Hi folks! Looking forward to answering as many questions as I can in the next 60 minutes. No question too uncomfortable (within reason)... :)
1. Yes. We were deeply doubtful about the wisdom of doing this. In hindsight we should have known what the outcome would be. But we would have certainly regretted not giving it a go. You don't know until you try (a running theme in the story!).
2. If I'm honest, the original aim was never to cycle round the world - it was to explore my options in life through means of an epic adventure. Rather than being over-ambitious (anyone who can ride a bike could cycle round the world, eventually), it was instead over-restrictive - an institutionalised way of approaching travel. I learned that the hard way. I don't think I'd have finished it, no, because it wasn't truly the point.
3. I think that a journey of this kind of length and style, and at that stage in your life, is often an inner journey first and foremost. It probably depends on personality too I tend to do a lot of self-reflection. As you've seen!
Hey Sonja,
When Andy left it was more about the last trace of familiarity being taken away, and the knowledge that from then on it was all up to me. I didn't really identify with England as a 'homeland' to be proud of many day-to-day elements of life there contributed to me wanting to explore the alternatives in life. We did envisage going our separate ways, but not on those terms, and not permanently. I remember feeling a sudden rush of liberation and potential for things to go in absolutely any direction if you'll allow me to paraphrase my own book, "like all the doors and windows being thrown open on a blustery day". It was exciting and not at all regretful.
Thanks, Charles! 99% of the footage in the movie was shot by me alone. There's a couple of shots from the very beginning and end of the journey shot by Ben and James, whose idea it originally was for us to film the adventure, and in the Europe sequence there are several shots in which Andy was filming, but the remainder was self-filmed, and there was never any other cameraperson involved.
Filming always inevitably alters people's behaviour towards you. Sometimes it's workable and sometimes it isn't. So you have to shoot a variety of scenes so that the most effective can be used when editing. It's also during the editing process that you work out how to use that material best and tell the story in the most natural possible way. In the case of the shepherds, I have no doubt that a serious amount of vodka helped everyone loosen up!
Hey Jonny!
1. The most challenging part of the trip had to do with deconstructing my own assumptions. I arrogantly assumed I knew what it would be like to spend years as a bicycle-mounted hobo, despite having no experience, and so a designed a grandstanding RTW exped based on those preconceptions. It was much more difficult to later break them down, explain to everyone that things had changed, that I knew better now, and that I was going to explore the world on my own terms, having served my apprenticeship and been taken down a peg or two in the process. Even the steepest Ethiopian dirt roads paled into insignificance; all physical hardships are so temporary in comparison with the bigger questions.
2. Writing a book had been an ambition for years. Making a film had not, but someone else had set the filmmaking project in motion and I felt compelled to see where it would lead. In reality, it was only after Tenny and I returned to the UK that we realised a story had even happened, that we had a beginning, a middle and an ending, and that it might be time to see about telling it. None of it had really crossed my mind much while I was on the road, save for some vague notion that there might one day be a book and/or film project to think about.
Hi Carrie!
1. Cycling has definitely not outlived its appeal for me. Since the events in the film, I've ridden across Outer Mongolia, through the Scandiavian Arctic, down the Pacific Coast of America, through south-west Iran and most recently the length of my home country, England, without any money whatsoever, earning my way from Land's End to Edinburgh. As long as it remains relevant I'll keep using it to explore life's potential. No fixed plans right now but I'll hopefully be taking off somewhere again in a few weeks' time. My adventure cycling blog tomsbiketrip.com seems also to be going from strength to strength!
2. We're currently in Bristol, UK, and have been here for 3 months. We'll certainly keep moving around, as we have family all over the world now, and travel is still very much at the core of our lives. But I've found recently that there are great rewards in stopping in cool places for a few months at a time, rather than always being on the go.
3. I had no ambitions for the film, other than to cross my fingers that James (the director) would make something watchable with my 300 hours of footage. I considered this highly unlikely, especially given that he kept going on about a love story, the idea of which made me cringe! But I hope you'll agree he did a fantastic job of unravelling and boiling it down. Getting it out there has been hard work to the point of near-bankruptcy and nervous breakdown (!), but I'm really pleased with the resulting film and the exposure it's getting, and I'm grateful for the opportunities it continues to generate.
