Travelling Cheap

In my early morning browsing haze I zoned out for a few seconds and envisioned myself cycling on the autobahn, carrying a huge back pack, overtaking a donkey led cart, and then being stopped by a band of cycling highwaymen dressed in post-apocalyptic leather. Alright, so my imagination runs wild sometimes, but what sparked it?

These dark images of the future were brought about by the news that yet another airline is in trouble. This time it’s Finnair, having announced plans to cut 500 jobs, in order to decrease costs. Finnair’s problems seem to be part of a new global trend in airlines, as only 10 days ago United Airlines (US) announced that they would be cutting up to 1100 jobs and grounding 100 planes. All because of rising oil prices…

We have come to see air travel no longer as a luxury, but as a norm. We forget that only 30 years ago it was still a big deal to get on a plane to go on holiday. I remember kids when I was growing up asking me where they keep the parachutes in planes because they had never been on one. And eventually, with the way oil prices are going, air travel will probably once again become a privilege.

So I’ve decided to find the cheapest way you can possibly travel through Europe (so I can visit my mother), and I have concluded that it would be cycling. Once you cross the channel there are ways to cycle all the way to Turkey or Greece if you so wished. There is one of two ways to go about a cycling holiday.

The first is to use an organised cycling tour company, such as Saddle Skedaddle. They can give you guided tours in various parts of the world or can organise a self guided tour where they just provide you routes, equipment and information.

There is also the more DIY approach, where you make your own plans, buy your own bike and set off on a really big adventure. I cannot begin to imagine the list of things you need to prepare before you go, but thankfully Charles Hansen has a very extensive list of things you need to do in preparation.

I wonder if I can fit some sort of machine gun to the front of my bicycle. For those pesky Autobahn Land Pirates in all their leather chapped glory… Must stop watching Mad Max films before bed.

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