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- Description: Dervla Murphy was an Irish cyclist and author of adventure travel books, active for over fifty years. She is best known for her 1965 book, "Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle", which recounts a bicycle journey through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. After this trip, she dedicated herself to volunteer work helping Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal and to trekking in Ethiopia with a mule. Murphy stopped travel writing after the birth of her daughter Rachel, but later narrated their travels together in India, Pakistan, South America, Madagascar, and Cameroon. She subsequently wrote about her solo travels through Romania, Africa, Laos, the states of the former Yugoslavia, and Siberia. Murphy usually traveled alone, without luxuries, relying on the hospitality of local people. She faced dangerous situations, such as wolf attacks in the former Yugoslavia, threats from soldiers in Ethiopia, and robberies in Siberia. However, she described her most serious incident as tripping over cats at home and fracturing her left arm
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Ireland, Irlanda, Irlande
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: 1931-2022
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Various, Diversi, Différents
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Various, Diversi, Différents
- Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dervla_Murphy
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2114480
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: DervlaMurphy, Full Tilt : From Ireland to India with a Bicycle. Murray, 1965.
We were trotting along, numb with cold and exchanging our harrowing experiences of the road, when a blood-curdling yell halted us and we found ourselves looking down the barrel of a rifle held by a very young soldier. We gave a chorus of little yelps of terror and said ‘Hotel! Hotel! Tourist’s Hotel!’ But the sentry wasn’t at all sure that three strangers – one with a bicycle and two without luggage – coming suddenly out of the black, cold night, could be genuine tourists, so he kept us covered until another soldier had examined our passports. This second lad then led us to the hotel, some 200 yards away from what is apparently a military barracks. It was depressing, if not altogether surprising, to discover that here there was (a) no food or drink of any description, (b) no light, (c) no water, (d) no heating and (e) only one thin blanket on each bed. As we were now 8,550 feet above sea level (e) was not funny. I had coffee and sugar and bread with me and the boys had some tinned sausages and pineapples so we scraped together a meal of sorts by the light of oil-lamps borrowed from the military, making coffee with the boys’ emergency water supply. (The side-splitting part of this story is that Bamian Hotel is listed as Luxury, Grade A!)
Murphy, D. (1986) Full tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press.
It’s very funny – around here the idea of a woman travelling alone is so completely outside the experience and beyond the imagination of everyone that it’s universally assumed I’m a man. This convenient illusion is fostered by the very short haircut I deliberately got in Teheran, and by a contour-obliterating shirt presented to me at Adabile by the US Army in the Middle East, who also donated a wonderful pair of boots – the most comfortable footwear I’ve ever had and ideal for tramping these stony roads.
Murphy, D. (1986) Full tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press.
The light here goes out every ten or fifteen minutes for about five minutes, which is very right and proper; it would be too boring to travel all the way to Central Asia and then have an infallible electricity supply.
Murphy, D. (1986) Full tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press.
The area also produces potatoes so I’d a luxury dinner with the boys this evening – spuds and stewed clover and ghee. It would have been even more luxurious without the ghee. They make butter here by putting milk in an ill-cured sheepskin and sitting for hours rocking it to and fro on their knees. The whole family takes a turn and eventually you have butter. Then the stuff is put in another, equally ill-cured, skin and buried in the snow for two years. When resurrected the thing is allegedly a delicacy. If you want to be frightfully polite you can describe it as ‘mature’ – and if you survive it you’ll survive anything.
Murphy, D. (1986) Full tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press.
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- Description: Lars Olof Göran Kropp was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer, the first Scandinavian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen. For his 1996 ascent, Kropp left Stockholm on October 16, 1995, on a specially designed bicycle. He cycled 13'000 km to Everest Base Camp, arriving in April 1996. On May 3, he reached Everest's South Summit, just 100 meters from the peak. However, he decided to turn back as it was too late and he would have had to descend in the dark. Three weeks later, on May 23, he successfully reached the summit without extra oxygen support. Afterwards, he cycled part of the way back home
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Swede, Svezia, Suède
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: 1966-2002
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Bike, Bicicletta, Vélo
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Europe, Europa, Asia
- Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ran_Kropp
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1559451
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Kropp Göran, Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey. Discovery Books, 1999
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- Hits: 3476
- Description: Gleb Leontyevich Travin was a Soviet bicyclist known for circumnavigating the Soviet Union by bicycle between 1928 and 1931. An electrician by trade, Gleb began his journey from Vladivostok. He rode across Siberia to Central Asia, crossed the Caspian Sea by ferry, and then headed north towards Murmansk. From there, he returned along the Arctic coast to Uelen. The total distance of the ride over the course of the 3 years was 85'000 km
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Russia
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: 1902-1979
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Bike, Bicicletta, Vélo
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Europe, Europa, Asia
- Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleb_Travin
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4461657
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- Hits: 3698
- Description: After completing mandatory schooling and a bank apprenticeship, Gustav Sztavjanik remained unemployed until he met Indian cyclist and journalist Fram Jamsetjie Davar in Vienna. Together, from November 1924 to October 1931, they embarked on a bicycle journey around the world, covering 110'000 km and visiting 47 countries. During their travels, they crossed the Sahara from north to south and the Andes, and participated in numerous bicycle races, setting multiple records. To fund their journey, Sztavjanik and Davar capitalized on their adventure: Davar wrote articles and a book, while Sztavjanik, after the trip, gave slide lectures across Austria for several years, gave interviews, and published travel memoirs in newspapers. He meticulously collected travel notes, autographs of eminent personalities like American President Hoover who received them, newspaper clippings, and other travel mementos. After Sztavjanik's death in 1944, the accumulated material passed to his heirs and eventually to cyclist artist Hermann Härtel, who published a biography with Maria Rennhofer
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Austria
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: 1907-1944
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Bike, Bicicletta, Vélo
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Europe, Europa, Asia
- Internet: https://www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Sztavjanik_Gustav_1907_1944.xml
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1477820
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Hermann Härtel, Maria Rennhofer. Mit dem Zweirad um die Welt. Haymon, Innsbruck 2000.
