Bikepacking Adventures Around the World: Ireland, Africa and Patagonia - Saoirse Pottie

Guest Saoirse Pottie first took to bikepacking as a way of enjoying the experiences of travel without the need for spending huge amounts of money.  Fair to say she has been hooked ever since and has also helped to generate a community around bike travel - especially championing and encouraging women to go on bikepacking adventures.

We discuss Saoirse's adventures through Ireland which she used as a way to gain the confidence to take on her biggest adventure - a bikepacking journey through Africa from Cape Town to Rwanda. 

Since the Africa journey Saoirse has continued to embrace the spirit of travel and community - having recently ridden the Caraterra Austral from Patagonio to Ushuaia as part of a group of 12. I really appreciated her insights into how she first got into this mode of slow travel, why she believes everyone should take on a solo trip, what it was like to cycle through Africa and also the balance and joys which come with taking on journeys solo as well as with others. 

You can find Saoirse via her instagram - @going.pottie - and more about her bikepacking weekend in Ireland - it's sold out but you can join the waiting list!

A link to the episode with Helen Dainty is here

You can learn more about Saoirse's bamboo Boogaalie Bike here.

Join me on the  Seek Travel Ride Lightweight Bikepacking Tour!
6 night - 5 day tour through the Pyrenees Foothills.
Dates - June 28 - July 04
Start and Finish: Toulouse
Cost €1550 per person twin share
Find Out more and Book Your Spot Here

Chapters

• 3:10 Early Adventures and Inspirations
• 5:39 Three Peaks World Record
• 10:38 Building a Community Through Bikepacking
• 14:07 Patagonia Adventures with Friends
• 31:55 Bikepacking Ireland
• 39:28 Planning the Africa Cycle Tour
• 45:21 Facing Fear and Trusting Instincts
• 56:07 Navigating Cultural Sensitivities
• 1:02:20 The Bamboo Bike Journey
• 1:07:07 Wildlife Encounters in Africa
• 1:14:41 Reflecting on the African Adventure
• 1:17:16 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Transcript

Saoirse: 0:00

I woke up at maybe like 6am and I heard like two like thump thump and I was like oh my god that's someone's, that's someone's footprints they're outside the tent and I was like in the middle of Wales somewhere because I was getting the ferry over and I listened again and I could hear it and it was like louder and faster and I was like they're right outside the tent. And to me, I'm like, okay, cool. This is it. Guess I'm going to die now. And I, it was like, and I was like, Oh no. And then it took a second. And I was like, hang on a second. That's not footprints. That's my own heartbeat. I'm hearing inside my head.

Bella: 0:37

Welcome to the Seek Travel Ride podcast, where we share the stories and experiences of people who have undertaken amazing adventures by bike, whether it's crossing state borders. Hello, I'm your host, Bella Molloy, and I am super excited to be introducing my guest for today's episode of Seek Travel Ride, Saoirse Pottie. Saoirse is a true adventurer. She rode over 7, 000 kilometers across Africa, from Cape Town to Rwanda, and she's recently just pedaled her way down and through Patagonia, all the way to Ushuaia, the end of the world. Today, I'm speaking from Saoirse while she's in Colombia, where she's been continuing her South American adventures to explore the best the country has to offer. Now, as you can tell, Saoirse's bike adventures have literally taken her through countries, across continents, all over the world, where she's often out there seeking out adventure, especially on off road trails. But Saoirse is also just as excited about taking challenges even closer to home, like her mission to cycle through every county in Ireland. reaching its highest point in each and every one along the way. What makes Saoirse's story so compelling, though, isn't so much the places she's written to. For me, it's the way she shares them and the community of people she's inspired, which serve as one of the biggest highlights on what I would call her adventure CV. Through humor, honesty, and a super infectious love for adventure, the outdoors and wildlife, She's inspired countless people, women and men alike, to get outside and explore. She's a co founder of Bikepacking Buds, and also an official Guinness World Record holder. Safe to say, Saoirse has become a leading voice in the bike adventure world. Listeners, to say I'm excited to speak with Saoirse today is an understatement, and I cannot wait to hear her talk about these incredible experiences. The lessons she's learned on the road, what keeps her chasing the next big adventure, and for us all to get a massive hit of Wanderlust along the way, Saoirse Pottie, a big warm welcome to the show.

Saoirse: 3:02

Thank you. That was a really, really beautiful introduction. So many kind words. I'm getting emotional. I'm embarrassed.

Bella: 3:10

Saoirse, I have wanted to interview you since I started the pod. I think really it's just the way you share your adventures and the community you've built around it. It's what I love about bike adventures in this space. So I cannot wait to hear about your stories. But Saoirse, the question I start my show with, and I ask it of all my guests is, Saoirse Pottie, do you remember the very first bike you ever rode?

Saoirse: 3:35

I was thinking about this. The memory that sticks in my mind was one Christmas. I got a bike for Christmas and it was like with the stabilizers on and it had like all these like tassels and everything and yeah, that was like a super cute, yeah, first memory of a bike. I don't think I eat. rode a bike that much as a kid, but yeah, it's super, a super nice way into it. I

Bella: 3:58

can picture you now actually on like, on like one of those proper little kiddie bikes.

Saoirse: 4:02

Yeah.

Bella: 4:03

Zooming around there. It's fair to say you've zoomed around quite a lot of the world ever since, but I want to know, like, to me, your passion for the outdoors goes well beyond riding trails. Like, you are a huge outdoor lover, you're a huge animal lover. Was that a passion you had from being a little kid and what was growing up for you where you were like?

Saoirse: 4:22

Yeah. So I'm from Northern Ireland and I lived like a very rural. Yeah, I'd say I'm a typical kid of the 90s. So I grew up watching a lot of Dave Attenborough. Um, my mom is A horse trainer.

Bella: 4:40

Horse whisperer.

Saoirse: 4:41

A horse whisperer, yeah. Whispers sweet nothings into their ears.

Bella: 4:45

This is the part where I tell you I have an irrational fear of horses, but go on.

Saoirse: 4:51

So I grew up doing a lot of horse riding, and I would have been in the outdoors with that, but less so Less so in the sense of, I didn't grow up like hiking, I didn't grow up like cycling, I didn't grow up doing any kind of adventure sport, but I grew up spending a lot of time outside. Yeah, so I think that's where I got, for me, outside is like a place where It gives me head space. So in the morning, I love having a cup of tea and just even if I'm just sitting outside like helps me like set myself up for the day.

Bella: 5:23

Yeah.

Saoirse: 5:24

So yeah, I do think the love for the outdoors came and then the putting that together with like recreational. Things of cycling and hiking and those kind of things came later in my life. Yeah.

Bella: 5:37

Blending cycling and hiking together. I mean, I mentioned Guinness World Record holder. Listeners, I've been a fan of Saoirse's for ages and I don't know how remiss of me was to realize I didn't know this existed before Saoirse, but that is a blend of cycling and hiking. Your three peaks world record there. Let me get it straight, there's, there's three peaks in the UK and you combined them with two others. So it was three women, three peaks, three days, which involved like, I don't know, it was like 150 miles of riding between each peak as well before then getting to the top.

Saoirse: 6:07

Yeah. This is kind of a typical story or a running fashion of saying yes to something and then worrying what that actually entails later.

Bella: 6:17

Oh, I love it.

Saoirse: 6:18

I had, um, there was a couple of friends. That we honestly didn't. We worked in the outdoors, so we worked as like outdoor educators and we didn't have that much in terms of cash, but we had like the equipment we had each had a bike. We each had a tent, so we had kind of like the equipment, but didn't have a lot of like cash to go with things and we'd meet up and we would try and do like a bike adventure. It was like a cheap way of kind of meeting up and seeing each other. We were doing a route in Scotland, which is called the North Coast 500, a beautiful route that's, uh, yeah, 500, I think it's 500 miles. Yeah. 500 miles through like, yeah, some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland. And when we were there, it goes near Ben Nevis. So there's three peaks in the UK. There's the highest point in Wales, which is Snowdon, the highest point in England, which is Scarfell Pike, and the highest point in Scotland, which is Ben Nevis. And as we were cycling, one of the girls said, Oh, I'd love to do all three before my 30th birthday. Because we were cycling, we were like, Oh, we should do all three and cycle between them.

Bella: 7:29

The birth of the idea.

Saoirse: 7:32

So then we. We're like, Oh, we could do, we could do it. And we could raise some money. Cause it was around like COVID time and there was a lot of like people that were a lot of things going on. So we were like, okay, we could do it. And we could do it. There's three of us. There's three mountains. Let's just do it in three days. And so my friend was like, okay, cool. Sounds like a great idea. And she put on a Facebook group that was like. Hey, there's this, we're thinking of doing this challenge. Has anyone kind of like done it before, the cycle between it? And somebody wrote back a comment and was like, you realize if you do it in three days, you'll break like the Guinness world record. And she was like, Oh yeah, okay, cool. Let's definitely do it. And that would be sick. Um, so we were like, okay, let's do it. We set off, we did Snowden the first, so we set off like 5am, did Snowden. And we were cycling towards Scarfell Pike, and we got to 160 kilometers, or 100 miles. And we passed that, and we got, and we got to like 200k. And you're like, hey, none of us have ever cycled this far before. Isn't that crazy? None of us had ever cycled over, uh, 100 miles, 160K.

Bella: 8:41

Which actually isn't an unreasonable thing to say. No. You know, you have, I have, some people have, but it's still an actual exceptional distance for the majority of people.

