Here’s an interesting idea… and there doesn’t appear to be a catch: Boom25.com.

Cyclists and travellers – you are probably one or the other or both otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this – can and do spend hours poring over the websites of online retailers looking for that next bargain; the best value on a bike, a deal on that jacket which promises to be waterproof and windproof (even if we know it probably isn’t…), the cheapest ticket to escape the urban world and start exploring. You get the idea.

But what if you could do all that and be in with a chance of winning back some or all of the money that you have spent on your shopping spree? Well, the Boom.com cashback website does just that:

“With Boom25 every purchase that shoppers make has the opportunity to be refunded – in full – BOOM, just like that! Boom25 is partnered with an amazing selection of retailers, from M&S to Boots to Tesco’s and Miss Selfridges, it’s easy to turn any shop into a Boom25 shop. And the odds are truly in your favour… every 25th shopper is a winner and with special promos on the regular, sometimes your odds are as good as 1:10 or lower!”

So, from the perspective of a cycling traveller, what are the sites that you might find useful to access via the Boom25.com portal? Well, I’ve had a trawl and come up with the following shops, many of which I’ve certainly used previously to buy cycling kit, clothing or facilitate my travels.

Clothing & Accessories / Sports

• Schuh (the shoe retailer)
• Ecco (shoes again…)
• Asics UK (sports stuff) and Asics Clearance
• Argos (for, well, everything!)
• Kitbag (more sports stuff)
• Le Col (stylish cycling stuff)
• The Tour de France shop(! – buy a yellow jersey and pretend…)
• Nike UK
• Springfield Camping (where I bought my tent but good for clothing as well)
• Speedo (good for Lycra…)
• The North Face UK
• Alpine Trek
• Berghaus (good for those waterproof- windproof jackets that probably don’t exist…)
• Simply Hike
• Tweeks Cycles
• Jack Wolfskin Outdoor UK
• Proviz (hi-vis clothing)
• Plus several hundred more… Browse them all here in the ‘clothing and accessories’ category and more in the ‘sports’ category.

Travel

Again there are lots of online retailers – for the full list follow this link – but here’s a selection:

• Hotels.com
• Expedia UK
• LastMinute.com
• Exodus Travels (I used them for my Alpine adventure in 2016)
• Ordnance Survey (never go anywhere without a paper map!)
• Stanfords (where you can buy my books…)
• Lonely Planet (more of a Rough Guides man myself but these are very good as well)
• …and, of course, Booking.com! Anyone who has read the books will know that when life gets a little too tough, the tent is abandoned and Booking.com appears 🙂

I suppose all that Boom.25 is doing is exactly the same as other online referral websites but at least in this case, you have a chance of getting back some of the fee that the retailer pays to the referral site for the referral in the first place. It’s a win-win-win; the retailer gets the custom, Boom25 gets their commission and you have a chance of winning back what you’ve spent. Clever, no? If nothing else it’s worth a punt (and you have more chances of winning than on the lottery… 🙂 )