Surviving on £3 a Day

Aged 22, Ben Page set off on a three-year bike odyssey across the globe via the Arctic – and became a successful filmmaker in the process. How did he do it on the tightest of budgets?

Accommodation and transport are themost expensive part of travelling, so if you go by bike and take a tent, all you have to pay for is food. I was eating two or three times more than usual, but it was 20pworth of oats each morning. The handful of times I stayed in a hostel, I had a worse night than in my tent. When you’re up in the mountains, with no one else around, camping is one of the most glorious ways to spend the night. A long day’s cycle is the comfiest pillow you can have – when you’re tired, you sleep really well.

I’d just experienced a bit of a crisiswhen the idea hit me: I decided I would cycle from my home in West Yorkshire to the Swiss Alps in a week. So, one morning I threw some stuff into a bag, put it on my bike and rode off. I hated it for six days, then loved it on the seventh. I thought, “If I can cross a country, I can cross a continent. And if can cross a continent, I can cross the world.” I realised that just by setting off I would make it happen.

If there’s a piece of kit you’re notusing that week, get rid of it. I had one set of clothes and some necessary bits of safety kit, but otherwise a three-season tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat – and the bike – were all I needed, even when going from 53°C to -40°C. One luxury was a Bluetooth speaker on my handlebars. And a Kindle, which meant I could listen and read at my leisure. The last thing was a little alcohol-burning stove. I had a multifuel one early on, but that broke, so I began making little stoves out of beer cans.

A lot of cultural tourism involvesfood, but I didn’t eat in local restaurants, because it was a bit more expensive than cooking for myself. Sometimes I’d spend a pound on lunch, but not often. I’d also avoid cities, because then you’d need to pay for a hostel. Missing out on showers for weeks on end was a sacrifice – though it was other people who suffered most! But I got to see some incredible places, and to experience being totally alone.

I was never short of food, becauseI ate simply: porridge, then rice or pasta and a stock cube, and maybe some bread at lunch. Carbs were so cheap I’d loads, but you have to give yourself a break. A real luxury was having the occasional beer. Riding through a village, picking up a beer, camping somewhere beautiful and watching the sun set while sipping away were definitely stand-out moments.

benpagefilms.com

Interview MATT RAY

Photography CASS GILBERT