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Scott Stoll's bicycle ride around the world:
4
years,
41,444 Kilometers (25,752 miles),
50 Countries and 6 Continents.
I
cycled every inch to meet my goal of circumnavigating the globe
under my own steam. (The equatorial circumference of the planet
is 40,077 KM.) And, that’s not including my 10,609-Kilometer
warm-up ride across the USA from border to border and coast to coast.
Why
would anyone ride their bicycle around the world? Click
here to read the introduction.
How
do you ride a bicycle around the world? Read
the introduction.
Where
did you go? Click
here to view the map.
How
did I decide where to go?
I followed the weather and asked the locals for advice. "Where is
the nearest pub?" Actually, it is possible to follow summer all
around the world only at the speed of a bicyclist. Read
Dennis' summary on climate.
Were
you alone? About
half the time. I spent the first 15 months cycling with Dennis Snader,
who called my bluff to cycle around the world. In Europe, Dennis
deciding he found what he was looking for and went home.
How
much did it cost? 10,
20 and 30 dollars per day in undeveloped, developing and developed
countries respectively. This included enough money to visit the
local attractions and have some fun but excludes airfare and equipment
costs. It was possible to tour for as little as 1, 3 and 5 dollars
respectively, if I bush camped, cooked my own food, filtered my
own drinking water, and washed my laundry by hand.
Unless I was near a city, which was seldom, this is what I had to
do. View
the detailed expense estimate.
How
did you afford it? Basically, I worked all
the time and never spent my money on anything that I didn't really
need to survive, i.e. no music or movies or fancy cars, no wining
and dining. I brought a bag lunch to work everyday. And, I invested
my money.
Were
you ever sick? Acute
salmonella intestinitis, giardia, Montezuma's Revenge over and over
again, dengue fever, boils, strep throat, conjunctivitis, irritated
bowl syndrome, prickly heat rash, plus every other little thing
you'd probably not care to imagine. View
Dennis' summary on health.
What
did you bring with you? I carried over 200
items, and I still can't figure out how. View
the entire list of bicycle touring supplies.
What
was your favorite...?
View the Top 10 List.
What
kind of bike did you ride? Basically,
a very strong and durable steel mountain bike (steel can be welded
by any auto mechanic or farmer) with downhill racing rims and kevlar
tires. View the supply list
for more details.
How
much weight did you lose? I
lost 65 pounds of fat and gained 15 pounds of muscle. Those pounds
really melted off after eating a salmonella sandwich in Guayquil,
Ecuador and cycling over the Andes Mountains on nothing but bananas
and Coca-cola. See
the before and after picture.
How
many flats did you get?
About 100.
How
many tires did you wear out? About
10 sets. Plus, I wore out my gears 4 times, wore through four rims,
12 chains, 4 seats, and more.
Did
you have any major breakdowns?
6 broken spokes, 9 welds, 2 snapped chains, 1 mangled derailleur,
2 broken seats, 1 snapped rear cog set, two broken racks (Blackburn
aluminum racks are crap), and many minor breakdowns, like bolts
falling out due to the vibration. (I do maintenance and replace
worn parts regularly.)
How
do you ride a bike across the oceans? I
put extra air in the tires.
How
many kilometers did you average?
My goal was 80 kilometers (50 miles) per day. The furthest I rode
was 187 kilometers in about 6 hours. On the contrary, I've done
as few as 35 kilometers in seven hours of pedaling not including
breaks, and one day I did less than 10 and most of that was walking
my bike through mud.
How
long did it take to bicycle around the world? It
took me 4 years, 500 days of continuous bicycling plus pitstops
and sightseeing.
Did
you rest?
Yes. About 2 out of 7 days plus vacations.
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 head-on and injured me severely and destroyed a
lot of my gear. A close second was spending a day in Zimbabwe
prison.
What's
the best thing that happened to you? It's
more difficult to quantify this than the worse thing. I feel it
was the cumulative effect of all the people I met along the way.
Were
you ever 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.
What
was the most difficult aspect of bicycling?
Loneliness, boredom, headwinds, aches and pains.
How
many times did you fall? Over
20.
How
many times did you cry? All
the time.
What
did you eat? 3
times whatever the locals eat.
Were
you ever robbed? Yes.
I was held at gunpoint (one main with a revolver and another with
a sawed-off shotgun in Antigua, Guatemala. I've also been burgled
many times, conned and blackmailed.
What
did they steal? The
robbers took my brother's tape recorder, which I dropped on the
ground when I ran away. The burglars usually take little stuff,
as if I won't notice it, like: food, toothbrush, lighter, water
bottles.
How
much water did you drink per day? I
averaged about 8 liters up to 25 liters per day in the Australian
Outback.
Did
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
(twice). Stung by a scorpion 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
was 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.
Where
are you from? I
was born in Milwaukee, WI, USA, and lived in various places, including:
Sunderland, England, Washington, DC and San Francisco.
What
is your job? I
used to be a graphic designer. Then I rode a bike. Now I am a graphic
designer again.
How
old are you?
I spent from 31-34 years of age traveling around the world, plus
year 27 crossing America on my warm up tour.
Did
you work along the way? Sometimes,
I stopped to help people plant food, build roads, fix cars, etc.
but not for money.
Did
you ride for a charity? No,
I bicycle for myself. My goals were spiritual ones.
Did
you have sponsors? No,
it is easier to earn the money myself, besides I don't want to answer
to anyone.
Are
you married? No.
I didn't have a girlfriend, wife or children. It wouldn't have been
fair to leave them.
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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