Who are Spoke Yokes?

Spoke Yokes are Mark Graham and Ellie O’Byrne. For the past ten years, they’ve been cycling together in places both beautiful and strange. They’ll often inadvertently miss the tourism hotspots and end up cycling through industrial estates and past waste-water treatment plants.

In spring 2025 they are setting off on a two-year cycle around the world.

Spoke Yokes logo courtesy of Ava Roderick

They are funding this by converting two double decker buses into tiny homes.

If you want updates on their adventures, you should hit subscribe below: all you do is add your email address and when they post an article, video or update it arrives into your email inbox. Nifty!

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Buy Spoke Yokes a coffee over on Ko-fi while they’re on the road

All the writing, articles, videos and updates on this newsletter are free. But because there have been queries, there is now Spoke Yokes Ko-fi page where you can leave the price of a coffee, or jambon, or bowl of noodles with sheep’s feet. It’s one-off and simple to use, with either a card or PayPal.

Go to Ko-Fi to buy us a coffee

Mark

Mark Graham is an award-winning travel writer and author of A Year of Festivals in Ireland, a musician and a music lecturer at SETU. In 2015 he cycled the entire Wild Atlantic Way on a wooden bicycle. His social media handles are @IreMusPod. He is currently 7% bicycle.

Ellie

Ellie O’Byrne is a freelance journalist whose work is found in the Irish Examiner, the Irish Times, the Echo, the Avondhu and many others. She won a SMEDIA award for her radio documentary, Bom Caminho, in which she walked 600km of the Portuguese Camino with her two children, then 13 and 8. On social media, she is also Ellie O’Byrne. She’s currently as little as 5% bicycle.

Hold her steady and stay between the ditches, bitches!

Cycling the Star Wars themed regional road to Malin Head, summer 2024.

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Mark Graham and Ellie O'Byrne are self-confessed bumbling idiots. They are attempting to cycle around the world. Tune in for weekly updates from the road.

People

Cork-based freelance journalist. Interested in telling untold stories: environment, health, food, arts, local government.
Ellie O’Byrne and Mark Graham are self-confessed bumbling idiots. Tune in for weekly updates as they attempt to cycle around the world. What could possibly go wrong?!