Exploring World Cultures by Bike

Tahverlee [00:00:03]:
Welcome to the Bike Life podcast by Warmshowers Foundation, where we will be sharing knowledge, experience, tools, and stories of touring cyclists and hosts from around the world. I'm Tahverlee, the woman behind the scenes at Warmshowers Foundation, the leading platform for cyclists looking for hosts and to connect with a passionate international community. Find out more by visiting us at warmshowers.org. Now, onto the show.

Jerry Kopack [00:00:40]:
Hey, everyone. This is Jerry Kopack, the host of Bike Life, coming to you from the snowy mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. We took a little break over the holidays, but it feels terrific to be back talking about bike touring again. And even though there's snow throughout the Rocky Mountains where I'm at, there's no snow where today's guest is. Ben Clark is currently making his way through Southeast Asia as part of a 35,000 kilometer bike tour. Let that sink in for a minute. He's gonna share some stories from the first part of his tour and tell us where he's off to next. Hey, Ben.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:09]:
Welcome to Bike Life.

Ben Clark [00:01:11]:
Hi. Thanks for having me.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:13]:
So first off, where are you at currently?

Ben Clark [00:01:17]:
So I'm about 50 kilometers Southeast of Bangkok right now. Making my way into Cambodia in the next couple of days and then around Southeast Asia Loop.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:27]:
Nice. That's Bangkok. So no snow confirming that. Right?

Ben Clark [00:01:32]:
That's right. It's about 35 to 40 degrees Celsius at the moment, which is very, very toasty.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:37]:
So for those of us not on that, universal metric system, that's probably around a 10, hundred and 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ben Clark [00:01:43]:
Guess so. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:45]:
So I was actually in Thailand A Number Of Years ago, and I was there through some very other hot times. And I remember getting up on my bike at 6AM and riding until ten. By that time it was 10AM, it was that 35, 40 degrees, and it was all I could take. I've actually remember one time, I leaned my bike against a, a storefront to go in and cool off in the air conditioning, and I came back thirty minutes later, and the grips on my handlebars had actually melted. What's, you have any stories from, from the heat of Thailand?

Ben Clark [00:02:17]:
Yeah. I mean, literally just two days ago, I was, I was riding, with my T shirt on. I thought I might I might take my T shirt off. And, so I've got my bed tights around my shoulders and my heart rate monitor on. And I was thinking I can just ride like this. That'd be fine. And then get back to the hotel in the evening, literally, like, last night and see that I've got, like, you know, some ten burns, sunburn all over my back just like but it actually looks like the Assos logo, which is really interesting because they are they are Assos, they have shorts anyway, but it's it's kind of made like an Assos short, Assos logo imprint on my back, through the sunburn, which isn't ideal. So I'm gonna wear this shirt today, just to get sort of give my back a little bit of a rest.

Ben Clark [00:03:05]:
Did you And, use some moisturizer.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:07]:
Did you pick up that shirt on the road, or did you bring that with you from home?

Ben Clark [00:03:10]:
I did. I got it in Bangkok. I just thought it's, the roads here are are actually really safe in comparison to the places I've been, but I thought I'm just gonna get this because it's sleigh biz. But it's also cultural as well, so I'm just gonna go with it.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:26]:
I like that. I'm curious. How long have you been on the road?

Ben Clark [00:03:30]:
Yeah. So I've been on the road for about three hundred and seventy three or four days now. So over a year. January twenty eighth was the day I left Wales, my hometown, and then cycled to here, basically. So it's been a long time. I'm gonna try and do another year and a half, I think. So it's a good two and a half years, maybe three, depending on how I feel in that in that time. But, yeah, it's a long time.

Ben Clark [00:03:57]:
It's become more than just a trip now. It's become a lifestyle, which which is great.

Jerry Kopack [00:04:04]:
Yeah. I, I took a trip not quite that long, but there is a point where it becomes less of a trip and more of, like, this is just life. Right? Yeah. And and so how long do you think it took for you to sort of settle into that mentality?

