In 2018, I cycled from Oxford to Sweden, via Russia and arctic Norway. I got distracted, did a bunch of hitchhiking, volunteered at some festivals, left my bike in Sweden, joined a man with a sailing boat on the Norwegian coast for a week, did a bunch more hitchhiking and hiking, and finally was dragged back to Britain where I borrowed my parents’ van and kept going for another month. 2018 was a good year for travelling.
This video was put together from shots I took between Oxford and Russia, the first six weeks of my trip. It’s a hasty edit I made while hanging out in St Petersburg, and is set to a song my band Jeramesa had recently recorded. The song is Dream For Me, released on A Deep Hit Of Orange. Check it out here:
The video features (amongst other fantastic things):
- The endless tranquil forests of Poland and the Baltics.
- Me repeatedly packing and unpacking a tent (this is part of the harsh reality of travel by bicycle).
- The grim grey car-ridden roads of London.
- Cheery, curious Lithuanian folk musicians and dancers in Biržai.
- Bright Utrecht.
- Friendly skaters of Panevėžys, Lithuania.
- Tourists and shoppers in Kaunas.
- The incredible fresh new farm and community at Kunterbunti in Latvia, where I helped sow the first seeds.
- Camping in the German hills with Cam.
- Lotte and I cooking in the communal off-grid kitchen at Witzenhausen, Germany, where they live in wagons on the hill.
- Estonian stars.
Many many thanks to all of the huge-hearted people who I met, who hosted me and hung out with me, shared their lives and their journeys with me, and otherwise crossed paths with me on this trip.
I have a ton more footage from Russia, Norway, and Sweden, and as expected, it gets pretty wild. One day, it’ll see the light. For now, please enjoy a glimpse into the first stages.