Nomadic Backpacker - About
I'm Trevor Warman, a former racing cyclist and mountain runner from England now a full-time traveller, with a passion for long, overland journeys.
My travels have taken me across more than 110 countries and territories, travelling solo as a low-budget traveller backpacker.
And this blog features stories from my travels.
My travels have taken me across more than 110 countries and territories, travelling solo as a low-budget traveller backpacker.
And this blog features stories from my travels.
I have catalogued most of the highlights of my life on an updated post, A Life Of Travel, and have detailed the countries and territories I have traveled to, backpacked, explored, in a separate post complete with an up-to-date travel map, so make sure you check these pages out.
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Before I was a Backpacker:
Cycling was my passion. My heroes were Robert Millar, the light-weight Scottish mountain climber and Sean Kelly, Irish hardman and One-Day Classics winner.
I cycled everywhere. In Winter I would cycle 250 miles a week, I loved it. Going out in all weathers but by the Summer I was mostly burnt out.
Here are 2 photos of photos from December 1984:
I cycled everywhere. In Winter I would cycle 250 miles a week, I loved it. Going out in all weathers but by the Summer I was mostly burnt out.
Here are 2 photos of photos from December 1984:
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And then there was Nick Sanders, adventure cyclist, who cycled to the Source of the Nile, Around the Coast of Britain in 22 days and Around the World in 80 Days.
He inspired me to go backpacking on a bicycle. With 2 small front panniers, carrying minimal possessions, I took the train to Crewe and cycled to Holyhead, then to Llangollen, and Shrewsbury. I averaged 110 miles each day for 5 days.
My second trip saw me cycle to Shrewsbury, Aberystwyth, Chester, Hathersage, Lincoln and back. 6 days, 115 miles a day average.
I had a passion for pain and long distances.
Somewhere in the proceedings, I got injured.
I started hill-walking. My cycling fitness held me in good stead.
In 1990 I walked 1071 from Land's End to John O'Groats. 58 days with 4 non walking days. Southwest England to NorthEast Scotland at the age of 22, alone, which set the theme for the rest of my life.
And then I started backpacking.
He inspired me to go backpacking on a bicycle. With 2 small front panniers, carrying minimal possessions, I took the train to Crewe and cycled to Holyhead, then to Llangollen, and Shrewsbury. I averaged 110 miles each day for 5 days.
My second trip saw me cycle to Shrewsbury, Aberystwyth, Chester, Hathersage, Lincoln and back. 6 days, 115 miles a day average.
I had a passion for pain and long distances.
Somewhere in the proceedings, I got injured.
I started hill-walking. My cycling fitness held me in good stead.
In 1990 I walked 1071 from Land's End to John O'Groats. 58 days with 4 non walking days. Southwest England to NorthEast Scotland at the age of 22, alone, which set the theme for the rest of my life.
And then I started backpacking.
Nomadic Backpacker the Mountain Runner
In 2001 I was backpacking in Malaysia. I went to Borneo to hike Mt Kinabalu. I loved it.
In 2003 I went and climbed Mt Kinabalu twice more. In 2004, I made the Mt Kinabalu Climbathon. Up and down non-stop, 21km of pain. Starting at the Power Station at 1800 m, 9km up to the summit and then back down with a further 3 km back to the park entrance.
At this point I was not running, merely a hiker. After the 2004 race, I went to the Philippines and stayed in Cebu with a running friend. I started running.
Bear in mind it was 30 degrees and 95% humidity, and we were doing 1km splits on a running track. The night before I left, I ran 48:12 for 10km. 25 laps. Easy.
I hadn't run since I was at school yet I still had the knack. I had looked after myself. I was in great shape.
I started running more. I was working in Switzerland. Lots of hills there. I could run up, easily, despite the snow and high altitude. I started running downhill. 1 minute on 1 minute off. I built up very gradually. Over the winters that followed, I simply maintained my fitness and in the summer I was rearing to go. I loved the training.
I returned to Kinabalu 2 more times but sadly my times were slower than when I was just a hiker. The path is steep. I can't run it, so being hiking-trained was much better for this event.
I ran a few mountain races in Switzerland. The PanoramaLauf in Grindelwald, 2x the InfernoLauf in Mürren.
I had a passion for 10km road races. I trained on mountain footpaths, up and down, I was fearless. And raced on the road at lower levels. My hematocrit was about 68. Natural EPO from living at altitude for 5 months at a time.
But the travelling interfered with my training. I could never train when I was travelling. My Swiss life came to an end.
In 2003 I went and climbed Mt Kinabalu twice more. In 2004, I made the Mt Kinabalu Climbathon. Up and down non-stop, 21km of pain. Starting at the Power Station at 1800 m, 9km up to the summit and then back down with a further 3 km back to the park entrance.
At this point I was not running, merely a hiker. After the 2004 race, I went to the Philippines and stayed in Cebu with a running friend. I started running.
Bear in mind it was 30 degrees and 95% humidity, and we were doing 1km splits on a running track. The night before I left, I ran 48:12 for 10km. 25 laps. Easy.
I hadn't run since I was at school yet I still had the knack. I had looked after myself. I was in great shape.
I started running more. I was working in Switzerland. Lots of hills there. I could run up, easily, despite the snow and high altitude. I started running downhill. 1 minute on 1 minute off. I built up very gradually. Over the winters that followed, I simply maintained my fitness and in the summer I was rearing to go. I loved the training.
I returned to Kinabalu 2 more times but sadly my times were slower than when I was just a hiker. The path is steep. I can't run it, so being hiking-trained was much better for this event.
I ran a few mountain races in Switzerland. The PanoramaLauf in Grindelwald, 2x the InfernoLauf in Mürren.
I had a passion for 10km road races. I trained on mountain footpaths, up and down, I was fearless. And raced on the road at lower levels. My hematocrit was about 68. Natural EPO from living at altitude for 5 months at a time.
But the travelling interfered with my training. I could never train when I was travelling. My Swiss life came to an end.