Ben Clark [00:04:18]:
Well, I've been traveling for the past ten years anyway. Oh. More on than off. I've been remote working as well as a digital nomad for the past six, seven years. K. So I it was quite easy for me. I would I think but I think for other people, it would be quite a challenge and getting over that sort of first homesickness stage. Yeah.

Ben Clark [00:04:38]:
But yeah. I mean, it's it's been a it's been a really good and and I guess also challenging as well because, obviously, you're doing different regions, different cultures. I mean, a lot of Europe is so different by country. And then when you start to do Turkey, you feel a little bit more comfortable because it's it's one culture for effectively two months if you're taking your time going across it like I I was. And and then, obviously, you meet people along the way as well so that that helps with homesickness and stuff.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:06]:
Have you, did you spend a lot of time planning this trip, or you just been kinda winging it?

Ben Clark [00:05:12]:
I guess I'd sort of yeah. It's so it depends how far I I wanna go back and talk about it, really. But, there's I have my influences and my motivations from when from when I was a child, which I can talk about, but effectively, I quit my job in October 2023 and decided I'm gonna cycle around the world. I wasn't sure if I was gonna do it on a motorcycle or on a bicycle, but I eventually decided

Jerry Kopack [00:05:38]:
to do

Ben Clark [00:05:38]:
it on a bicycle. And then I basically went to Morocco for a month and just sort of planned everything, bought everything online on eBay and Amazon and stuff and all the the, you know, various retail sites, And it all just came and landed at my mom's front door, for me to get back from Morocco, and then event eventually just got on the bike. Started about a month earlier than I initially planned, because it's just when you feel you've gotta go, when you feel you're ready, you you you go. And and, yeah, not not looked back since yet. Been very happy with a lot of the products I have. And, that planning preparation stage is obviously so important, but I think I've come to the realization now that I'm not gonna plan things. I'm just gonna go with the flow.

Jerry Kopack [00:06:22]:
It's a pretty amazing place to be that you get have that flexibility to sort of go where you want to and go where you wanna then not where to go to. Curious. When you were planning or not planning this, were there any countries that you were excited to go experience?

Ben Clark [00:06:39]:
Yeah. Well, the the country that I end in is gonna be The US, and I'm so looking forward to seeing that. There's a there's another Instagramer or or another biter, I should say, that I follow called Tristan Reed, who has just come across The US right now through the Utah Desert, and he's now into Mexico. Some of his pictures just look incredible. So I've really sort of looked forward to that and sort of doing the hike and bike trails and the Warmshowers and stuff in The US. I think it's gonna be really, really cool. So I'm looking forward to that probably the most out of any other country. I might feel differently about it when I get there, but right now, I'm very excited.

Ben Clark [00:07:17]:
But, yeah, I mean, there's some really good countries that I was really looking forward to going through, like North Of Spain, the Basque Country. Amazing for food, mountains, scenery. I was really looking forward to go through that, and it was amazing. Also really enjoyed Croatia. Georgia as well was a was a huge, huge shock for me. I didn't realize Georgia was would feel so European. Ah. And also this is this is Georgia, the country, by the way, not the state.

Ben Clark [00:07:44]:
But

Jerry Kopack [00:07:44]:
Thank you.

Ben Clark [00:07:46]:
But, it's just an incredible place, and, I can't wait to go back in the future. And then, obviously, I had my time across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well, which were unique, challenging, but really, really great places. I'm glad I went.

Jerry Kopack [00:08:01]:
Yeah. I've, I've got some some questions about those latter two, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, but I'll come back to them in a minute. So those countries that you were looking forward to cycling through, did they did they meet your expectations? Do you feel like, yes. That was all I thought was gonna be and more?

Ben Clark [00:08:19]:
Yeah. It's, it's still it's weird on a bike because, obviously, you go off the beaten track. You see the things which you would never see if you were obviously just going through on a bus or even driving or flying or whatever. And, yeah, I've had some really, really great experiences. And I know that France is a great country. It hasn't always been my my favorite country, but one of the most, memorable experiences on the whole trip was doing the Cote D'Azur region, which is the South Of France, sort of from, Caic Assonne to, to Mentone. So you go through, like, Nice and Marseille and, Freos and Caen and everything, and it's just an incredible place. And it felt very Californian, actually, with the sun and all the buildings.

