ALL THE COOL KIDS TRAVEL LIGHT

How much prep and tech does it take to ride from Coventry to Tehran? Not a lot, figured the Marshalls who had a strict no intercoms policy, and didn’t even bother with a map…

- Jayne Marshall

It’s 2006 and I’m hiding in a supply cupboard at work, on the phone to my sister. It’s been four days since either of us heard from our parents, who – the last we knew – were headed for Tehran, the finish line of an eight-week bike trip that originated in Coventry. In all honesty, it wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds. Although my sister and I were concerned, we were also used to it. Over the years, Mum and Dad had embarked on countless trips across many different countries, and so whispered phone calls in the supply cupboard were a fairly common occurrence.

Bikes are a big part of our family identity and an even bigger part of my parent’s relationship. A shared love of two wheels – along with their nomadic tendencies – has always been the point at which their two very different personalities meet. Mum believes bikes are the key to their 50-year long marriage. Although strictly without helmet intercom, she always adds.

From scooters to race bikes