Saoirse: 8:51

Yeah, it takes like a long, for me anyway, I'm a slow train, it takes a long time to cycle that distance. So that's like what we had cycled in training for this. But on the first day, we had to do the first mountain and then we had to cycle 270 kilometers. So when we got to the point when we'd done like 160, we still had 90 more K to go and we're like, Whoa, this is so cool. I've never gone this far. Like I wonder if we're, are we going to make it? Are we not gonna make it? So it was super once we got like over 200 we're like oh we might actually do this like it never yeah before that point I think we were like well we'll give it a go what's the worst that can happen you know and so we did it so we did it I think in 67 hours or something or something around that. Yeah, so we got the record for it, which was super cool. I think, uh, my friend Cass told me that someone's just beat us, so I'd love to go back. So, three other women have, uh, smashed us and I think they've done it maybe like two or three hours quicker, which over a length of three days, you're like, oh, I could just sleep a bit less.

Bella: 9:53

Do you have an itch to go back? Like, are you one of those people that would go back and try and get it back?

Saoirse: 9:57

I don't know. Um. I don't know.

Bella: 9:59

Oh, you do, you're hesitating.

Saoirse: 10:02

A little part of me, a little part of me, but I think my mindset and like the way I view bike adventures has changed a lot since then. Now I'm a lot more like, yeah, I love to just cycle and then have a cup, like a chill, eat some pastries. I'm a lot more, a lot more mellow, I think, with my cycling these days.

Bella: 10:21

Yeah. And do you think that has been born out of Because, I guess how I would say it, Saoirse, you know, I, I did a lot of research before this interview and I could really see the different trajectory that you're on around that time to where you are at now and how you travel then to what you do now. And I wonder whether a lot of that has also come with, not just what you've learnt taking these type of adventures, but also the community that's built around it. I feel like the word community goes hand in hand with a lot of the adventures you've done too.

Saoirse: 10:51

Yeah, 100%. Yeah, one of the amazing things about the UK is that there's so many community groups out there and a lot of them exploded around the same kind of time that I started cycling or like properly cycling. Um, so I really started maybe like 2019, 2020, that kind of time. At the same time, like, a lot of gravel groups came up, a lot of women's groups came up. And it's been a really nice way of meeting people and Yeah, finding people that have like a similar kind of outlook and a common, yeah, just really, really cool people. Like every time you go on one of those group rides, you meet someone and you chat to them and you're like, I've met this really cool person, they've done this really cool thing and you leave feeling super inspired. Yeah. And I think the, the nature of those is it prioritizes having a social element over a competitive element. Um, so I think that definitely does have an effect because it makes you think, oh, I'm Actually, I can just do this and you can, some things I like to go out and challenge myself. And sometimes I like to just like go out and have fun, you know, and there's, it's always a balance between those two of like where you want that to lie.

Bella: 12:04

And sometimes the challenge yourself becomes sort of like the hilarity of the situation, which, you know, reflecting back with the road glasses could be fun as well. There's a lot of funny stories that come out of some challenging routes too, right? Something that I really loved and it was around the time that you started the Bikepacking Buds community. Was this idea that. There are many people out there and I've seen this amongst listeners of the show who like the idea of trying something but don't have the confidence to try it on their own or the ability maybe to do something and so then that idea never comes to life and with You know, what you created there, it was about a way of having people socialize and bring, bring their own adventures that they had in mind to life as well.

Saoirse: 12:48

Thank you. Yeah. So the Bike Passing Buds was like a platform basically for people who wanted to go bike packing, but maybe didn't have anyone to go with. So say for example, Bella, you were like, I would love to do this route that goes across the Pyrenees. And I really want to do it, but I don't necessarily want to do it on my own. Or I would like to, it'd be really cool to share this beautiful part of my home with other people.

Bella: 13:16

Yeah.

Saoirse: 13:16

And you could propose it and be like, if anyone, I'm doing this thing that's super cool. If anyone wants to join me, please come along. We can have coffee together, have the chats. Or whatever else. Um, so that was kind of the idea of it. Um, and it was really, really beautiful. Um, yeah, it was, yeah, beautiful, like little community that grew from it.

Bella: 13:37

Yeah, and I mean, you've really kept going with that idea as well. And the idea of doing things in that type of format, I think you almost call it like a rally type format. And, you know, Patagonia, which you've recently done, I think was similar to that in that space in that a whole heap of people are doing the same route at the same time, maybe not necessarily side by side together, but You know that you're not alone there. You're swapping stories at the start and the end of the day having lunch together maybe. And I think that has just got so much power within it as well.

Saoirse: 14:07

Yeah, so Patagonia, so I just, uh, spent two months in Patagonia. Oh,

Bella: 14:13

Patagonia, pat. Yeah, that's

Saoirse: 14:15

what we called it. Patagonia. There's a guy called Mike Webb who's amazing. He's cyclists and he's amazing at puns. And he was like, when he heard, yeah, he was like, you have to call it Begonia. So I have to give credit to him for that. Yeah, last year I did that. I'd cycle through Africa and towards the end of it, I was cycling a lot of it on my own and I was dreaming of doing something a bit more social this year. And there's a route that goes through Chile into Argentina called the Catedral Austral. And it's, on a hands on, one of the most, it is the most beautiful bike route I've ever been on. Incredibly social, and really good for if anyone's like, thinking of their first like, international trip. Super beautiful, lots of resources, it's a paradise for bikers. Anyway, you can continue on to Ushuaia, which I did, it took a couple months. And I was like, I'd love to. Bring some friends on it. And so I made a little PDF that just had here's a Katerra Austral Here's what the route's about, what kind of bike you need, how long it's gonna take And I just sent it to all of my friends that I thought were People I'd want to adventure with, you know, that were, would love an adventure and expecting like, you know, if I was lucky, maybe it would be a group of like three. And it ended up being those 12 of us, Ken. So I was like, Oh, cool. Mega! You got your own community,

Bella: 15:39

your rolling community there. FOMO, I remember you said to me, Bella, I'm doing Patagonia I can't make it. The vibes on every single day would have been awesome.

Saoirse: 15:50

It was incredible. It was really, it's probably the most fun trip I've ever done, and a super nice way to do it as well. I think I got like really lucky with everyone that came. There was quite like a different level of experience for people. So some people had done adventures before but had never like bike packs before, like they bought a bike or I lent them a bike for this trip. And some people were like super experienced bagpackers. So really nice kind of skill sharing kind of vibe. Everyone lived out for each other. So there's like one girl that would, every time you turn up, she'd be like, I put the tea on, the kettle's on, I'm making us a cup of tea.

Bella: 16:31

I don't know who you are, but you're a legend.

Saoirse: 16:32

Yeah, yeah. Another, like, or someone would be like, I'm going to boil, like one day they boiled 32 eggs for all of us, you know. Or somebody looks at the read, because if you travel, I think the thing that gets hard about when you travel by yourself, the amazing thing is you become very It's very empowering because you make the decisions and then you learn to trust your decisions and you're like, cool, I can make these decisions for myself. I can look after myself. I know what I'm doing. And that's really like, yeah, I've got this. But it can also be super exhausting. If you travel solo for a long time, it can also get a bit tiring because you're also the person, every night you're like, cool, I've got to pack my, I've got to unpack everything. I've got to wash all my bibs. I've got to find dinner. I've got to search up the route for tomorrow. I've got to find accommodation. And then you like fall into bed and then you do the exact same thing the next day. And after a while you're like, Oh, I'd love to, you know, if you have a rough day or a day out and you're, it's just a challenging day and you're exhausted, you would love, sometimes when I was in Africa, I was like, how nice would it be if I just rolled in the door and someone was like, do you want a cup of tea? How's your day? Like, do you want a hot shower? And you'd be like, Oh, or like, you know, that little small thing. When I traveled, Yeah. With the, the group of us, we all were able to empathize with each other and able to like, look out and be a team player and be like, I'll put the kettle on for us, you know? And you're sharing that? Yeah, and when someone's up, someone else, you're like, okay, they look like, uh, like there's one day, one of the girls is German, and I think it's called St. Nicholas Day, and she hid chocolates in all of our bikes. What a legend! Yeah, it's something you do apparently for St. Nicholas Day, and so like, we were just cycling along, we had a big hill to do that day, and then you get to the top of the hill and you go to look for something, and you're like, oh, there's a chocolate! You know, it's super Really, really lovely, really beautiful.

Bella: 18:36

It's also sharing the mental load, like you said, as well, because consecutively doing things for your own, like you said, it's empowering knowing that you can do them for your own, but it's also just really nice when you don't have to. Yeah. Also, something else you mentioned there is like the emotions go up and down often on bike adventures. Like, there are moments where you're like riding Cloud 9 and you're like high on life and everything's amazing. And there are moments which are challenging, and then, you know, something could bring you to tears. So, the idea that you've got a group that's come together that way, and are sharing those moments, and being uplifting for the people that need lifting up, or doing the heavy work for people that need a bit of a hand, I think that's beautiful. I think the other thing, you would have seen the people at the more beginning of the spectrum just really grow throughout that time as well.

Saoirse: 19:25

Yes. Super, super cool. I think for me, one of the, I think the driving force is when you have something that you love and then you get to share it with other people and you see that. Like, it's contagious, you know, and you're like, oh, they're loving it too. And it's really, it's really cool to have that. I think that's what drives me to expand that community, to share. And the same for you. Like, you're sharing something that you love with other people and that's

Bella: 19:51

It's energizing.

