@lostcyclist

So Lars? What have you been up to the last 21 years? Ok. Here it is. Part 4 of The Lost Cyclist Chronicles: 2007: I continued my trip in Sudan and Ethiopia and went on to Kenya via the back then very seldom used route via the South Omo Valley and Lake Turkana. I cycled around Kenya without entry stamp and my visa was expired so I was a bit nervous when I was about to leave, but I was free to continue after a short interrogation at the border. I went on across Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. I stayed a long time in Kampala before I crossed the Equator and continued along Lake Victoria. I proceeded through Katavi National Park in Tanzania where I encountered elephants, giraffes, hippos and thousands of tsetse flies. I crossed the Zambezi River and visited the Victoria Falls before I cycled on to Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. I crossed the Kalahari desert, Kohmas Highlands and Spreetshoogte Pass before I went down to Namib Rand nature reserve. I crossed the Orange River and followed the coast all the way to Capetown. I flew to Argentina and travelled to Colombia via Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. I cycled the Gran Chaco in Paraguay and stayed a night in the Mennonite village of Filadelfia. I continued to Bolivia and tried to climb Huayna Potosi, 6099m, but got fever and rested in a cabin meanwhile my friend summited. I also cycled down el Camino de la Muerte - the Bolivian death road. I went on to Lake Titicaca, Cusco and Machu Picchu - I walked for 8 hours along a railway track to save money on the train ticket (no roads to Machu Picchu). I went down to the sea and hitch-hiked and used public transport much of the coastal stretch in Peru. I cycled parts of Ecuador and crossed the Equator for the second time. The trip ended in December at the tropical beach of Santa Marta in northern Colombia. To be continued... Thoughts?

(Part 3) So Lars? What have you been up to the last 21 years? Ok. Here it is. Part 3 of The Lost Cyclist Chronicles: 2005: I continued down the east coast in Australia and arrived in Melbourne. I took a ferry to Tasmania and circumnavigated the island. I ventured down to south Bruny Island. I also visited Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and Cradle Mountain National Park. I went back to Melbourne and cycled to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road before I crossed the Outback in the middle of the summer and ended up in Darwin. I did a side trip by bus to Uluru. Cycled Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. 2006: I cycled Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and celebrated New Year in Sudan - during my first Sahara crossing. I saw Lake Bled, the old bridge of Mostar and Hagia Sophia. I crossed the Alps and explored Cappadocia for a second time. I swam in the Dead Sea in Jordan and cycled by the Dead Cities of Syria. I visited the crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers and the great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. I cycled along the Bekaa Valey of Lebanon and slept in a room at the fire station in El-Qaa. I visited the ruins of Baalbek and the ancient city of Petra - a rose-red city half as old as time. I took a ferry across the Red Sea and stayed a long time in Dahab. I continued to Aswan via the eastern desert and Luxor. I took the ferry across the Lake Nasser and started to cycle south in Sudan. The year ended in the Sahara desert. To be continued... Thoughts? _________________________

(Part 2) Lars? What have you done the last 21 years? Ok. The Lost Cyclist Chronicles: Part 2. 2002-03: I tried to sail from Sweden to Venezuela with three friends. We failed considerably. The boat broke down during a storm outside the coast of Holland. No spare parts. Long wait. No thanks. Instead I returned for a second sejour at the Muay Thai school in Chiang Mai. I also cycled around Lake Inle in Burma and did day trips with canoe. I visited the famous temple in Mingun and Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. I flew to Cairo and travelled around Egypt. I visited Abu Simbel, the Valley of the Kings and the pyramids of Giza - and I hiked up to the summit of Mount Sinai. I slept under the stars in the Farafra oasis and visited the White Desert. I also bought a bicycle. 2004: I left my home on a bicycle. I cycled Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran - and spent time in the Tatra mountains, Transylvania and Cappadocia on the way. I visited the World Heritage Site of Mount Nemrut and cycled by Mount Ararat and stayed a couple of nights in the holy town of Qom. I drank tea under the bridges of Isfahan and visited the historical city of Yasd. I took a bus across Baluchistan for safety reasons. I hanged out a while in Quetta and tried to sneak into the infamous Smuggler's bazaar in Peshawar. I also visited the Khyber Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I cycled the southern part of Karakoram Highway and hiked in the mountains above the Hunza Valley. I returned to Lahore and cycled on to Kathmandu via India. I stopped for a swim in river Ganges and visited Mcleod Ganj, the home away from home of Dalai Lama. I flew to Sydney, Australia and cycled down the coast before I stopped in the town of Maffra and worked on a farm for a month... To be continued. Thoughts? _____________________________

