Louise and Charlie Rowen are two sisters who are currently on an adventure of a lifetime, cycling from the UK to Hong Kong.

LOUISE ROWEN had an exciting childhood, growing up in Hong Kong before moving to Cheshire in the UK gave her a perspective on the world which will not be shared by many. Her life has continued to see her travel and her career in the humanitarian sector has seen her live in South Sudan in India, Nepal and Ecuador.

Louise’s latest adventure has seen her team up with twin sister Charlie for a cycling challenge which sees the girls cycle from Hartford in the UK back to the place they grew up in, Honk Kong.

In this exclusive interview Louise talks to us about the highlights of the trip so far as well as what it’s like to spend night and day, wild camping and taking the strains of being on a bicycle seat for hours at a time, with her twin.

To find out more about the girls adventure click here.

Tell us a little about your life and some of the projects and work you have been involved in?

Life in a nutshell has been a delightful mix of growing up in exotic, exciting Hong Kong and the sunny flats of Cheshire in the UK. My parents moved around quite a lot before settling in the UK so I’ve always been used to change and new countries and places. This carried on when I got older and I travelled and volunteered abroad which led into a career in the humanitarian sector where I’ve been working for five years. Before setting off on this adventure I worked in South Sudan for 18 months and before that in India, Nepal and Ecuador.

I got into rock climbing in my 20s and was thrilled to find there was a crag in Juba to play around on. I’m also pretty keen on art and illustration which I try to incorporate into all of my adventures.

Louise pictured cycling by the sea.

What was the inspiration behind A Wheely Long Journey and where are you currently on the challenge?

I have been dreaming of a big expedition adventure for years and years and absoluetely love following human powered challenges which are so inspirational. The idea of travelling great distances using only my own strength, wits and ingenuity was a challenge I was dying to take on but none of my ideas really stuck when balanced against career aims and life admin.

Many pub-based discussions with friends later and it suddenly came to me that I wanted to go back to Hong Kong as I’d never returned after leaving 18 years ago. That idea lingered with me for a year before I told anyone about it. The more I thought about it the more I realised it was the perfect trip because 1) the destination would be good motivation to get me through the tougher days 2) it would combine my love of history as I would have to follow the Silk Route across Central Asia 3) it felt like a proper challenge as I would cross mountains and deserts and into the unknown.

I’m currently in Greece after a slight change of route due to the current political situation in Turkey.

The sisters pictured cycling in Hungary.

What’s it like taking on the challenge with your twin sister and is it the first time you’ve set out on such an adventure together?

This is the first time Charlie, my sister, and I have done an adventure this big. We have done smaller hikes and bike rides and a Tough Mudder together but we haven’t spent this long together since going to university!

It’s great having Charlie along, I knew exactly how to convince her to come and with a combination of a very fine flow chart listing reasons for diving in, and a ticket to see the Banff film festival in the UK and I had her hooked on the idea.

What are the positives of having your sister with and what are the negatives? Which of your habits get on each other’s nerves the most?

We have the same sense of humour so find it easy to share whenever we see something that tickles us, but it also means we get annoyed at the same things so can both end up in a mood at the same time. Luckily some fresh air on a bike quickly washes that away.

My worst habit is probably getting stressed about being late and Charlie’s worst habit has to be being late! Not a great combination but something we’re getting used to after three months on the road.

Louise pictured on a mountain in Bulgaria.

What have been some of the highlights of the challenge so far and what have been some of the toughest tests to date?

Highlights come in so many forms, from small gestures such as people pulling over to see if we need directions to generous offers of coffee, food or a place to sleep. A couple of nights ago we couldn’t find anywhere to camp and a guy offered us space in his taekwondo gym and a shower which was very much needed after the previous night’s wild camp.

We’ve been so pleasantly surprised by the kindness and hospitality we’ve experienced especially in Serbia and Greece.

A particular highlight of mine is finding a place to camp with somewhere to swim, the Danube was great for an evening dip. All the days sweat and aches disappear and you feel connected with your environment.

I was expecting this trip to have its fair share of tough days, but the worst had to be getting caught in a storm in Germany and having to wade through water thigh deep with lightening flashing all around.

We also had a tough night in Bulgaria where some people came in the night and tried to steal our bikes, luckily they only managed to take small items which didn’t mean an end to our trip but we were certainly a little shaken by the experience.

Understanding their bikes and allowing time for maintenance has been an important part of the girls’ trip.

How hard has the cycling taken its toll on your body and have you covered as much distance on a daily basis as you thought you would be able to?

Possibly the best thing about cycle touring is that you can eat anything all day long! The amount of calories needed to cycle for 80km a day, which can sometimes be just five hours in the saddle or sometimes 14 depending on the terrain and where we have to get to that night, is much much more than I would take in my daily life so it has been a bit tricky to get the balance right. We’ve settled into a tactic of stopping at bakeries, never passing up the chance for ice cream and keeping a pot of peanut butter in my handle bar bag which seems to be working well.

I had expected the cycling to take a toll on my body, particularly my legs and bum, but I wasn’t expecting my shoulders, wrists and hips to feel the strain even more. To combat this I’ve learnt some yoga and cycle specific stretches which help, but my favourite cure for aching muscles is to find a good lake or river to jump into and have a nice wild swim in the evening.

What are you raising money for and how can our readers get behind you and donate?

We’re still deciding whether to use this journey to raise money as it was originally intended as a personal challenge but the more we cycle the more we’re considering some kind of fundraising element, we’ll keep you updated.

Once you’ve reached Hong Kong have you thought about what’s next? Do you have any exciting challenges or projects already in the pipeline?

Hong Kong still seems so far away as we are about quarter of the way through our journey, but I’m already planning to lovingly fly my bike home and probably frame it on a wall as reminder of what I’ve achieved when I sit in a comfy armchair with a mug of Yorkshire Tea.

One of the great things about cycling every day is that it gives you plenty of time to think and scheme. Plans are forming which i hope will involve some climbing in the US and maybe even some rollerblading (inspired by the rollerbladers I saw all over Europe)!

There’s no doubt that I’ve been bitten by the adventure bug and the best thing is that the planning is just as exciting as the doing, there are so many opportunities to get creative with adventure and I cannot wait to conjure up the next challenge.