I haven’t seen the book myself yet, but apparently I am on page 235 of the 2010 Ripley’s Believe it or Not Annual.

http://ripleybooks.com/annuals/2010/extras/235

I must find myself a copy…

Well guess who came to town the other week.

Markus Wagner from Cycling Without Borders fame. It was great to catch up with a fellow cyclist and swap stories from both of our long journeys on our own by bicycle. Markus cycled from his home near the Black Forest in Germany to Shanghai, China. Epic.

He was in Auckland as a guest lecturer at Auckland University and a university in Wellington.

Long distance human powered adventurer Rob Lilwall’s first book about his 30,000mile cycle journey is an absolute thriller. Each turn of the page left me shaking my head in disbelief at the fortunes and misfortunes of this rather unlikely epic adventurer. Some people just slide into the part of the ‘epic adventurer’ as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Not so for this English geography teacher. This is a story about a true learning adventure, with twists at every turn.

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Have you ever been reading a book so compelling, fast-moving, and exciting, that you notice, after reaching the end of a particularly riveting chapter, that you’ve actually been holding your breath for almost the entire chapter?

That was my experience as I got to the end of chapter 63 of Rob Lilwall’s excellent book Cycling Home From Siberia. Chapters 61 to 65 see Rob recounting his frantic and risky 600 mile cycle through northern Afghanistan in late 2007. I finished the last chapter of that section and I found myself gasping for breath; they are an extremely tense few chapters.

I read the whole book in about a week of small sittings, absolutely loving the short chapters. And by short, I really do mean short. A long chapter might be five pages long. “Just one more chapter before turning out the light,” I would tell myself, and that one chapter would easily end up being another five or so. This helped to keep the sense of momentumn up and really gave me the sense of pedalling along with Lilwall on his epic 30,000 mile adventure by bicycle from Siberia to Australia to England. The short chapters, I think, would really appeal to people, like me, who read a lot of blogs, and enjoy getting good concetrated juicy shots of action rather than long, slow moving, drawn-out passages of text.

I bought the hot-off-the-press book (published only a month or so ago) because I had heard from Alistair Humphries that he had a “friend who travelled by bike for 3 years, and has also studied theology.” That friend was Rob Lilwall, and I was keen to read some insights from another hardcore human-powered traveller who may have also wrestled with the implications of his Christian faith. I also wanted to see how on earth someone would compact three years of travelling into one single 300 page book. Perhaps I could learn something, and even be inspired to put a book together myself?

After finishing the book yesterday, I am still amazed at how Lilwall has crammed so much of his experiences - in such colour and vibrancy - into the book. His use of short sentences makes it an extremely easy read, but he manages not to skimp on depth of meaning. You can tell, however, that buried beneath the characters and stories he does choose to tell, there are scores of details still yearning to be uncovered. I’m sure if Lilwall had attempted to unearth all of those juicy out-takes, the book would have been much longer than 300 pages. As it is, Lilwall has left much up to the imagination of the reader, but what a rich picture-in-the-mind his writing does facilitate!

I appreciated his spatterings of spiritual reflection throughout the book too. The depiction of his faith-journey was honest and frank; it was great to hear how he engaged honestly with other world religions (Lilwall is a keen Christian who has spent time studying theology). The open road is no place for the closed-minded, and Lilwall articulated well his interesting encounters with other travellers and locals.

I ordered the book as well as a DVD of the journey directly from his website here:

http://www.cyclinghomefromsiberia.com/wordpress/?page_id=367

The DVD is due to be released at the end of the year, so I am waiting with bated breath for that to arrive; should be a great watch.

So do another hard-working adventurer a favour and buy a copy of his book. I highly recommend it.

(click image for a closer look)

It is unsurprising that a journey such as the 14degrees Journey clarified what and who I want in life. Clarification of what is worth striving for, and clarification of who life is worth spending with. On both counts, this one year since the end of my skateboarding journey has been rather fruitful and worthwhile.

I am very pleased to announce (with a smile on my dial), that I am now engaged to the woman who is still, even after a full 7 years since we first met, the most engaging and beautiful woman I have ever met.

A challenger.

A clarifier.

A comforter.

Haidee is her name. More and more becoming the love of my life every day.

Stoked.

The wedding is set for the 5th of February 2010.

