3,500 km Cycled 'Gearing Up' For 4,500 Km More

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Young couple continue their investigative journalism expedition through Asia

Katie between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng in northern Laos

Putney local and former Wimbledon High student, Katie Moss and Joseph Thomas have cycled 3,500 km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) via Laos as part of their project, Gearing Up. Having arrived in north Vietnam in October 2016 they still have many more kilometres to travel, with the aim of reaching Kathmandu, Nepal, by August this year. You can see their route in more detail on their website: www.gearing-up.com/route.

Simply cycling over 9,000 km was not enough for the couple, and instead, as they have remarked, the real purpose of their trip has given them a unique perspective of the countries through which they are cycling. They are meeting social enterprises and charities who are working in two fields: sustainable energy and the education of women and girls.
They explain why in more detail in a recent interview with Lao National Television:

“We are using our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and our website (www.gearing-up.com) to raise awareness of organisations who are using more innovative means to tackle some of the issues facing society. These issues are often not isolated to the countries we have visited, but are global issues, issues that we all need to find innovative ways to confront.”

“The social enterprise movement in Vietnam is gaining significant momentum, thanks mainly to organisations such as British Council, Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) and Supporting Social Enterprise Community (SSEC). Although the work of these organisations is having a tremendous impact on those who are engaged with the social enterprise scene, they still have a lot of work on their hands to encourage businesses not solely to look for profit maximising opportunities, but also opportunities that can benefit society as a whole.”

They recently met an organisation in Ho Chi Minh City called enablecode which employs computing experts with disabilities. “Organisations such as Enablecode are not only employing disadvantaged people, they are also working incredibly hard to change the perception of people with disabilities in a society which, traditionally, has not been accommodating towards them.”


Gearing-up route

“Cycling such a distance through Vietnam and Laos has given us a fascinating insight into the lives of people in every part of society from small villages to the big cities. Life happens at the side of the road, so you see everything: local industry, inside people’s homes, families washing in the streams and children waving, saying ‘hello’ and running after us down the road. In the more rural areas communication can be tricky and our best attempts at enthusiastic gesticulation and use of body language are often not reciprocated which we have found frustrating at times.” Katie tells us thta she has particularly had to learn a thing or two from Joseph’s unwavering patience!


Very different scenery from Putney Bridge

When cycling through the smaller towns and villages, Joseph and Katie have generally been received with warmth, friendliness and plenty of requests for selfies. This generosity is something Viet Nam News was really keen to get across in an article they wrote about the couple and their journey near to the beginning of their trip.

The couple will shortly be leaving Vietnam to cycle through Cambodia, although they will be slowing down their pace. “After being delayed by heavy rain and with our visa expiry approaching we gave ourselves the extra challenge of the infamous Dalat climb, 1600m of pure vertical ascent. We’re now very much looking forward to the extremely flat Mekong delta!”

January 21, 2017