1. Mark Twain sums it up well: "They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it." I think naivety helped a lot. I did minimal research, trusted my gut, and assumed everything would work out. It was this attitude, more than being goal-orientated (which I'm not particularly), that got me through some seemingly hairy stuff! There are definitely things I'd think twice about doing again. But that's only because I've got more information to go on!
2. It was partly an escape from the encroachment of orthodoxy at that point in my life, an orthodoxy that seemed fundamentally skewed in its priorities, and partly an effort to explore the alternatives. I didn't want to travel forever or become a social dropout; I just wanted to find something meaningful in the world that I could get my teeth into.
3. It's more that I know myself better, now, and I know that an environment of adventure is a healthy one for me, one which keeps the more geographically static periods in check. Balancing the two means I can find fulfilment in both because of the contrast between them and the reminders of priorities that each of them serve with regard to the other. I'm lucky to have a wife who understands this and lets me go away regularly :)
4. I think it's important to follow your dreams before the commitments of growing up start to introduce consequences. I'm all in favour of young people throwing caution to the wind and experimenting like this. As you get older, you have to start to balance things, when selfishly following your dreams may have side-effects. Depends on scale, of course: I like to block out a month or two for open-ended travel, make no plans, go where the wind takes me, then return to my home and my wife :)
5. I did way too much planning before the original trip, and found that it was quite restrictive and let to me feeling that I was failing to live up to my own expectations when things didn't go to plan. Setting course for Africa with no plans at all, on the other hand, was fantastically liberating. The longer you've got to make your journey, the more flexible and free-flowing it can be. Planning often helps get the most out of shorter trips, though.
6. I don't think I've compartmentalised what I've learned to that kind of degree, to be honest, but I do feel that I'm much more part of a whole than the hyper-individual I'd been brought up to believe I was.
I am afraid our circumstances might make this answer quite irrelevant... we moved to England primarily for bureacratic purposes, as Tenny being a British citizen will make our lives much easier in the long run. I personally have my doubts that we'll stick around for the long run. I've always felt more at home when abroad than when I'm in my supposed 'home' country. Having said that, Bristol is a pretty cool place :)
Tenny herself decided to cycle with me. I didn't have to sell it to her at all!
'Janapar' is Armenian for journey, way, road... something to that effect.
Exactly. Media and sponsors who were attached to the original "Ride Earth" expedition, as it was known, were also more interested in marketability than open-minded ideals...
To begin with, yes, but what I learned was that I had to take my role as a filmmaker as seriously as my role as a traveller if the resulting footage was going to be capable of telling the story. Laborious, time-consuming, but also rewarding and an important creative outlet amid all the pedalling!
I was really bad at it. I only got the camera out when I'd really ingratiated myself with people. And then I acted as if it wasn't there. People often took their cue from me. If I seemed uncomfortable holding it, they'd feel uncomfortable looking at it.
I've got a few things in the pipeline, but I'm aware that Janapar is an unrepeatable kind of film. So the next films will be more focused and hopefully less about me!
1. My approach was to look after my gear, fix it if it broke, and rely on local people for getting anything else I'd need. My experiences with post restante and couriering stuff ahead were unreilable, expensive and ultimately led to me meeting Tenny while waiting for a parcel in Yerevan! Much more reliable to make friends, use your wits and solve problems then and there. Not having a fixed route/schedule obviously helped!
2. Choose very, very carefully! The most important thing is ensuring that you're all looking for the same things from the experience, which is why focused 'missions' often fare better than open-ended travel where anything might change. Then it's about knowing everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and cultivating an environment of open and non-judgemental communication, which is what we failed to do. It's really rare for pairs or groups to last that long in my experience. Sharing every tiny decision 24/7 takes a particularly lucky combination of character traits. I'm impressed you lasted 9 months.
3.
3. No.
4. I used free local area maps from tourist info offices in Western Europe, then basically navigated by memorising key settlements on the road ahead and winging it. I'd look at Google Maps in an internet cafe every few weeks for a basic overview of what lay ahead. I was way more interested in engaging with the environment than actually getting somewhere specific, and so it didn't matter too much where I was or how I got there.
