One Month From Today

I’ve been waiting to write this post for a while, but first is a recap of the past eleven months or so since I came back from my Asia backpacking trip.

In short, I didn’t do much. I was planning to learn Android programming so I bought a used ThinkPad and installed Linux Mint on it. As it turned out I had little motivation to code an Android app. Then I switched to relearning more web programming by completing the first half of The Odin Project, however, my motivation hit a wall once again.

I applied for some IT jobs, but received very few replies. I was referred to two remote jobs, but they either didn’t reply or the position was cancelled at the last minute.

I view this period of my life as a mini-retirement. It’s certainly better than going to work, but at the same time it’s a bit boring. I ended up reading a lot of books to keep myself occupied.

After voting in the US presidential election, I thought about packing my bicycle and take a flight to Cancun, Mexico, and start a bicycle tour to Central and South Americas. In the end I didn’t do it because I was feeling down and had no motivation of packing my bike in a box. It just seemed such a hassle at the time.

Now, it’s spring time and I feel more energized. I want to take the opportunity at this time in my life to see if I can bicycle the world. I will mainly follow my route that I had planned in 2023. I will start in King of Prussia, PA, USA, and go north to Canada. After cycling westward across Canada I will go south on the Adventure Cycling’s Pacific Coast Route and cycle all the way down to southern California before going farther to Mexico and countries in Central and South Americas.

Once I reach Santiago, Chile, I might take a flight to New Zealand and cycle westward on the other side of the world. Or if I have $9000 to spare, I might take a ferry to Antarctica from Ushuaia, Argentina. After that, I might bicycle to Brazil and take a flight to Europe and go east bound to Asia. But I hear the road are very dangerous in Brazil due to large trucks, I’ll have to see when I get near Brazil I guess.

First half of my world bicycle tour

The second half is still unknown. This is an approximation.

My planned departure date for this around-the-world bicycle tour is May 4th. “May the force be with me,” so they say. Also May 4th will be the 30th anniversary of my arrival in the United States. I came to America with my grandma on May 4, 1995, when we landed in Newark Airport around 4 PM. It has been a good experience living in the United States overall, but I must fulfill my desire to travel the world.

I don’t really have a timeline for my trip and I’m guessing it’ll take about three years if I bicycle continuously around the world. For the Americas half of the trip, I think it’ll take me about a year at least to reach Santiago or Ushuaia.

I don’t want to think too far ahead because anything can happen. I might stop or pause my trip along the way if I need to work to acquire more funds. Also anything can happen, including accidents and diseases, so I must be cautious and be prepared.

Currently, I’m waiting for a few things to fall into place. I requested a new debit card and a new credit card so their expiration dates will be well into the future. I also ordered a few more things for the bike tour. I plan on writing a comprehensive blog post about all the things I’ll be bringing.

Before I leave, I will also get the yellow fever vaccine for traveling in Central and South Americas and any other vaccinations that I might need.

As for my home possessions, I will store them with my friend.

I’m excited for my bike tour. I want to try to live a simple life as a bicycle tourist in the long term. If I like it, maybe that’s what I’ll do for the foreseeable future. If not, I’ll return to a more normal life.

All in all, I need to keep an open mind about my future and be open to new experiences. It’s my hope that this bike tour will be the beginning of something great!