Thank you for finding us!
First off, I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for reading this first blog post.
Since leaving England, we’ve wanted to create a little hub for our journey. And, in the back of our minds, we’d hoped it could happen in Georgia. It’s roughly the halfway point to India; it’s a fascinating country filled with mountains and culture, and, importantly, it has a very flexible visa policy. And so, I’m writing this from Kutaisi, a city just beneath the Greater Caucasus Mountains, in Western Georgia.
It seems like we’ve found ourselves the perfect little apartment. It’s cheap but bright and airy, surrounded by plants and swifts flying outside. Despite being in the centre of the city, it’s tucked inside a quiet courtyard filled with warm, local families. They’ve lived here for generations, and as the only newbies, they’ve taken us under their wings. Slowly, we’re being taught how to live like Georgians!
The last few weeks have been pretty full-on because, despite having built websites before, I’d forgotten just how long it takes to get everything set up. We’ve been beavering away, testing lots of buttons and links, learning everything about prints and printing. It’s been a slog, but it has made this morning even sweeter, seeing everything come together, finally pressing ‘live’ and sharing it with you.
Bearing this in mind, if you see any issues, feel free to let us know!
Tales from the road
We left England 583 days ago, slowly crossing through thirteen countries. Our route has been far from direct, and sometimes we wonder how things would’ve been if we’d gone faster. We’d likely be in India by now… I’m sure it still would’ve been one hell of an adventure, but not quite the same. All the conversations, all the cultural experiences and detours… they seem to appear the slower we go.
The beauty of cycling is that it places you right amongst your surroundings. You feel each element. You’re beside the locals, with no barriers to shield the shared smiles or quizzical looks. Soaking up all the details, good and bad, you really seem to uncover the unadulterated reality of the world around. As it truly is. And it’s that mesmerising world that has kept our pedals turning with seemingly infinite curiosity. I’ve never felt luckier to be slowly cycling a little further down the road.
Forever somewhere ‘new’, each and every day has moments that stick with us. So, although there are many grand milestones and unforgettable experiences, it’s often the small things that have the biggest impact. The quiet encounters, personal accomplishments, and subtle observations.
Unfortunately, it’s these moments that often get forgotten online. The demands of a fast-paced life and social media can mean these stories often fall to the wayside. But it’s these tales of long-established routines, quiet observations and simple pleasures of life we want to share here.
There is so much exquisite diversity and contrast around us; cycle down the road and everything changes. But I can’t help but think these differences are increasingly being perceived as negative. At the same time, I think we can all agree that our connection to screens is fast overtaking our connection to the earth from which we come.
(I know this is hypocritical, having created something you will undoubtedly see on a phone/laptop/tablet. So, feel free to stop reading this and go enjoy the birds outside!)
Over the last year, seven months and eleven days on the road, we have been the outsiders, constantly absorbing the lands we coddiwomple through. It has been a continuous reminder of how wonderful this planet is, and how special its people are. And so, we hoped to share tales from our journey, away from algorithms and ads. Stories that might fill you with intrigue about what’s just a little further down the road.
That’s the idea anyway. We’re just starting out!
Printing Photos
When I was a teenager, my mum bought me a collection of old National Geographic magazines, and I’d look through them in awe, hoping I could someday retrace the photographers’ footsteps. Inspired by this, I took a camera abroad when I went to spend a year working in Central America, aged nineteen. I look at those photos and remember the scenes viscerally; the humidity of mangrove forests, the smell of salty nesting turtles kicking up sand.
And since then, I’ve not stopped snapping. Sarah and I bump along on our bikes, climbing into mountains or wandering into villages, documenting the life we encounter. I hope the images we take can tell these stories. Tales of the people we meet, the vulnerable landscapes we find, roaming a vast world that is constantly changing.
After almost twenty years of exploring with a camera, it feels unbelievable to see the first images come to print. It’s been a real learning curve, and we almost lost 17,000 photos… but we’re in the clear and excited to share our first collection.
We hope to share the tale behind the images. I think it would be amazing to have something on the wall with an intriguing backstory. As the website has just been launched, keep your eyes peeled as we add more to the site. We’ll be bringing our semi-regular collections, sharing different elements of the journey and from different parts of the world.
Our first print collection
These first prints were particularly tricky to whittle down. How do you select 10ish photos from 17,000?
And so, we’ve gone with particularly poignant memories, moments and days that shaped this trip. Moments that taught us about people and places, and shaped our journey going ahead.
Click on each photo to find the backstory and print options. We hope you enjoy!
Thank you for finding us as we start out
It really means a lot to both Sarah and myself. We’re looking forward to sharing more tales with you from the road!