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Leicester Mercury, UK
December 28, 2012 Friday
Edition 1; National Edition
Film describes ride to bride
JOURNEY: HOW TOM'S ROUND-THE-WORLD CYCLE RIDE TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TWIST
by ADRIAN TROUGHTON
Adventurer Tom Allen set off to cycle round the world but got
sidetracked when he fell in love along the way.
His heartwarming story has now been turned into a film.
The 29-year-old's trip, which lasted three-and-a-half years, saw him
visit 32 countries, cycle 13,000 miles and get married in Armenia.
The 79-minute film of the adventure, Janapar - Armenian for "journey"
- tells the story of how he met, fell in love with and married an
Armenian-Iranian woman, Tenny.
The film, which took a year to put together, is to be shown at cinemas
throughout the country next year after its premiere at the Raindance
Festival, in London . Tom, of Middleton, near Medbourne, said: "When I
set off way back in 2007 without a map or a guidebook, I didn't know
what to expect.
"I was a young man fed up with life and seeking a challenge."
He set off with two pals, Mark and Andy, but within six months was
travelling alone.
"Mark left in Budapest after 10 weeks and then Andy went his separate
way after six months when we were in Armenia," said Tom.
"Me cycling on my own through dangerous terrain and having to fend for
myself weren't really in the plan, but I kept on going because I was
determined to finish my journey." While in the Armenian capital
Yerevan, however, events took an unexpected turn.
"I met a woman called Tenny and fell hopelessly in love," said Tom.
Wanting to continue his journey, he left Tenny and cycled off towards
the Iranian border - but two days later went back to her. "I knew I
had to go back to see her again and go with whatever happened next,"
he said.
They married on September 19, 2009.
Tom arrived back in Middleton in October 2010 with hundreds of hours
of footage of his travels.
A friend, former BBC producer and director James Newton, sifted
through the footage and put together the film. James said the footage
went "far beyond a simple journey" and "depicted entire chapters of
its subject's life".
"It soon became clear that the story was theatrical in scope," he
said. "It possessed the power to inspire and to change the way people
thought about life.
"Janapar has universal themes. It was beautifully filmed by Tom with
an unusual level of honesty.
"He invested a great deal of trust in the lens and we hope this is
reflected in the film."
Tom plans to cycle to screenings of the film around Britain next year
and hopes his wife might join him.
The film can be bought online as a DVD or downloaded from:
www.janapar.com BLOG HIGHLIGHTS TOM chronicles his journeys throughout
the world and his thoughts on all things cycling on a blog. Here are
two entries: ¦ Riding in the rain - A springtime journey through the
Pacific north west: Washington state was not a place in which I
expected to be able to ride a full day without finding a grocery
store.
Neither did I expect to ride for days through near-wilderness, nor
find myself stringing my food bags up trees to avoid bear and raccoon
raids at night.
It's a long way from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and from the
highbrow politics of the federal government, even though that can
always be found sneaking in through the cultural back-door of the
ubiquitous television set. ¦ Riding in more rain - towards and along
the Oregon coastline: "You must be the cyclists!" Stuart accosted us
halfway through a bowl of quite excellent clam chowder. He was in his
60s, whitehaired and bespectacled. He was slender as a bean, a
Geocaching logo on his faded baseball cap and a look of curiosity and
mild amusement on his face.
I trusted him immediately.
From: Baghdasarian
December 28, 2012 Friday
Edition 1; National Edition
Film describes ride to bride
JOURNEY: HOW TOM'S ROUND-THE-WORLD CYCLE RIDE TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TWIST
by ADRIAN TROUGHTON
Adventurer Tom Allen set off to cycle round the world but got
sidetracked when he fell in love along the way.
His heartwarming story has now been turned into a film.
The 29-year-old's trip, which lasted three-and-a-half years, saw him
visit 32 countries, cycle 13,000 miles and get married in Armenia.
The 79-minute film of the adventure, Janapar - Armenian for "journey"
- tells the story of how he met, fell in love with and married an
Armenian-Iranian woman, Tenny.
The film, which took a year to put together, is to be shown at cinemas
throughout the country next year after its premiere at the Raindance
Festival, in London . Tom, of Middleton, near Medbourne, said: "When I
set off way back in 2007 without a map or a guidebook, I didn't know
what to expect.
"I was a young man fed up with life and seeking a challenge."
He set off with two pals, Mark and Andy, but within six months was
travelling alone.
"Mark left in Budapest after 10 weeks and then Andy went his separate
way after six months when we were in Armenia," said Tom.
"Me cycling on my own through dangerous terrain and having to fend for
myself weren't really in the plan, but I kept on going because I was
determined to finish my journey." While in the Armenian capital
Yerevan, however, events took an unexpected turn.
"I met a woman called Tenny and fell hopelessly in love," said Tom.
Wanting to continue his journey, he left Tenny and cycled off towards
the Iranian border - but two days later went back to her. "I knew I
had to go back to see her again and go with whatever happened next,"
he said.
They married on September 19, 2009.
Tom arrived back in Middleton in October 2010 with hundreds of hours
of footage of his travels.
A friend, former BBC producer and director James Newton, sifted
through the footage and put together the film. James said the footage
went "far beyond a simple journey" and "depicted entire chapters of
its subject's life".
"It soon became clear that the story was theatrical in scope," he
said. "It possessed the power to inspire and to change the way people
thought about life.
"Janapar has universal themes. It was beautifully filmed by Tom with
an unusual level of honesty.
"He invested a great deal of trust in the lens and we hope this is
reflected in the film."
Tom plans to cycle to screenings of the film around Britain next year
and hopes his wife might join him.
The film can be bought online as a DVD or downloaded from:
www.janapar.com BLOG HIGHLIGHTS TOM chronicles his journeys throughout
the world and his thoughts on all things cycling on a blog. Here are
two entries: ¦ Riding in the rain - A springtime journey through the
Pacific north west: Washington state was not a place in which I
expected to be able to ride a full day without finding a grocery
store.
Neither did I expect to ride for days through near-wilderness, nor
find myself stringing my food bags up trees to avoid bear and raccoon
raids at night.
It's a long way from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and from the
highbrow politics of the federal government, even though that can
always be found sneaking in through the cultural back-door of the
ubiquitous television set. ¦ Riding in more rain - towards and along
the Oregon coastline: "You must be the cyclists!" Stuart accosted us
halfway through a bowl of quite excellent clam chowder. He was in his
60s, whitehaired and bespectacled. He was slender as a bean, a
Geocaching logo on his faded baseball cap and a look of curiosity and
mild amusement on his face.
I trusted him immediately.
From: Baghdasarian