Frequently Asked Questions
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.

My new book Falling Uphill is also written in a Q&A short-story format arranged from the most popular survival questions to the more profound questions that we all ask as we journey through life. Read the Preface (download the PDF) to learn how the questions people asked gave me insight into human nature and the meaning of life. Falling Uphill is written so that you'll feel as if you're riding the bicycle and making your own discoveries, a much more entertaining and rewarding format than this Q&A.

Falling Uphill: Dreams for the young at heart answers over 225 frequently asked questions including in depth advice on how to bicycle around the world, and how to dream your own expedition and make it a reality.

(More FAQs are on my new blog.)

Why would anyone ride their bicycle around the world?
Essentially, I decided to find the meaning of life or die trying, because my life seemed meaningless, and I figured if there was rhyme or reason to the universe, I would find it. For a more detailed description 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.
Click here to view the list of countries.

How did you decide where to go?
Primarily I followed the weather and the wind. Crossing the equator at times, for example from fall in Argentina to spring in England. And I left my schedule rather open-ended to account for fate and chance. I also simply asked the locals for advice. An interesting fact about cycling: it is possible to follow good weather all around the world only at the speed of a bicycle — walking is too slow and cars are too fast. 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 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. Read more about my bike. And even more about the bike with a cool slideshow and neat captions. And you can read the nationally syndicated story about the bike that went around the world.

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?
Over 100.

How many tires did you wear out?
About 10 sets. In South America, I had to use a local brand, and they would explode about once a week from the weight of all my gear. 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. You could do it about 2 years, if you feel like it is a race.

Don't you get tired?
Yes! Both mentally and physically. I rested about 2 out of 7 days plus vacations. Now, my body is a bit worn out and I've reached the point of diminishing returns as far as bicycling is concerned.

Did you ever get in an accident. Or....
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 crash?
Dozens of times. Almost all very minor. A couple crashes took some time to recover, but nothing that one doesn't expect doing this kind of thing.

How many times did you cry?
Frequently.

What did you eat?
3 times whatever the locals eat.

Is it safe?
Safer and friendlier than riding a bike in America. As you travel people will tell you where to go and where not to go. It's that simple. Not much planning needed. In general it's the big cities that are unsafe. The rest is more a matter of preference. You're biggest safety issue will be avoiding collisions, but that is just the nature of the beast of bicycling, and most countries have more respect for bicycles than Americans. Along with that you'll want to take the ordinary health precautions and stay clean.

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.

Would you do it again?
I haven't decided yet.

How did it feel to return home?
This is a big question. But basically extreme culture shock. I finally saw my own country with the objectivity of a foreigner, including all the good and bad. I didn't feel I had a place to stand anymore in this culture that is materialistic and lacking community and offering happiness in bottle at every turn.

What did you learn?
The main lesson learned: That I can create my own meaning to my life, essentially recreating myself and my community.

If you did it again, what would you change?
Go slower. Enjoy the moment more. Meaning to really internalize the cliche: "Life is a journey, not a destination." Spend longer periods of time in small communities to really get to know the culture. For the most part, I wish I had less angst and spent the time to create more meaning in my life and other people's lives, rather than thinking there was some exterior solution (meaning to life) that would make me happy. I also wished I had documented the trip better: more photos, more emails and newsletters, and I wish had brought a video camera. On the other hand, if I didn't have the angst and the soul-searching drive, I probably would have been content to stay home.

Do you plan to write a book?

Falling Uphill
Re-live and re-imagine a spiritual quest around the world on a bicycle, and re-discover the passion to live your "impossible" dream.

See the current Q&A list here on my blog.