I was drinking some Jasmine tea at a cheap little Asian* restaurant the other day and it reminded me of western China. I felt the aromas of that aromatic tea and closed my eyes. I was taken back to Turpan. Xinjiang Province. Back to the heat. The unforced rhythms of life in a place where the heat dictates pace and schedule.

I recalled the precious cool hours of the morning. Rolling out of a sleepy town at dawn in the haze. Quiet. Free. Smooth.

I had my eyes closed for only a moment, but what seemed like a lifetime of images flashed before my eyes.

From the cool dawn I snapped over to an empty beef noodle shop. I am the only one there. A cool spring water fed air conditioning unit blows tepid air in my direction as I slurp up the salty broth. At once enjoying the saltiness, at once despising the hot liquid doing nothing for my already over-heated body.

I sip on the Jasmine tea.

In Hamilton.

I close my eyes once more.

In Turpan.

Near Shanghai. A great pile of noodles sits before me. Must eat. Can’t eat. Body too tired. To hang with the pain, I consume what my body craves. What my stomach will reject. What my mind despises.

I sip on the Jasmine tea. It soothes my stomach.

Near Shanghai.

In Hamilton.

I write this in a Starbucks café in Auckland, New Zealand. Beside me sits an empty Tall Tzuo Chai Latte. A paper cup with a plastic lid with my name scrawled on it.

Tastes nice. Sugar overload. Worlds away from Shanghai. From Turpan.

Peppermint walls, wooden trim, textured wallpaper, tiled floor. Round tables, stained chairs.

Paralyzing normality. Comforting conformity.

Everything is a commodity here. Even uniqueness is a commodity. It is normal to be unique. Give me necessity. Allow me the essentials. Nothing else. In my affluence I can afford the choice.

Given the choice, they would choose this. Anything to get out of that.

This is not how it has to be. Can we strike a balance between this and that? Can we have affluence and a down-to-earth necessity? Or must we always want more. Or must we know our place, never strive.

Contentment is a slippery creature to grasp.

Happy despite the circumstances: an elusive state of mind.

Thank you, Creator, for what I have.

Thank you, Creator, for where I am.

Give me perseverance.

Give me peace.

Grant us sight.

Let it be.

* By Asian I really do mean generic Southeast Asian restaurant. A mishmash of Thai, Indian, Eastern Chinese, Vietnamese. Locations were unimportant for this Asian restaurant. To the New Zealander it was just ‘Asian’, and that is fine.

Despite receiving this certificate over a month ago, this post has been long overdue. Simply because doing justice to a post like this is hard work. It starts and ends with thanks:

Skatefurther.com
Community is the most essential factor in any successful endeavour. Without the Skatefurther.com community, I wouldn’t have made it across China and to my goal at Shanghai. Period.

Boardfree.co.uk
Dave Cornthwaite built upon Jack Smith’s success and launched a worldwide phenomenon; long distance travel by skateboard. Thank you for the inspiration, Dave.

Pavedwave.com
To know that there were still yet many others pushing themselves to their limits on boards, or bucking the trend and choosing human power over oil-power to get themselves from A to B on a daily basis was a huge motivating factor. Thank you.

14degrees.org Blog Readers
An especially big thank you to all those readers who made the effort and choice to type encouraging messages and comments during the journey. Some were faithful readers right from the start in 2006, some latched on towards the end. Whenever you did get on line with the trip, you were a huge boost to morale. This blog was for you.

All those who invited me in to stay
Many of those who invited me in to stay will never see this blog post. But to those with access to internet, thank you. Your trust is a beautiful testament to the goodness in this world.

All those who assisted financially
You know who you are. Thank you.

I saw a news story on New Zealand national news the other week about an incident involving a British comedian interviewing a supposed ‘terrorist’ for a new film called Bruno. The gist was that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (of Ali G fame), playing the part of Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion presenter, was interviewing a supposed leader of a supposedly active terrorist group, al-Aqsa. The ‘leader’ of al-Aqsa however is a local business man, and the ‘active’ terorist group named al-Aqsa was disbanded years ago; the local man, Palestinian man Ayman Abu Aita, has never had anything to do with the now defunct terrorist group.

You can see the TV3 News story here: Controversial Cohen Targeted by Terrorist Group

Apart from the fact that Sacha Baron Cohen has manipulated the trust of Abu Aita, I am dismayed at how Channel 3 News in New Zealand could be so incredibly lax in their fact-finding. Their report about the interview stated that Cohen has now beefed up his personal security because the terrorist group has been sending threats to him. Where does 3 News get this information from? How can a defunct terrorist group send threats? As you can see in the following video clip, the interview footage has been purposefully edited to create a different story to what actually happened.