Ben Clark [00:09:06]:
And it just I had I was listening to a lot of JJK at the time as well, and it felt very Californian. So I really, really enjoyed that area, and that was probably been the most memorable time on the trip so far. So it was such a beautiful, beautiful time. But, yeah, I'm just it's amazed by being surprised constantly by these countries, and meeting different people and, obviously, sharing on the cultures and and the diversity of all these different countries, which I I always take the the idea that you can never really trust anybody. If somebody tells you they had a positive experience in one country or they had a negative experience, you can't I'd never trust them. And I always tell other people not to trust them because you wanna be able to make your own decision. You wanna go there and make your own mind up. And I've been and I've been constantly surprised by doing this first hand primary research, which is me going to these countries rather than believing other people in the media.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:06]:
Yeah. That's, that's a really great perspective. Did you feel like there was one particular country that just kind of exceed everything as far as kindness and was welcoming to you as a as a cyclist, as a as a traveler?

Ben Clark [00:10:19]:
Yeah. Weirdly, it's also the country I dislike the most as well, but, I was really, really surprised. Gotta be careful what I say, but I was very surprised by India.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:33]:
Why?

Ben Clark [00:10:33]:
People there are just so, so incredibly friendly and nice. It's a very difficult place to cycle. It's a very, very difficult place to to be, mentally, physically, emotionally, everything. But the people were incredibly nice. Yeah. And I I was just surprised by how lovely people are. I mean, there's 1,400,000,000 people in India. You'd expect there to be some bad apples, but I didn't experience that at all.

Ben Clark [00:11:04]:
Every single person I met was incredibly nice. So I was very surprised by that.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:10]:
I, I thoroughly agree with that as far as the kindness of the people. I've been to India Three times, mostly in the North, so slightly less populated than the South and say, like, the Mumbai or Delhi regions. But the people were genuinely kind, beautiful people, invited me under their home all the time, stopped me on the side of the road to have a tea with me, to offer me dinner. But the cycling part was challenging because as you probably remember, it was the horns. Right? It was the constant incessant horn honking. And it wasn't it's not to say that the people are being rude or it's a road rage thing. It's more like, hey. I'm here.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:49]:
See me, hear me, and I'm coming. And there's that whole sort of roadway hierarchy where, like, the military vehicles and the buses are the highest on the food chain. And then maybe there is the regular passenger vehicles. Then below that, you know, maybe there's the cows and then the motorbikes, and then there's the pedestrians, and then there's us, the cyclist. Right? So it was kind of like cycling through a video game for me. Did you have a similar experience with that?

Ben Clark [00:12:15]:
Yeah. Well, I have a whole dislike, spreadsheet about India, so I can I can go through all of those if you need me to? But, yeah, I the horns were very, very difficult. Emotionally, having to hear it sort of I I sort of worked out maybe it would be about three or four horns a second, which is quite now riding through Bangkok. I mean, being in Bangkok connects to traffic lights in the city. You you don't hear the horns at all. No. No. You you just don't hear a horn.

Ben Clark [00:12:43]:
Because I think in this part of the re world, it's would be considered quite rude to do so. Yeah. We also in Japan as well, I would imagine. But in India, it's probably three or four times a second. And it it's insane. It's hard in the morning when you've just woken up, and it's hard in the evening when you're tired from the bike and people are just hogging. And it's just it's a very, very difficult place to be mentally.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:06]:
Yeah. It's good. It doesn't stop, but it's just it's just a cultural thing that I found only in India as well and not in other places like like, Thailand as well. It seems like it's a much more quiet culture.

