Armchair Explorer

The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold: Adventures Along the Iron Curtain Trail with Tim Moore

Writer Tim Moore is no stranger to the unusual and unique. In his

early days as a travel writer, he rode a container ship to Iceland,

biked across Italy in a period costume, completed the Camino de Santiago

with a donkey as his only companion, and more. So when Tim got a call

out of the blue one day from his editor, asking if he'd consider biking

the length of the newly established Iron Curtain Trail, he had two

thoughts.

One was that he was absolutely not in shape to embark on this journey. First of

all, nobody had ever done it before. Nobody could tell him whether it was five

or six thousand miles long. It also wound through some slightly uncertain parts

of the world which, in Tim's mind -- having grown up during the Cold War --

were inextricably tied to nuclear annihilation.

But two...was that he was absolutely going to do it.

Follow along for an adventure that will take you from chaotic Russian streets

to frigid Finnish backroads, through dive bars and ancient ruins and

military checkpoints. Along the way, Tim's wit and humor gives a fresh

perspective on a part of the world that is still struggling to define

itself and write its next chapter.

CONNECT

Tim's book featured in this episode is called The Cyclist Who Went Out in the

Cold: Adventures Along the Iron Curtain Trail, and you can find it wherever

books are sold. Tim has also written several other books, so we recommend

checking those out too. You can also follow him on X / Twitter @mrtimmoore.

SOCIAL

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monthly newsletter at armchair-explorer.com.

CREDITS

This episode was produced by Armchair Productions. Find our other shows at

Jenny Allison did the guest booking and wrote this episode, along with

host and producer Aaron Millar. Charles Tyrie did the audio editing and

sound design. Theme music written by the artist Sweet Chap (on IG

@the_sweet_chap).

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