RIDE THE STORY
Great journeys through places that shaped the world
Rather than following bikepacking trails, each journey is designed around a signifcant historical or cultural story. I join together the places where history, music, literature, film or mythology were made, creating a route in which every day is a new chapter.
The rides range from around 500 to 3,000 miles. Each feature would combine the experience and adventure of the ride with the extraordinary stories found along the way. I have strong original photography from the journeys I have already completed and can also provide a mapped route, key statistics and a practical guide explaining how readers could ride it themselves.
Amazing routes with historic stop-offs!
(photos here are untouched low res versions)
RIDE THE STORY: The history of music
THE GREAT AMERICAN SONG CYCLE
Minneapolis to New Orleans
I leave Prince’s Paisley Park studio and ride south through the places that created blues, soul, country, rock ’n’ roll and jazz - visiting recording studios, musicians’ homes and the streets where modern popular music was born. By the time I reach New Orleans, I’ve cycled nearly 2,000 miles through the story of the Great American songbook.
RIDE THE STORY - The Odyssey
Athens to Ithaca
Can Homer’s greatest journey be recreated by bicycle? Beginning beneath the Acropolis, I cross the mountains and ancient battlefields of Greece in search of Odysseus’ ending on Ithaca - the island he spent ten years trying to reach.
RIDE THE STORY - Cross the roof of the world
Lhasa to Kathmandu.
Leaving Lhasa, I ride across the Tibetan Plateau, climbing passes of more than 5,000m and cycling beneath Mount Everest before beginning one of the longest descents on Earth towards Kathmandu. It is a journey between two ancient capitals, across the highest inhabited landscape in the world.
RIDE THE STORY - Through the Star Wars galaxy.
Tunis to Tatooinne
Connecting the real-world places behind the Star Wars universe - from the desert landscapes where Luke Skywalker’s story began to the locations that became the bases, palaces and battlefields of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance.
Prepared by
Chris Ward
Chris@ChrisWard.cc
07932 746 591