Saoirse: 19:52

Mm hmm. Yeah.

Bella: 19:53

Yeah. It's really, really energizing as well. Do you feel There's a point though, where Saoirse, because you have done a lot of solo travel, well, you've done a mix of solo travel and travel with people. I don't know that you necessarily ever need to choose between one over the other, but do you ever feel like there are times But you do just need to transition to being on the other end. So if you're with a group, you're like, I really need to be on my own at the moment or vice versa. Or when you're on your own, you really feel like, gosh, I need a community around me right now.

Saoirse: 20:23

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think, honestly, my opinion, I think everyone should do a solo trip because I think it's a really cool thing to. Yeah, just see, see how you get on and also just to have that, like, confidence in yourself and be like, yeah, I can do this. I'm a pretty sociable person, like I love being around people and I think that's why cycling really suits me because I also love being by myself. So like, uh, I'm a, I'm an only child, so I'm like used to having like my own space. So I love the idea. The cycling, you get to cycle in your own for a lot of the day and you can be in your own headspace and then you can be like, okay, we're going to meet here and have, or someone stops ahead and you have food and you have lunch together and you can chat and you can be so on this trip that we did with all of us. Sometimes we'd be like, okay, we're all going to listen to a podcast and then we're going to stop for lunch and we'd chat about like what podcast we'd listen to. Yeah. So it's super, super nice. So you can be social and you can also still have time where you're in your own head as well. And you're, so I really like that. I think the difference is, or the main thing is when you travel alone versus with other people. I think it's important for me to have both because I'm quite an independently minded person and I think traveling with groups of people has taught me, it's like a learning, it's a learning curve for me.

Bella: 21:53

Mm.

Saoirse: 21:54

When you travel on your own, you can make any decision you want. You can be like. This looks like a nice spot. I think I'll camp here. It's sometimes scary to be like, is this like, it would be nice to have somebody else to give me reassurance this is a good spot. At the same time, you, you start to trust your intuition a bit better. And when you travel with somebody else, you have to always consider somebody else. So you're always being like, okay, I feel like I could cycle further today, or I'm tired today and they're not on the same level as you. So you're always saying like, you're not always, but like you can quite often be like, I wish I could stop now, but I want to keep going. Or I wish, you know, I'd be, if it was me on my own, I'd love to keep cycling or. I, I think this is a great spot or whatever, whatever it could be. You're, there's so many, many micro decisions that you're making. And the more people you cycle with, the more people you have to take into consideration with the decision making of all of those things.

Bella: 22:55

Do you also find, and I've definitely had this inside cycling with groups and, and also, you know, just in common life, there's also people who. Don't want to be the dominant voice in the group and are like, Oh, I'm happy with whatever. And so there's like a group of people that don't want to make a decision and that sort of decision paralysis just overwhelms as well.

Saoirse: 23:16

Yeah. Honestly, I think, um, like bikepacking can teach you and adventures in general can teach you so many different transferable skills for life. But I think communication is like such a key part of those and I think one of the key things, I thought I was good at communication. I don't think I am. I think it's a work in progress we're all, we're all learning about. I think the thing that is. Really important. You can think that you're good at communication, but it's not just communication. It's being able to communicate vulnerably, you know, it's being able to be like, I'm actually super tired and I would love to stop. I would love, you know, because it's hard to be the person. I think we all want to show ourselves as being like strong and it's harder to be like I'm actually not feeling okay today and I'd like to stop or for instance like whenever we did this, the most recent trip, there's 12 of us. And if someone stops and has a puncture, it's maybe not necessary for all 12 of us to stop and give them a hand. And we've all got, we're all independents, we've all got our own kind of equipment and stuff. But sometimes it's nice to just have one person there.

Bella: 24:26

Yeah.

Saoirse: 24:27

It's about being able to communicate like, you all go ahead, but it'd be really nice if one person stayed with me. just to like help me through the frustration of being able to put this tire back on. So I think that's a really, yeah, definitely a skill like I'm working on. And I think it's like a really important skill when you're traveling as a, as a group or with other people. Yeah.

Bella: 24:48

Doing this show and being so fortunate to interview amazing people from all walks of life who've gone all over the world, there's themes that I've learned that this type of travel, you know, brings out. And one of them that I learned was the idea that it's okay to be vulnerable and it's okay to ask for help. And I remember when I was first told that, Oh, and it was, um, Pippa Langan, Hi Pippa. She went all around the world. My gosh, Saoirse, her story is amazing. She did it. Bivvying, like an ultra, like she'd do like 300 odd K days, day after day in London and New York. But yeah, Pippa said she realized partway through the trip, it was okay to let her guard down to not have to be independent all the time and to ask for help. And that people actually do want to help you. I'm not talking just about a group of 12 people all peddling Patagonia there, but just in general. And I wonder, is that something that you have learnt for yourself a bit as well?

Saoirse: 25:45

Yeah, a hundred percent. And I'm, another person that makes this point really well is a lady called Anna McNuff, who is an adventurer. Yes. She's hilarious. And she had, if anyone's looking for a good, like, uh, podcast to listen to, I really like listening to hers because she's A

Bella: 26:04

million percent.

Saoirse: 26:04

Yeah, she feels like, I feel like I've got this one way relationship with her because I know her really well from her audio books. But she's, um, when I was first doing things, that scared me, like cycling through the night or first like solo camp alone. I would listen to hers because it's really friendly and I feel like I've got a mate there with me so I'd be setting up my camp tent and listening to her like speak to me. But she has a point of Saying sometimes, for instance, when someone offers you somewhere to stay, they're like, don't worry about it, come, you can like stay at mine. And there's this, maybe it's like a British politeness or like just like a human thing to be like, you don't want to be intrusive to somebody else's space or to put them out. And you're like, no, no, no, no. And it could be like raining and you're having a horrible day. And actually the sound of a hot shower sounds amazing. And you're like, I'd love to do that. But there's a part of you that's like, I can't, I can't do that. And I think one of her points was people want to help you, like actually feels if you put yourself in their shoes and you saw someone, you know, that was doing an adventure and they were like, it was raining outside and they're like, yeah, of course you can crash on my couch and have, you know, it feels nice to help somebody else. It actually feels like super nice to be kind and to help other people. And so when I did the Ireland cycle, I Honestly, part of the reason why I did the Ardent Cycle is because I had the Africa Cycle in mind.

Bella: 27:30

It was like pre training?

Saoirse: 27:31

Yeah, I was like, I've never, at this point I was working like a, before this, like a Monday to Friday job. So the longest I'd done was like a weekend kind of like bikepacking trip. And I was like, I've never cycled for over like, you know, four days. I would love to do like a longer trip and kind of see how that feels and see how that feels to go alone, all these things. So the Ireland trip I think was six weeks or something around this. I could have travelled the whole of Ireland not camping once. Because, I had like three friends at the start, they're people that put me in contact with people, and I stayed at their houses, and they're like, where are you going? Okay, my cousin's cousin lives there, and they can put you in contact with them. Irish people, I love you! I would have to be like, no, I need to camp because I'm doing this to like, you know, train myself to like, be fine with like, solo camping and all these things. So I'd meet myself, turn down the offers. Unless it was really windy and rainy and it'd be so cute, I'd be in someone's, like, dressing gown, all wrapped up warm, being like, Having a Barry's tea. Yeah, having a Barry's tea, so smug. But I think once you start accepting someone, once you do it for the first time and you're like, this is actually a really nice experience, I think both sides get something out of it. Like, I'm not sure for other cyclists that are out there, there's an amazing platform that's called Warm Showers. If anyone's doing bike touring, I 100 percent recommend getting it because it's a beautiful way of meeting other like minded people and it feels like home when you're not away, when you're away from home. But it's a kind of similar feeling to that.

Bella: 29:12

Yeah. And actually, listen, it's come up with a few different guests as well because there's variations of warm showers all around the world. I was on David McCourt, a fellow Northern Irish person, uh, he's from a small village, Cushendall, in Northern Ireland. And he was telling me in Indonesia, there's a organization called FEDERAL, and it's sort of around the same sort of principle. I think in South America is Casa de Ciclistas, which is very similar. And I think there is, I can't remember, um, Jesus Estrada, who I recently interviewed, he mentioned. Also a federation around that in Mexico. But yeah, you are right. And I think something else that you've spoken about, Saoirse, is the act of giving someone help is actually a gift to the person that's giving the help as well. Like actually being able to gift something to someone. Is also energizing for the person that's doing the giving.

Saoirse: 30:03

Yeah.

Bella: 30:03

Maybe you're the same, like there's the notion of now paying it forward. You know, you've had so much given to you and through that then you become generous and helpful with others. I think it's sort of like a circular relationship in that way.

Saoirse: 30:15

Yeah, super nice. If I ever own a house, I'm fortunate enough to own a house, I would love to. I think it's that point of like, for me, on the running theme of all the bike adventures has been. Seeing how kind and generous people are. Every time someone's super kind and super generous, there's always this thought of like, What can I do to pay that forward? What can I do to, yeah, to repay that to the world? Sounds a bit corny, but like, you, yeah, it feels like you have to give something back.

