Riding Home through Asia

by Alastair Humphreys

  One of the best things about adventures is that you learn lessons and make memories that will stay with you forever. Tom cycled along, thinking back over everything he had seen and done. Which of these things would you like to try one day? And what would you like to look up on the internet and learn about today?

  Tom’s favourite thing was food, so he thought about the meals that people eat around the world. Some of them made him drool with hunger, but others he never wanted to eat again. He thought of Maasai blood and milk, of goulash, injera, fly burgers and sugarcane, of chicken’s feet, barbecued guinea pig, tacos and fried scorpions, okonomiyaki and khachapuri, shashlik and – of course – banana sandwiches. Although after all this time Tom was getting a bit tired of banana sandwiches.

  He passed a few miles by trying to remember all the different ways he had learned to say “hello” on his ride. He practised saying them to all the cows and sheep he pedalled past. Bonjour! Salaam aleikum, hola, zdrastvoojte, konnichiwa, ni hao, hallo …

  He remembered rivers – the Danube, Nile, Yukon, Lena and Yellow. He thought of exciting creatures he had seen – the wild boar, elephant, albatross, king penguin, llama, flamingo, crocodile, grizzly bear and grumpy camels.

  Many of Tom’s happiest memories were from the people he had met along the way. Tom had met rich people and poor people, different races and religions, all sorts of shapes and sizes. There had been funny hats in Lesotho, Bolivia and Kyrgyzstan, and so many other interesting differences.

  But there were other things that nearly everyone in the world had in common: they had all been excited by the idea of living adventurously, and everyone had been kind to Tom on the long road across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. The world is a much better, kinder and happier place than it seems on TV. Tom thought that that was one of the most important lessons he had learned on the road.

  And what a long road it had been! Tom understood now that he could cycle every single day for a hundred years and still not see everything in the world. How could anyone get bored when something new was waiting round every corner? And you don’t actually have to jump on your bike and head for Africa to find those adventures. There are adventures waiting out there for everyone, every single day, wherever you live. It’s just up to you to find them.

  Tom thought about sweating through the Nubian and Taklamakan deserts, huffing and puffing over the Andes and Tien Shan mountains, the bizarre salt plains of Uyuni, the high, flat altiplano and the low, flat Turpan Depression. He had canoed the Yukon River, shivered through Siberian snow, pedalled across the jailoo, ridden past baobabs and through a giant redwood tree. And now he was riding home.

  Tom crossed the border into France, which meant that there was only one more country to go. Ride, eat, sleep. Repeat. Tom was on a mission now. He was riding home as fast as he could, excited about seeing his friends and family again. Ride, eat, sleep. Repeat. His socks smelled astonishingly bad. They smelled like some of France’s famous cheeses.

  Tom dreamed of putting down his bike for a while and enjoying his Dad’s tasty cooking. If he ever saw a banana sandwich again he thought he might scream. When Tom had ridden through France at the start of his ride, every day had been new and different and difficult. But by now he was so fit that pedalling a hundred miles was almost effortless.

  And all the other daily tasks of cycling round the world were a comfortable habit now – finding food, water and a safe place to sleep, asking for directions, repairing things when they broke, setting up camp. Tom feasted in his tent in a field near Paris. He ate crumbly croissants and ham and cheese – all with a brilliant view of the Eiffel Tower. French food was delicious, except for the bits that smelled like his feet.

  When you get near to the end of a big, big journey it’s normal to start to feel impatient. It’s like when you go on holiday – the outward trip can be quite exciting. Nothing’s better than winding down the window and letting the wind blow back your hair. You look out eagerly, trying to be the first to see the sea. You are not yet bored of games or of your parents’ music.

  But coming home from a holiday is boring. The fun is over and you just want to get back. You miss things from home that you don’t normally take much notice of. You are tired. You want to be home.

  So imagine how Tom was feeling now! He had been away from home for so long. He had ridden through 60 different countries. He had crossed five continents. He had pedalled 46,000 miles. That was almost far enough to go all the way around the equator, not once but twice! Now Tom just wanted to get back to England. He pedalled faster. The faster he rode, the sooner he would be home.

  Tom boarded the ferry to cross the sea from France back to England. Soon the white cliffs of Dover gleamed in the sunshine.

  “Hurry up! Hurry up!” Tom wanted to shout to the ferry captain. He stood up on the top deck. The wind whipped his hair and the autumn air was cold. But Tom didn’t notice. His heart was beating quickly with excitement. Tom had nearly finished this enormous adventure – the adventure nobody had thought that he could do.

  To his surprise, Tom felt tears welling in his eyes. He was happy, so why was he crying? But as well as being happy, he also felt sad. Tom had met brilliant people on his journey. He had seen amazing things. He had been to wonderful places. And it was nearly over. He was going to miss cycling round the world. Tom had very mixed feelings about the end of his adventure as the ferry arrived in the harbour.

  “Welcome back!” shouted the lady from the ticket office window as Tom zoomed down the ramp into England. She had handed Tom a free ferry ticket all those years ago because his plans had sounded so crazy and she wanted to help a little. “I still think you’re bonkers, but well done!” she said.

  Tom waved, smiled and cycled home.

  Round the World and Home Again

  One of the best reasons for visiting other places is that when you come home you understand where you live a little bit better. All the things that we think are totally normal are actually a tiny bit different in every country in the world. Tom noticed so much more now, seeing his own country again for the first time in so long. The roadsigns look different to everywhere else in the world. The traffic lights beep differently. Shops smell different and sell slightly different things. The trees and fields look different. People think and behave differently.

