Dear Friends,
I'm about to embark on a huge adventure that's going to change everything I thought I knew about myself and the world. It's a bike trip, or two, travelling nearly 10,000km through five countries. Along the way, I'll be speaking to hundreds of people about the environment and sustainable living, having thousands more read our blogs and articles, and launching my career as a writer.
It's going to start on April 29, my 26th birthday, when I gather with friends for a kick-off party and cut off all my hair (assuming that's what the people want to see). Shortly afterward, I'll board a plane for Vancouver (offsetting emissions, of course) and meet 17 other team members for a tour with the
Otesha Project. We'll bike from Vancouver to Calgary, stopping along the way to perform fun theatrical skits that educate high school students about sustainable consumer choices.
After the Otesha journey, I'll be heading back to Toronto by bus, and spending a few weeks there getting visas sorted out, sending out press releases, and getting ready for the next phase. This is where it gets really exciting.
On August 1, I will arrive in Tallinn, Estonia and dip my toes in the Baltic sea before embarking on the journey of a lifetime across the world's largest contient. Along with a few dedicated souls, we'll pedal across Russia, and through Mongolia and northern China along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Finishing in Beijing, I plan to bike a couple more days for the satisfaction of touching the Pacific Ocean. It will be an incredible adventure, and one that will challenge me physically, spiritually, and emotionally, but I know that with the support of my friends, family, fellow tour members, and folks I meet along the way, it will be possible.
Thus far I've had incredible support from everyone I've told about this plan. Friends are helping by designing logos, giving me lessons in photography, cyrillic and bike repair, offering to put my travel blog in their newsletters or on their websites, helping me develop a fundraising plan, and offering words of encouragement and advice. I owe them all so much thanks, and it's been incredible to have so many people get excited along with me!
There's a lot more that needs to be done - I need to get gear (hopefully sponsored!), write magazine and newspaper pitches, spend some time spinning, work on the trip website (i'll let you know the URL when it's ready), and spread the word to anyone who thinks they might learn something from this crazy adventure. I hope to fundraise enough to pay for the trip as well as raise additional money for a handful of charities supporting environmental and human sustainability. Again, more on that later.
What I'm looking for now is anything- ideas, contacts, support, love, advice, donations and everything in between. I'll be keeping two lists in the sidebar, a wishlist and a thank-you list, so everyone knows where I'm at just in case you have a friend who runs an outdoor store that wants to advertise in Russia, or you run into someone in an elevator that has lots of money they're just itchin' to give away, or if you meet a bike mechanic with a medical degree who speaks Russian, Mongolian and Chinese and has always wanted to cycle across Asia...
I am so grateful for everyone in my life that has already made this journey possible by leading me to this point, as well as to everyone who joins in from here on and adds their passions to mine.
love, peace, and thanks.
-Gillian
I'm starting to learn Cyrillic, the Russian alphabet, so I'll be able to read road signs and start to learn the language. Today I learned that Mongolian uses the Cyrillic alphabet too, as do a bunch of other eastern European and central Asian languages.
