The Long Way Home
The first country they hit was Japan. Between its courteous drivers and numerous bikeways, Japan proved to be ideal starting point.
“We had free flyer tickets, so we wanted to use them to get as far away as possible and start there and ride home. It was a long way to go, lots of zigs and zags,” Jamie says with a laugh.
They spent longer than they planned touring Japan, and that set the pace for the rest of trip; sharing experiences with locals and fellow travelers was more important than packing on the miles.
Soon they had pedaled across much of Asia, biking incredible summits in China, Tibet, Korea and Nepal—now one of Jamie’s favorite places. Tackling all of Asia and Oceania, the first stage of their epic route, would take more than a year. Before they finished Garryck would leave the tour as a result of a devastating mountain biking crash in Malaysia.
Without his best friend at his side, Jamie had a lot of time think and let his experiences on the road sink in. Sitting on a plane headed back to the U.S., he came to see that the moments he’d been able to help others were his most fulfilling experiences.
“As we went through Asia, everywhere we went people took care of us,” he tells. “If we got lost, if we needed food. Little by little that compassion and generosity and being cared for by our human family, regardless of their language, regardless of everything—it impacted me a lot and I began to feel part of a global community.”
Out of this realization, the philosophy of both Peace Pedalers and Jamie’s way of life were established: Live big, give big.
This moment would lead Jamie to work on more than a dozen philanthropic projects throughout his travels, many in impoverished parts of Africa. One such project, an alliance with the Bicycle Empowerment Network, brought 100 bikes to students in a South African township. Jamie was living big too, going on to spend the next several weeks surfing, mountain biking and taking life at an easy pace along the South African coast.
For each country visited they would write a journal (available at PeacePedalers.com). “We just wanted to go and do it and document it, originally for ourselves,” he tells. Eventually film emerged as invaluable medium. He bought a camera that could shoot higher-quality footage and audio equipment; and eventually secured a sponsorship from Panasonic, who provided HD equipment. At its peak weight, Jamie’s bike and equipment tipped the scales at nearly 300 lbs.
By the end of the tour, including Africa, Europe, South and Latin America, Jamie had amassed nearly 1000 hours of footage. With cameras mounted to the front and read of his bike, and shots set up on the roadside, Jamie’s footage lets us take a ride with him, through miles of unspoiled terrain and as he perseveres through pneumonia, robbery, and bad weather. But what really stands out are guest riders crossing political boundaries in Ireland and Bosnia; orphans riding three at a time upon front and rear racks; language lessons conducted on steep grades; and watching Jamie commune with total strangers, at times with no more common understanding than his bike and a smile.