Bella: 30:47

Yeah, I can totally understand that. I want to go into your Irish bikepacking adventure quickly, because I definitely want to get to Africa. You know, when you were saying, you know, you set this challenge up, it was training for Africa. But there would have been an element of learning about your own country as well. I want you to tell me something that you didn't know existed or something that just absolutely blew you away from that adventure. Be from any county, anywhere.

Saoirse: 32:05

I think what I, the thing that comes to mind is A lot of, like, legends of Ireland revolve around this giant that's called Finn McCool. So I did, um, The Ireland Adventure. I basically hadn't lived back in Ireland for 10 years and I was like, I'd really love to go back. I'd like to rediscover Ireland and see what it's like and go to places that I, you're very rarely a tourist in your own country. You go to other places around the world and you don't look at what's on your backyard. So I was like, I want to do that. And I'd done the three peaks challenge a couple of years before, whatever time before, I really liked the multi element of it where you hike and then you cycle. And it's super cool because you see both things. And so, there is also a thing in Ireland called the 32 Peaks, which has got the highest point in each county, so there's 32 counties, and the idea was to go from, yeah, like a route basically connecting all the peaks and hiking up the peaks too, and it was super cool because it took me to places. There's places, like, in the middle of Ireland, that I'd be like, Meh, don't really know what's there, and it made me go there, and I was like, Oh, this is actually really cool, I would never have come here before. But the other thing that I found was, I was, I'm from Northern Ireland, and I'm familiar with, there's a story behind Giants Causeway, and it's about two giants, a Scottish giant and an Irish giant fighting. But as I was traveling through Ireland, I saw so many of these stories. So there's like a bit that's in, um, Mayo, or Sligo actually, where it's like he hides in a cave and that's where these caves are. There's a place near Don Beg, which is further south, maybe an hour and a half, where there's a huge rock that's maybe three meters long and two meters high and it's smashed in half. And the legend has it that he was really boastful, he's like, I can throw this in the ocean and beat the other giants. And he tried to throw it in the ocean and it didn't. And it's landed short of the ocean and he was so embarrassed that he like smashed in half. And the legend has it is if you go through it three, if you walk through it three times, then the stone will. Yeah. Smash her, smash together and squish whoever's inside it, you know. Oh! Did you ride

Bella: 34:24

through it three times?

Saoirse: 34:26

It's like in a field, and there's a part of me that's like, I'd love to do it, but then there's another part of me that's super superstitious and like, Oh, you just couldnt,

Bella: 34:35

you'd be in the second time and like, I'm generally,

Saoirse: 34:37

I'm generally like a very rational or like logical, I like to be a logical person, but I'm also crazy superstitious and I'm like, I can't do it. I can't do it three times. like, I'm just, so yeah, it was really. Fun just like traveling through and being like, this is really interesting, just the mythology and the folklore and like connecting it and seeing it all through. And I was like, ah, super interesting, these old teals. Oh

Bella: 35:03

my gosh, Saoirse, there's a bikepacking route that needs to be built around this and it needs to be called after, you know, after the giant. Yeah,

Saoirse: 35:10

yeah, yeah, yeah. Do it!

Bella: 35:14

It takes me back to when I lived in Ireland and something that I always really loved was seeing like the fairies, like the fairy gardens and the little fairy doors. Like that is such an Irish thing to me that I didn't realise. And I don't know, like I imagine, is it for children? I'm not sure. Do adults get into this as well? Maybe. But it's funny because where I live in the Pyrenees, there's this awesome road, which sort of the road just washed away. And so it's closed to cars and it's just like one of our walkways. And about 500 meters down it, there's this tree and there was a branch cut out, but it's sort of in the shape of a door. And I always, I'm going to do it this year, people. I'll take a photo when I do. I need to put a little fairy there. It's going to be the little Irish fairy in the Pyrenees. I love those stories. So magical.

Saoirse: 35:55

Yeah. Yeah. Irish people are very superstitious. There's a story of like a main road being built, which is like the M50 or something equivalent. And it goes, it's straight line. And if you look at it, it goes like around and it goes around because there's a fairy bush there and they didn't want to destroy the fairy bush and make the fairies angry. I

Bella: 36:12

love this even more. So yeah. The only real big mountain I know of in, um, Ireland, well actually we refer it to Northern Ireland and it's because where my mother in law's family grew up in County Down there is um, Sleave

Saoirse: 36:24

Donard. Yes, yeah.

Bella: 36:25

That would have been a hike and a half up in the mountains of Morn there.

Saoirse: 36:27

And it's so beautiful there. It made me, yeah, it made me really connect and be, made me think like, wow, Ireland is just stunningly beautiful. And I think I'm traveling like the last two years, I've traveled a lot of places and they're incredibly beautiful. But there's also a point where I'm like, if I never had to leave. If I, someone said you can never leave a country in your life, I think I'd be like, cool, I'll stick in Ireland. That's fine. Cause it's, yeah, it's so beautiful.

Bella: 36:56

It is. It is. And it's something that someone else taught me. Like everyone always jokes about the weather and I realized, you know, there is a reason why it's green. Yes. It does rain a lot. But. In my recollections of it, the weather's always changing as well, and there's such beauty within changeable weather. And I'm not saying when, you know, if it's pouring with rain and blowing sideways, maybe there's not so much beauty with that. But, you know, waking up and seeing the mist, one of my personal favorite bikepacking moments, which I had was when I wild camped on the cliffs of Moher. And I woke up and it was all fog, like you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. And then I sort of went in the tent and I thought, no, I need a coffee. And I went out and nature handed me the most magic moment of all on a plate. And I woke up and the fog cleared with the sun just a little, and the fog was rolling over the cliffs of Moher like a waterfall. And I have that moment burned into my brain forever. And it's that changeable weather. It's just magic. Oh, I love it. I need to go back and cycle Ireland. And in fact, you have an event coming up in Ireland, right?

Saoirse: 37:57

Yeah. Yeah. So the same kind of idea. Like I said, like in the UK there's so many amazing communities and I think if you wanted to every weekend in the UK you could find a cool event to go to, like a cool like cycling or bikepacking event. It's just the summer calendar is just incredible, but in Ireland it seems to be missing that and I would love to see more, I'd love to see more people in general bikepacking and I'd love to see more Irish people bikepacking and so I put a call out just on social media and I'd be glad to see you. Like, would people be interested in coming to an event? I'm in the process of organizing an event in May, in early May. I really like that emphasis that's on social, not competition. So it's just people that want to, like, enjoy the outdoors and enjoy cycling and take a chill and we're going to stay in a campsite that has like a river and a sauna and have some pizzas and some campfire chats and yeah. I'm

Bella: 38:54

there. People, you, you need to be there as well. I think, so as you said, it's like the 9th to the 11th of May. I will, listeners, hopefully between now and the time this episode goes out, we'll have a link in the show notes and you, if there is a link and, um, Saoirse, honestly, if I can make that weekend happen, I'm, I'm like your first person to sign up for it. Cause I live for these type of events. I think they're magic. Thanks for being so supportive. Oh no, more of it, more of it. Island was something that you said that you did as a way of feeling confident maybe enough to take on Africa. Mm hmm. Well, I want to know, what gave you the idea of Africa in the first place?

Saoirse: 39:32

Um, so I, after university, so I did a degree in zoology and I worked in conservation for ten years. And I lived out in Mozambique, which is on the east coast, just above South Africa, in Africa. And I lived out there for a year, working, doing marine projects out there. What an experience. Yeah, absolutely incredible. I've been super fortunate, but I literally spent all my time in this one tiny little fishing town, you know, like, small population, super cute. And it was a place that. I'd have to do visa runs and every time I left, I was like, I can't wait to get back. You know, it's somewhere that felt like home, even though it's so far and different from home. And I think it's because it had such a large sense of community that I feel in Ireland as well as people look out for each other and, um, quite often in rural areas, people don't have a lot and they're super. Yeah, it's just this feeling of like, everyone looks out for each other.

Bella: 40:35

Yeah, it's like solidarity.

Saoirse: 40:36

And I really loved it. And when I came back to the UK I got in, that's when I started getting into cycling because before that I'd done a lot of traveling different places and I was studying for my master's and I was staying in one place and I was like, I need a bit of adventure in my life. Um, and that's when I started doing more cycling. And so I'd always wanted to go back to visit Africa and it was a combination of those two things. It's like. When you do a cycling tour, you're like, this is a beautiful way to Feel the cultures and landscapes and it's very like a vulnerable way of traveling. Yeah, that's how I wanted to see some of Africa Yeah, so I just started doing some research into it. I'd read about or heard about somebody who had ran the width of it, but they had, what interests me, not a big runner, um, was as a support for the person running, there was a woman who cycled alongside, I think it was their partner, cycled alongside. And I was like, Oh, you can cycle through Africa. Yeah. So it was, it was, uh, it just kind of went from there. And I. It's interesting because I think when you want to do trips like that, there's the other thing of, like, before I went to Mozambique, people told me Are you sure you want to go there? Is it safe? Isn't it going to be dangerous? And this plays on your mind a lot. You're like, oh, and then I went there and I lived there and it was the most incredible experience of my life. And then when I wanted to cycle through Africa, I had the same thing of people being like, you're going as a woman. like a target or just like very mostly negative things actually. Like one of my good friends, I remember telling her, and this is like, you know, when you first tell people, it's like, I'm thinking of doing this thing. And she was like, boy, you always have crazy ideas. This is the worst. This is the craziest is the worst one. She's like, don't do it. You will die. And I was like, Oh, okay. Maybe, maybe that is too, like, maybe I've pushed the bar too far. And at first when I was looking up, I was like, I want to speak to, I think it's really important. In situations like that, where you actually take people's firsthand experiences, because I think it's important to understand that people who say those things to you, they don't do it. They do it because they love you, because they, because they're like, I want you to be safe. I care about you. And it's their perception. But a lot of the time, those are also people who haven't. I've been to that place and done that thing. So I think it's really important to get first hand experiences or first hand what's the actual, what's the crack. And so I reached out to some people and at first all I could find was men had done it. So like Mark Beaumont's written a book about solo, um, Alistair Humphreys is another adventurer that's done it. And then I started to uncover, so there's a guy also, Tristan Boggard, Yes. He was actually amazing. He's done, he's created a route that's called the Kenyan Odyssey. Would check it out. It's incredible.

