TAK E F I V E
Round-the-world cyclist BEN PAGE on…
SURVIVING ON £3 A DAY
Aged 22, Page set off on a three-year bike odyssey across the globe via the Arctic – and became a successful filmmaker in the process. How did he do it on the tightest of budgets? Page’s ride was made from old mountainbike parts
bike and rode off. I hated it for six days, then loved it on the seventh. I thought, “If I can cross a country, I can cross a continent. And if can cross a continent, I can cross the world.” I realised that just by setting off I would make it happen.
3 You don’t need a lot of gear
If there’s a piece of kit you’re not using that week, get rid of it. I had one set of clothes and some necessary bits of safety kit, but otherwise a three-season tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat – and the bike – were all I needed, even when going from 53°C to -40°C. One luxury was a Bluetooth speaker on my handlebars. And a Kindle, which meant I could listen and read at my leisure. The last thing was a little alcohol-burning stove. I had a multifuel one early on, but that broke, so I began making little stoves out of beer cans.
4 Prepare to make sacrifices 1 To go cheap, go by bike Missing out on showers for weeks on end was a sacrifice – though it was other people who suffered most!” BEN PAGE
Accommodation and transport are the most expensive part of travelling, so if you go by bike and take a tent, all you have to pay for is food. I was eating two or three times more than usual, but it was 20pworth of oats each morning. The handful of times I stayed in a hostel, I had a worse night than in my tent. When you’re up in the mountains, with no one else around, camping is one of the most glorious ways to spend the night. A long day’s cycle is the comfiest pillow you can have – when you’re tired, you sleep really well.
2 There’s nothing stopping you
I’d just experienced a bit of a crisis when the idea hit me: I decided I would cycle from my home in West Yorkshire to the Swiss Alps in a week. So, one morning I threw some stuff into a bag, put it on my
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A lot of cultural tourism involves food, but I didn’t eat in local restaurants, because it was a bit more expensive than cooking for myself. Sometimes I’d spend a pound on lunch, but not often. I’d also avoid cities, because then you’d need to pay for a hostel. Missing out on showers for weeks on end was a sacrifice – though it was other people who suffered most! But I got to see some incredible places, and to experience being totally alone.
5 Spend on special moments
I was never short of food, because I ate simply: porridge, then rice or pasta and a stock cube, and maybe some bread at lunch. Carbs were so cheap I’d loads, but you have to give yourself a break. A real luxury was having the occasional beer. Riding through a village, picking up a beer, camping somewhere beautiful and watching the sun set while sipping away were definitely stand-out moments.
benpagefilms.com Interview MATT RAY Photography CASS GILBERT THE RED BULLETIN