  Tom had seen so many things on his ride. He understood now how lucky he was in his life at home. His life was easier, safer, happier and more luxurious than most children in the world can ever dream of. He had also learned that the world is a good place. Nearly everyone is more or less a good, decent person. Now that Tom had seen the world for himself he knew that despite the bad, sad, terrible stories he saw on the news, there were so many good people who had looked after him in the villages, towns and cities of 60 different countries.

  Tom had found out a lot about the world. But his ride had shown him even more about himself. He knew now that he was capable of doing more than he had ever imagined. He hadn’t honestly thought that he’d get all the way round the world, but he had begun to do it anyway. Beginning something is a really good trick. It’s the best way to become good at it. If you just wait around hoping to become an expert on something, then you’ll never get good. You’ll never achieve anything difficult. Beginning is the best way forward. It’s far better to try something and fail at it than to be too scared to even begin it in the first place.

  Cycling round the world had made Tom a more confident boy. Nowadays he enjoyed trying new things. He was less worried about the prospect of failing. He was more willing to ask people for help, to try his very hardest, but also to have fun. Having fun might be the most important part of any adventure.

  One morning Tom woke up and thought “this is the last day”. He climbed out of his sleeping bag for the last time. He packed away his tent for the last time. Tonight he was going to sleep in his very own bed. He grinned at the idea. Tom liked – even
loved – his tent, but he was definitely looking forward to a soft bed and a big duvet. He was also looking forward to a steaming hot shower. He might even throw away the pants he had been wearing all the way around the world, and treat himself to a clean pair. Life was great!

  Tom pushed his bike out of the wood he’d camped in and out onto the road. He began pedalling. The last day felt strange. It was the first time in the whole world that Tom had not needed a map to show him the way ahead. He recognised places as he passed them. He knew what he was going to see when he reached the top of a hill. Tom rode fast, remembering how slow he had been when he first began this trip, wobbling on his bike as he set off ever so slowly to try to ride to Africa. If you ride a bike every day you will get very fit and strong. It is a magical feeling.

  We all live on the road to Africa. Look out of the window now. Can you see a road? That road, that very one, is the road to Africa. Those two lanes will take you anywhere – to Africa, to China, or to anywhere you dream of going. All you need to do is to make a plan, and to begin. It may not be right now; it may not even be for a few years. But you can start dreaming of adventures today. And you can start seeking out adventures close to home right away. You don’t have to cycle round the world to have an adventure. Anyone can find somewhere to explore near their home. Maybe you could camp out in the garden, make hot chocolate in the woods, or even just climb a new tree.

  But if you do one day think big and decide to ride down that road, you’ll always be glad that you did. Turn left at the end of the street. Turn right at the next traffic lights. And then just go – this is the road to adventure. And it is up to you to choose if you will take it or not.

  Anyone could cycle round the world. But not many people actually do. Tom made the choice. That is the only difference between him and all the other boys and girls at his school, between people who dream of adventures and people who have adventures. You could cycle round the world too if you choose to, or have a million other types of adventures. Will you?

  It was late afternoon. Almost tea time. The sun was low in the sky as Tom rode the final hill. The last hill in the world. From here on, it was all downhill. Left at the traffic lights. Second right. Just a little further on. And then Tom saw it. His house. Home.

  His Mum, Dad and Lucy stood outside, waiting. At the top of his voice Tom shouted, “I’m home!” and pedalled as fast as he had ever ridden in his life.

  Tom’s family heard him shout. They began cheering and jumping up and down with excitement when they saw him. Tom zoomed up to the front door and skidded to a stop, just as he had always done. He leapt off his bike and into the arms of his family, who gave him the biggest and best hug of his whole life.

  “Welcome home, Tom!” said his Mum.

  “You’re the boy who biked the world. I’m proud of you,” said his Dad.

  “You stink!” said Lucy.

  They all laughed.

  “Come inside. I’ve made your favourite meal,” said his Mum. “You must have missed it while you were away on all your many adventures.”

  “Thanks, Mum,” replied Tom. “I’m really hungry.”

  They walked through the front door and into the kitchen.

  There, on the kitchen table, was a plate.

  And on the plate was a towering pile of banana sandwiches.

  Tom groaned.

  It was good to be home.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to Martha, Dan, Jenny and Tom for all their hard work on the book.

  Spasiba, arigato and xie xie to Katerina, Mitch and Stefen for helping with translations.

  And thank you to you – the readers of this series of books. Your enthusiasm is wholly responsible for making me sit down at a computer for long enough to write the story.

  About Eye Books

  Eye Books is a small independent publishing house. The team who works at Eye Books passionately believes that the more you put into life the more you get out of it.

  Eye Books celebrates ‘living’ rather than existing. We publish stories that show ordinary people can and do achieve extraordinary things.

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  About the Author

  Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer, blogger, author and motivational speaker. He regularly visits schools to talk about his adventures.

  Alastair’s quest for adventure began young. Aged eight, he completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge and at 13 he did the National Three Peaks in 24 hours! At 14 he cycled off-road across England.

  At university, Alastair trained to become a teacher. But adventure took over! Alastair has now cycled round the world, raced a yacht across the Atlantic Ocean, canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River and walked the length of the holy Kaveri river in India. He has run the Marathon des Sables, crossed Iceland by foot and packraft, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, and walked across the Empty Quarter desert.

  More recently Alastair has been encouraging people to seek out adventure close to home. The ‘microadventures’ idea saw Alastair named as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year.

  Alastair is always blogging and tweeting about his adventures, big and small. Visit his website www.alastairhumphreys.com to see what he is up to and follow him on social media.