No Wrong Turns: Cycling the World, Part One: Paris to Sydney

by Chris Pountney

It was not easy to break free. The expectations that society places upon us can make it hard to deviate from the normal path. But I knew that I was not happy, and would never be happy until I could find the courage to go my own way.

“..I hope I get the chance to travel the world, but I don’t have any plans...” One of my favourite lines in the song. It made me think of all the many people that dreamed of travelling but somehow lacked the will or the good fortune to be able to make it happen. More than that, it reminded me that I had been just such a person once, making excuses not to go, unable to find a way to get out there and do it. I felt a guilty pleasure in hearing that line now, knowing that it wasn’t me any more. I was really here. I was living out my dreams.

There’s a peaceful tranquillity to riding by moonlight, and a childish sense of joy at being out adventuring while the rest of the world sleeps.

How had I dared to attempt such a thing? Then it dawned on me. I was never cycling from Paris to Sydney. Such a ride was impossible. All I had ever been doing was riding one day at a time. I had just been turning the pedals on my bike, moving myself forward, inch by inch. With every day that passed, every town and village reached, every meeting and experience, I had been moving forward. I had never been cycling to Sydney. I had just been cycling.