Tag: Adventure travel

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Valentin Lazar: Cycling Africa and The Middle East Over 20,000 Kilometers

This podcast episode that will take you on a journey across continents, through adversity, and into the heart of human experience. Today we’re diving into an epic adventure that defies imagination.

Picture this: A lone cyclist, pedaling across the globe, starting in the quaint villages of Central Europe and venturing into the rugged Balkans. But that’s just the beginning. Our intrepid traveler pushes eastward, through the ancient lands of Georgia and Armenia, into the mystical realms of Iran, and across the Gulf countries.

But hold onto your handlebars, because the real heart-pounding adventure kicks off in Kenya. Imagine cycling mere meters from the Equator, your body dripping with sweat, as you navigate through a land of stark contrasts – from gut-wrenching poverty to breathtaking beauty, from perilous game reserves teeming with lions to encounters with some of the kindest souls on Earth.

From the wildlands of Africa to the roof of the world – Valentin aims to pedal on the legendary Pamir and Karakoram Highways, before seeking solace in the vibrant chaos of India. And that’s just the halfway point! Southeast Asia, Australia, and the diverse tapestry of Latin America all lie ahead on this incredible odyssey.

You might think this journey is an insurmountable challenge, a feat reserved for superhumans. But here’s the twist – our cyclist found it less daunting than expected. What secrets of human resilience and global kinship has this journey unveiled?

Tune in now to hear firsthand accounts of close encounters with wildlife, heartwarming tales of human connection, and insights that will challenge your perception of our world. This is a masterclass in human endurance, cultural understanding, and the art of embracing the unknown.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the world through the eyes of a global cyclist. Click play now and let the adventure begin. Your perspective on travel, humanity, and your own potential will never be the same.

Contact Valentin and follow his adventure on Instagram and Facebook here: @valentin_vagabond

To support the podcast please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

To find out more about host George Balarezo’s adventures, you can find the book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle at the following link- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

Contact me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com and let me know your thoughts and feelings about the podcast or if you have a story you’d like to share.

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Cycling the World on a Tandem Bicycle- A Conversation With the Proper Paupers

YJ & Gracia are currently on a mission to cycle across the world to get back home to Singapore on a tandem bicycle. Before their adventure, they did van life for a year in the United States driving around 48 states.

In this episode, they talk about their romance, which all started in an abandoned house during COVID lockdowns before getting “caught with their pants down” by the owner while on a date, their social experiment in the most racist town in the United States, as well as the challenges of touring on a tandem bicycle.

Follow them on social media @the proper paupers or at https://www.theproperpaupers.com/

Enjoy the conversation. Be bold. Be intrepid.

To support the podcast please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

To find out more about host George Balarezo’s adventures, you can find the book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle at the following link- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

Contact me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com and let me know your thoughts and feelings about the podcast or if you have a story you’d like to share. 

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Balancing Family Life and Adventure With 10Adventures CEO Richard Campbell

Richard is the founder and CEO of 10Adventures, where he helps people create the experiences that end up as the photos on their walls, the stories that are told at family reunions, and the memories that last a lifetime.  Richard has spent his 20-year career in high-growth start-ups and scale-ups, having worked across three continents, and worked in English, French, and Spanish.  Richard is an alumnus from Harvard Business School and London Business School, where he was a Sloan Fellow.  He lives in Calgary and spends his weekends exploring the Rocky Mountains with his wife and 3 children.

Enjoy the conversation. Be bold. Be intrepid.

To support the podcast please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

To find out more about host George Balarezo’s adventures, you can find the book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle at the following link- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

Contact me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com and let me know your thoughts and feelings about the podcast or if you have a story you’d like to share. 

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Nomadic Sportsman- Juan Pablo Toro- 33 Countries, 18,500 Kilometers on a Bicycle

Juan Pablo Toro is a tennis player and adventurer who was born in Santiago de Chile. He had a normal life. Almost too normal. To defeat boredom, in December 2019 he started traveling around the world, but 4 months later the pandemic started and he had to come back to Chile, disappointed. His expectations were high for the trip, but his adventure was cut short.

In August 2021 he started traveling again, this time with a bicycle and a tent, and low expectations in order to avoid more disappointment. He ended up cycling 18,500 kilometers through 33 countries in Middle East, Africa and Europe, completing 5 different multiday hikes, and even visiting the Arctic Polar Circle.

After suffering through surgery in Armenia, he was nearly killed in a head on collision with a car in Iran two times in a sick prank, only to spend the night in the driver’s home in a perverse twist of fate. After cycling through Asia and the Middle East, he continued cycling in Kenya with the goal of meeting one of his heroes, marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, and pedaled to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

You can read his blog (English and Spanish available) and connect with Juan Pablo here- https://deportistanomade.com/

Enjoy the conversation. Be bold. Be intrepid.

