Shakies Unite : Impending Departure

Shaky, the English mispronunciation of the Korean word 새끼, or son of a gun, seems to be the most appropriate appellation for a group of Koreans and Korean-speaking 'Muricans, all weird enough to get on bicycles and decide to ride across a continent together. For the last several months, I thought it was just going to be Mike and I taking off from Chiang Mai together, but fortune smiled upon us and we are now a posse of four shakies; Me, Mike, Mingyu, and Minseong. We all have the same goal; to meander across Asia on our bikes for the next year or so, but only time will tell what fate has in store for us.

 

Tonight we pack our gear and have a few (more) salutatory beers, and then tomorrow, starting at the break of dawn, we ride hard towards the Laotian border, the earth rumbling beneath our rubber and metal steeds.

 

Without further ado, introductions:

 

Yours truly. Newbie cycle tourist, still re-breaking in my saddle butt after a month of sitting on my ass at home, I'm also the oldest of the crew, and with my iced latte addiction (Southeast Asia is heaven for coffee lovers, with roadside stands selling Americanos every ten feet), I vote myself the most likely to hold us back, or at least spend all my money on coffee in the first month of the trip.

 

Mike. Of www.threeruleride.com fame. With 15,000km of veggie-powered, zero-emissions travel under his belt, Mike is one with his bicycle, basically floating inches above the road, and experiences no discomfort or pain even when conquering himalayan mountain roads. He speaks 5 languages, needs no showers, and only owns one shirt. Quite possibly the most interesting man in the world. Ladies, he's single.

 

Mingyu. A lover, not a fighter, his wit and good nature seem to carry him through the day. Mingyu is Mike's good friend from Korea, and has also been utilizing his pedal power for the last year or so, but love has distracted him from the cycling game until just recently. Eager to get back at it, I predict Mingyu will act as a source of great moral support when the rest of us are feeling blue (or whatever color you are when you're sad on a bicycle).

 

Minseong. Mingyu's pal, he bought a bike and all the equipment on a whim, quit his job, and flew to Thailand the next day. Minseong's optimism and passion are calming, and maybe I'll be able to keep up with him. Maybe.

 

I've been anticipating this trip for so long that I can't really remember a time when I didn't foresee a cross-continental bicycle trip in my future. It all started in about 2006 when I met a german named Stephan in Tashkurgan, China, who had started his very own journey from Istanbul some 6 months earlier. We happened to be staying in the same yurt, and got to talking about all his adventures. He'd met so many cool people, encountered so little animosity, and his bike was so cool! From that moment on a cycle trip was in the back of my mind.

 

It wasn't until the last couple years, though, that it really started to look like it would come to fruition. I saved up some money, got an awesome bike for cheap in Seattle, put my student loans on hold, and BOOM now it's happening. I have to admit though, now that I'm setting off in just a day, I'm kind of getting cold feet. Maybe it's just the lack of inertia from the sedentary lifestyle I've been leading the last month or so, but I'm not particularly looking forward to being hot and sweaty all day everyday, sleeping in less-than ideal circumstances, and oh my poor arse! But hopefully I can learn to appreciate those things in their own ways. I know that I AM looking forward to all the good people I'm going to meet, and all the fun experiences I'm sure to have along the way.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to write posts once or twice a week, but at the very least I'll be updating the map on this website's homepage once a day, so be sure to check back often to see where I'm at, and what I've been up to!