Bella: 43:37

Oh, I asked Tristan Ridley. Sorry, Tristan

Saoirse: 43:39

Ridley. Sorry. Sorry. I interviewed

Bella: 43:41

Tristan. Hi Tristan. You're in Mexico at the moment. Yeah. There is Tristan Bogart as well. He creates routes too. Sorry. Who would know there would be true Tristans, right?

Saoirse: 43:50

I got, I got those, uh, mixed up. So Tristan Ridley created the Kenyan Odyssey. And he, I reached out to him, and he was incredibly helpful. He put me in touch. I had a Skype call with him and another girl that had done it, and she was the first woman that had Like spoken to, and she was super encouraging, and there's another woman, Tegan Phillips, and she cycled through with her family, and I, she was like, I'm busy, like, doing these things, but here's my dad's contact number, so I spoke to like, uh, Tegan Phillips. How awesome is Tegan? She was so cool, um, and I spoke to like her dad on Skype, and it was super nice to hear their encounters. So the more and more I dug into it, and they would like With Africa, the thing that really excited me was the fact that there wasn't much online. Like, if I read through the trip I've just done, which is the Carrie Tower Austral, there's so many blogs, so many YouTubes. It's super cool. You can almost do the route before you do the route. But what excited me about Africa was like, I have so many question marks. I don't know if it's possible. I don't know, like. All these different things and bit by bit, it was like going back to the early two thousands where there's like an email she and thread and someone puts you in contact with somebody else. And I was like, someone knows someone

Bella: 45:08

who knows someone.

Saoirse: 45:09

Yeah. And it was really exciting being able to like kind of uncover that. And the people I did speak to when the, the woman that did do it gave me really positive feedback and give me really good tips as well. So it was. I think, um, you have to have a sense of bravado because you have to, at some point it gets the point where you have this small group of people of maybe like five people that can tell you you're going to be okay or like, I think it's going to be okay. And then you have a majority of other people, like a larger force that are present to you that are like telling you that it's not, it's not going to be okay. Or you know, you might, you might be in danger. And so you've got to really like trust. And like, I'd be strong and not let like, you know, no. Where you're taking that from. Yeah, I think the wobbliest point was I've got some really cool adventurous friends and I threw a party before I went. And as I left, they were like, they hugged me and they were like Please make it back alive. And I was like, okay.

Bella: 46:10

Oh, because again, it comes from a place of love. Yeah. But then it sort of just inadvertently throws the fear into your head too, doesn't it? Mm-hmm . Mm-hmm . Oh. And I

Saoirse: 46:19

remember being like, I hope so. And it's so like, and now I look back on it and I'm like, why were you ever scared? Like it was completely like I had a wonderful time. And that's obviously a very personal thing 'cause I think the world is the world and it's just one experience. It's not everybody's experience. And I think that's super important to remember.

Bella: 46:38

Yeah. And you know, listeners, I hold it with a big passion project here with the show. And when I started, I wanted to be the way where so sure I'm really trying to really tell the stories of more women than men where possible because of exactly what you've been talking about. And in that I have spoken to some amazing world travelers who've taken bike adventures around the world and the overwhelming majority have had amazing experiences, but it would be remiss to say that some of them haven't had some great experiences in moments. But the one thing that's come out is, you can't hold those moments down to a country or a culture or a people because those things happen everywhere around the world. You're more likely to have something bad happen to you in a big city in the west somewhere than you are in a small village in Africa perhaps. And I love the idea that you're reaching out to people who have that first hand experience as opposed to people who have this love for you, but also don't know what it's like and, and have these perceptions. I remember Vibka Luman who did her amazing cycle down west of Africa. You know, I asked her the best thing she loved about bike adventures and her response was changing those perceptions into reality and actually seeing what the reality is like on the road. And I imagine that resonates a bit with you as well. It's just that notion of what you thought a place was like, but actually what it's like when it's there. And

Saoirse: 47:57

I think it's breaking those things down even smaller, so the things that you can be scared of. So for instance, I was super scared of camping solo, just in general, and I remember before I did the Ireland, like during the Ireland trip. The first night I camped on my own, I woke up at maybe like 6am, and I heard like, like two, like, thump, thump. And I was like, oh my god, that's someone's, that's someone's footprints, they're outside the tent. And I was like in the middle of Wales somewhere, because I was getting the ferry over, and I listened again, and I could hear it, and it was like louder and faster, and I was like, they're right outside the tent. And for me, I'm like, okay, cool, this is it, guess I'm gonna die now. And I was like Oh, you'd

Bella: 48:44

be bricking it, I would be, I know,

Saoirse: 48:46

I've been there, I've done that, I know

Bella: 48:48

what you're talking about.

Saoirse: 48:49

And uh, it was like, thud thud, thud thud, and I was like, oh no. And then it took a second, and I was like, hang on a second. That's not a footprint, that's my own heartbeat I'm hearing inside my head, like. Oh, I wasn't

Bella: 49:01

ready for this. I was waiting for you to say it was a cow, or you're an island, it was a sheep or something.

Saoirse: 49:08

Um, so yeah, so I think, going back to that point, it's like, after I'd camped maybe the fourth or fifth night, I did not even think about it anymore. It was just like, completely something that came naturally, like, and I was like, why was I ever scared about this? I actually feel more. Safe. Like, I feel completely, this is my, as soon as you put the tent up at nighttime, you're like, Oh, this is my bed. This is my little room, my little shelter. And I just curl up in here and I listen to my Anna McNuff podcast and make my, make my dinner of noodles.

Bella: 49:39

Yeah. Create your safe space.

Saoirse: 49:42

Yeah, I think it's more about those, like, everyone's boundaries of what they're scared of. It might be like joining a group ride for the first time, because that's also incredibly intimidating because you don't know what it's going to be like till you get there. And then you go there and you're like, you're like, should I go? Is this going to be fine? And then you go, like, am I going to, you have all these insecurities, like, am I going to be fast enough? You know. Whatever it's going to be. And you go and you have a great time. You're like, Oh, that was super fun. And then honestly, it gets a bit addictive because you're like, cool, what else am I scared of that? I can, you know, push past this fear of injury. And I think that's a progressive thing. So it's not like, I think it's easy to look at. Uh, women or people in general that do like crazy adventures and be like, Oh, I could never do that. But I think what you feel to see is all those little like small steps that have like come to that point. With the

Bella: 51:00

camping now, do you have moments at all now? Because I know there are, I interview a lot of guests, women and men who, who still have moments. And I guess. Do you still ever have any moments?

Saoirse: 51:09

I'm a strong believer of, like, your gut instinct. So I tend to go, if somewhere just doesn't feel right, then I would not camp there. Even if it, like, looks like a beautiful place, if there's something that doesn't feel right, because even if it is gonna be fine, all night I'm gonna be, like, just not feel right about it. There's a woman I heard, and I can't remember, I can't remember which podcast it was, but someone I remember saying, You either can with no one or everyone. Oh, that was this podcast. That was Hell's.

Bella: 51:38

Was it? Yeah.

Saoirse: 51:39

Okay. Yeah, yeah. She said

Bella: 51:42

it was, um, you either have to be seen by everyone or no one at all. Yeah.

Saoirse: 51:48

Well, there you go. I'll

Bella: 51:48

link her episode in the show notes because Hell, I mean, she's still adventuring now. She's awesome. But yeah, no, she had some really awesome things to say about that.

Saoirse: 51:55

Yeah. And I think that's a really good rule to follow. And that's why I think I must have listened to that podcast just before Africa because that was the rule I used. So. Like, in the Namibian desert, there's no one about. So there was one night in the Namibian desert, I camped, and I woke up in the night, and I was like, have I gone deaf? Because I couldn't hear anything. The only time in my life where I've not heard a, like, not a, not a, like a Russell of a leaf, not a insect buzzing, not a bird chirping, complete silence. And I was like, can I still hear? And I was like, should I talk to myself? Can I hear that? And there was no one around.

Bella: 52:33

I've had that where it's pitch black, dark, and I'm like, worried, can I not see? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really weird, isn't it? It

Saoirse: 52:40

was, um, yeah, super unique experience because everywhere you are in the world, you can, if you Yeah. Listen, even you're in a woodland, you can probably hear a car in the background or something, you know, and then the other side of that was Uh, when I got to the countries like Zambia and Malawi that have really high or a much higher populations, you go in and you can just say to, normally you go to a school because there's somebody that speaks like English there and you could say like, here's a somewhere I can camp and you camp in, you want to camp in a school or a police ground somewhere where there's lots of people all the time. Because if you're in somewhere that's like high density and you think you're alone and someone stumbles across you in the night, like it's not. It's better to have one or the other. Yeah.