Ben Clark [00:13:18]:
Yeah. Definitely. But also maybe in the maybe in India with this, you know, 1,400,000,000 people there, it is very busy. There's a lot of cars. There's so many vehicles. Maybe that's how it works. You know, we did I saw a few crashes in India while I was there, yeah, unsurprisingly, but I'm I'm surprised also that there weren't more, and maybe the Horns situation, you know, really sort of helps there not be more crashes. I don't know.

Ben Clark [00:13:42]:
It's so interesting there.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:44]:
That is a really funny point there because I was actually in a taxi in India on the way to the airport a couple years ago, And I was actually in the one taxi, I assume, in the entire country that the horn was broken in. And so it didn't stop the driver. He would still pass people uphill around blind corners, but he didn't have his horn to announce that he was coming. And he still made those passes, and it was Wow. Terrifying. So maybe the horn, I guess, has its place in in some regard. Yeah.

Ben Clark [00:14:15]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:16]:
Was there, was there any country that you've been through or about to go through that's kind of made you concerned or given you pause?

Ben Clark [00:14:25]:
That's a good question. There were I suppose when I started, I I'm a very how do I say this? I'm a person with a high risk appetite generally, but I also don't put myself into very, very difficult situations on purpose, which I'm sure most people would agree to. But I didn't wanna go through Afghanistan or Russia or Pakistan, because I knew that they were very, very difficult places to go through. In hindsight, I kinda wish I had gone through Afghanistan now, having seen a friend of mine who had gone through it, Jamie, who'd gone through, and seen his Instagram stories and everything, I was like, wow. This place looks insane. And so I kinda wish I had gone through Afghanistan now. In fact, it's probably the biggest regret of the trip, to be honest, not going not going through. Doesn't mean I can't do it in the future.

Ben Clark [00:15:24]:
I'll probably do it again in the future on a motorcycle. But, yeah, on this trip, I'm disappointed that I didn't. And and but I'm I I am glad that I didn't go through Russia. That's Yeah. That's for sure. I've heard a very a lot of bad stories of cyclists going through being detained at the border for hours, having their phones checked, having all of their bags checked, and I just know I wouldn't get through. So, that's I'm I'm really glad that I didn't go through Russia. But, also, you know, it's it the problem is is, like, it's the authority.

Ben Clark [00:15:58]:
You know, there's nothing wrong with these countries. You know, I'm sure Russian people are some of the nicest people in the world. And still Iranian and Afghanistan people are some of the nicest people in the world. It's it's the border police that you've gotta be that you gotta watch out for. Or in the case of Pakistan, it's, you know, being in the police convoys every 30 kilometers to get to the next checkpoint. That's what you have. That, you know, that that's where my difficulty comes from. It's not from the country itself.

Jerry Kopack [00:16:24]:
Yeah. That's, it's interesting that you pointed out because I actually was in Pakistan about four months ago, and I did experience some of that, not checkpoints, but being in the back of a of a police vehicle because we were being transported through a region that they deemed less safe, which I can appreciate that. But, of course, when you're just riding the bound in the back of a of a van, it, kind of takes a little bit of the the spirit of the cycling adventure out of it. But I will say once I got up northern part, like, in the Hunza or Skardu area, it was much more relaxed. I was able to to travel freely. People were just as kind as they were in India. So if you have a chance, maybe check it out. It was a really, really good experience.

Ben Clark [00:17:08]:
Awesome. And and I'd I'd I'd also relate to Myanmar as well. So I wasn't able to do it on this trip. I had to fly from, Kathmandu in Nepal to Bangkok because, obviously, I mean, I I personally, I couldn't stop going through India again, to be completely honest. But, also, Bangladesh would have been very, very difficult mentally, if not more challenging than India. But, I mean, ultimately, Myanmar's border of borders are closed, so you can't go in or out. And it's not to say I don't wanna go. I'd love to go to Myanmar.

Ben Clark [00:17:42]:
I can't do it on this trip, obviously. In the future, I could do it probably, and and, you know, it's you can't really expect to cycle around the world and to not sort of run into, you know, international relation issues like this. It would be great, though, if you could leave, you know, your home country at one in one month where where every country is open and open and happy to see you around the world. You know, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar. I think they're the only main countries on the on the traditional, cyclist routes, which are quite temperamental sometimes. K.

