) Into The Cold……

Gear Advice and Lessons Learned – Equipment

Helen's Take On.... — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:18:46 +0000

GEAR You can see the list of gear I took on the Equipment List page here. I’m no expert, but here’s a list of things I learned and did. Duct tape is your friend – tape up any exposed metal that you will be touching regularly. Metal sucks the warmth from your hands! Things like pan handles, flasks, mugs, shovel…

Photos from a Winter Bike Tour

Helen's Take On.... — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:27:51 +0000

Still no real blog post, but do not worry – Here are some more photos from the 3-weeks of biking and camping in northern Sweden, Finland and Norway… Hopefully they speak for themselves. If you haven’t seen the photos of the beautiful landscapes we biked through that I posted last week, they’re here.…

Gear Advice and Lessons Learned – Clothing

Helen's Take On.... — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 21:40:00 +0000

What I Wore / Worked for Me: Cycling: 0 to -10C: Underwear – sports/quick-dry bra and pants Bottoms – lightweight baselayer and paramo aspira waterproof trousers Top – lightweight baselayer and paramo velez adventure light smock Hands – Silk liners and pogies from Dogwood Designs Feet – coolmax liner sock + plastic bag + thick wool sock + Seeland Pac…

Photos from North of the Arctic Circle

Helen's Take On.... — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:45:28 +0000

Until I get chance to write a proper blog post about the trip, here’s a taster with some of my favourite views from the 3 week bike ride from Kiruna in Sweden to Tromso in Norway. Enjoy….…

Winter Bike Tour Countdown FTO-Day Minus 15

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:07:29 +0000

So I’m getting rather excited and with just the occasional fit of doubt, which may be more aptly described as ‘bricking it’. In only 15 more days I shall be landing in Kiruna in the far north of Sweden to meet up with Shane for a 3 week cycle ride, taking an indirect route, to Tromso in Norway. Just another…

A Wintry Walk – Snowdon Snow

Helen's Take On.... — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 22:20:27 +0000

Having spent the day in the Peak District, we drove across to Wales. Lars was keen to bag a peak, so it had to be Snowdon. We had an easier time finding a campsite in the dark and even chanced upon a pub serving cheap curry, which sounded (and tasted) far better than the noodles we had. The next frosty…

A Wintry Wonder in the Peak District

Helen's Take On.... — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:30:05 +0000

The last ten days Lars Bengtsson has been visiting. We made a whistlestop tour round the south of England and Wales. The first few days were particularly beautiful, if somewhat on the chilly side, but that didn’t stop us. The benefit of having the car was we could go camping, luxury style – duvet included. It’s 4 years since I’ve…

Postcard Past – Spain’s Caminito del Rey and Mulhacen

Helen's Take On.... — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 02:10:05 +0000

On my bookshelf at home are some old photo albums, from the days when cameras came with film and you got prints of your images. Today I took a look at one of them – It was of a two week ‘family’ holiday without the parents (so that’s me and my sister) to Andalucia in Spain. And stuck in with…

On Writing and Other More Interesting Things

Helen's Take On.... — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:01:31 +0000

I had a vague plan to write a regular blog while I was in the UK, but alas, time is flying by and it’s one of the many things I have failed to do. I blame the book-writing. Really there is nothing to blame but me. The book-writing started well. I kept up my 10,000 words a week target until…

End of a Saddle: Brooks comparison New vs Old (after 38,000km)

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:08:25 +0000

When is a Brooks saddle buggered? My saddle caused me so much pain towards the end of my last trip I thought it was finally time for a new one. It did me well for many miles. It was a Brooks B17 Ladies saddle. This time I’ve gone for the Imperial version with the cut-out with the hope it’ll relieve…

Video of Biking the Guineas’ Backroads

Helen's Take On.... — Sun, 06 May 2012 08:07:40 +0000

Still one of my favourite parts for biking, was the three weeks we spent cycling from Guinea Bissau’s capital to Kindia in the south of Guinea on my ride through West Africa. The majority of the 1,000km (ish) was off-road. Guinea Bissau was wide orange dust tracks and narrow single-track paths through overgrown grass and [...]…

Saving the Best til Last – Backroads of Belize

Helen's Take On.... — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

With only a couple of weeks left until the end of this trip, where I fly out of Cancun, Mexico, I wanted just one more mini-adventure. And it would be in Belize. I had read on Cass Gilbert’s blog of an off-road route he had taken through northern Belize. Having missed the fun dirt-track biking [...]…