Bella: 53:25

It's, it's actually, I think, um, Maryam Belkahel, awesome Moroccan adventurer who's almost finishing her trip through Africa, two years now on the road. I remember she told me something like, you're never alone in Africa. So I guess other than, you know, moments in Namibia and stuff aside, like it's probably, is it more often than not you're seeing people where, where you are as well?

Saoirse: 53:44

Yeah, super interesting. So my route took me South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, sorry, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda. And those, the first Namibia to Botswana, super low population. You can travel like 300 kilometers and you won't see a shop. And then you literally cross the border into Zambia. Everyone's on bikes and there's people everywhere. And you cycle down the road and like, there'll be, I don't know how, but there's always like one child that like watches out. And they'll be, they'll be like, Musungu! And then all of a sudden this, like, group of 20 kids will come and they'll run after you and be like, Hey! So like it's, and like the whole, everyone will just like, come out of the, like, the, they'll be like watching me just cycle past. Who is this crazy white girl on the

Bella: 54:41

be uplifting at times, energizing at times, and other times be like, Oh!

Saoirse: 54:45

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 100%. I think that's, um, honestly one of the, uh, most challenging things I find towards the end. Yeah, because you are vastly, there's many things I learned from cycling through Africa. And I think one of the things was, yeah, I, I'm white skinned, I'm in the, I'm Irish, and I'm the majority. And it was very interesting going somewhere where I am the minority, and in a very nice way of like people being like super friendly to me. But I stood out and like every, I couldn't stop for five minutes without people coming and they would like, even look, they would just stand and look at me because they've maybe I've been in such rural areas. They'd never seen someone that looked like me in the flesh before. And you're very, very aware every day that you are very different to everyone else. And it makes you think like, wow, I wonder, this is the first time in my. Life where I've experienced, you know, everywhere I go, I stand out, you know, I want, yeah, it makes you very aware of that, makes you very aware of, like, what it's like to be a minority. Yeah.

Bella: 56:06

It'd be a hard experience too. I remember reading somewhere, because you did bring with you like crayons and pens and paper and pencils and books and stuff to give out to kids at time as well. And I remember reading one of your stories there. I think there was like a little girl from a village that came up to you. Oh, it's remiss of me to forget which country this was in. But like, I think her friends had gone up there before and to help you camp. And she came to visit you in the morning and. And you, you sort of talked about that interaction and I think you left it like a book, but you were also talking about how that's really something difficult to wrestle with as well. The idea that, yes, you, you stand out and you're a minority and just by virtue of you being there, you, you can see your privilege as well. And you don't want to feed into this white person sort of talk that's around it, you know, rich person. It's a struggle. What is the right thing to do? I don't know.

Saoirse: 56:57

I have, um, Steph Devery to thank for that actually. So I cross Hey Steph,

Bella: 57:01

you're awesome.

Saoirse: 57:03

She's really, really cool. And I know you've done an episode with her and we cross paths in, um, Namibia and end up spending maybe like 10 days together in Namibia. Really, really cool. She was coming, uh, north to south and I was going south, uh, south to north. And one of the discussions we had was, was, you know, what you're doing with this. So for instance I remember stopping and it was in wherever I, I think Namibia, somewhere where I was. And I stopped and it was a boiling hot day and I stopped and got a Coke or a fizzy drink at a shop and I, there was like a lot of, there was a kids there and they were super poor as in like they were wearing like a t shirt for shorts with a big hole in them and no shit. Like, just like. And it feels guilty when you're sitting there with your expensive bike, like more than they will earn in a year. And like, you're there drinking your drink. And I was like, they didn't ask me. And I was like, Oh, screw it. I'll buy them a big thing of Coke. And they, we can all share it, you know, because for me, it just feels like human nature to share things. I like. And I share, like, we all, like, basically all lined up. I got all the kids to, like, sit down, line up and, like, share. We'd all share this bottle of Coke, because if you don't do that, then one, the biggest kid will steal it and run away.

Bella: 58:32

Yeah.

Saoirse: 58:33

So it was super nice. But then also I left and it was like asking myself, like, was that the right thing to do? Because like, uh, I had so many beautiful experiences in Africa, but I also had experiences. For example, going through, uh, Uganda in the touristy places. The kids would run up after you and mostly they'd say, like in other places, they'd say like, Hey, how are you? Or something like this. And there the phrase was, Hey, give me, give me my money. And I'm like, I don't have your money. But it makes you think the reason why that they've, they don't even know what it means. They've just been taught this phrase to say to when you see a tourist. And the reason why is because it's a more like touristy area and you start to associate. Tourist means you get, you mean you get money or like, so then you would have like other more nicer, like another version of that you'd have like in Malawi, a lot of the kids would be like, give me some biscuits and they don't know what it means. So they'd say like, give me some biscuits and then they'd laugh and be like, um, and it's actually like super cute, super nice, but, um, you don't want to like enforce that stereotype of making other tourists behind you. Because if you keep. It's almost then you're like a, um, a moving ATM or this kind of feeling that you get, you get to have. And it's not something that, uh, it's a hard one to manage basically between like where you're, you can have good intentions, but with bad consequences. And so I was having this chat with Steph and she said, one of the really nice things to do is carry things like crayons and picture books and stickers. And so when I would stay in schools, what I would do is I would give normally the teacher or the person or the, you know, um, like a box of crayons and, and that for them, it means

Bella: 1:00:26

the moral. Yeah.

Saoirse: 1:00:27

Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot like, it's just, it's just like a nice little, a gift rather than like, and um, Honestly, the other side of it as well is like you're sharing coca cola. They ask you for coca cola biscuits. It's not good It's not good. It's not healthy to drink. No um, whereas like it's it's a it's a nice thing and uh, the kids are super cute because they'll like take the crayons and they'll split it in half and they'll share it with each other and Um, it's just a gesture. It's just a kind gesture. It's like when you go over to a friend's house and then they make you dinner or they invite you into their house and you bring a bottle of wine, you know?

Bella: 1:01:00

Yeah, yeah. It's exactly that type of thing.

Saoirse: 1:01:02

Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't have to always be like, uh, it feels wrong whenever someone does something kind for you and you're like, Here's some money, thank you for letting me stay at your house.

Bella: 1:01:12

It's not a fiscal transaction exactly, it goes beyond that. In a way it's, it's your way of paying forward the kindness in different ways as well. Like you're, you're a visitor in their country and you're, they're giving you so much in experience. Uh, you, we'll forever stay with you, like, you know, your experience in Africa, I always think, Saoirse, it's so belittling sometimes to my guests when I condense a mega trip into numbers like 7, 000 kilometers, 10 countries, and it's like, that wasn't what this was to you. It wasn't about distance and how many countries you can tick off a list, and look, maybe there are adventures where that's what it is, and that's fine for them. I feel for you, this wasn't about that whatsoever. Yeah, I totally feel where you're coming with that as well, and I guess trying to put myself in those shoes of how I would feel because I know myself, I'm an empath, so I often feel emotions a lot more, and yeah, I'm not sure how I would go mentally with the struggle from that from one day to the next either.

Saoirse: 1:02:07

Yeah, and I'm not sure, I'm not sure there is a right answer. But yeah, I think that's the way that it's just about dealing with things that feel right to you. You know?

Bella: 1:02:19

Yeah, exactly. I want to ask you something, which I don't normally focus on at all on this show, but it's a really unique thing that I haven't come across much and it's your bike. It's a bamboo bike and I want to talk about it quickly if we can. Tell me how you got to owning this beautiful bike of yours.

Saoirse: 1:02:37

Um, a massive YouTube wormhole. Yeah.

Bella: 1:02:39

Oh, best stories come from these. The algorithm worked its way. Yeah, it did, yeah.

Saoirse: 1:02:45

So I was planning the Africa trip and I, yeah, just happened to come across Bamboo Bikes and they're, yeah, really cool. And I was looking up, I was like, I wonder, is there anywhere in Africa that do like Bamboo Bikes? And I find this guy called Kusuma who does Bugali bikes, and it is the most beautiful bike. I love it. It looks

Bella: 1:03:09

like it's got so much persona to it. Oh my gosh. I want to touch your bike actually. Yeah. Because I feel like it would just be I don't want that to sound creepy. Sorry, Saoirse. I hope that doesn't sound creepy. It just looks like, you know, it just looks like it's got such a beautiful feel to it. I feel like it has a soul. I don't know if that's a bit corny, but Darls, it sings to your heart. The stories it could tell.

Saoirse: 1:03:29

Yeah, it's so beautiful and like everywhere I go now people are like, wow that's a really beautiful bike. And for me it's like a piece of art, like I can see the curves and the bamboo, like where he's cut it and it's really nice, the bamboo grows naturally there. And it's one guy and it takes him 10 days to make a single frame and I basically sent him, you know, if you do a bike fit, you have like, uh, like those, the measurements, so we sent them the measurements. So it's like custom made to me. And, yeah, so the idea then kind of evolved from cycling to Cape Town back to his workshop. So he shipped me the bike to Cape Town and then I cycled it back to there. And it was really cool to then, he gave me a tour of his workshop and they do, he's super inspiring guy. It basically, he was a cyclist and he happened to. Be like part of this, uh, cycling club and a guy from California came across and was like something I think could be a cool entrepreneurial thing is to make bamboo bikes. And he did like a workshop with them. And then this guy was like, I think I'm going to try and make this into a business. And they worked together and sent it forward and back from California to, you know, I was a crash test to all those things. Yeah. And so now he's got this kind of business and he gives like 20 percent of the profit into the local community. And he's trying to, trying to like work with, to build like basically nicer ones that he can sell to abroad and then like a cheaper ones that have more basic components that he can sell for the local community to like incur, yeah, to give access to bicycles that way. Um, so it was a really beautiful project and it felt really beautiful to, to meet him and to, yeah. He's super passionate. Cool.

