Niall saddles up for wheely long journey

Regan Kelly

Globetrotter, filmmaker, photographer, and, a Mullingar man, Niall Pringle is travelling from Mullingar to southern Italy this summer by bicycle.

Niall is a lover of all things travel, and often documents his journeys, which included a move to Australia just before Covid.

“I was just 22 and travelling, just seeing new things and getting about. I ended up getting locked down in Australia, so I didn’t leave there for about four years,” he said.

Those years in Australia were formative for Niall. He lived in a car for three years, and drove a lap around the entire country, which cemented a love for travelling.

In those four years, Niall saved up some money and went backpacking around south east Asia, where he got the inspiration for this cycle.

“I was in a hostel and this German guy rocked up with a pushbike with all of his stuff on it, and I had never seen anything like it.

“The guy ended up explaining that he was a ‘bikepacker’ and that he had cycled to Vietnam from Germany.”

Niall continued his journey to Nepal, and met more people doing the same thing there. They had cycled from Italy. This year, Niall was travelling around South America and ended up meeting more ‘bikepackers’ along the way.

Niall said: “It was blowing my mind, meeting all of these people. They were just normal people and weren’t professional cyclists or anything.

“I just kind of thought, this is class, I’m going to do this. So I decided to do it this summer and start with travelling through Ireland, England, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy.”Niall admitted that he wasn’t so much a cyclist but enjoys the freedom that this journey is giving him.

“I’m not a cyclist guy, I hadn’t ridden a bike in five years. My fitness was okay, but my legs are struggling a bit.

“The first few days were okay, but I ended up getting some muscle fatigue in my legs. I just took a few days off and rested them, and I seem to have found a balance.”

Niall is making his way through southern England, getting ready for the next leg of his journey to mainland Europe. He aims to catch a ferry to the Netherlands and eventually make his way to southern Italy.

Those interested in keeping up with Niall’s journey across Europe can do so by following his Instagram page @niall_pringle.

Those who would to support Niall along his journey can do so by visiting his Buy Me a Coffee link @ko-fi.com/niallpringle.