Our old campervan, Mabel, who we miss very much
Ask not ('tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years,
Mine and yours; nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers.
Better far to bear the future, my Leuconoe, like the past,
Whether Jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last;
This, that makes the Tyrrhene billows spend their strength against the shore.
Strain your wine and prove your wisdom; life is short; should hope be more?
In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb'd away.
Seize the day; trust tomorrow e'en as little as you may.
We are Debs and Tom Mutton, a couple since New Year’s Eve 2009. On 20 June 2021 we set off to cycle around the world. Where we go and how long it takes we don’t know. We do know we’ll be pretty skint, often smelly, and sometimes uncomfortable, but we will be living our dream and having a massive adventure.
Debs spent her career running a bike shop in Scarborough, England. For years she would meet people who were cycle touring as they came into the shop, bikes laden, no real plans, just months on their bikes with a world to discover. The taste for exploration built stronger with every visitor and she devoured every bit of information about their trips. She wanted what they had, to just go out and ride, day after day.
Tom worked improving parks, green spaces and play areas, helping connect people with the environment around them. A love of the outdoors, interest in photography and thirst for adventure meant he was well up for the idea.
When Debs’ brother Chris died suddenly, alive and well one day and gone the next, it hit home - don’t delay, seize the day. There will always be a list reasons why we shouldn’t do this, but there is one big reason we should that beats them all - we only get one life.
Debs sold the shop and started planning. We sold most of our belongings and packed the pannier bags. Tom finished his last project and departure day came round quickly. We swapped our solid roof for a tent and away we went.
We hope you enjoy this record of our adventures.
Debs and Tom
100 days on the road update
We’re thinner, browner, and Tom’s beard is longer!
Oh, and we are very very happy!
1 year on the road update
Well we’ve reached our first big milestone - 1 year on the road. So what if anything has changed? Well, we have trimmed our kit, improved our packing, lost weight, and gained fitness. Both of us are much calmer and less stressed. We are like a well-oiled machine when it comes to setting up and taking down our tent, far quicker than when we started. In fact, we even have a new tent! We no longer know what day it is, a fabulous feeling though still a little unsettling. We miss family and friends but make sure we keep in regular contact and know how they are. We have met and made new friends with so many people, from all walks of life, some wanting to do something similar themselves and trying to find the courage to give it a go. All I can say is, ‘do it’. Recently we have met many fellow tourers. Thanks Stephane (Spain) and Don (Canada) for your company. We have seen so many beautiful places, and know we have so much more to come. We can’t wait!
2 years on the road update
Wow, it’s hard to believe it but we’ve been on the road for two years. We left Canada and rode down the west coast of the US, a worthy mecca for touring cyclists, and made many new friends on the way. In Mexico we fell in love with Baja California and rode our favourite road of the trip so far, Route 23. We had Christmas with family who flew out to join us, then we hit the road again, across Mexico and into Belize. Tom didn’t want to leave - it’s still his favourite country, but Central America was calling, where again we were met with nothing but kindness. Crossing to South America in a boat from Panama to Colombia in seas so rough that all other sailings were cancelled was a trip never to be forgotten but we survived. Soon after we arrived in Colombia we had our first major setback - I needed two eye operations. We decided on a trip home, then, operations done, it was back on the road!
3 years on the road update
Eyes fixed, we returned to Colombia and got straight back on the road. It wasn't quite as hard as Day 1, but it was close! Our journey through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia was everything we had anticipated and more! So many cyclists make this journey and we made such good friends they became like family.
Mainly we rode by ourselves and then met up with our cycling family in cities, but in Peru we rode with Helene and Jeff, who we refer to as our ‘kids’ . The weeks riding with them will forever stay in our hearts. We had to leave Ecuador in a rush due to a state of emergency - being driven 60 miles downhill was frustrating to say the least, but we were safe.
Tom had a few health issues, the kindness of strangers was never more needed when we were rescued from somewhere very remote. After a break in Cusco and spending more time with so many wonderful cyclists, Tom had two teeth out and we decided to push ourselves and ride through a section of the Amazon rainforest, awesome. Year 3 is done, we can't wait for year 4!
4 years on the road update
We never quite managed to rid our kit of the dust from the Amazon, but we wore it as a badge of pride. We made our way to La Paz in Bolivia, the highest capital in the world for some rest and recuperation. Tom though wasn't well and it turned out he had a life threatening infection if left untreated. We were just coming to terms with all the implications when a phone call from home changed everything.
His dad was dying. Two of our cycling family, Viki and Ferdi, came to our aid and within hours we were flying home.
We made it in time to say goodbye and spent the following months in the UK supporting Tom’s mum. In March we returned to the road. Back on our original route that Covid had scuppered. Spring was kind to us. By April the sun was warming up and we took it easy riding beside the Rhine and the Danube. We met up with Viki and Ferdi, able to thank them again for their support.
Tom had another loss, his beloved bike, which he had painstakingly hand painted over winter. The frame snapped, so a new bike was purchased, which he is slowly learning to love.
We've now left Europe and are in Asia, Turkey! The conflict in Iran is weighing heavily on our minds, where next should we go? Onwards to the Stans and China or away from this upheaval and somewhere new? For us we are lucky to have these choices, we feel blessed. Hopefully our will and our bodies will want to continue to Year 5!