Bella: 1:05:16

And like the places you have gone with your bike since, like it's a very competent bike. Oh, listen, I'm going to provide a link to it in the show notes. It's Bugali Bikes.

Saoirse: 1:05:25

Bugali Bikes, Uganda. Yeah. Really, really cool though.

Bella: 1:05:29

Check it out. You, again, you're going to go down the wormhole too. And if you end up getting one, get back to me. I want to know where your adventures are going to go on your bamboo bike as well. Oh gosh, Saoirse, I'm so aware of the fact that I literally could probably quite happily speak to you for hours. I need to attend one of your rides so I can somehow get hours of chatting with you each day. But I need to help wind things up because you're time poor at the moment. I want you to tell me and the listeners about one day of your trip. Ooh, okay. And it can be any day, any adventure, any country, I don't care where. I also, because I'm just a little bit, you know, selfish in a way, I wanted to somehow incorporate wildlife into it, because I know you're an animal lover, and I want you to take me and the listeners there. And actually, if you want to involve food in this story somehow, that'd be fun too. Because I have to talk about food on the show, so this is my way of getting three questions in one.

Saoirse: 1:06:27

So I have, the first one that came to mind was a recent one that had birthday cake in it. Oh my gosh,

Bella: 1:06:33

well, there we go. Already ticking boxes.

Saoirse: 1:06:37

Yeah, a beautiful one just, uh, recently was, it was one of the girls birthdays and it was so nice. We stayed at this cute campsite and the owners basically made us a birthday cake. Uh, of this, like, homemade, cute little, like, old lady. So we woke up in the morning and we had birth cake for breakfast. And then this incredible, the most beautiful day of cycling. That was the food, the most recent food one. Um, but wildlife, I think, is definitely got to be like an Africa story. And there were definitely at least three points in Africa when I did the Africa cycle where I was like, Ah, I think I could have died there. That was pretty sketchy. Wow. And this is like one of those stories.

Bella: 1:07:26

A survival story. I love this. I don't know,

Saoirse: 1:07:28

like, yeah, like, yeah, and probably due to my own stupidity as well. So I was cycling through Botswana with my friend Abby, Abby Popplestone, amazing adventure, um, as well. Hi, Abby. And I, we both had a different kind of approaches or feelings about wildlife. So I'm Wild life's crazy, absolutely love it, and

Bella: 1:07:50

You studied zoology, I mean, hello! Yeah,

Saoirse: 1:07:52

and also I would say probably a little bit, yeah, a little bit, I think I could have more apprehension, maybe, or I could have more caution, yeah, I think I should have more caution in my life.

Bella: 1:08:04

Oh, okay, you're fearless, yep.

Saoirse: 1:08:06

And sometimes not in a good way. So we were cycling into Botswana, and Botswana, there's no fences, the wildlife just roam completely wild. It's got one of the highest populations of elephants in the world. And as we come into the visa, uh, place where we cross the border into Botswana, the people see us two girls on bikes and they're like, are you crazy? Aren't you worried for the lions? And every day we would have people say, Aren't you worried about the lions? And I was like, Oh, I can't wait. Maybe there'll be lions. And Happy was like shaking. She was like, I do not want to see lions, or elephants, or anything. Which is a rational, yeah, approach. And one day we were, um, cycling along and we saw, we'd seen elephants like in the distance. And it was the, supposed to be rainy season but, Because of climate change, it's extended, and it's dry season now, and elephants are looking for places to drink water. And on the side of the road, there was about 30 elephants, and they're all in groups of two or three or four, and they're spaced across. And I was like, wow, this is amazing. Like, we're watching elephants on our bike, and they're maybe like less than 10 meters away. And Abbey was like, this is crazy, we're going to die. Oh my

Bella: 1:09:31

gosh, I could just imagine both of you there with totally different thought bubble posts. If there was a thought bubble box above you in a photo.

Saoirse: 1:09:39

And eventually a car comes and Abbey's like, I'm going to use this as my chance and I'm going to like, use the car to block me. And I was like, I think I'm just going to stay here a little bit longer and just like. I was, um, watching them, they were kind of like at front, you know, like at 45 degrees. They were like front to head, maybe like 15 meters. And I was like, I'm just going to stay and watch them and just like observe them and yeah, just see them for a while because I'm never going to get this opportunity again. And she was like, good luck. See you on the far side. So I stayed there and after like a minute or two, a big bull elephant came and these two bull elephants were fighting. And I was like, okay, cool. I can't cycle past them now because they're all, you know, riled up and I don't want to be like caught in between. So I was like, I'm just going to stay still where I am, not move. And hopefully they just won't see me and notice me. And then, and they're kind of like in the front, like a bit away, you know. But the problem was, is the one that lost, then walked directly past me, so he's on the far side of the road, he's maybe like five meters away, like the width of a road and a little Like

Bella: 1:10:50

a foot, like an elephant footstep. Yeah.

Saoirse: 1:10:53

And I'm like, uh oh, okay, just don't move, don't breathe. If you move now, you're going to catch his vision and he's going to like, be annoyed. So just don't move. And I was like, cool, cool, cool. And he comes directly parallel, he stops, he puts his trunk up, he smells the air, he turns around, he faces me, and he trumpets, he's like, brr, and takes like two steps forward, and I was like, don't move, don't look at him, don't move, don't look at him. And some time passed, I'm not sure, it could have been minutes, it could have been hours, there was just a lot of like time and I was like, and then I glanced over like side eye and I was like, wow, that elephant's huge and it's super close. That's crazy. And I moved my hand, I swear, Bella like. Uh, less than two centimeters, like, towards my pocket, because my phone was in my pocket. Just a little centimeter. And he did the same thing, and he, like, trumpeted and took two more steps forward. And I was like, that's it, I'm gonna die now.

Bella: 1:11:54

If you could see my face, listeners, like, I literally have my hand over my mouth. Wide open. And I have for the last minute, like, whoa!

Saoirse: 1:12:01

And um, yeah, then, then at one point he was just like, cool, and he just walked away and left me. And I was, my heart was like, pounding. I was like. My heart's pounding now! I was like, you're an idiot. And so then I had to cycle past all of the rest of the elephants, and I got to the end, and Abby was like, oh my god, are you okay? Because what had happened to her was the car that she was driving alongside just left her. And so she had. Also being, like, semi charged by another elephant. So I'm not sure what the advice is, whether you, some people say like stay still, some people say like cycle past them and just like ignore them. So I think it's honestly like a bit of chance and a bit of luck and hopefully you don't get the, the aggro ones. But that night we stayed, what they have is telegraph towers and they basically, they've got solar panels to help them run at all times and protect the solar panels. They put a cage around them. You can sleep kind of inside the cage. And it's like the reverse zoo. So like you're in the cage.

Bella: 1:13:02

And they can't get to you. Oh wow. And so that

Saoirse: 1:13:04

night we slept there and we could hear like the lions and hyenas and different things.

Bella: 1:13:09

David Attenborough would be so proud of you.

Saoirse: 1:13:11

And Abi was like, did you hear that? And I was like, yeah, cool. Um, the next morning. We set off and, um, some, a driver came towards us and they were like, there's lions, there's lions on the road. And we're like, okay, okay, this is too much. We got a lift past the point we thought there's lions. And, um, maybe we, we thought we'd pass the point where they were and recycling on. And next thing I could see, I was slightly ahead of Abby and I could see this like, uh, drag marks. And it was definitely like drag marks and blood. And I was like, hmm, that's a good sign. And then Abby came past me and she was like, did you see that? And I was like, yeah, I mean, it was just diesel. Pretty sure it was just diesel.

Bella: 1:13:56

You know what you were in that moment for Abby? You were the person that was giving her the confidence boost that she needed. She knew. I think

Saoirse: 1:14:03

she knew deep

Bella: 1:14:03

dive. Oh yeah, you did know, didn't you, Abby?

Saoirse: 1:14:06

Yeah. Um, but yeah, so I think like. It was amazing. It was incredibly to cycle, like, through those wild places, but it definitely, yeah, makes you feel very, uh, humble. Yeah. Like, you're not The

Bella: 1:14:19

size of an ant. When nature makes you feel the size of an ant. Yeah,

Saoirse: 1:14:23

you're not the biggest thing out there. Um, and I think it's like Yeah, really good to, to travel with somebody who is more risk, uh, in a good way. Yeah. More risk adverse. Uh, cause it. Yeah. Otherwise I probably would have not made it.

Bella: 1:14:39

What a major moment. Oh my gosh. Can I ask, did Africa, how did Africa meet your expectations?

Saoirse: 1:14:47

Um, Reflecting

Bella: 1:14:48

back on it now.