Tahverlee [00:18:24]:
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Jerry Kopack [00:19:11]:
So since we're talking about cycling around the world, you I think you'd mentioned 35,000 kilometers. And for those of us not on the metric system, that's around 22,000 miles, which is no small order. Where else are you looking at? Are you gonna go South Of The Equator to Africa to South America, those places? Or you're gonna kinda keep it sort of lateral?

Ben Clark [00:19:33]:
Yeah. So, next up, I'm gonna sort of try and do the whole Southeast Asia loop. So I'm gonna ride into Cambodia, Vietnam, up to Hanoi, Hanyang Loop, Laos, then back down to Bangkok and then probably down to Bali, Indonesia, and come all the way through Malaysia and, all that sort of area and then down and do the whole East Coast Of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and then fly to Seattle. And then I'd like to do, like, somewhere between 15,000 kilometers in The US. Okay. Would be really cool. Like I said, I'm really looking forward to doing The US segment, but we do some some of some of Canada as well. And then depending on the distance or how bored I am, not bored.

Ben Clark [00:20:17]:
Shouldn't say that. How how tired I am by then. I might also do Mexico and and some of Central America as well.

Jerry Kopack [00:20:24]:
Yeah. It's wonderful.

Ben Clark [00:20:25]:
But like like I said, I mean, what my my sort of end goal is to reach Boston, within the sort of time frame that I've allotted. But, I mean, depending on how I feel then and how much money I have left as well, I could could could also do South America as well.

Jerry Kopack [00:20:42]:
What's, what's in Boston?

Ben Clark [00:20:45]:
Probably some very nice Irish pubs. I don't know. I've never been.

Jerry Kopack [00:20:49]:
I don't know. Thinking, like, you'd be from The UK, Boston Tea Party. Like, is there some kind of, like, political connection there?

Ben Clark [00:20:56]:
No. No. I just, I just figured that it would be a a a more calmer city to end in than New York. I'd I'd I'd been told that that's probably correct. But, yeah, I mean, Boston looks quite nice. I I don't I've got I've got a few friends in Boston, actually, so that that could be one of the reasons. I'm not sure. But, yeah, I mean, I could change Miami Beach, for example, or I don't know.

Ben Clark [00:21:23]:
Yeah. I'll take some suggestions from the, from the group chat after this.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:28]:
Well, I'm very partial to Colorado. So just know if you make your way through Colorado, through Breckenridge, you need a place to stay, we definitely have space for you. So love to share a meal with you or a pint.

Ben Clark [00:21:40]:
Excellent. Thank you very much.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:41]:
So you've been on the road, pretty set, like, just over a year now on this trip?

Ben Clark [00:21:45]:
That's right. Yep.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:46]:
Yeah. Have you noticed any changes in you? And, like, obviously, physically, you're fit because you're riding your bike for a year. But as far as, like, maybe your mental state, anything like that, anything's changed in you that you've sort of let go of?

Ben Clark [00:22:01]:
There was a there was a time that which there was a time when I was working when I was basically working for the last company I worked for. I worked for them for four and a half years, and I was always basically on a hybrid holiday is what I would call it. So I was always at work, and I was always on holiday. It was remote working. So I never actually felt like I was on holiday, but it also never felt like I was at work. It was kinda like somewhere in the in the in the meantime. And then when I was able to fully commit to this bicycle trip, I was able to fully experience what it's like what it's like to be on a holiday, which is amazing, and I love it, and it's great, and it'd be great to spend the rest of life like this. But at the same time, I have found that I find it quite difficult to to to feel like I'm always on holiday at the time.

