It’s not quite possible to cycle directly from Melbourne to the UK, some inconvenient oceans and violent disagreements block our route. However, by judicious use of airplanes and ferries we’ve managed to come up with a route home that doesn’t have too great a risk of either drowning or getting shot.
Like all plans though, this one is open to change. We’re bound to learn more as we cycle, plus we’ll be keeping an eye on political events to ensure we’re plotting the most sensible course at the time.
Updated 30 March 2019
As Iran doesn’t seem keen to give us a visa, we’re skipping it and heading straight to Azerbaijan. That gives us a few more days to have more fun in Turkey and Greece on our way home. We’ve updated the maps below.
Updated 31 August 2019
We’ve made it back to the UK. Journey finished and just the many happy memories to cherish now.
Total distance travelled
15,360 km
Kilometres per day - 76.4km
Total days - 267, (Riding days - 201)
Scoreboard
Punctures 15
Pairs of glasses broken 7
iPhones broken 2
Punctures 14
Pairs of shoes lost or broken 3
The route we planned
Here’s where we’ve been and where we think we’re heading as of March 2019, with Iran removed.
Rough schedule
| Location | Stage length | Stage duration | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | 0km | - | 8 December 2018 |
| Brisbane | 2,329km | 36 days | 10 January 2019 |
| Denpasar, Bali | Flight | 2 days | 12 January 2019 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | 2,192km | 47 days | 26 February 2019 |
| Bengaluru, India | Flight | 2 days | 28 February 2019 |
| New Delhi, India | 3,013km | 54 days | 22 April 2019 |
| Baku, Azerbaijan | Flight | 3 days | 25 April 2019 |
| Batumi, Georgia | 1,153km | 19 days | 15 May 2019 |
| Istanbul, Turkey | 355km | 4 days | 19 May 2019 |
| Galipoli, Turkey | 355km | 8 days | 27 May 2019 |
| Thessaloniki | 532km | 7 days | 3 June 2019 |
| Athens | 519km | 8 days | 11 June 2019 |
| Corfu, Greece | 531km | 13 days | 24 June 2019 |
| Tirana, Albania | 287km | 5 days | 29 June 2019 |
| Dubrovnik, Croatia | 306km | 6 days | 5 July 2019 |
| Trieste, Italy | 959km | 10 days | 17 July 2019 |
| Venice, Italy | 161km | 2 days | 19 July 2019 |
| Turin, Italy | 473km | 6 days | 31 July 2019 |
| Reims, France | 843km | 13 days | 12 August 2019 |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | 508km | 5 days | 17 August 2019 |
| Worthing, UK | 894km | 11 days | 31 August 2019 |