The one line version:

Cycle from Portsmouth, UK to Tokyo, Japan

The long version: I am going to take a year off from work and on the 14th January 2020 start pedalling. Sketched out route so far is:

Europe

• Portsmouth to Plymouth (say good bye to the parents)
• Ferry from Plymouth to Santander
• Turns out the Plymouth to Santander ferry doesn’t run until March… (doh!) so Portsmouth to Santander it will have to be…
• Cycle through Spain including Madrid and Barcelona then picking up Eurovelo 8
• Follow Eurovelo 8 through France, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia
• Cut through Croatia and pick up Eurovelo 13 follow that until the intersection with Eurovelo 6 and the Daube
• Jump between Eurovelo 6 and 13 until get to the end of Eurovelo 13 (maybe make some adjustments to cycle in Greece too) and then aim for Istanbul, Turkey
• Pause in Istanbul for a break/explore and planning

The Caucasus – Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan

• Route planning is looser here but
• Cycle through Turkey
• From Turkey to Georgia (as Armenian borders aren’t open to Turkey)
• Then from Georgia to Armenia (possibly need to review impacts into getting into Azerbaijan)
• Back into Georgia to cross to Azerbaijan aiming for Baku to get a ferry across the Caspian Sea

The Stans

• So choice between landing in Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan but with visas most likely easier for Kazakhstan
• Then aim for Uzbekistan (might be some ‘cheating’ here using a train to skip some of the desert)
• Tajikistan with the mountains
• Kyrgyzstan possibly
• Back into Kazakhstan
• Then the choice I am currently deliberating with Russia or China to get into Mongolia (visas are tricky for both on the road and have to be arranged in advance) either country has its political difficulties

Central/Northern Asia

• Mongolia through it all to Ulaan Baatar
• Possible use of train to skip to China
• Visit the Great Wall and maybe cycle sections of it
• Visit Beijiing and then ferry from Tianjin to South Korea
• South Korea cycle from Incheon to Seoul then down to Busan
• Ferry from Busan to Fukuoka, Japan

Japan!

• Simple here cycle from one end to the other, south to north.
• Bullet train back down to Tokyo
• Pause/rest stop in Tokyo for a few weeks

And further….

Depending on timing, money and my endurance I would then look to:

• travel back into China and visit some more locations including Xi’an for the terracotta army and Shanghi.
• Heading lower to South East Asia and doing the traditional backpackers area – Vietnam, Loas, Thialand, Cambodia and Malaysia
• Possibly fitting in the Philippines and Indonesia…
• Then Australia – specifically Sydney for Christmas as I have family there…
• With the dream to do the Sydney-Holbart Sailing Race (but this really is a long shot to find a boat while travelling)

And if the money still hasn’t run out…

This really is the stretch goal or fantasy but it might include:

• Cycling from Sydney to Melbourne
• Cycling around Tasmania
• Cycling in New Zealand – South and North Islands
• Cycling through South America
• Completing the full circle

But if the later stages don’t work out or timings haven’t worked then I will be flying home from Sydney at the end of 2020 a very happy lady with future adventures to plot. And hopefully I will document all of this here…