Ben Clark [00:22:49]:
I I need to have some structure in the day. So I make sure that every day I do sort of 10 things, which I promise myself that I'm gonna do. Okay. So for example, you know, I'll make sure that I do my Duolingo. I'll I'll make sure I'll listen to something new or, you know, learn something new every day or listen to a podcast or, you know, do do a a unique activity or 30 an hour a minute. It's thirty minutes, an hour of cycling or whatever or a big walk. And I need to have that structure in order to feel like I've accomplished something in the day. Otherwise, I'm just sat around doing nothing.

Ben Clark [00:23:27]:
So that's been that's been a big thing for me in sort of finding purpose. In terms of some of the activities, though, I mean, you know, it's part of that finding structure throughout the day, and I think that can be quite challenging sometimes for cyclists, on long distance tours, especially when it becomes less the trip and more of a lifestyle like we were saying before. So to sort of give me a bit more structure, I've started to do some vlogs. I've started to create a vlog every day, film what I've done throughout the day, edit it, put it on social media, just to sort of inspire others and also, to give myself a little bit more structure and and accountability as well. You know, to my followers. Say, this is what I've done today, and I'm gonna do better tomorrow.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:14]:
I love that because that was gonna be my next question is sort of what do you what's your goal? Like, what do you hope to accomplish? What do you hope to walk away with when you're when you're finished with this, whenever that end date is?

Ben Clark [00:24:26]:
Yeah. I mean, I'd like to get my six pack back, to be honest. Not that I ever had one, but I would love one. Yeah. I'd like to lose some weight on the trip. That's that's sort of a a big one for me. I mean, I have the difficulty of, getting to the getting to any place where I stop and and just sort of, like, refilling those lost calories that I've worked so hard to to lose on the bike. So I find it difficult to lose weight sometimes, if I'm drinking and eating pizza every night.

Ben Clark [00:24:57]:
But, yeah, I'd like to lose some weight. I'd like to get physically fitter and stronger, both through increasing my HRV, which is heart rate heart rate variability and also through, you know, strength and strength and conditioning, actually building muscles. So that's that's one of the my big goals. But also the blogs, it'd be really, really great to have a single, video every single day, of what I've done that day. It's a lot easier for me to do that than a physical diary. But to be able to show the world what I've done that day or that week or that month, excuse me, is quite an amazing thing to be able to share the world. It inspires people, holds me accountable, and it gives me a really good, memory for that day as well. And and, yeah, I mean, obviously, indirectly, I get to see the world.

Ben Clark [00:25:49]:
I get to meet other people. I get to enjoy my life in this particular moment. And that's obviously what life is all about, enjoying. Yeah. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:02]:
So speaking of meeting other people, I know that you have a story about a lost cyclist in Uzbekistan. What's that all about?

Ben Clark [00:26:10]:
Yeah. That's right. Yeah. So, this so let let's let's picture let's picture it. Let's, let's build the scene. Set the stage. Okay. So there's a guy in in in a place called Shekte, which is about 70 kilometers North East of Attau, which is the first big city in, the Mangastar region of Kazakhstan.

Ben Clark [00:26:33]:
So I basically got to Attau and then was cycling on towards Bennu and then into Uzbekistan. And I'd met this old man, this old guy called Graham, called eight, he he was Graham, don't hurt me for this, but I think he's eighty four eighty four years old. Is he 84 years old? I can't remember. Can we can we reshoot this bit?

Jerry Kopack [00:27:00]:
No. But we can we can fact check it later.

Ben Clark [00:27:03]:
I think he's 84. Anyway, so he, we I saw him on the side of the road, and he'd we'd we'd ridden today we'd ridden together there for a little bit during the day as we were going in between the cities, but we were never riding together. So I'd I'd sort of wake up one morning, get out on the bike, do 80 kilometers, and then I'd see him in the evening doing the the last sort of five kilometers. And then in the morning, I'd wake up again and go do another 80 kilometers. And then I'd see him again at the in the end of the day, and it didn't really make any sense because he's on an old mountain bike. And, you know, he's he's not, you know, I'm I'm I'm dressed like a pro using pro equipment, and he's on an old mountain bike that he's bought from the market. And it just didn't make any sense. But it turned out that he he was doing a little bit of hitchhoking, so that sort of explained why I couldn't sort of ever find out why he was as fast as me.

