FAQ - in a nutshell

FAQ – in a nutshell
Who and what?
I am Ari Gold. I am riding my bicycle around the world


Where and when?
Past
I started from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on September 1st, 2009. I lived there, with my ex-wife for 10 years. I rode and hitchhiked to (Nevada) West Wendover, then to (Utah) Salt Lake City, Moab, Hanksville, (Colorado) Cortez, Dove Creek, Durango, (New Mexico) Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rozwell, Carlesbad Caverns, (Texas) Austin, Dallas, Denton, (Oklahoma) Tulsa and (Missouri) Springfield, Gainesville, Kansas City, Columbia, Kirksville, Macon, St. Joseph, (Nebraska) Omaha, (Iowa) Sioux City, (South Dakota) Sioux Falls, (North Dakota) Fargo, Grand Forks, Pembina to the Canadian border. They turned me back. I need sponsorship or money. I went back through to Fargo then on to Minneapolis on the Lake Wobegon trail. Time to rethink; how am I going to cross so many borders when the first one is so hard?

Present
On this day, August 4th, 2010, I am in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Sponsorship seems further out of reach than making a lot of money. What a surprise.

Future
I plan to go to (Canada) Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Saint John, Saint John docks to schmooze with the sailors and work my way across the Atlantic on an ocean going vessel, (United Kingdom!!) Where will they drop me off? No clue, but then: all the castles and museums in the UK before 'The Cliffs of Dover', (France) Calais, all over Europe except: through the Alps (I figured out how to go through the Alps - the southern shores of Spain and France, I am told Monaco is beautiful.), the guerilla monkeys of Gibraltar, the Atlantic Ocean, the Balkins and Russia. The monkeys of Gibraltar are not going to steal my stuff or fling poo at me, the Slavs (Balkin people) are not going to fling bullets at me, nor are the Russians, nor is anybody from the Middle East. You get for a lot of points for shooting a 1) white, 2) ex-military, 3) American 4) male with a 5) jewish name while he is 6) riding his bicycle (not just any moving target)! AND 7) he is on a self-supporting / fully-loaded world bicycle tour?! Not this guy on this bicycle; I am not going that way. Several experts told me to take a train from Turkey to China. Ride my bicycle around the Orient, take boats to the islands – Indonesia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia...

Sri Lanka is an island? I thought it was on the mainland. I am geographically challenged; the names of places and where the border was kept changing when I was studying georaphy in school. I want to see Italy and Greece but am not going through the Alps, not this bicyclist with all my stuff on any bicycle! Maybe if I go around the Alps... Truly, my short term, how-to plans are made of soap bubbles and gossamer wings.


How?
How will I cross the waters? By working my way across on ocean-going vessels. People ask, riding your bicycle around the ship? No, there are no rules; this is my life.

How can I afford this? This adventure does not cost much money. It's taxing in other ways; hard work, boring, lonely, scary, full of uncertainties. I live on the edge of socially acceptable. I make much of my equipment myself from things I find at the community bike shops, on the road, in thrift shops and in hardware or craft shops. I don't have many rolemodels to follow; how to do this or that. I have goals I don't know how to accomplish and I don't know who to ask. It is my body, mind and soul that pay the cost and are rewarded.

Are you doing this for a cause?
People ask me if I have a cause; I am touring the world on my bicycle. I am doing it my way - very little damage to anyone or anything, a whole lot of thoughtful creativity, loving detail, depth of vision and Otter fun! I am learning politeness, worldliness and continuously explore both inner and outer, gain self and wisdom. I am the cause.

Why?
I was unemployed for a long time. I got a divorce. I had to leave the house and I had no money. I saw other people asking the same question, with even more fear, sadness and a sense of hopelessness in their eyes; “Where COULD I go, what COULD I do?” There were too many answers and I did not like any of them. How could I find a good path for myself and help those people at the same time? I asked a friend, Brian Cavanaugh, if he had any ideas. He gave me a priceless gift; he said “You have a rare opportunity most people never get; you can do what you want; you don't have children, a wife or parents to take care of, no real ties to the community, no house, no bills.” That implied I had to figure out what I wanted to do. “Where did I WANT to go, what did I WANT to do?” There were only a few answers and I liked them a lot. I want to see the world. I want to see the castles, museums, cultures, wildlife and lanscapes. I want to meet the people, hear the music, taste the food, feel the breeze, see the sky and smell the roses.
People say I should write a book, you're reading it. It is a living book, a work in progress, still growing and full of life. That donate button on the bottom of my blog page, can be payment for the book or you can read it for free. I WILL find a way. I will find my place in the sun. I will reforge and redefine and rediscover myself.

I actively seek out better ways of doing things. There are a lot of things I don't like about the way things are done in the culture or society I used to live in; disposable, got to have the best / brightest / biggest / fastest / strongest, government and corporate actions done without considering the consequences, plausible deniability, planned obsolescence, immediate gratification, “it's not my fault” / “this is the only way” / “it's how we've always done it” / “I don't care”. Throughout my life, I heard “If you don't like it, you can leave.” I'm leaving and I like it.

The better ways I found are usually 'the old ways'. Thousands of generations with minds as great if not greater than ours got us this far, let's be cautious and respectful of the consequences regarding that next NEW step into the unknown. In these times of global communication / commerce / corporations / transportation it is so easy to make a small change that has a huge, unexpected outcome.


On the bright side
I have very little chance of failure. When I crash and burn I pick myself up and continue on. All I have to do to reach my goals is to keep on going. My first bicycle was stolen with everything on it (except my true essentials – wallet, cell phone, laptop and medication) in Albuequerque, New Mexico. I separated my left shoulder in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I hit a car in Austin, Texas twrecking my second bike, bending the front forks and front tire beyond repair.

I am gaining public notice. Several newspapers along my way ran stories on me. "Going for Gold" in the Tulsa World, on April 1, 2010 in the 'Scenes' section is the most widely published article about my adventure. I was on three radio stations. One of them was Monique Bird of KNTU, public radio out of North Texas University, Denton, Texas talked about my journey. I am told I was mentioned on some TV news stations along my path.