Slow Traveler

We are joined by Josiah Skeats. Josiah is a people-focused author whose 3 year journey taught him to be a slow traveler.

While studying law at university, Josiah came across an article about someone who had cycled around the world. The light bulb went off, and even though he was not a cyclist, he immediately started planning a solo trip. After graduation, he set out for his grand adventure to travel from England to Australia. Along the way, Josiah has fallen in love with bike touring, the experiences it brings, and mostly, with the people you meet.

Josiah didn’t do much training to prepare, but he did tons of planning. He wrote a list of every obstacle he thought he would encounter on the trip and then tried to solve it. He laughingly recalls that a week after he set off, all his carefully made plans were discarded, and he decided to just wing it.

A big turning point came for Josiah about a month into his trip. After rushing his way through Europe and central Asia, he met two fellow cyclists in Bosnia that significantly impacted him. They taught him it wasn’t about how fast you are going, but rather how slow. After this encounter, Josiah slowed way down, and his trip went from a planned one-year journey to three years. His goal became to seek adventure and learn about the people he met along the way.

So many fantastic experiences came from that one decision back in university to cycle around the world. Looking back, Josiah is amazed that he dared to believe that a trip like this was possible. He urges everyone that if bike touring is something you are interested in, it is worth pursuing, even if you don’t have cycling experience.

Josiah’s advice is to always be curious and open to the unexpected. Let your gut instincts guide your path, and you will be amazed at what opportunities arise. 

You can reach Josiah on his website where he blogs about the projects he is working on at JosiahSkeets.com or follow his posts on Facebook at Josiah Skeets and Instagram at josiahskeets.

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