5. Yes.
6. Weird. But it's a good story, so why not?
7. Watch it all, twice, then find a director (or someone else who tells stories for a living) and discuss it. First thing to do is identify the overall story. Read books on storytelling by e.g. John Truby or Robert Gardner. Watch factual TV and deconstruct how it's been put together and the narrative told.
8. Oh... there's no 8! :)
2. I think it's because it takes a lot of experience and a lot of time to make a good video, even a short one. It's also a medium that calls for a very varied skillset, and there's very little training material available as most people learn on the job by working in the TV or film industry. Having said that it's also technically never been easier. The acquisition and editing technology is affordable, reliable and accessible. It's just how to use it where there's a knowledge gap. That's something I'm looking at addressing...
Thanks, Al!
She is Iranian.
It helped that there was no plan for a film. As far as I was concerned, the camera was my friend (my only friend - how sad!) and the only way I could vocalise my thoughts in parts of the world where nobody spoke English and I could never have a decent conversation.
Hi Paige
I used a Sony A1E with a decent microphone, a tripod and a lot of batteries! No training. I learned most of my camera techniques by watching Long Way Round over and over again.
I spent a year planning for the wrong trip. All my carefully mapped routes went out the window by the end of Week 2. From there on we simply winged it and the result was a fantastic learning experience and a great adventure. The safest route is the one with the least cars on it!
I did, luckily, prepare my bike and camping equipment pretty well and it was very reliable. The only real planning someone needs to do regards border crossings and visa requirements, plus (if you like) where the FCO advise against all travel, so you'll know where your travel insurance policy is invalid.
I'd do more of the right kind of planning (long-term finances, bureaucracy) and less of the wrong kind (destinations, exact routes, schedules, 'sightseeing' ideas, nerdy equipment considerations, etc).
Thanks everyone! This has been great fun. I hope this AMA has answered a few burning questions!
One question from me to you: Would you mind helping spread the word about the film, whether just a Tweet, or a full-on review? The official website is janapar.com please do get in touch on tom@tomsbiketrip.com if you've any more questions or you need anything in order to run a story or review through your own channels.
Thanks again :)
@hitriddle Thanks Matt!
We'd love to answer any and all questions about this trip. Iran looks set to get much more attention as a travel destination. We hope this film will help with that!
@eurapart Hey John. Great to hear your feedback – I hadn't considered it 'slow' adventure travel, but I suppose that's what it is!
I didn't realise there was a train from Iran to Pakistan, but looking at seat61.com I see that there is! I do know that the border area is often advised against for travellers, though there are of course travellers who ignore the advice and get on just fine.
If I were you I would read as many recent first-hand experiences as possible (perhaps on HUBB or the Lonely Planet Thorn Three), set off with the intention of doing it, and prepare a Plan B for if the Iran-Pakistan leg proves unviable. There are doubtless plenty of buses. Sounds like a great trip! :)
@SonjaSwissLife Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm really glad you enjoyed this film.
You are not the first person to mention a lack of women! The fact is we simply didn't meet any women to speak to in the rural areas of Iran. This wasn't because women don't participate in public life (they do), but more because the 'guesthood' scenario in conservative rural households almost always involves temporary gender segregation, i.e. we would hang out with the guys, and the girls would disappear.
If we'd spent more time in liberal cities it'd have been a very different story. Likewise if we'd been female travellers! Also, on the few occasions we did meet women, it would have been culturally insensitive to get out the camera and start filming. One of the many challenges we faced when filming this journey....
All the best,
Tom
@hitriddle Thanks Matt! Shouldn't be too long now :)
Hey folks. Very happy to answer any and all questions about the film, the trip, and travel in Iran in general. It's a wonderful place and has always been held in high esteem by intrepid travellers, and it looks like a destination whose time is fast approaching...
@holeinthedonut I do know a lady who works in Iran's ecotourism department, but not the main tourism bureau, though I believe this is their website. Feel free to drop me a DM if you'd like me to put you in touch!
Hello there! I created this video, and would be very happy to answer any questions about this amazing little DIY project...