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Dylan Reynolds
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Growing up in the English town of Cambridge, a true cycling mecca, it was hardly a surprise that the bicycle became my main mode of transport from an early age. It was my Dad who then encouraged me to use the bike as a way of seeing the world. Bike trips down to the south of France, and from Lands End to John O'Groats are entrenched in our family folklore - or in my Mum's case her nightmares. It was these rides in my youth that inspired me to undertake some more adventurous bike trips throughout Europe and in the US with friends, and fully appreciate the pleasures of traveling by bicycle. After studying history and politics at university I moved to Italy to play squash, and a couple of years later it was a natural progression to start leading bike tours in Europe. I have been designing, scouting and leading bike tours for 12 years and it was this experience that I brought to bear on the Hannibal tour that Sam had conceived. Having lived in Spain, France and Italy - the 3 countries that the tour goes through - and being fluent in French and Italian, and conversational Spanish, made the job a bit easier. Read more about Dylan and his thought on cycle touring in his interview by Cycle Exif. |
Sam Wood |
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The pleasures of cycling came to me quite a bit later than Dylan. It was only when I was 20 and decided that the best way to get to an excavation I was working on in Pompeii, Italy was to go by bike, that I truly fell in love with cycle touring. Six of us left London with little concept of how to cycle tour (we rode straight out of London on the M26 highway!) and after a circuitous route around Eastern Europe arrived 4 months later in southern Italy. After that eventful ride I knew I would never travel any other way. By 'trade' l am a Roman Archaeologist and have led excavations for the last 14 years in Europe, the Middle East, America and most recently on Aboriginal sites in Australia. I love all periods of history and spend as much of my time as possible in the past! The obvious next step for me was to combine the two things I love - history and cycling. The BBC also liked this combination and in 2009 my brothers and I filmed 'On Hannibal's Trail'. The highlights of Spain, France and Italy - it was the best ride I have ever done and I would love to share it with other cycling enthusiasts. Read Sam's article in the latest edition (Dec/Jan) of RideOn Magazine. |