We met Josiah online. We exchanged emails and for some weird reason, Tom and I felt good about him. He told us about his travel plans and we were instantly hooked. I mean, come on. How often do you meet a guy who wants to cycle around the world? He documents his adventures on his blog while he gallivants this world on two wheels. Countless emails later, Tom and I soon decided that Josiah had to be part of our Adventure Review Team.
I don’t know what exactly we saw in him that got us immediately hooked. Maybe it was his brave sense of adventure, or his passion for pursuing his hapiness-even if that meant long hours cycling on unknown roads. Read his story and get to know the newest member of our Adventure Review team.
Related: Meet the Unusual Traveler who has Traveled to 97 Countries by the age of 27
View Contents
- 1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started with traveling?
- 2. What gave you the idea to travel around the world cycling?
- 3. Out of all the places that you have been to, what is your favourite and why?
- 4. Where will your bike take you next and what are you looking forward to the most while on the road?
- 5. Can you tell us about an unforgettable travel moment?
- 6. What has been the most adventurous thing you’ve done?
- 7. What is the biggest difficulty or hurdle that you have encountered while traveling and how did you get around it?
- 8.What’s the best piece of travel advice that you have ever received?
- 9. Why do you want to be an Adventure Junkie?
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started with traveling?
For some reason, I was entirely unexcited to visit Canada in 2010. My life had become stuck in a rut of school and computer games. But, it was on that trip that I contracted a chronic and terminal case of the travel bug. As I wandered the crowded and unfamiliar streets of Vancouver, stared out at the wide Pacific Ocean from Vancouver Island, and hiked among the mountains and glaciers in Jasper, the world suddenly felt very inviting, and I decided I was going to make life awesome.
Since then, travel, particularly adventure travel which ties in neatly with my love of extreme sports has been my passion. At first, I squeezed it in among my law degree, but since graduating I have chased all opportunities, from working on a horse ranch in America, to skiing every day for 5 months in France, and now, I’m cycling around the world!
Read: Why I Decided to Travel the World in my 20’s
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2. What gave you the idea to travel around the world cycling?
I was meant to be writing an essay when I stumbled across an article about someone that had cycled around the world. WOW! I forgot the essay instantly. I had never realized that was actually possible. After a few minutes, my respect and amazement for the guy quickly turned to wonder … if he could do it, why couldn’t I? There seemed so many reasons why it was a great idea and none why it wasn’t. Within an hour I vowed to myself I would one day do the same. I ran excitedly to tell my flatmates, assuming they would share my enthusiasm. They didn’t. They told me I was stupid, that it was ‘other people’ who did things like that, and that I would probably die. Well now I was committed: I had to prove them wrong all while embarking on a massive adventure!
Related: What Kind of Traveler are You?
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3. Out of all the places that you have been to, what is your favourite and why?
I loved Turkey. It was the furthest East I had ever been and was a real eye-opener into how diverse the world is; even having been there two months, I was still being surprised every day by what I saw. I found the people friendly and hospitable, something they clearly pride themselves on, and was called over for çay teas, watermelons and chit-chats on a daily basis. The many unusual attractions from Pamukkale, bizarre calcium-rich hot springs (google it!), to Cappadocia, even more bizarre other-worldly rock formations. Not to mention a mountain that’s been on fire for 4,000 years which makes it a super exciting place to visit!
4. Where will your bike take you next and what are you looking forward to the most while on the road?
From Georgia, and after a long crossing of the Caspian Sea in a small boat, I will pedal across the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan before heading to China. I will race across massive China against the two-month visa deadline, before winding my way through southeast Asia, and into Australia. From there … who knows?! Anything is possible!
Living and travelling on a bike is really simple, away from many of the complications of life, but also ridiculously exciting; I cannot wait to have that sense of freedom again, and look forward to meeting travelers and locals on the road every day! The Pamir Highway is an unpaved road through the mountains of Tajikistan on the border with Afghanistan and has many 4,000 meter high passes. That is an exhilarating challenge, and the section I am most excited for next.
Read: 10 Things I Didn’t Know Until Travelling South East Asia
5. Can you tell us about an unforgettable travel moment?
While working at a summer camp in America, the staff decided to go to a baseball game. It was the first experience for most of us, and we excitedly cheered every hit, catch and home run, not fully understanding the intricacies of glorified rounders. Our incessant chanting echoed around the quiet stadium making an impressive impact.
One of the players sent a signed baseball for each of us mid-game, the home team cancelled their half-time entertainment and invited us on the pitch to lead the stadium in singing and dancing, the manager offered us free tickets, we were filmed for the news and were even invited on the pitch to run a home run! All in all, an experience I’ll remember!
6. What has been the most adventurous thing you’ve done?
Cycling away from my family and friends in my home town to head across Europe has been the most adventurous thing I have done so far. I was pretty nervous, as it really was a huge step into the unknown for me, passing through new countries, on my own, and having not cycled in over a year. I was on a tight budget, with 5 months traveling eventually coming in at only £400 ($600). That first difficult step out of my comfort zone proved to be one of the best decisions I’ve made, unlocking the opportunities for dozens of amazing experiences!
Editor’s Note: We were so intrigued by how he survived on such a small budget. Look out for Josiah’s money saving tips in future articles!
7. What is the biggest difficulty or hurdle that you have encountered while traveling and how did you get around it?
When traveling solo there are times when I just find my own company really boring and crave connections with other people. At the start of my bike ride, there were times I hadn’t spoken to a single person in a day or two, and the loneliness reduced me to a pathetic mess slumped by the side of the road.
The answer is not simply to always travel with other people. While I love having someone to share the experiences with, the freedom of traveling on my own is also important. It’s key to keep as busy as possible and learn how to meet and connect with strangers. That becomes easier as you get more confident (that happens naturally as you travel more), but come up with some awesome opening sentences to meet people, push yourself out your comfort zone, and learn where good places to meet people are.
Read: 5 Things I Learned from the Traveling the World
8.What’s the best piece of travel advice that you have ever received?
‘Just do it’. No, it wasn’t from Nike. It is so easy to come up with an excuse not to do something. “I don’t have enough money”, “I’m not fit enough” or “It’s too dangerous”. If you really want something enough, you will find a way to overcome the hurdles and make it happen. The hardest step is the first: commit. Once you’ve begun, you will realize most of your worries about traveling never mattered, or can be solved on the way.
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9. Why do you want to be an Adventure Junkie?
Adventure Travel has made me a better person and made my life infinitely more exciting… and it can do the same for you! I’m always stoked to encourage more people to get out there and have an adventure. Being an adventure junkie is a great opportunity to do this, and join an awesome growing community. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet some of you out there, wherever ‘there’ may be.