Cycling The World
Donation protected
THE RIDE
This coming December 7, I leave to cycle around the world...that's "cycle," as with a pedal-bike. The ride will start and stop in Palm Springs, CA. It will take up to 14 months and cover a total of 34,000 miles across 28 countries. This is a self-supported effort, meaning I'll travel without the aid of a support team or support vehicle. When finished, I'll be 71 years old and my knees will probably hurt :) And while I'm self-funding the great majority of this trip, every Dollar, Euro, Rupee, Ringitt, Kip, Yen, Ruble, or Kyat would be incredibly helpful and appreciated.
WHY THIS RIDE?
No one describes this better than Mark Twain:
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
You can think about that quote in two ways. First, that travel broadens the view of the traveler - this is the usual interpretation. But second, that travel also broadens the view of the person the traveler meets along the way, since the person met is also having an encounter with someone from a different culture. Both people gain a different perspective through face-to-face contact with "the other." On this trip, I'm focusing on this second half of the definition.
I want to show Americans in a more positive light than the one many people overseas are now getting, especially in less developed countries. There are many ways to make this happen. Teaching impromptu conversational English in schools, community centers and mosques is always in strong demand in less developed countries. Making small donations of goods to families-in-need through local churches, wats, temples, mandirs and mosques is another. Simply making myself available for friendly interaction with the people I meet on the street is important - bicycle travel is amazing at generating such informal encounters because there are no physical barriers (car, bus) between you and the community and the pace is slower. I have built ample time into the riding schedule to account for these activities, as much as two days per week if needed, mostly through the Hindu and Muslim countries. Half of the trip purposefully takes place in Muslim or mostly Muslim countries, as the need to re-frame the picture we each have of the other in this regard is perhaps the most critical of all.
I'm interested in any ideas you may have for how I can accomplish this. Leave me your suggestions on my website at longhaulrider.com
What I'm doing isn't much in the scope of things, but at least its something. Everyone should do something to create a better world, to generate simple kindness as the best representative of America...
Movement is life...
This coming December 7, I leave to cycle around the world...that's "cycle," as with a pedal-bike. The ride will start and stop in Palm Springs, CA. It will take up to 14 months and cover a total of 34,000 miles across 28 countries. This is a self-supported effort, meaning I'll travel without the aid of a support team or support vehicle. When finished, I'll be 71 years old and my knees will probably hurt :) And while I'm self-funding the great majority of this trip, every Dollar, Euro, Rupee, Ringitt, Kip, Yen, Ruble, or Kyat would be incredibly helpful and appreciated.
WHY THIS RIDE?
No one describes this better than Mark Twain:
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
You can think about that quote in two ways. First, that travel broadens the view of the traveler - this is the usual interpretation. But second, that travel also broadens the view of the person the traveler meets along the way, since the person met is also having an encounter with someone from a different culture. Both people gain a different perspective through face-to-face contact with "the other." On this trip, I'm focusing on this second half of the definition.
I want to show Americans in a more positive light than the one many people overseas are now getting, especially in less developed countries. There are many ways to make this happen. Teaching impromptu conversational English in schools, community centers and mosques is always in strong demand in less developed countries. Making small donations of goods to families-in-need through local churches, wats, temples, mandirs and mosques is another. Simply making myself available for friendly interaction with the people I meet on the street is important - bicycle travel is amazing at generating such informal encounters because there are no physical barriers (car, bus) between you and the community and the pace is slower. I have built ample time into the riding schedule to account for these activities, as much as two days per week if needed, mostly through the Hindu and Muslim countries. Half of the trip purposefully takes place in Muslim or mostly Muslim countries, as the need to re-frame the picture we each have of the other in this regard is perhaps the most critical of all.
I'm interested in any ideas you may have for how I can accomplish this. Leave me your suggestions on my website at longhaulrider.com
What I'm doing isn't much in the scope of things, but at least its something. Everyone should do something to create a better world, to generate simple kindness as the best representative of America...
Movement is life...
Organizer
Bill Saint-Onge
Organizer
Alpena, MI
