| From 2013-2015, I rode a bicycle from Chiang Mai, Thailand, to Istanbul, Turkey to raise money for North Korean refugee rescues. I no longer update this website, but I'm keeping it active as an archive of my travels. To see what I'm currently up to, visit ChrisAmist.Us. Hi, I'm Chris. About a year ago, I embarked on a trip of indeterminate length, for an as of yet undecided, but decidedly long, period of time. My goal is to have a radical adventure meandering from Thailand to Turkey and beyond using a bicycle as my sole method of transportation, while at the same time raising money for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK). LiNK is a non-profit that seeks to alleviate the human rights crisis in North Korea by helping North Korean refugees escape to freedom, and an organization with which I have worked extensively in recent years. Head straight to my fundraising page.  WHY? If you've never watched the cult animated series Adventure Time, sit down for an episode (or 20), and then I think you'll better understand my line of reasoning. In short, I feel incredibly fortunate and privileged to have the life that I do. Being a straight, white male from an upper-middle class American family, with relatively little effort I've been able to get lucrative jobs, utilize my native language wherever in the world I travel, attend top-level institutions of higher education, and have global freedom of mobility with very few fiscal, discrimination, or personal safety concerns. Why not use some of that good fortune to go on an awesome adventure, and at the same time help out a group of people who live at the opposite end of the empowerment spectrum? How did you get the idea? 10 years ago, if you'd asked me if I thought I would be bicycling around the world by now, I would've laughed incredulously, and possibly said something dismissive in an apathetic tone of voice. Then I spent several years living in South Korea, and at some point bought a bicycle and began to ride around here and there. Then I began traveling around Asia (not by bike), and met a cyclist in Tashkurgan, China, who was halfway through his cross-continental. THEN I began commuting around town pretty much every day while living in Seattle, and going on longer and longer rides. In 2012 I rode from Seattle to San Francisco, and finally in October of 2013 from a to be commenced. So you can see that this current project was by no means a rash impulse, but rather the culmination of years of personal growth and conscious decision-making. | Ok ok, but how are you helping North Korean refugees? If you're not familiar with the North Korean human rights crisis, follow the links below for more information:
While meandering around on my bicycle, I've been stopping in at hostels, cafes, and anywhere else that will have me, showing LiNK's documentaries. I hope that the juxtaposition of the affluence and freedom of Western travelers with the intense oppression suffered by everyday North Koreans will carry weight with the people I meet, resulting in increased awareness and action to solve the ongoing human rights crisis in the DPRK. You can donate to LiNK right now. As I ride roughly 14,000 miles, via my meandering course from Thailand to Turkey, I hope to raise $1 per mile ridden. All funds donated through my page go straight towards refugee rescues; none of it goes to me or to LiNK's other programs. If I can raise $14,000 by the time I get to Turkey, 5 North Korean refugees will have started a new, freer life in either South Korea or the USA. You can help me reach my goal by signing up to donate 1¢/mile, $12 per month. Just head to my donations page and click the 'donate' button. Any credit card will do, and your donation is tax deductible. If I can get just 100 people to donate $12 per month for a year, I'll have succeeded. Of course, any donations, of greater or lesser value, are always appreciated. And if you aren't able to donate right now, help me out by sharing my website and fundraising page on facebook and via email. This website is a work in progress, so if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or issues with what I'm doing or how I'm presenting myself, feel free to leave a comment below, or send me an email at: pedalpower@fromatobe.com. You can track my journey via the Where is Chris? map; I add new waypoints in real time using a smartphone app! Also check out the blog posts to see if I've been up to anything interesting in the places I visit. The newest or most recently updated post is always on the top-left, and the oldest post will be on the bottom-right. I take a lot of photos on this journey, and I think some of them are pretty good! Maybe even worthy of hanging on a wall! Take a look at my photography website, Shaky Images, and if you like what you see, consider purchasing a print or two. Even the smallest of purchases provides me with enough cold hard cash to buy a day's worth of food in most places, so you're supporting me in the biggest of ways! | Ok, so why the bicycle? It's just incredibly low-impact, localizing, interactive, intimate, and accessible, and I plan on making it my primary form of transportation for the rest of my life, even if I'm not wandering the globe. By cycling, you are constantly building a better you, both physically and mentally, while interacting with the world at a much slower, more human pace. You meet good people, see interesting things, and encounter many more opportunities for just about anything than when traveling by car or even public transportation. And at the same time, rather than inefficiently stripping resources from the earth and using them to spew forth waste and pollution, you are taking only what you really need. There is no bicycle rage. On the contrary, the lack of an engine and encapsulating metal box requires the cyclist to be both keenly aware of his own vulnerability and physical limitations, and respectful of his surroundings and fellow humans. Some say that cycling is too dangerous where they live, but statistically speaking, at least in America, the number of deaths per hour traveled is roughly the same for both cyclists and drivers. If "safety" can also be expressed in total years of healthy livelihood, riding a bicycle contributes to a much safer, longer life than driving a car. Others say that there are too many hills where they live, their commute is too far, or the climate in their city is too extreme for cycling. But just as you realized when you were a young adult that you couldn't eat cookies and quesadillas for every meal (as was always my own dream), and subsequently trained yourself to enjoy healthy foods, through sustained, moderate effort, you can make it so no matter where you live, those hills aren't too big, it's not too hot or cold, and your commute isn't too far to do it all by bike. What's more, even though initially it's hard and unpleasant, by the sheer virtue of just trying, cycling eventually becomes something you can't not do, and doubly so because you know you are doing the right thing in so many different ways. To paraphrase the potent words of a fellow cyclist, life begins at the edge of your comfort zone. Finally, I'd like to thank my family and friends for supporting me on this adventure. One thing I didn't expect was that it would be so hard to gather up the gumption to actually get started, and I know I would never have left my house without those supportive words (and a few $$) of encouragement. I'm sure my motivation will wane again here and there, so I hope you will take a bit of time every once and a while to leave a comment on the blog or shoot me an email and tell me to keep going. It really means a lot to me. And even better, if you get the chance, come join me! |