To support the podcast please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

To find out more about host George Balarezo’s adventures, you can find the book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle at the following link- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

Contact me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com and let me know your thoughts and feelings about the podcast or if you have a story you’d like to share. 

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Life Travel And The People In Between With Award-Winning Author and Adventurer Mike Nixon

Mike Nixon is a globetrotter who has spent nearly a decade living and traveling abroad. From experiencing Paraguay in the Peace Corps, being stationed in Japan with the United States Navy, NGOs in Nicaragua, and everything in between, Mike has done any- and everything to transform his life into an adventure. He has visited thirty countries across four continents, and shares some fascinating stories in his award-winning debut memoir “Life Travel And The People In Between.” For Mike, travel has been about living outside of his comfort zone, learning about the world, building relationships with people, and sharing stories that inspire others.

You can find his book "Life Travel And The People In Between" here- https://mikenixonauthor.com/

You can follow his blog here- https://brogotravel.com/ and find him on Instagram at @brogotravel

Enjoy the conversation. Be bold. Be intrepid.

To support the podcast please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Find the book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle at the following link- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

Contact me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com and let me know your thoughts and feelings about the podcast or if you have a story you'd like to share. 

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Argentina to Alaska by Bicycle with “North to Alaska” Author Trevor Lund

In 1999, Trevor Lund set out to fulfil a 10-year dream of cycling the length of the Americas, from southern Argentina to north Alaska. With little planning and no mobile phone and soon finding himself all alone after his companion quit, his journey was far from ordinary.  He enjoyed and endured so much that he felt compelled to write a book on his return home but self-doubt meant the book would take 19 years to complete.

Trevor still cycles and has completed many enjoyable – and not so enjoyable – cycle journeys since.  He is also attempting to write a second book!

You can find his book North to Alaska: The True Story of an Epic 16,000-mile Cycle Journey the Length of the Americas at the following link:  https://www.amazon.com/North-Alaska-000-mile-journey-Americas-ebook/dp/B0833GX9Z9/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1669725751&sr=8-1

Enjoy the conversation. Be bold. Be intrepid.

To support the podcast please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Find the book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle at the following link- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

Contact me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com and let me know your thoughts and feelings about the podcast or if you have a story you’d like to share. 

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Scott Ault- The Ocean Cyclist

The “Unified Rear Trian- gle” donated from a Gary Fisher “Joshua X” mountain bike. In that bikes design, the bottom bracket and rear hub are built in to one unified rear triangle that is sprung against the main frame

M. Scott Ault is a Calgary based artist, author and sporadic adventurer. He grew up in east- central Ontario and knew there was more “out there” than just what had been taught in books and through movies.. adventure and that it was sitting there.. waiting for him. All he had to do was reach out and grab it. Thus, one day he decided to give away nearly all his personal property and, armed with just a backpack and a cardboard sign, he was en route to… nothing short of Life, Immeasurable. In the years since he has meandered by various alternative methods including cycle touring around N. America and worked on his chosen art forms that include 3D soapstone sculpting, photography, and literature. He has, also, had to take on various forms of employment and has always been in “survival” mode. 

If one thing was a “take away” from him.. it would be to slow down and smell the roses. Instead of rushing head long in to a life that is more work than enjoyment he has always sought peace and tranquility. It is his hope that spending 24 months on the oceans of this planet will teach him more about this and reinforce his connection to her and he’d like to share that sense with as many people worldwide as possible.

 “Artist Statement” – M. Scott Ault

i decided, quite without reservation,
to do something wholly different with my life

sometimes the road has been troubled
by disquiet reason
sometimes my path has been waylaid
by visions of envy
and still others with needs aplenty
all washing my vessel off it’s mark
away from it’s compassed, divine.

in this statement mundane
i present a reflection of devotion
a sense unrelenting for sensuality
an emphatic plea for sensitivity
and a predefined need for resolute aspect
unfettered by contemporaneous theories
unrestrained by volumetric tendencies
an essence prevalently unrepresented.

these silver slivers staring you back
somewhat askew..
all inclined towards abstraction
shine on to each new face
an old tremor of the soul
a precursory reflection
of the disguised dream
universal yet universally individual
causing the slowed heart
to beat once again
bringing a new light
to an old day.

*end of statement*

You can follow Scott at- https://oceancyclist.com/

If you have a story to share or would like to connect, write me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com

To support the podcast, subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app. 

You can purchase my book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle about my adventure in 2019 across Africa’s most mountainous country here- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

The Boat with the Keels in place.. and a donor bike from my neighbour. Main part(s) of interest.. drive train and disc based rear hub.
The Self with The Boat.. she has had part of her deck re- moved and I’ve cut in to the hull to add “windsrufing skegs” as fixed keels to help going straight.
The Second Boat! This boat see her seat- backs re- moved and her cap (visible in back) rebuilt for strength and water tight qualities and she will be mod’d to be my trailer.. hauling larger gear and extra food.
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Walking Across Malaysia on a Sprained Ankle For Mother Earth

Adventurer and YouTuber Roman Onillon joins us for another conversation. This time we discuss his walking trip across Malaysia- a 500 kilometer journey with his wife during the steamy summer months. They were on a mission to clean up his adopted country and spent several hours per day clearing trash during the trip.

