Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
In 2018 I set off on a 6,000km cycle tour from Northern Norway to Azerbaijan. I'd never bike toured before, and had barely ridden a bicycle in 10 years. Without the kindness of strangers & generosity of local people I met on the way, which started in Norway, I wouldn't have lasted more than a few weeks of cycle touring. It took a while to get used to life on the road, especially when I was solo cycle touring from Germany onwards. But bike travel was never going to be easy, and the challenge of long distance cycle touring is part of the adventure. At the end of it all, though, it was the people I met and the friendships I made as I road my bike through 13 countries that made the bike trip what it was; the adventure of a lifetime.
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Tieran Meets the World: Episode 1 - The Kindness of Strangers
.
If you’d asked me a year before where I saw myself in 12 months, I'd never have imagined I’d be cycling across Europe towards Central Asia on a 75kg, fully-loaded bicycle. But, here I was...
Cycle touring in Norway took us through spectacular fjords, over rugged mountains, and past rustic fishing villages clinging to the stunning Norwegian coastline. It was, visually, breathtaking. But the physical challenge of cycling such a vast distance, combined with the isolation, wore us down - after so long sleeping outside, we resorted to spending the night in ferry waiting rooms for some warmth and mosquito-free shelter. And we weren't really meeting local people; that had been the whole purpose of the adventure. So, before long, I'd find myself panicking at the thought that this might be what the cycle tour would be like for the next 18 months, and I worried that I might have bitten off more than I could chew.
It was, eventually, the kindness of strangers that flipped our experience on its head. A drought meant it was illegal to use our camping stove in the south of Norway, so instead we found ourselves abandoning our inhibitions, knocking on random Norwegians’ doors to heat up food.
To say Norwegian hospitality caught us off guard is an understatement, especially since my Norwegian friends and family had told me previously that, in Norwegian culture, people tend to be a little shy or reserved. Nearly every time we approached a local Norwegian's home, we were offered a spot to camp in a garden or welcomed into a stranger's home and given a bed for the night. Such spontaneous hospitality was a welcome break from cycling, and showed me a side of travel I’d never experienced. I’ve often been asked: what’s the best part of cycle touring? It differs for everyone but, for me, it was the people I crossed paths with that stick in my memory the most. And if it hadn't been for the hospitality I experienced in Scandinavia, I might well have been more hesitant to approach people in the other countries I cycled through, and would have missed out on so many of the friendships I made in a year-and-a-half on the road. In short, the random acts of kindness I experienced firsthand shaped my 1.5 year cycle tour.
Cycle touring for beginners can be extremely daunting. But I hope this short cycle touring "documentary" goes to show that you're never as isolated as you think you might be if you're willing to put yourself out there with local people. If you do decide to ride a bike to travel the world, you'll meet people and explore places that you'd never stumble across if you're backpacking and travelling by car, bus, or train, and you'll experience the kindness of strangers like never before.
___
CONTEXT:
From 2018-2019, I cycled 6,000km from Northern Norway to Azerbaijan. From Germany onwards, I was cycle touring solo.
I'd barely ridden a bike in the past 10 years, let alone cycled thousands of kilometres. I had no cycling experience, no idea what my cycle tour setup should be, and was clueless when it came to bike repair and maintenance; in short, I was starting the adventure as a total novice. But I’d come up with an idea to interview people in the places I visited to see the world through the eyes of local people. For that, I needed to get off the beaten track, and what’s the best way to do that? I’d say cycling is a top contender. So, I flew a 9-year-old Trek mountain bike to Tromsø in the Norwegian Arctic, and began my journey. For the next 18 months, I was cycle touring, camping, and meeting local people across Europe on my way to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.