Saoirse: 1:14:49

I think it was one of the toughest cycles or journeys I've ever done in my life. In some really positive ways and some like, you know, really confronting ways as well. It was just such an adventure. It's hard to, you know, sum it up. But I think it's been like over, it's been a year now since I, uh, was finishing the trip. I think I finished it just over like mid March last year. Um, and I think I'm still like coming to terms and processing everything. And yeah, uh, so it's hard to, yeah, I don't know. I can't even remember what my expectations were beforehand. But it was. Yeah. Daffodil adventure.

Bella: 1:15:28

Yeah. And I imagine like many adventures, it's the sort of thing that some random thing will trigger a memory about something that happened there as well, whether it's a smell, whether it's something on the menu, whether it's an animal that you see on a TV show or whatever, you know, a song you hear necessarily, I imagine that's how Africa will be for you. The things you've learnt from Africa are in a way you're probably even still learning, and probably reflecting on how you've changed since then too, as well, would be such a big, such a, yeah. I, I feel taking these adventures can only just be a massive gift to yourself. And you've spoken so many times now about, you know, just starting like, you know, back in your Guinness world record, Oh, we didn't have a clue, but we just did it and not knowing what you were getting into. But with Africa, you probably did have a bit more of a clue, but even then being on the ground, it's different. And the confidence boost you've given to yourself as well,

Saoirse: 1:16:18

mega. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think, like I said earlier, like it's super empowering to. Yeah, to have your fears and then you face your fears and you're like, actually, that wasn't so bad. I can do that. Cool. I wonder what else I can do.

Bella: 1:16:31

I'm trying to do that every single bike ride with riding downhill on dirt, Saoirse. And gosh, I really just want that day to click for me where I go, whee, and then enjoy it. Whee! And just, you know, enjoy that moment. Hopefully it will. We all have fears for different reasons, I guess, don't we? Yeah.

Saoirse: 1:16:48

Abbey actually has an amazing phrase that she says, which is, um, Feel the fear and do it anyway. And I think that's your downhill, is like, you know, you feel scared every time you do it, but you're still doing it. And that's really cool. Yeah.

Bella: 1:17:01

I remember interviewing Marisa LeBlanc, an awesome Canadian, um, bikepacker. And Ultra Racer, and yeah, she was a little bit the same when she first did the Tour Divide, was, I'm gonna do it scared. And yeah, you still, you, yeah, you're scared, but you're still doing it. And, you know, show yourself that you can as well. Oh, Saoirse, I have to wrap this show up. I don't want to, but I will. If people wanna, and listeners, I mean, you may already be following Saoirse. If you're not, follow Saoirse. Get a hit of Wanderlust with the way you share your stories is just, I love it. It always cheers, never fails to cheer me up. It's just an honest. Way of telling people what you've experienced and often with a nice dose of humor as well, which is cool The best way people can follow your travels. Is it on Instagram?

Saoirse: 1:17:44

Oh, thank you so much Um, yeah on Instagram probably where I document most of my stuff mostly for me because I've got an awful memory So it helps. Yeah.

Bella: 1:17:54

Yeah. Saoirse's socials in the show notes Saoirse, time to wrap the show up. I got three short, sharp questions, which you probably already know what they're going to be, but I asked them anyway, the first one's music related. You're a guest of the show. You get to be a part of the Seek Travel Ride music playlist. Listen as it's on Spotify and Apple music. I want to know, what song are you going to pick, Saoirse Pottie, to be the soundtrack to your bike adventures?

Saoirse: 1:18:23

Okay, so I've listened to your podcasts and I remember thinking, oh, I wonder what's going to be my song. Do you listen to music on your adventures? I do. I normally, I've got a whole little thing where normally I, in the morning, I like to have like a couple of hours where I just. Listen to my own little thoughts. And then I'll put on like, maybe some music if there's an uphill or like a podcast, you know, then I, you know, in the afternoon, um, the song is wonderful life by Katie Medulla.

Bella: 1:18:54

Oh, lovely.

Saoirse: 1:18:55

Here I go on my own again and it's like, you know, going off and they've, there's a couple of different versions. You can have a remix version, you can have the calm version, depending on which one you prefer.

Bella: 1:19:05

Oh, okay. Oh, it'll be a lucky dip. Which one I put into the playlist. Next question, and you have dealt with both of these in different continents, or probably even the same ones even, maybe in the same country. Saoirse, one day you're riding and you have a decision. If you go left, you're going to be on a never ending, most corrugated bumpy road in the world, washboard surface. It's, it's not just something for a minute, it's the whole day long. You know, you, you get off the bike and you still feel like you're vibrating along there. Mm hmm. Or. The other direction, you've got a never ending headwind just, you know, trying to push you backwards. I know you've been through Patagonia recently, and I know you I've mainly had tailwinds, but you did probably have some headwind days there. I know you've done the washboards in Africa. Which one are you going to choose?

Saoirse: 1:19:49

Yeah. I don't know. They're both so all destroying. That was horrendous.

Bella: 1:19:56

And I want to say they're equally horrendous as well.

Saoirse: 1:19:59

Yeah. Do you know what? I think Namibia had a lot of that washboard and in Patagonia days with the headwind. And I'd say, when you see people that travel from south to north, they sometimes look like their soul is broken.

Bella: 1:20:14

How do people do that, FYI? I've interviewed guests who've done it, and I don't know how, how do you keep going?

Saoirse: 1:20:20

I, I, I'm so in awe of their mental resilience. But I think for one day, I I think I would prefer headwind because, um, I, and I hate a headwind, but I find that the washboards are super hard on the body. Like I find like my feet go numb, my hands, my butt hurts, like, and then mentally and you're just like, Oh, so yeah, probably, probably headwinds. For a death, yeah. Oh,

Bella: 1:20:48

Team Hedwin, you are down. I love it. I love your answer. And I know I'm probably going to love your answer to this one, because each person's answer is so unique. But, Saoirse, I want you to finish this sentence for me, and the sentence is, The best thing about taking a bike adventure is

Saoirse: 1:21:04

This sense of freedom.

Bella: 1:21:06

Oh, I love it. I love it. And, and you've been giving yourself this sense of freedom for, ever since you discovered bike travel, really, haven't you?

Saoirse: 1:21:14

It's beautiful. I think, um, you know, you, all you need is a bike and a tent and you can basically, yeah, go most places.

Bella: 1:21:22

Oh my gosh. I love it. I love it. Oh my gosh. Saoirse Pottie, it has been an absolute pleasure. You've been one of the first people on my list of who I wanted to interview on this podcast and I'm so mega Appreciative that I have gotten the chance to do this with you now. And, you know when you were just talking there, the sense of freedom, you just need a bike and a tent, you can go anywhere. It sort of ties back to when you first discovered travel. You didn't have a lot of money, but you had a bike and a tent and you could go places. And the places that you have gone to now are awesome. The other thing I thought of was You know, when you were researching about Africa and you were trying to reach out to people that had that experience, I'm a million percent certain that there will have been people who have reached out to you and will continue to do so for your experience. And it's like that full circle, what we talked about of the act of giving and being able to give back. You are doing so each and every day. You have created communities. All around the world and showing so many people the way to make their adventure dreams actually be more than something that is a thought bubble in their mind, but putting it into action. I am super stoked and super appreciative and thankful. Thank you so, so much for sharing your stories and experiences on the show here at Seek Travel Ride.

Saoirse: 1:22:36

Thank you. And same exactly back to you. podcast episodes from different places. And I feel like you're doing exactly the same thing, so thanks for putting this all together.

Bella: 1:22:47

Oh mega, and here's to hopefully meeting up in Wicklow. Listeners, what an absolute mega discussion I've just finished up there with Saoirse. As I mentioned in my close there, this episode to me was almost two years in the making and it's amazing to think of the adventures that Saoirse has taken just in that two years worth of time. I really love how I can reflect back on her bike adventures and see how she's progressed. And also, she's now doing the thing, so many years of experience, what she's doing and the places she's going to now, but I really loved something that she spoke about, of how there are steps to getting to that level, and it's not necessarily that you have to jump in at the deep end to be able to do something like this. The idea that Saoirse first challenged herself with just going solo for a few days, riding for more than four days in a row on a bike adventure, to working out how am I going to be comfortable with the idea of camping on my own. And then, all of a sudden, she's packing that experience into her saddlebags or pannier bags and going on mega trips through Africa. And I really love the idea that all along the way, she's also now created these communities of bike travelers as well. The idea that Patagonia with 12 others, and just, can you imagine listeners the absolute energy from that group? But also the idea that she still is teaching herself to be comfortable with sharing her vulnerabilities and just being open and honest about where she is each day, when she is riding with a group of people. I absolutely loved it. Listeners, I encourage you to check out her socials on Instagram. I'm sure she will fill your cup of Wanderlust with inspiration. And if you can at all make it to her event in Ireland, in Wicklow, the 9th to the 11th of May. Get yourself some tickets and you will be guaranteed a time full of laughter, happiness and bike adventure joy. Thank you so much, Saoirse. Now listeners, if you are enjoying what you've been hearing here on Seek Travel Ride and you want to help the show be spread far and wide, the best way to support the show Is to actually share an episode of it with a friend or family member. Word of mouth often is what makes the podcast community grow even more. We are a global podcast here at Seek Travel Ride, and you being able to say to someone who maybe likes bike adventures, Hey, why don't you listen to this inspirational story? And then they tune into the podcast and there you go, another Sikh Tribal Ride fan. I want to take this moment also to thank my super fans out there who've helped to support me along the way. You all know who you are and I value and appreciate you so, so much. And until the next episode, I'm Bella Molloy. Thanks for listening.