Ben Clark [00:27:58]:
But, anyway, we had, a bit of a scare in North Uzbekistan. So this is by the time I'd already known Graham quite quite well. But I I didn't hear from him for a while. And, his daughter got in touch with me on Instagram and said, you know, are are you cycling with my dad? And and do you know where he is? And I was like, yeah. Sure. I do. I mean, he's, like, probably 20 kilometers ahead of us or 90 kilometers ahead of us, whatever. And she, like, we haven't heard from him in a week.

Ben Clark [00:28:29]:
And I was like, wow. He's not the most technologically advanced bit of a technophobe. We'll just say that. And, yeah, I just to be honest, there's a bit of a element in my mind. I was thinking, you know, this could be a bit worse than it than it seems at face value right now. And she was, you know, very, very worried that she was getting on the phone with British, embassy in Interpol and the British embassy in in in Tashjetent, which is Uzbekistan's capital. And it was very worrying, and then it got to the point where, actually, you know, we we are well, I was riding with two other guys at the time. I'm like, okay.

Ben Clark [00:29:10]:
This could be quite serious. He could he could be dead. So we're looking as we're riding through Uzbekistan, this region, you know, everywhere under bridges, sides of roads just to see if we can find, you know, effectively a body. It's a very, very sketchy and scary sort of moment to be in. Also, you know, I mean, Uzbekistan and that area is completely desolate. You know, it's it's it's it's it's a desert, basically. But we're still looking under under things to see if we can find a body. It was very scary.

Ben Clark [00:29:42]:
Couple of day ago couple couple of couple of couple of days go by, and, he does turn up. He, we find him when we we I think we found him in a restaurant in, in Newcas, and he just comes in. He he shows his face and everything. It was very, very strange. But it turns out he was just having a week off social media, but he didn't tell anybody that he was doing that. He didn't tell his family. He didn't tell us. So we all thought he was dead effectively.

Ben Clark [00:30:18]:
But, obviously, he was he was fine. But it was a very dangerous, place to sort of pull that trick, you know, in in the deserts of Uzbekistan. But I also understand that he is from a different time, a different era, a different generation where, you know, they didn't have phones. It was paper maps. There was no satellite communications, no social media. So it was you know? But I was just very glad that he was okay in the end, considering he had very, very little, safety equipment with him. He was wearing a skateboarder's helmet. He was wearing he had a mountain bike, which he bought on the market in Actow for £200.

Ben Clark [00:30:57]:
He had no cycling clothing. He was cycling in jeans. So It it was yeah. It wasn't you know, no no panniers, no racks. It was just a basket on the front of the bike. All this sort of stuff, very, very underprepared. I have some pictures as well. If anyone wants to get in touch with me, I can send you the pictures of me and Graham.

Ben Clark [00:31:14]:
But, yeah, very glad he's okay. I also hear from him as well, from time to time. He's gonna go back to Bukhara this year, and he's gonna cycle again, from Bukurah to, I believe, the Pamir Highway as well. So, at that age, to continue doing these things is quite amazing. And I'm sure most people, including myself, would like to still be, you know, that active and that curious at that age as well.

Jerry Kopack [00:31:42]:
I was just thinking the same thing. Like, it sounds like Graham is living his best life. And so we we should all be so fortunate to be cycling the world on a on a clapped out bike from the market for £200 and still doing life the right way at 84. That's fantastic. So I just have one more question for you. Are you still having fun, or are you ready to be done?

Ben Clark [00:32:07]:
I'm still having fun. Okay. I think, it's a very good question. I think I'm still having fun. I think there's there's some some structure I'd like to add into my journey, right now to sort of make sure that I'm a little bit more happy. You know, I I'm happy when I'm productive and I'm building something. So in a way, if I can do something with my vlogs and I can build some inspiration for other people and I can I can make something productive of my time that isn't just cycling, then I'll be happy? One of the reasons I wanna return to my industry, which is tech, wearables, sports tech, working for the likes of Garmin and Coros, is because as an entrepreneur, I enjoy building things, and I don't have my laptop with me right now on the bike. And if even if I did, I'd like, all my time would just be everywhere.

