Cycling as an art of living
Hello Emma, can you please tell us something about yourself?
My name is Emma, and I'm French-English! I grew up in France, but I've been living in London for 10 years... when I'm not traveling by bike! I made my first trip in 2017. I rode 8,000 km from southern Argentina to Peru, on a big hybrid bike, with two friends. Since then, I've never let go of my adventure bike. All my trips are based on wilderness camping, the Warmshowers network and itineraries guided by people I know along the way. If it takes a 400 km detour to spend an evening at a friend's house we haven't seen in a long time, fine! Since 2020, I've been bikepacking on a road bike, with a first tour of the Massif Central. And for the past year, I've been involved in ultra-endurance, with races of 200, 400km.
How has this passion impacted your life?
In 2020, I resigned from my job as a public policy analyst and trained as a bike mechanic. I didn't want to work five days a week in front of a computer. In the summer, I work as a bike guide in Normandy and Brittany, for American tourists. The rest of the time, I'm freelance three days a week, which leaves me plenty of time to get out and about on my bike. Last year, I spent 2 months between Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France with my computer in my pannier, stopping three days a week to work, and last summer (2023), I did the same to get to a wedding in Italy!
"After cycling from Ushuaïa to Lima, I said to myself: you can go wherever you want, whenever you want!
Perito Moreno, Argentine Patagonia, 2017, during his first bike trip ©**emmaupcycles
Why did your trip to Ushuaïa spark such a passion for biketouring?
We set ourselves a daily average of 70 km and camped out every night. In Patagonia, we could pitch our tent wherever we wanted, but in central Chile, it was so densely populated that we knocked on people's doors to pitch our tent in their garden. And that was magical, because we met some incredible people. I learned Spanish, discovered how people lived, ate and interacted. In short, it was the start of all the adventures of my life. And above all, it gave me confidence in my ability to always find solutions. I said to myself: "If you've managed to do that, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want".
Why do you need to travel all the time to be happy?
I love discovery. What excites me is not knowing how you eat, where you can take the bus, why people live differently from me. I get bored if I know too much!
Emma, discovering the Château de Chambord (Loir-et-Cher) © emmaupcycles_
What's the difference between biketouring and bikepacking?
Bike touring means traveling with a hybrid bike or mountain bike, with panniers on the side that can weigh up to 80L. So it's heavier and not very aerodynamic.
Bikepacking is on a road or gravel bike, with bags positioned in the line of the bike, on the frame, behind the handlebars, and so on. So it's more aerodynamic, but you have to travel a lot lighter!
**What exactly do you do as a bike guide? **
I work for an American company offering tours in Europe and the United States. The clients are mostly retired Americans (average age 62!), who want to discover France for a week or more. These are groups of twenty or so novices, and I guide them to cover between 30 and 50 km a day, both mechanically and in terms of effort, in their route interspersed with visits by other guides.
"Ushuaïa-Lima, it was this crazy alternation of climates
: sea, glaciers, desert".
What was the highlight of your 6-month cycling trip?
What took my breath away were these totally open, flat places where you could see the landscape for miles around, and this crazy alternation of climates: we saw glaciers, but also the desert and the sea!
"Travelling by bike forces you to make connections, to use your wits and your instincts".
_ Wild camping, the basis of Emma's biketouring life © emmaupcycles_
Were there any difficult moments?
We started out with 4... we ended up with three! In the beginning, we were very stressed about doing our average distance, and some days we were exhausted. Then we had to manage our emotions and those of others, and that was sometimes difficult when, on top of that, we were struggling in the evenings. It taught me to choose my battles and to deal better with other people's emotions.
**For you, does cycling mean independence? **
Yes, there's that resourcefulness aspect of knowing where to sleep or how to repair your bike. It forces you to make connections, and to use your judgement and instinct. You have to learn to follow some and not others, and to follow your gut when you don't feel like it.
_ Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, 2017 © emmaupcycles_
"The bike trip gave me confidence in my ability to always find a solution."
**Do you have any advice for women traveling alone?
Go to people you're really attracted to, because it's a give-and-take situation: the person who welcomes you is also taking a risk by opening their doors to you. But above all, know that you can change your mind along the way. If you don't feel like it, even if it's embarrassing, you can turn back.
**Let's get down to the nitty-gritty now! What are the most annoying things to think about when traveling by bike? **
If you have problems with friction and pimples, you need to pay attention to hygiene. If possible, wash your shorts every day, or wear panties/boxer shorts underneath. Otherwise, adjust your saddle, and if you can't take it anymore, wrap a scarf around it for extra comfort.
To pee, I hold my bike on the road side and squat behind it. But for more timid women, the best trick is to put your bike on the right-hand side and urinate on the other side of the road. Cars are attracted by the bike's reflectors, so they'll only see 🔥.
As for saddles, this is one of the trickiest things about wild camping, but the best solution is to take a shovel to bury your 💩 and use water to wash up. Toilet paper takes years to disappear, so it's really bad for the environment.
The Straits of Giaredo, Tuscany (Italy) ©**emmaupcycles
How do you choose your itinerary?
In France, there are a lot of GPX tracks available. If I'm doing a short trip, like London-Manchester, I look for the route and use Komoot, because the app differentiates between surface types and is participative. Cyclists share their best routes, which is great. With the track and Komoot, I can make up my own itinerary, passing through beautiful places.
"We need time for slow travel if sustainable tourism is to develop".
How do you go about camping in the wild?
I love it because it's new every day, there are incredible views and I always sleep like a baby. It's a lot of feeling, but above all you have to make time. I start looking 2 h 00 before nightfall. There are also apps like the Warmshower network, run by cyclists. It's great because the people who welcome you know what you need and they recommend the most beautiful routes. There are other apps, but they're more work and less spontaneous. In England, I simply knock on farmers' doors 😂!
A cyclist always needs to recharge his batteries, especially in the Massif Central (2020)!**emmaupcycles
What's your dream route?
The Atlas Mountains. I think it's difficult, because there are so many temperature differences between day and night. But I'll do it one day 🤗.
"It's great that bikepacking is growing, but I don't like the overconsumption and snobbery around it"
What do you think of the current craze for outdoor and bikepacking?
It's great! When I started cycling 6 years ago, nobody was talking about it. But it's unfortunately accompanied by a huge wave of very expensive bike sales and a certain snobbery. When you go on a bike trip, all you need is a well-maintained bike. I did Paris-London on an old 80s bike. A lot of people said to me, "Your thing's a museum piece! Pro riders used to use these models 40 years ago... If the tires are good for the surface and well protected against punctures, it's perfect!
Emma packing her bag for two weeks in the Isles of Scilly, west of Cornwall (UK) © emmaupcycles
What do you think of the development of sustainable tourism?
I've stopped flying in Europe. More and more people are doing so. But I'm privileged - I only work three days a week! I have time for slow travel. For me, there's a real need to reflect on our system as a whole. It's hard, when you work a lot and you're exhausted, to take two days off to go to Italy. The same goes for sport: we need it because we spend too much time sitting in a chair. Somehow, we've strayed from our "natural" inclinations...
Emma Karlaske's culture minute
Music for climbing: No Roots, Alice Merton
Music for descents: Nobody Scared, Porij (I have a kind of vertigo on slopes, so I have to self-coach on descents!)
Music for dishes: Ayekouma, Falle Nioke
Something to read to discover bicycle travel: Je dirai :
➡️ Patricia and Christian's incredible blog, to develop guts and aplomb (and of course, dream)
➡️ Voyage d'une Parisienne à Lhassa by Alexandra David Neel, for a bit of resourcefulness in a strange land.
