It took Pushkar Shah, a Nepal native, seven years and nine months to pedal to 100 countries to spread his peace message to the world.
And he says his mission is not over yet — despite being mugged twice in the Democratic Republic of Congo, stabbed in Barbados, kidnapped in Mexico and losing his belongings, including having his bicycle stolen in New Zealand.
“Our life is short. I am just trying give the message that people all over the world deserve peace and love — not violence and war,” says Shah.
With a wiry, muscular frame and sporting a baseball cap with numerous flags of visited countries, Shah looks a lot younger than his 39 years.
The cyclist is taking a break now after clocking up his 100th country — Egypt — to spend time with his mother but plans to be back on the road in October.
“I still have to travel to 50 other countries,” he says.
Born and raised in Makaibari village in a poor family, 135km north-east of Kathmandu, Shah originally planned to become a teacher.
His father served in the Indian army, and was killed in 1986 in a clash with rebels in India’s restive north-east region of Assam. His mother and younger brother still live in his home village.
After obtaining a degree in education, Shah hunted for work but did not succeed. During his college days in 1990, a democracy movement was taking place in Nepal.
“I took part in the pro-democracy movement and got beaten and jailed by police on several occasions,” says Shah.
“I had high hopes that things would turn better after the restoration of democracy but being jobless made me frustrated. I felt like I was wasting my time and then I made up my mind to begin a solo world-cycle tour to do something different for my country and have a name for myself as well.”
He decided to use his pedal power to promote world peace.
“Also, the Maoist insurgency in my own country and the daily news of violence and terror in the world inspired me to embark on my peace mission,” he says.
“Had I become a teacher, my world would have revolved around the distance between my house and the school but now I travel all over the world — it makes the globe feel so small,” he says.
When he first spoke of his plans, people thought he was joking, he recalls.
But Shah never gave up.
“People thought I was insane and I’d never make it. Some even said I would return back to Nepal before even reaching New Delhi,” Shah says.
Everest climb
Shah embarked on his solo journey on November 29 1998 on an old bicycle with 100 rupees in his pocket given to him by his mother. He has now covered 142Â 000km across six different continents.
“When I reach new places I ask for shelter and food for couple of days and people have accepted me wholeheartedly,” says Shah when asked how he has managed to finance his trips.
“I am managing my trips from the donations I receive from the people when I reach new places. At times I have also worked in restaurants washing dishes for food and money,” says Shah.
“Sometimes when passing through stretches of jungles in various countries I have felt alone and thought ‘What am I doing?’. I missed my friends and families back home and felt like running away, leaving the cycle behind.
“But then I realise that there is nowhere to run and I continue my journey,” Shah says.
He says his kidnapping in Mexico was the scariest incident that he had come across during his tours.
“While I was resting on the side of road in Mexico three thugs kidnapped me and took me to the jungle. My instinct told me that they were going to kill me. I beat one of the thugs and ran as fast as I could. Had I not escaped with a fight I would have been dead right there,” he says.
But even some of his bad experiences — thieves stealing his belongings in New Zealand for instance — have had silver linings.
“When my bicycle was stolen in New Zealand in 2001, it gave me a chance to meet Sir Edmund Hillary who invited me to his home, bought me a new mountain bike and other things I needed,” he says.
Hillary has long cherished an affection for Nepal since becoming the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest with fellow mountaineer Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Swaziland in Southern Africa will be Shah’s 101st destination and then he plans to travel to other countries in Africa. He expects to complete his peace mission in 2009.
Since beginning his trip Shah has already used six passports.
He has collected stamps, coins, paper money, photos and badges of each country that he has visited.
“I would like to hand over the souvenirs that I have collected from different countries to the museum,” says Shah.
“After completing my peace mission I want to climb Everest and place the flags of all countries on the summit in 2010,” said Shah.
He also wants to pen a book about his experiences.
Shah says his life has transformed after visiting so many countries and meeting different people.
“I’ve met rich and poor people and every day I learn new things from them,” he says. “But wherever I’ve been, I found the same human yearning for peace.” — AFP