DAY 111 | Russia | 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.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
June 4th, 2013 Black flies A couple of days ago I met a man
on a motorcycle tour heading theopposite direction with a sort
of 1000 yard stare. He talked about black flies and
madding numbers. At the time I wasn't able to
imagine why he was so bothered, but after today I understand.

(00:22):
The first flies appeared in the afternoon.
I noticed a dispersed cloud of them buzzing in my wake.
I figured if I could stay ahead of them, they would leave me
alone. How far could a little bug
really fly before becoming exhausted?
I sprinted away for 10 minutes only to find more flies had
joined the chase. For the rest of the day I tried

(00:43):
to outrun them, but that proved to be a hopeless effort.
Mile after mile, there were always more.
By this evening, the flies had persisted longer than I could,
and the swarm thickened. When I stopped for the night,
the flies homed in on my ears and nostrils, inhaled 2.
As soon as I stopped, I put bug mesh over my head, but they

(01:04):
continued to find ways in through the gaps around my neck.
Once inside, they were killed bychemicals in the fabric and
their bodies powered up under mychin.
Before getting in my hammock, I moved some distance away, let
the flies congregate around me, then sprinted back as quickly as
I could. I unzipped the bug mesh, jumped
inside, and closed myself. In just that brief moment.

(01:28):
Two dozen flies follow me insideand to their deaths.
I still hear the horde outside tapping against my hammock
trying to get in.