Sky News Story (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZheYqoKtt60)

Of course, I should not rule out that this could just be all an elaborate haox, and perhaps Sky News are the ones being taken for a ride. Perhaps Ayman Abu Aita is in cohoots with Cohen and him sueing Cohen is just all part of the deal…

Which is why, we should all take news stories with a grain of salt.

I had dream last night
In it was the woman I love
For months we had been forced apart
For months I had longed to be with her

At last we reunited
At last she was there before me
At last we were together

But in my dream she would not let me near
In my dream as I approached she withdrew
“I am no longer beautiful” she cried

All I wanted was to be with her
All I wanted was to hold her
Not because I pitied her for her scarred face
Not because I wanted to comfort her pain of disfigurement

But because I wanted to celebrate
I wanted to celebrate the coming together again of two persons
Two lives, two beautifully crafted souls
And bodies and features that the Creator uses for his glory

However old and whatever shape and however marred by dysfunction
Shining his glory

How wonderful it would be
To not be bound by the fickleness of sight
To not be bound to judge by looks the worth of God’s creation
To not be bound to love and be loved, based on a time-limited outer

In my dream I remembered the words of a blind artist woman
Met on a long journey:

“The biggest handicap humanity has to endure, is the ability to see. I count myself lucky,” she said, “and I wish that people could see what I see. I wish that people could see that they are bound by the curse of sight; they are burdened by a confidence in the beauty that this world defines; a beauty that fades. If only they could see what I see. If only they could see the beauty that I see.”

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As I wrote this poem, I was reminded of a thought I had recently. Isn’t it amazing how as a society we have come to place value on a certain body shape? We have been conditioned from the time we can capture images in our minds, and throughout our lives. We have been told that that is a beautiful body and it is to be adored. We have been told that that is not a beautiful body and is to be avoided.

The reality is that this tendency to assign value to a certain body shape is entirely subjective and is based on man-made values. Yes, that body is beautiful, but so is that body, and that body…we so often believe what we are told, without taking the time to appreciate the truth that beauty comes in all forms.

Just look at some ancient paintings of naked ladies and you’ll see that not only were people’s values back then very specific when it came to beauty, but their specificity was directed to a much different body shape than specificity is directed towards today.

My blind friend in Switzerland said that she does not consider her lack of sight as being a handicap, but rather a blessing. She said that people who can see spend so much time judging by what society tells them they should judge by, that they miss out on what is really important.

Something to think about and make changes in my thinking for, I think.

And just as an aside, my blind friend in Switzerland had the plant below growing in her garden. “My friend came around one day and asked if he could plant something in my garden,” she said. “I said yes go ahead, but what is it? He said it was weed. I didn’t have a problem with it, because if the police came around and asked me about it, I could just say I didn’t know it was growing there!”

Just seeing what interest there is out there for a touring recumbent…

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=225982835

I seem to have come full circle; I now find myself back in Japan…

My wonderful host parents from 13 years ago (AFS exchange when I was 16 years old), with whom I have remained in contact with over the years, suggested at the beginning of this year that I come and visit. Not one to turn down a good offer, I now find myself in Tokyo. I’ve been here for a week so far, and I’ll be here for another three weeks, and head back to New Zealand on the 13th of July.

It’s a very laid back trip, with nothing much on at all, apart from exploring the surrounding area and getting used to speaking Japanese again after the three year hiatus.

Very exciting news is that I have passed the preliminary screening for the Monbukagakusho Research Student scholarship to study Masters in Japan in 2010 and 2011. I applied thinking that it would be great to study the link between new media (blogging, social network sites etc) and gloablisation/glocalisation in Japan, and so far so good. If I do manage now to convince a Japanese university to take me on, then I’ll be back in Japan for the next two years at least in April 2010.

It is really great to be back in Japan. I didn’t think that I would ever say that (I left in July 2006 fairly certain I would never return), but it really is. It is great to be operating in a foreign language again, and I’m enjoying the daily, or should I say hourly, challenges of living in a second culture. My camera is enjoying it too; it is liking to capture little snapshots of life and times in this big bustling city of Tokyo.