DAY 102 | Ukraine| How To Move The Stars | A bicycle ride around the world

How To Move The Stars is the day by day retelling of a bicycle ride around the world. Start from the beginning to get the whole story. 

My adventure was a modern day epic, a solo, self-supported bicycle ride spanning 38,000 miles across six continents. There were moments I barely survived, and times I cried tears of joy, but mostly, this is a story about the thousands of people I met along the way.  I moved through their cultures, and dramatic landscapes. I ate their food and slept on their land. I was constantly arriving to the open arms of strangers who were excited to help me achieve a feat that few could imagine. I did this for years, immersing myself in the world and meeting the people who live here. The story I returned with is a snapshot of humanity, captured in a lived experience. Thank you for joining me on my journey.

Purchase Jacob's art inspired by his bicycle tour, including the world's most beautiful Ant Farm. ⁠⁠www.AntLife.space⁠⁠

Join Jacob on a bicycle tour! He leads week-long bicycle tours in Colorado during the summer. Sign up here,⁠ ⁠www.MountainHighBicycleTours.com⁠⁠.

Contact me at ⁠[e-mail]⁠

Support me on Buy Me A Coffee ⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/HowToMoveTheStars⁠

#bicycletouring #travelblogger #bikepacking #adventure #narrated #series #bicycle #bicycleculture 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
May 26th, 2013 Back on my own. My parents left this morning and
I got going too. I was feeling refreshed and
excited to start pedaling. My gear was feeling refreshed
too. My bike was running smoothly
with the new bottom bracket. My parents had brought me a new
headlamp to replace the one I lost, and I added another wrap

(00:21):
of clear tape around my guitar tube.
My mom also loaded me with 35 lbs of canned raviolis and
cheese from the United States. I keep my food in my right pan
here, and I could feel my bike listing as I started down the
road. Up to this point my journey,
I've avoided carrying extra weight by only purchasing enough
food to get me to the next placeto buy more, usually one or two

(00:45):
days worth. I didn't fully realize that what
this was doing was forcing a sense of scarcity on myself.
That habit broke today. The glut of meals for my mom
gave me a wonderful sense of abundance.
My situation felt less dire, as if I had stepped back from an
edge. I won't have to skip a meal if a
windy day slows me down. I can take an unplanned day off

(01:08):
or have extra food to share if that scenario comes up.
From now on, I'm going to try toalways carry a little extra
food. Being off of my bike for several
days also gave me some time to recover.
My nerves have calmed. My legs are rested, nagging pain
to my wrist, knee and neck all feel better.

(01:28):
These first few months have proven to be a breaking in
period. Small repetitive use, injuries
or healing as I strengthen to the task at hand.
But the process of sculpting my body is a slow, persistent task.
Tomorrow marks 100 days on the road and I still arrive each
evening on weary legs. I didn't realize bicycling

(01:49):
around the world would be so tiring.
I've set up my camp between farmfields tonight.
After a week of sleeping in hotels, I'm happy to be back in
my hammock. A pleasant breeze is sweeping
across the land. The stars are shining.
I feel good to be on the move again.