Lars? What have you been up to the last 21 years? Ok. I will take this opportunity to tell new followers a bit more about my previous trips and adventures. So here it is. The Lost Cyclist Chronicles: Part 1. 2000: I lived outside Ålesund, Norway and hiked in the mountains above our cabin. I realised for the first time that mountains are the answer. I travelled around California for three weeks and I spent a week in the Dominican Republic. I hitch-hiked from Sweden to Germany and backpacked on to Spain and worked on Gran Canaria for a few days (it was boring so I left). I travelled around Morocco and visited the High Atlas, the desert of Erg Chebbi, Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marakesh and got lost in the old medina of Fez. I also visited Tangier and learned about Ibn Battuta - one of the greatest travellers the world has ever seen. I also realised deserts are full of questions. 2001-02: I did the Banana Pancake trail in Southeast Asia. I climbed a couple of volcanos on Sumatra and walked deep into Taman Negara, Malaysia. I travelled as far east as Flores, Indonesia and back without flying. I visited borobudur on Java and I met dragons on the Island of Komodo - and I tried to learn to surf on Bali. I visited Cambodia and saw the sun rise above Angor wat and crossed the Tonle Sap on the roof of a boat. I stayed and trained in a Muay Thai camp in northern Thailand for some time. To be continued... Thoughts? _______________________ ̈lje ̈ventyr

Chile - and the last climb of the Atacama Plateu. Everything changed the next day. Grass. Bushes. Trees. Rivers. Villages. And Air. Lots of it. I am not sure what I like the most: to be in the mountains or to get down from them after a long period on high altitude. I guess the grass is always greener. Or what do you think? @chiletravel @chile_estuyo @chile @cnntravel @diversetravel_ @southamerica @visitsouthamerica.co @aventuradeados @discoversouthamerica @natgeotravel @bbc_travel @ortlieb_waterproof @ospreypacks @ospreyeurope @visitsouthamerica.co ___________________________

Namibia has some of the best wild camping opportunities on the planet. Even if you sometimes have to climb a fence. Which camp spot is your most memorable? The picture is taken back in 2014 during my 7000 km trip around the Kalahari desert. _____________________________ ̈ventyr ̈lta

Estonia. The last evening in the country - and I found this beautiful campspot! The next day I crossed in to Russia. Camping in state-owned forests is both free and legal in Estonia. Would you like to visit? Or have you been? @visitestonia _________________________

The last picture from my and @sheisaround 's bike ride in Sweden. From now on, I will publish older photos until it's time to hit the road once again. So what do you think? From which country will the next picture come? ___________________________

Just another tent night in Roslagen, Sweden 2020. Beautiful? Yes? No? Nja? Maybe? _________________________ @sheisaround @ortlieb_waterproof @msr_gear @surlybikes @sweden_photolovers _________________________

We continued to explore the area between Stockholm and Norrtälje and found a great trail near Vaxholm. Fantastic cycling - and @sheisaround agrees with me. And what do you think? Would you like to cycle here? @bikewander __________________________ @waterfallsfordays

The single best advice for your first bicycle trip? Take your time. Cut the distance if you are short on time. Don't stress. Stop and explore. Take another coffee before you set off in the morning. Do you agree with me? _________________________   ̈lje ̈ventyr

I did a couple of shorter trips with @sheisaround a few weeks ago. Here on the northern side of Lake Gilfjärden near Norrtälje, Sweden. And yes. I prefer gravel and tracks, but sometimes I do paved roads too. Cyclists: asphalt or gravel? @bike._.travel __________________________