Waterford couple cycle 10,000km from Tramore to China
Mark Graham, former band member with King Kong Company, and his partner Ellie O'Byrne have cycled over 10,000km.
A Déise couple are on the trip of a lifetime, cycling all the way from The Promenade in Tramore to China. After six months on their bikes, Mark Graham and Ellie O'Byrne crossed the border from Kazakhstan into the Xiajing region in China.
Mark and Ellie are planning to cycle across Central Asia all the way to Singapore. The pair sold their double-decker bus, Dervla Dekker, a tiny home on wheels, to help them on their way. Mark is also well-known as being a former band member of King Kong Company.
The pair have written about their love for cycling before this big adventure, inspired by the life of fellow Déise bike lover Dervla Murphy. The duo prefer the term 'cycle-lovers' rather than cyclists: "We don’t own coloured Lycra, we’ve never competed in a cycling race, and we don’t usually pay attention to time or the number of metres we’ve climbed in a day. When we’re on our bikes, we’re more engrossed in the pleasure of the journey than in the destination.
"When our hero, intrepid cycler and travel writer Dervla Murphy, set out from Lismore, Co Waterford, in 1963 to pedal to India, she did so on a basic bicycle with no gears, in a sensible pair of shoes, with her pants tucked into her socks. What O’Carolan is to the harp, Murphy is to the bicycle."
Six months after they cycled off from Tramore, they had realised a major part of their dream: "It was unbelievable, but definitely true: we had cycled to China."
The pair found their way to the Sayram Lake, a renowned endorheic freshwater along the Northern Silk Road, 30km away from the Kazak border. The site is a hotspot for tourists, travellers and locals alike, and is particularly popular for couples celebrating their wedding day.
Ellie wrote: "There were lots of girls in wedding dresses running repeatedly towards cameras, or draping themselves in patches of wild flowers or on car bonnets. Everyone was desperately seeking that perfect image where they were alone with nature."
After some time at the ethereal lake, they went off to their thoroughly modern campsite nearby.
"The combination of hi-tech gadgets, fancy electric vehicles, wind turbines and the ever-present CCTV cameras with yurts and horses was strange and futuristic. Dystopian in ways, and beautiful in others."
Locals were quick to welcome these intrepid travellers.
"Everyone was lovely, and curious, and very kind. A young couple that we chatted to dropped a loaf of bread down to our tent for us. Many young people collapsed in giggles at the sight of us, or shouted hello, or just gazed goggle-eyed at Mark’s beard, my height, our all-round strangeness."
After Sayram, they travelled onwards to discover the Big Chicken Festival at Kuytan and sampled the market wares.
"Most of it is mouth-wateringly delicious, from whole crisped ducks to noodles and dumplings made fresh, to meat-stuffed pancakes sizzling under your nose, to great wodges of berry-flavoured cheesecake and peach roulade."
To follow the pair's journey across the world, check out their Substack Spoke Yokes. The lads are expected to spend the next few weeks travelling across China. In the meantime: 'Hold her steady, and stay between the ditches!'