Photos Belize – Backroads at their Best

Helen's Take On.... — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:15:04 +0000

This weekend, I am knuckling down to update some of the missing posts, and filling in the gaps of my recent travels… Click on the following links to see what I’ve been up to…or down to in certain cases…!! “Leaving Lima and the Ride to Huaraz…” The “Pasto Ruri Glacier…” “Houston…!! It’s us again…!! My Birthday Ride…!!” “Huanchaco and Chan…

Crocodiles and Ray Mears

Helen's Take On.... — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:33:17 +0000

…And so we survived our first day and night on the river. But who knows what the new day will bring… It brought crocodiles. The day started calmly. The early morning hovering mist had dispersed and a blue sky emerged. All was still except for the few birds that had missed the dawn chorus. A [...]…

Last Honduran Days

Helen's Take On.... — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:52:38 +0000

It was a good feeling to be reunited with the bike. No more at the mercy of rickety buses and well worn backpacker routes. Even cycling across Tegucigalpa was ok. Except we got lost. But then we were shown the way by a father and daughter in a large 4×4. The last day in the Honduran capital was also the…

Afloat and Quiet Content on the Rio Bocay

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:15:00 +0000

So there we are, a-floating down the river. Calm water through a tunnel of trees. Walls of silence through which nothing passes. Just a white-noise buzzing in the background of crickets clickety-clicking. The thick deep green forest close around you. The channel of blue sky like a pathway and the river carrying you unabated on your journey. There is only…

Packrafting Nicaragua – Getting to Ayupal

Helen's Take On.... — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:58:00 +0000

The packrafting trip began long before we reached the put-in point on the Rio Bocay. Crowded chicken buses from Somoto to Esteli and on to Jinotega. The inevitable sit-and-wait at bus stations. A hive if activity. If you enjoy people-watching, there is no better place than a central American, small town, bus station. People buy, sell, eat, sit, get on,…

Off with the Bikes – Chicken Buses and Packrafting Somoto Canyon

Helen's Take On.... — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:48:19 +0000

El Salvador is a small country, and we were not there long. Of course, I have stories to tell… of drunk teenager thieves and trying to wake a deaf and dumb man in the dark of night. Of beautiful views of perfect cone volcanoes and shimmering lakes. Of off-road biking through the rural north, where foreigners are unusual and war-wary…

Across Guatemala – Monkeys, Dentists and Beer

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:59:57 +0000

The road from Palenque to Frontera Corozal, the border town on the Rio Usimacinta, was lovely. Few hills, just gentle rises and falls. With hills to our right and savannah-like fields on our left in the valley. Some cattle grazed among the thick grass and scatterred trees. At the end of the day, we camped [...]…

Fear of Falling Rocks

Helen's Take On.... — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:46:06 +0000

After a somewhat mundane cycle through most of the Mexico mainland, life on the road has livened up a little. The Chiapas region has it’s own identity, no doubt influenced by the Zapatistas and their desire for autonomy. And then of course there is Guatemala and El Salvador. Countries in their own right, ever since [...]…

Joseph Kony and Invisible Children

Helen's Take On.... — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:41:46 +0000

What is Kony 2012? Many people have heard of Joseph Kony, the notorious leader of the equally infamous LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) rebel group d Uganda. Many will know of the atrocities committed by them and their use of child soldiers. But there are many more who have not heard of him. Until now. Invisible [...]…

Photos of A Taste of the Caribbean (in rainy season)

Helen's Take On.... — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:29:52 +0000

Rio Dulce, the town, lies unsurprisingly on the Rio Dulce. Sweet River. The town used to be called Fronteras in the days before the bridge across the river was built. Then, the only way to continue your journey would be to take a boat across. Now, it’s easier to go by road. As a consequence [...]…

Maya Ruins – Palenque and Tikal

Helen's Take On.... — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:00:51 +0000

As promised, some photos from the ruins of Palenque and Tikal… In the heart of the Chiapas lowlands of Mexico lies Palenque. Dating back as far as 100BC, it flourished in the 7th century before it’s downfall in 800AD. It has been well excavated and this medium-sized site makes for a lovely way to spend [...]…

Lessons Learned Packrafting on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Helen's Take On.... — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 03:14:57 +0000

The plan was simple. Take a rucksack with supplies for a couple of nights and packraft down the Rio Dulce to Livingston on the Caribbean coast. But not everything always goes according to plan. We didn’t foresee strong winds. And once the winds picked up so that progress was barely 100m in half an hour [...]…