The book Changing Gears was written with renowned permaculture and sustainability expert David Holmgren and launched at Paradise Bookshop in Daylesford.

Changing Gears is a high-spirited adventure book charting Greg Foyster's remarkable, life-transforming cycling challenge, which he undertook with his girlfriend Sophie from Hobart to Cairns .

Cycling for more than eight months and 6500 kilometres, Greg and Sophie conducted over 80 in-depth interviews with lone visionaries and engaged communities alike, all seeking a more sustainable life.

There's the barefoot monk who walked from the Gold Coast to Townsville with only three robes and an alms bowl, the man who lived in the bush for 20 years without electricity and went on 'historical treks' using 18th century tools and clothing, the 'modern swagman' who wandered the highway for three decades, and many more DIY downshifters with stories to tell.

Greg himself tells a riveting yarn. The book is engaging, self-effacing with many laugh out loud moments, and the 6586-kilometre bike expedition was a world away from Greg's comfortable former lifestyle in advertising.

The furthest he had cycled in one sitting was 50 kilometres, and the longest he had been in a tent was for three days at a music festival.

On his journey he confronted his own character flaws, contended with bum blisters, tasted road kill and got by with just two changes of clothing.

Greg and Sophie are now on a 60-day, 2000-kilometre pedal-powered book tour, visiting 30 bookshops from Melbourne, through regional Victoria, the ACT and New South Wales before finishing in Sydney in mid-November.