Roman sprained his ankle during the second day of his trip, but continued to limp on, ignoring doctors’ advice to cancel his plans. Learn how Roman and his wife became overnight celebrities in Malaysia via TikTok and be sure to go out there and clean up your neighborhood. It is sure to come back to you in the end just like it did to this couple.

You can follow Roman at the links below-

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DiscoverEvolution

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverevolution

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discover_evolution/

If you find value in the content please subscribe and leave a comment on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Be bold. And get out there!

If you have a story to share or would like to connect, write me at george@intrepidglobalcitizen.com

You can purchase my book Unhinged in Ethiopia: Two Thousand Kilometers of Hell and Heaven on a Bicycle about my adventure in 2019 cycling across Africa’s most mountainous country here- https://intrepidglobalcitizen.com/

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Bristol to Beijing By Bicycle With Josh Day (Part 2)

I’d like to introduce you to my good friend Josh Day via a podcast conversation. Josh and I met while I was riding my bike in the Altai Mountains in Russia along a roadway that leads to the Mongolian border. We ended up hitting it off and cycled together for over one week as Josh taught me Russian, (originally from England, he learned the language by studying in his tent at night, taking classes in Kazakhstan, and listening to language learning audio while pedaling in Central Asia and Russia), provided insight into the world’s largest country through his language skills, and cooked me Russian buckwheat every evening for dinner.

Josh and I split up in Mongolia that August, as I had to go back to work in Korea, but he continued cycling through Mongolia and into Siberia during winter (while sleeping outside every evening) before taking a boat from Vladivostok (a city in the southeast part of Russia) to South Korea. After cycling for a few days in the Gangwon province of Korea, he and his bicycle appeared outside of my apartment building in Seoul in December, where he rested and refueled with kimchi stew from my neighborhood restaurant and ramen noodles from the local convenience store.
Josh has many stories to tell and our conversation lasted nearly four hours. In order to break things up a bit, our talk was split into two episodes- this is part two.
Great Wall of China
In Pyeongyang, North Korea
On a Mongolian "Highway"
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Bristol to Beijing With Josh Day- 2 Years and 25,000 Kilometers on a Bicycle-Part 1

In 2017, Josh left his front door in England on a journey of a lifetime to cycle the length of Eurasia and travel from Bristol to Beijing. 2 years and 25,000km later he arrived, having crossed the Kyzl-Kum desert, the Mongolian Steppe and the frozen wastes of Siberia. During his trip he dodged gun-toting border guards, fished out scorpions from his tent and endured nights of -27 degrees Celsius (-17 Fahrenheit), but came out the other side with a new appreciation of humankind’s generosity and a hatful of stories for the pub.

He now lives in the north of England, getting out into the hills to cycle, run and camp as often as he can, while taking a few months off a year to get out there on longer adventures. 

Josh writes at cyclingfordays.bike and is on social media @cyclingfordays.

You can support the podcast by subscribing and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app. 

Email me at intrepidglobalcitizen@gmail.com if you have an inspirational adventure story you’d like to record or reach out to share your thoughts and feelings about any of the episodes. 

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England to India by Bicycle in 1978- William Sp

In 1978, William Spencer, author of the book “Far Sweeter Than Honey, Searching For Meaning on a Bicycle” cycled from England to India. Along the way, he was thrown from his bicycle while trying to avoid negligent drivers, chewed shirt buttons for water in Afghanistan, and was infected with hepatitis in Pakistan. 

Despite all his setbacks he still managed to fast and write letters to friends and family every Sunday while maintaining a vegetarian diet. 

Strap on your headphones tightly and listen as William shares the wisdom only a seasoned adventurer with several decades of meditation experience can accrue. 

Find William’s book, “Far Sweeter Than Honey, Searching For Meaning on a Bicycle” at the links below.

Available as an eBook, paperback or audiobook. Find it on Amazon, iTunes, Google, and at any independent bookseller globally.

 Amazon: https://amzn.to/3377f0v

Google Play: http://bit.ly/CF_FarSweeterThanHoney



Blurb from the book-

“This is the true story of a young man’s epic 8,000 mile bicycle journey from England to India. He encounters all manner of adventure and arrives finally in mystical India, with an understanding of what it means to be free.”

Follow William at the links below.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/870373953763578

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/england_to_india_by_bicycle/

You can support the podcast by subscribing and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app. 

Email me at intrepidglobalcitizen@gmail.com if you have an inspirational adventure story you’d like to record or reach out to share your thoughts and feelings about any of the episodes.