DAY 114 | 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 7th, 2013. Leaving Volgograd, I talked to
Katie this morning and felt goodto connect with her.
I merged forward knowing she's waiting for me at the end.
It had also since how tenuous that truth is.
She and I have never talked about our future together since
we started dating. The most far reaching plan I've

(00:20):
made for my life took me to the beginning of this journey.
Now that I've started, I don't think about anything farther off
than the next place to find food.
I'm not sure what I want after this journey.
I don't know what Katie wants either.
Leaving the hotel this morning has again struck by the drab and
depressing city architecture. The roads were deteriorating and

(00:43):
the traffic was heavy. Dirt footpaths had formed where
I expected sidewalks to be. To get out of the city I had to
cross the Volga River along the lip of a hydraulic dam.
There was a pedestrian walkway separate from the road that was
too narrow to fit my bike so I was forced to cross with the
cars riding on the white line pinch between the traffic and

(01:04):
the guardrail. Normally I can steer off the
road if a truck forcing me to, but on the bridge I lost that
option. I could only go forward.
The river was 1 1/2 miles wide and my adrenaline got me across
in record time on the far side. I turned off the highway and
breathed a sigh of relief. For the rest of the day I

(01:26):
crossed the vast plain of farmland and dry grasses.
In 40 miles there were only three slight turns and not even
a speed bump to climb over. I was bicycling N with the sun
on my back and as the hours passed, I was entertained
watching my shadow slowly sweep around me.
I am a sundial and today I became patient enough to notice

(01:49):
when the time showed. 7 PMI pulled into a thin stretch of
forest between farm fields. I set up my hammock, made
noodles with a can of black beans, and retreated to my
hammock to eat, lying down, protected from the flies.
As I lie here, I've been watching the stars appear in the
darkening sky.