Couple cycling across the world say spending 10,000 miles in the saddle together means you ‘have to be a team’

A couple cycling the world together have described the highs and lows of 10,000 miles together after a trip ranging from nights camping under the Sahara stars to fleeing from local children throwing rocks.

Around two years ago, Annabelle Golden, a 26-year-old artist and social media manager, and her partner Alex Odom-Tomchin, 33, a photographer, dreamed of cycling through South East Asia, Morocco and Europe – a plan that soon expanded into a journey to bike around the world.

After months of preparation in Annabelle’s home town of Great Neck, New York, and visiting Alex’s loved ones in Jacksonville, Florida, they set off from Central Park, New York, in April 2024, cycling across the east coast of the US before beginning the European leg through Norway and Denmark.

Annabelle’s most memorable experiences include the kindness of strangers offering food and drink, though she has faced challenges as a female cyclist, from rocks thrown at her to scepticism about keeping pace with Alex.

Annabelle told PA Real Life: “We are quite literally together 24/7… it requires a lot of trust and patience to be together through all of the difficult moments and all of the micro decisions we have to make each day… you have to be a team always.

Around two years ago, while travelling with Alex for months at a time, Annabelle began to crave a “connection” between the places they were exploring.

While in Bali, stuck in busy traffic on a scooter, she had an epiphany – she realised she wanted to escape the pollution and noise, and joked that they should trade in the scooter for bicycles and cycle everywhere instead.

At first, they “laughed the idea off” but started watching YouTube videos of people doing bike-hopping trips and bike-packing…and “it very quickly spiralled into something bigger”.

Just a few months earlier, the couple bought a small piece of farmland in Iceland, planning to make it their home base, but they decided to put their building plans on hold to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

Annabelle took up weight training and running, while Alex used an exercise bike at the gym as often as possible.

Annabelle and Alex were also sponsored by brands such as Viral Bikes and Outer Shell, who gifted her and Alex their bicycles and bike bags.

The couple set off on April 15 2024 from Central Park, with their loved ones there to wave them off.

They cycled from New York to Boston, then flew to Tromso, Norway, to begin the European leg of their journey.

From there, they cycled down Denmark’s west coast, dipped into Germany, and continued across the Netherlands and Belgium.

By September, they took a ferry to Dover, explored the UK, then caught another ferry to Brittany and cycled through France and Spain.

Next, they took a ferry to Morocco, crossed the Sahara Desert and continued through Mauritania and Senegal.

So far, they have cycled around 10,000 miles, averaging about 50 miles a day over seven hours.

Along the way, they’ve alternated between paid accommodation and camping, depending on location and cost.

She said: “Some of the camping in nature that we’ve done, in the desert was amazing – there was one day where we found this beautiful, secluded camping spot right by…two massive sand dunes and it was just one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

When the couple stop along the journey, they can find “reintegrating into ‘normal life’ can throw (them) for a loop” and they want to relax in different ways.

But, over time, they have learnt to sometimes spend their day doing different things, with Annabelle spending her day at a coffee shop and Alex walking “all over” a new neighbourhood, before meeting up for a “sunset stroll and evening drink together”.

Throughout the journey, the kindness of strangers, such as people asking if they needed food or water while in the Sahara, has created some of the most memorable moments.

However, not every experience has been positive – Annabelle had a woman in Rochester, Kent, kick her bike, making her fall over, and had children in The Gambia throw rocks and sticks at her.

“It doesn’t make you feel very good or safe,” she said.

“In some parts of the world people aren’t primed for women to stand up for themselves as much so Alex has to handle it for me.”

She added: “People have made jokes that I’m the leader and I’m strong in some countries because it’s so unexpected for a woman to be able to keep up with a man and that makes me feel good.”

She said: “I get a lot of comments that just insinuate that I’m lying or making up how far I’ve gone and they think I’m stupid for not planning everything meticulously but people say to Alex how fun and brave that is.”

Annabelle also runs a postcard club where her followers can sign up and receive a postcard from each country, allowing them to follow the adventure in a more personal way.

Next, the couple plan to fly to Amsterdam and then cycle to Japan, South East Asia and Australia.