___
Accompanying article here: tieranmeetstheworld.com/the-kindness-of-strangers-cycle-touring-norway
Facebook Page: facebook.com/tieranfreedman.co.uk
Instagram: instagram.com/tieranfreedman
Website: tieranmeetstheworld.com
___
00:00 - 04:33: Panic at the Beginning of a 6,000km Cycle Tour
04:33 - 10:01: The Kindness of Strangers
In 2018 I set off on a 6,000km cycle tour from Northern Norway to Azerbaijan. I'd never bike toured before, and had barely ridden a bicycle in 10 years. Without the kindness of strangers & generosity of local people I met on the way, which started in Norway, I wouldn't have lasted more than a few weeks of cycle touring. It took a while to get used to life on the road, especially when I was solo cycle touring from Germany onwards. But bike travel was never going to be easy, and the challenge of long distance cycle touring is part of the adventure. At the end of it all, though, it was the people I met and the friendships I made as I road my bike through 13 countries that made the bike trip what it was; the adventure of a lifetime.
___
Tieran Meets the World: Episode 1 - The Kindness of Strangers
.
If you’d asked me a year before where I saw myself in 12 months, I'd never have imagined I’d be cycling across Europe towards Central Asia on a 75kg, fully-loaded bicycle. But, here I was...
Cycle touring in Norway took us through spectacular fjords, over rugged mountains, and past rustic fishing villages clinging to the stunning Norwegian coastline. It was, visually, breathtaking. But the physical challenge of cycling such a vast distance, combined with the isolation, wore us down - after so long sleeping outside, we resorted to spending the night in ferry waiting rooms for some warmth and mosquito-free shelter. And we weren't really meeting local people; that had been the whole purpose of the adventure. So, before long, I'd find myself panicking at the thought that this might be what the cycle tour would be like for the next 18 months, and I worried that I might have bitten off more than I could chew.
It was, eventually, the kindness of strangers that flipped our experience on its head. A drought meant it was illegal to use our camping stove in the south of Norway, so instead we found ourselves abandoning our inhibitions, knocking on random Norwegians’ doors to heat up food.
To say Norwegian hospitality caught us off guard is an understatement, especially since my Norwegian friends and family had told me previously that, in Norwegian culture, people tend to be a little shy or reserved. Nearly every time we approached a local Norwegian's home, we were offered a spot to camp in a garden or welcomed into a stranger's home and given a bed for the night. Such spontaneous hospitality was a welcome break from cycling, and showed me a side of travel I’d never experienced. I’ve often been asked: what’s the best part of cycle touring? It differs for everyone but, for me, it was the people I crossed paths with that stick in my memory the most. And if it hadn't been for the hospitality I experienced in Scandinavia, I might well have been more hesitant to approach people in the other countries I cycled through, and would have missed out on so many of the friendships I made in a year-and-a-half on the road. In short, the random acts of kindness I experienced firsthand shaped my 1.5 year cycle tour.
Cycle touring for beginners can be extremely daunting. But I hope this short cycle touring "documentary" goes to show that you're never as isolated as you think you might be if you're willing to put yourself out there with local people. If you do decide to ride a bike to travel the world, you'll meet people and explore places that you'd never stumble across if you're backpacking and travelling by car, bus, or train, and you'll experience the kindness of strangers like never before.
___
CONTEXT:
From 2018-2019, I cycled 6,000km from Northern Norway to Azerbaijan. From Germany onwards, I was cycle touring solo.
I'd barely ridden a bike in the past 10 years, let alone cycled thousands of kilometres. I had no cycling experience, no idea what my cycle tour setup should be, and was clueless when it came to bike repair and maintenance; in short, I was starting the adventure as a total novice. But I’d come up with an idea to interview people in the places I visited to see the world through the eyes of local people. For that, I needed to get off the beaten track, and what’s the best way to do that? I’d say cycling is a top contender. So, I flew a 9-year-old Trek mountain bike to Tromsø in the Norwegian Arctic, and began my journey. For the next 18 months, I was cycle touring, camping, and meeting local people across Europe on my way to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.
___
Accompanying article here: tieranmeetstheworld.com/the-kindness-of-strangers-cycle-touring-norway
Facebook Page: facebook.com/tieranfreedman.co.uk
Instagram: instagram.com/tieranfreedman
Website: tieranmeetstheworld.com
___
00:00 - 04:33: Panic at the Beginning of a 6,000km Cycle Tour
04:33 - 10:01: The Kindness of Strangers
