How did you come to be cycling the globe at the mercy of
the general public?
I was living and working in Dublin, Ireland as a copywriter in an
advertising agency and while I loved my job I had an inkling there
was more to life than selling beer and bank accounts. I wrote a
list of all the things I love to do: Travelling, writing, cycling
and meeting new people and then I decided to share it all via
social media.
How did the Indiana June nickname come about?
A fat-fingered customs official mistyped my name (Diana June) at
the airport and I decided it was the perfect name for my
on-the-road character. I registered
www.indianajune.com before I even knew what I
was going to do with it and then my cousin and I designed the
website, loosely based on the same concept of the
Choose your own adventure books I loved as a
kid.
How does it work?
I ask people for suggestions on where I go and what
I do, then I post some options online and let the public vote what
they think I should do. The length of time people can vote varies
from quickfire 2 hour polls to longer week long periods for bigger
decisions. Whatever option wins I then cycle to, take photos, draw
pictures and tell stories about the experience. I receive ideas
from people through www.indianajune.com, twitter, facebook and from
people I meet on the road.
Where do you sleep?
A mixture of camping, hostels, b&b's, hotels,
couchsurfing and staying with people I meet on my travels. My
favourite is couchsurfing because I save money on accommodation as
well as having a richer and more authentic local experience. In my
opinion
couchsurfing.org is the best thing on the
internet.
How do you fund this trip?
So far I've mostly self-funded the trip. As you can imagine the
costs add up after a few months which is why I recently added a
Helping Hand section
on my website where people can offer accommodation, food, donations
and services along the way. I have also been making videos for an
Irish company called
Boxerchips which helped me buy a new bike (the
old one couldn't handle the high kms and weight of my gear).
Hopefully at the end of this I will write a book or make a
documentary with the stories, photos and footage I've
collected.
Do you get scared?
I get asked this question on a daily basis. It seems because I'm a
female travelling on my own people automatically assume it must be
dangerous and scary. I try not to not put myself in dangerous
situations, I don't cycle at night, I make sure I camp in safe
areas and if something feels wrong it probably is so I get out of
the situation quickly. I've felt my confidence and independence
grow throughout the trip but travelling on your own you have to
keep your wits about you at all times.
Do you get lonely?
I meet other travellers and cyclists along the way and often team
up with them for days and sometimes weeks at a time. I find
travelling solo you meet a lot more people than if you're in a
couple or a group. Of course there are times when I feel alone but
never when I'm cycling. Once you start pedalling your mind slips
into a meditative state and I have some of my best ideas while on
the bike. I also find the conversations I have on my website,
facebook and twitter with people of all ages and from all corners
of the globe is great company and motivation to keep going.
How far do you cycle each day?
It varies a lot depending on where I am and what
I'm doing. On a big day I could do over 100km on a light day I
might do 40km and sometimes I might stay in a town for a few days.
So far it has worked out about 1000km a month and on top of that
sometimes I catch a ferry, bus or train to get to the next
destination. Check out my cycle map
here.
Where are some of your favourite
destinations so far?
- Skellig Islands, Ireland where monks lived for 600 years in
stone 'beehive' huts perched on vertical cliffs.
- Alloway, Scotland, the hometown of my great, great, great,
great, great, great grandfather, the poet Robert Burns. Link to
story here.
- Loire Valley, France. A spectacular cycle path following the
Loire River that winds past stunning chateaus and cute French
villages.
What are some of the weird things people have
made you do?
- Building and sleeping in a sandcastle for a night on the beach
in France
- Only eating food that started with the letter 'W' for 24 hours
in Scotland
- Working on a pig farm inseminating sows for a day in
Ireland
What do you love most about what you are
doing?
I sometimes have to pinch myself because I feel I'm in a dream. I
have spontaneous, beautiful and unique experiences, off the beaten
track and then I get to share them with an audience of followers. I
might wake up in a field, on a beach, on a couch or in 5 star
accommodation, I might eat food from a local market, a
couchsurfer's dinner table or a michelin star restaurant but the
contrast of the extremes I'm experiencing cannot be found on a
packaged holiday or in a travel guide. I get crazily excited just
typing this sentence, it is a dream that I've created and the more
people that participate the better the story.
How long will you keep
going?
As long as my money and energy lasts! I want to keep it going for
at least another six months, maybe a year or even longer.