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- Description: Lionel Brans was a bicycle manufacturer and cycling enthusiast. In 1948, at the age of 36, Brans embarked on a bike ride from Paris to Saigon to promote cycle touring and showcase the excellence of French bicycle production. Departing on November 14, 1948, from Notre-Dame de Paris, he covered 12'710 kilometers in 98 stages, averaging 130 kilometers per day, arriving in Calcutta eight months later
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: France, Francia
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: 1912-1997
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Bike, Bicicletta, Vélo
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Europe, Europa, Asia
- Internet: http://alainlebel.free.fr/pr01.htm
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3241824
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Lionel Brans, Seul à bicyclette de Paris à Saïgon, Amiot-Dumont, Paris 1951
Le jour est levé depuis Longtemps quand j'ouvre les yeux. Après une bonne douche, je m'introduis dans le costume de gabardine fabriqué spécialement pour le voyage. Je me sens en forme ce matin.
Les sacoches sont remplies des objets que j'ai peu à peu et minutieusement classés.
Une tente à mât central, un tapis de sol cousu en forme de cuvette, un bon duvet, la popote, les couverts, une grille pliante, de l'alcool solidifié, une pharmacie, mon linge de corps, une paire de souliers de montagne, une paire de souliers cyclistes de rechange, un short, un survêtement en laine, un pull-over, une paire de genouillères, un passe-montagne, un briquet à butagaz, les cartes pour mes premières étapes, les pièces de rechange pour la bicyclette, outillage et chambres à air, un nécessaire de toilette, un livre de bord, des papiers divers et un passeport.
Sacoches accrochées, j'enfourche pour la première fois ma bicyclette qui va devenir ma compagne des bons et mauvais jours. Arrivé à l'atelier, où déjà les amis m'attendent, je reclasse tout mon matériel dans les cinq sacoches, deux à l'avant, deux à l'arrière et sac de guidon. Tout mon matériel est utile. Si je disposais de crédits pourrais expédier des colis d’allégement, mais ce n'est pas le cas. D’ailleurs, avec les complications de douane cela n'arriverait pas à temps. Je dois donc m'habituer à ce poids : 19 kilos de bicyclette, 41 kilos de bagages. Dieu, que c'est lourd et dur à traîner... comme un boulet !
Lionel Brans, Seul à bicyclette de Paris à Saïgon, Amiot-Dumont, Paris 1951
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- Description: Heidi Triet embarked on a bicycle world tour from 1987 to 1991, which she completed while pregnant. During her journey, she met Claude Marthaler, a well-known Swiss cyclist who was also undertaking the same challenge
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Switzerland, Svizzera, Suisse
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Bike, Bicicletta, Vélo
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Around the World, Giro del mondo, Tour du monde
- Multimedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pGdTAUfupk
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Claude Marthaler, A Tire d'elles : Femmes, vélo et liberté, Editions Slatkine, Genève, 2016
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- Hits: 4907
- Description: Vespa travels between Europe and Asia by Giorgio Càeran
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: Italy, Italia, Italie
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Vespa
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Europe, Europa, Asia
- Internet: https://giorgiocaeran.blogspot.com/
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Giorgio Càeran, La Via delle Indie in vespa, 1983
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- Hits: 4218
- Description: Setting off on March 3, 1954, for a tour of Africa on a Lambretta LD scooter, Serge Gauquelin and Jean-Claude Marcq returned 15 months later, on June 11, 1956
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: -
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: -
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Lambretta
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Africa
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- Hits: 5555
- Description: Le 6 juillet 1954, l’abbé Balois, nanti seulement de son Lambretta, de quelques bagages, de multiples visas et de sa passion de découvertes, partait de Tours. Le 28 septembre, il arrivait à Ceylan, ayant parcouru 15'000 km à travers la France, l’Italie, la Yougoslavie, la Grèce, la Turquie, la Syrie, l’Irak, l’Iran, le Pakistan et l’Inde
- Alias-Pseudonimo-Pseudonyme: -
- Nationality-Nazionalità-Nationalité: France, Francia
- Birth/death-Nascita/morte-Naissance/mort: 1921-
- Means of transport-Mezzo di trasporto-Moyen de transport: Lambretta
- Geographical description-Riferimento geografico-Référence géographique: Various, Diversi, Différents
- Additional references-Riferimenti complementari-Références complémentaires: Balois, Claude. Namo Lanka: De Tours à Ceylan en scooter. 1955.