Wandering The World By Folding Bike

by Larry Lagarde

Tim Patterson is a promising, young writer from Vermont with a lust for travel. What makes him extraordinary are the many miles he's traveled with a backpack strapped to his Brompton folding bike.

After graduating in 2004 from Williams College (noted by US News & World Report as the top liberal arts college in the USA), Tim left behind the West for the Far East. He moved to Hokkaido, Japan to teach English and bought a Brompton folding bicycle to get around.

As he grew more confident, Tim began touring with his small wheeled folding bike. A sleeping bag, pup tent & backpack all wedged precariously over his rear wheel, Tim pedaled along Cambodia's Lost Coast, in northern Thailand, Laos and through New England. By his estimates, he's biked thousands of miles.

Earlier this month, I asked Tim if he had any tips to share regarding taking long tours by bicycle. Tim responded with the following...

Tim's Tips For Cyclists Planning To Travel By Bike

Time is the ultimate undervalued resource, money the overvalued equivalent. Take a big block of time and ease up on your schedule. Pick an area that interests you and explore, keeping your options open. With a folding bike, you can be totally self-sufficient and still have the freedom to pack up and take a plane, or a bus, or get a ride in a car whenever you please.

Stay flexible and open minded. Prepare for crappy situations and keep smiling, even when you're pulling your bike along the side of the road with a busted tire.

Good maps are worth 100 times their weight in gold. Keep a candy bar in your pocket at all times. Make time to talk with people along the way. Wear a helmet and only ride drunk if you really need to. Drink lots of water.

Tim Patterson's writing style reminds me of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. A mix of fact and fiction written in the first person, Tim's words are entertaining and thought provoking. Already, his stories have been published in places like Get Lost Magazine, Tales Of Asia, Matador Travel and Common Language Project.

Currently, Tim's writing a book about his Cambodian travels. For excerpts, visit his personal website (RucksackWanderer.com) but to dig deeper into Tim's life journey since college, check out his blog (Sleeping In The Mountains).

LL