My mother is now home and recovering well. A few months ago, in an interview published here, a friend asked me about my worst day on the road. At the time, I had been blessed with relative safety, and my hardships had been limited to sweltering days on the Kazakh steppe and roadside gastrointestinal catastrophes. This past week … Continue reading UPDATE: The Worst Day
Just wanted to update you on plans for the next few months, but first of all: And–drum roll–I’ve finally worked out my route through Europe! I plan on attending the UN Climate Conference in Morocco this November–that’s the sequel to last year’s COP21 in Paris–but it’s too far to bicycle there in time, and I wanted to … Continue reading What’s Next: Athens to Copenhagen
Kapadokya/Cappadocia, Turkey to Λέσβος/Lesbos, Greece– 1,062 km this section (Total Mileage: 11,914 km/40,075 km) I’ve made it through Turkey to Lesbos, a Greek island just off the coast of Turkey. I came here hoping to speak with some of the migrants who have made it to refugee camps located on the island. Many of these people come fleeing conditions and … Continue reading Out of Asia: 15 Photos From the Road
Oltu, Turkey to Göreme/Cappadocia, Turkey– 836 km this section (Total Mileage: 10,852 km/40,075 km) My route cycling west across Turkey. I entered Turkey ten days after July’s failed coup attempt. Earlier this year, when I first announced plans to pass through Turkey, I received messages from relatives and followers concerned about the risk of terror attacks and kidnapping. At … Continue reading The Long Summer Ahead: 17 Photos from the Road
During an idle moment at a laboratory bench three years ago, Forrest first mentioned to me the idea of traveling to Asia and riding his bike home – to Oregon. The mindfulness of his subsequent work was exactly what I had come to expect of my friend and lab partner. A year into following his writing and photography, I was eager to turn the lens on Forrest. How does the narrator of 10,000 km of climate change stories describe what he is doing, and how is he holding up? Continue reading On Tour: 12 Questions for Forrest Watkins, 360 By Bike Founder
From an email I sent out to followers a few days ago, a short retrospective of the past 5 months on the road: Just over a year ago, I took the first pedal strokes of a journey that will eventually cover six continents. I set out to understand what climate change means to people around … Continue reading Milestones.
Baku, Azerbaijan/Bakı, Azərbaycan to Tbilisi, Georgia/თბილისი, საქართველო – 635 km this section (Total Mileage: 9,426 km/40,075 km) Tracing the name Azerbaijan back through history, one arrives at the Old Iranian word Āturpātākān, meaning The Land of Fire. In these lands, oil and gas deposits were known to turn earth to flame. Hindu and Zoroastrian worshipers used oil in sacred rites and channeled gas … Continue reading Azerbaijan, The Land of Fire: 19 Photos From the Road
Shymkent/Шымкент, Kazakhstan to the Aral Sea/Арал Теңізі, Kazakhstan–635 km this section (Total Mileage: 8791 km/40,075 km) I’ve ridden over mountains, through a summer in southern China and an early-spring blizzard, but it was the Central Asian Steppe that got me. I cycled for days to get as far as I did. Most of them temperatures … Continue reading The Endless Steppe and the Aral Sea (Also, Giant Spiders): 14 Photos from the Road
Header image: Rapeseed blossoms are the surest sign that spring has come to China. 1273 km this section (Total Mileage: 6385 km/40,075 km) Two great rivers flow from the glaciers of the Tibetan plateau to the sea east of China. They travel down between foothills and across great plains, bringing power, food and consumer goods to millions. … Continue reading Yangtze/长江 to Yellow/黄河: 15 Photos from the Road
(For those of you just joining us, my name is Forrest Watkins and I’m cycling the world to collect stories of humans and climate change. I’m interested in climate change’s impacts on people, but also in the work of those searching for solutions. In the summer and fall of 2015, I biked 4,535 km across … Continue reading On the Road Again: China to Istanbul
360 by bike 