My 3 Favorite Films About Bicycle Touring

If you’re interested in bike travel and you’d like to get some inspiration for your own bicycle touring adventures, one of the best ways to do that is to watch one or more bicycle touring films.

Today I’m going to share three of my favorite feature-length films about bicycle touring with you… and then I’ll share 2 shorter videos with you about my own bicycle touring adventures in Switzerland and South Africa.

#3) EAT. SLEEP. SURF.

Rian Cope and Dylan Brayshaw were two ordinary 20-somethings from Australia, working normals jobs, and living relatively normal lives. But in the year 2009, these two young men gave it all up to cycle across Indonesia and surf at some of the best surf spots in the world. While cycling, surfing, and discovering a whole lot about themselves and the people of Indonesia, Rian and Dylan shot a ton of video footage, which was later turned into a 4-part documentary series titled, “Eat. Sleep. Surf.”

Dylan recently finished another bicycle/surfing movie called SENDIRI, which I recently reviewed on the Bicycle Touring Pro website. Click here to watch the trailer and read my full movie review.

#2) JANAPAR: LOVE ON A BIKE

Janapar: Love on a Bike is the title of Tom Allen’s 110-minute movie about his bicycle tour around the world and the love he found along the way. The word “janapar” comes from the Armenian word for “journey” and is the perfect word to describe Tom Allen’s transformation from the inexperienced and headstrong, young boy we are introduced to at the beginning of the film… to the weathered, worldly and caring young man we discover at the film’s conclusion.

Janapar: Love on a Bike is not just a movie made for people who love bicycle touring, but is a story that anyone who has ever been in love, or has hoped to be in love, can relate to.

#1) ONE MILE ABOVE

One Mile Above is the story of a young, 24-year-old Taiwanese man named Shuhao who, after his brother dies in an accident, takes it upon himself to cycle from Taiwan to the highest point in Tibet, and complete the bicycle touring journey his brother had always dreamed of taking while he was alive.

Along the way, Shuhao not only learns how to ride a bicycle, but encounters a whole host of challenging obstacles along the way – such as freezing cold weather, steep mountain terrain, ferocious wild animals, and an accident on a high mountain pass that leaves him and his cycling partner literally hanging on for the lives.

If you don’t have the time to watch three feature-length movies, be sure to watch the following two videos, which are much, much shorter, and show you what it’s like to go bicycle touring in both Switzerland and South Africa…

THE BIKE SWITZERLAND CHALLENGE TOUR

A week-long road biking tour that takes you all the way across the European country of Switzerland, while allowing you to stay in fancy hotels, drink local wine, savor local foods, and interact with other enthusiastic bicycle tourists from all around the world. Click here to see the video.

AFRICAN BIKERS GARDEN ROUTE MOUNTAIN BIKE TOUR

A diverse mountain biking adventure in South Africa where your food, lodging and transportation details are all taken care of in advance and your only task each day is to get on your bicycle and enjoy a challenging mountain bike ride in a new and incredibly scenic location. Watch the video here.

Watch those films/videos… get inspired… and then let me know what you think in the comments section below.

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