| Tour
Du Monde, Update from Scott:
Frequently
Asked Questions
Date: November
11, 2003
Where
are you from? I
was born in Milwaukee, WI, USA, 1970.
What
is your job? I
ride a bike. (I used to be a graphic designer.)
How
old are you?
33.
Are
you married?
No.
Do
you have a girlfriend?
Not too many.
Do
you have any children?
Unknown.
What
are you doing?
Riding my bicycle around the world.
Why
are you bicycling around the world? I'm
searching for the mysteries of life. Besides, I'm crazy.
How
do you bicycle around the world? I
define bicycling around the world as riding the circumference of
the earth (40,077 km measured around the equator) without treading
the same ground twice (otherwise I could have stayed in San Francisco
and bicycled circles around Starbucks. "Make it a half-calf,
full-fat cappuccino next time round, sweetheart.") and visiting
as many cultures and phenomena as practical.
How
do you ride a bike across the oceans? I
put extra air in the tires.
How
many kilometers do you average?
My goal is 80 kilometers per day.
What
is the most kilometers you've done in one day?
187 kilometers in about 6 hours. Contrary, I've done as few as 35
kilometers in seven hours of pedaling not including breaks.
How
many kilometers have you biked so far? 27,000
(37,500 including the USA) in addition: I hiked 1750 km, freefell
7 km, swam 10 km (oceans, lakes, rivers) and boated 22 km.
How
long does it take to bicycle around the world? 500
days of continuous bicycling plus pitstops.
Do
you rest?
Yes. About 2 out of 7 days plus vacations.
Where
are you going?
Roughly: North, Central and South America. Europe. Turkey and Egypt
by mass transit mostly. India. Nepal. Tibet (China). South East
Asia. Australia. New Zealand. Fiji. And back to America.
How
many countries have you bicycled? 36
by bicycle and 10 by mass transit.
How
long have you been traveling?
27 months (plus 6 months across the USA).
How
many punctures have you had? About
65.
How
many tires have you worn out? About
10.
Have
you had any major breakdowns?
6 broken spokes, 8 welds, 2 snapped chains, 1 mangled derailleur,
2 broken seats. (I do maintenance and replace worn parts regularly.)
How
much does it cost? 10,
20 and 30 dollars per day in undeveloped, developing and developed
countries respectively. This includes enough money to visit the
local attractions and have some fun but excludes airfare and equipment
costs. It is possible to tour for as little as 1, 3 and 5 dollars
if I bush camp, cook my own food, filter my own drinking water,
and wash my laundry by hand.
Who's
paying for it?
I am. I'm spending my life's savings.
Do
you work along the way? I'm
riding my bicycle around the world, isn't that enough? Sometimes,
I stop to help people plant food, build roads, fix cars, etc. but
not for money.
Do
you ride for a charity? No,
I bicycle for myself.
Do
you have sponsors? No,
it is easier to earn the money myself, besides I don't want to answer
to anyone.
What's
the worse thing that happened to you? Some
teenagers were trying to frighten me and lost control of their scooter
and ran into me.
What's
is the best thing that ever happened to you? This
questions is very rare. I thank God that I haven't killed myself
yet.
Have
you ever been injured? Facet
syndrome, dislocated wrist, bruised tailbone, sprained knees, heat
exhaustion, sunburn, hyper-extended elbow, saddle sores, nappy rash,
broken heart, and every other little thing you can imagine.
Have
you ever been sick? Acute
salmonella intestinitis, giardia, Montezuma's Revenge, dengue fever,
boils, strep throat, conjunctivitis, irritated bowl syndrome, prickly
heat rash, plus every other little thing.
How
much weight did you lose? About
20 kilograms not including about 5 kilograms of muscle gain.
What
is the most difficult aspect of bicycling?
Loneliness, headwinds, aches and pains.
How
many times have you fallen? 18.
How
many times did you cry? About
6 times.
What
are your favorite countries?
USA, Mexico, Argentina, Ireland, Greece, Nepal and Thailand.
What
are your least favorite countries? Guatemala,
Egypt and Vietnam.
Why
do you like some places and not others? Sometimes
it's the environment, usually it is the people.
What
do you eat? 3
times whatever the locals eat.
Have
you ever been robbed? No.
I have been burgled many times.
What
do they steal? Usually
it is little stuff, as if I won't notice it, like: food, toothbrush,
lighter, water bottles. What kind of bike do I ride? A very strong
and durable steel mountain bike (steel can be welded by any auto
mechanic or farmer) with super tough wheels.
How
do I decide where to go?
I follow the weather and ask the locals for advice."Where is the
nearest pub?"
How
much water do I drink per day? I
average about 8 liters up to 25 liters per day in the Australian
Outback.
Have
you ever had trouble with animals? Dogs
chasing me. Mice, opossums, raccoons, crows, cockroaches and monkeys
stealing food. Wild boar, dingoes, wallabies, jackals, etc. prowling
around my tent all night. Nearly trampled by a herd of wild elephants.
Stung by a scorpian in my bed. Annoyed by flies, mosquitoes and
gnats; they're the worst. Generally speaking, there is a shortage
of wild animals in the world and too many people.
What
is the most dangerous animal that gave you trouble? Humans.
Did
you do any training?
I had six surgical operations to get ready: knee surgery, eye surgery,
and skin surgery four times.Plus, physical therapy, chiropractics,
vaccinations and some weight training.
Do
you plan to write a book? Yes.
Email me your details and I will let you know when and where it
is available. It is usually a 2-3 year process to get a book published.
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