Emma Karslake, FRGS, is an adventurer, writer and cycle tour guide who has spent much of the past eight years exploring the world by bike.

·45 min·4 clips

Emma Karslake reveals she's writing a guide on crossing French Guiana by bike while living a nomadic life split between London and global travels.

Emma Karslake introduces herself as a cycling journalist and tour guide with a nomadic lifestyle, currently in French Guiana writing a bike guide. She grew up in France without a nomadic background, starting with running and later rowing before her first bike adventure. In 2016-17, she fundraised for a six-month South America trip with friends, cycling from Ushuaia to Lima while wild camping on a tight budget. Emma describes battling Patagonian winds for three weeks, a challenge she now views as exceptionally hard. Group dynamics shifted when one member left due to mismatched expectations. After that trip, she continued cycling solo and with partners, transitioning to freelance work. Emma began writing during her first trip for fundraising updates and later professionally as a travel writer. She explains her bike evolution from a heavy touring setup to road and gravel bikes with bikepacking bags. For saddle issues, she recommends trial and error with saddles and hygiene. Planning has shifted from detailed route mapping to using apps like Komoot and local resources. Emma discusses managing fears by rationalizing risks, using apps like Warm Showers, and trusting gut instinct. She critiques the 'are you not scared' question as gendered and rooted in societal fears. Emma tried ultra-endurance racing but found it unfun and expensive due to sleep deprivation. Her sweet spot is longer trips without time pressure, dreaming of routes from Alaska to Ushuaia or Europe to Asia. She is writing a guide on crossing French Guiana by bike, aiming to publish this year. Emma advises beginners to start simple with weekend trips on any serviced bike.

As heard by us

A grounded episode about turning a mobile cycling life into work, travel, and a practical way through fear.

Emma Carslake's life on two wheels is framed as work as much as adventure, moving through cycling journalism, tour guiding, personal travel, and the writing of a guide to crossing French Guiana by bike.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a cycling life that can hold work, travel, wild camping, and fear that does not politely disappear.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Tough Girl Podcast