How To Move The Stars is the day by day retelling of a bicycle ride around the world. Start from the beginning to get the whole story.
My adventure was a modern day epic, a solo, self-supported bicycle ride spanning 38,000 miles across six continents. There were moments I barely survived, and times I cried tears of joy, but mostly, this is a story about the thousands of people I met along the way. I moved through their cultures, and dramatic landscapes. I ate their food and slept on their land. I was constantly arriving to the open arms of strangers who were excited to help me achieve a feat that few could imagine. I did this for years, immersing myself in the world and meeting the people who live here. The story I returned with is a snapshot of humanity, captured in a lived experience. Thank you for joining me on my journey.
Purchase Jacob’s art inspired by his bicycle tour, including the world’s most beautiful Ant Farm. www.AntLife.space
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May 16th, 2013. A hot dog in Ukraine. I’ve been struggling to find grocery stores along the highway. Today, I resorted to eating at the gas stations and cafes that service the motorists. Frequently, the cafes are nothing more than sheds with a single plastic table sitting outside. They are oneperson operations, and sometimes there is an attached room where the owner lives. I served a boiled hot dog in a fresh bun topped with a carrot salad, ketchup, mayonnaise, and a springrig of parsley as garnish, making this hot dog the fanciest I’ve ever eaten. As a side, I was served a warm, oily bowl of potato soup with a single white chicken leg floating in the broth. The meal cost $120 and made me think I should eat out more often. Throughout the day, I passed another 50 m of farm fields. A large city offered a change of view, but I was scared off by the traffic. I decided to follow the bypass to keep myself safe. In Ukraine, more than anywhere else, the reckless drivers have forced me to confront the risk of what I am doing. Though the road is only two lanes, whenever a vehicle catches up to another one, the driver will pass. And once the maneuver begins, I have never seen them back down. If there is oncoming traffic, the passing vehicle will straddle the center line while the vehicle being passed and the one coming at them will drive on the shoulder to make room. Even when vehicles are passing in both directions, the brake lights never come on. Four tight lanes are created as the cars squeeze by each other. Whenever I see this happening, I went in expectation of a crash. For the 6 hours I was pedaling today, I needed to maintain an exhausting level of focus, looking both forward and back, always ready to ride off the road. Even when cars had room to move over, they rarely did. After 5 days of this, stress and anxiety have begun to weigh on me. Yet again this evening, I arrived at my camping spot in perfect health. I feel the dissonance of my emotions not matching the reality of my physical well-being. and to continue this journey with the expectation of being harmed simply does not serve me. As a remedy, I resolve to shift my attention away from what could be to what is. From now on, I’m accepting that a driver passing me by a hair breath leaves me as healthy as if they were 10 paces away. No longer will I subscribe to the idea of a close call. Either I’ve been struck by a truck or I haven’t. And so far, I’m perfectly fine. [Music]
2 Comments
Good luck.
Is this real?