Ben Clark [00:33:08]:
I wouldn't be able to focus on anything. But I do miss building things. And that's probably why I'm putting the time in as well-to-do podcasts and, you know, work with media clients to sort of build build something and put it out there and write some articles and stuff because I wanna be productive and and and mentally stimulated with it as well. So if I can get all that sort of stuff done, then I think I'll be and and make it sustainable, then I think I'll be happy. But I'm enjoying seeing the world, and meeting other people and riding my bike and getting fit and and all of those things make me happy. And, ultimately, it's not the traditional way of doing things. The traditional way of doing things is going to school, getting a job, meeting someone, getting married, doing that, not taking five years out to go traveling, cycling around the world. So, societally, it's not necessarily accepted, which can be difficult sometimes, But, you know, I'm I'm always happy to go against the grain, and I enjoy what I'm doing and hopefully inspires others as well.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:17]:
Yeah. I mean, there's as you find out and you're demonstrating, there's there's more than one path through life. And I think, ultimately at the end of the day, as long as you're happy and living a good life, I think you're you're on the right path.

Ben Clark [00:34:28]:
Absolutely.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:29]:
And so that's why we do these interviews. That's why I had the privilege and enjoyment of meeting people like you and talking to people with the goal of trying to inspire others to get out there and and live their best life.

Ben Clark [00:34:42]:
Absolutely. And you don't you don't know if you don't try. And I think, you know, I get a lot of messages all the time from people on Instagram saying, you know, what what's the best bike to buy or where would you start or what countries would you, you know, recommend that I cycle through or whatever. And the reality is, you know, I I'm happy to give all of that advice all the time. But the best thing that you could do is put some money aside every month to do a future bicycle, buy it, and then go and do some sort of local bike touring in your local area and then build up, start doing, you know, longer distance trips. Because it is it's a great lifestyle to be able to see the world like that on a bike. You you see so much that you wouldn't have seen if you were in a train, a car, whatever. You get the smells, the sights, the sounds.

Ben Clark [00:35:31]:
People see you. Some people take pity of you. You know, like I was saying before in India, a lot of the people were so nice because they see you're going through a hardship on your bicycle climbing up a mountain. So they sought to offer you water. You have those experiences with the locals that you wouldn't have had if you were to arrive on a tourist bus.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:50]:
%. I love that. I've experienced that, and you are so right on. So with that, Ben, I wanna thank you for taking some time out of your day and hopefully on a rest day today. And hopefully, you're in a nice air conditioned hotel, And thank you for sharing your stories. So speaking of followers, how can listeners follow you along on your adventure?

Ben Clark [00:36:10]:
Yep. So I'm, on Instagram. I'm at world by bike. That's world by bike underscore UK. And I post my blogs on there, and then I've also got my Linktree in my bio that goes through to my buy me a coffee as well as a few other links like Strava in my website. Got it. But, yeah, that's worldbybike.co.uk. It's my website.

Ben Clark [00:36:32]:
And then the Instagram is at worldbybike_UK.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:36]:
Got it. Thank you. We're gonna post that in our show notes so everyone can follow along and see what you are up to. Awesome. Alright. Thank you for listening to my conversation with Ben Clark. If you enjoy our show, give us a like, a share on your social channels, or just tell your friends. These stories hopefully will inspire you to set up our new own bicycle adventure and help to make the world feel a little bit smaller one pedal stroke at a time.

Jerry Kopack [00:37:00]:
My name is Jerry Kopack, and until next time, keep cycling.

Tahverlee [00:37:06]:
Thank you for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed making it. Wherever you are listening, please leave us a rating and a review as it helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. Visit us at warmshowers.org to become a part of our community, or on Instagram at warmshowers_org. If you would like to be a guest on the show or submit a question, please make sure to email us at podcast@warmshowers.org.