Insight Adventures

5 Years Around the World.

When I met Fuji, he was peddling his bike down the narrow HWY 1 through Baja, Mexico, alone, on his way south. It was a hot sunny day in June and we flew past him in our SUV, pulling completely into the other lane to avoid him. Looking into my rear view mirror, I could see his sun parched face focused on the narrow white line in front of him. He never looked up. “Pull over.” I heard in my head. “Done” I replied. I have learned to follow my intuition at this stage in my life.

I immediately pulled over to the side of the road, into a sand rut. (There are no shoulders on the roads in Baja.) When he arrived at the car, he had the look of someone who had been on the road for a while. “My name is Fuji, you know… like the film.” I was thinking of the mountain… this guy has some guts to be our here alone, on a bike!

“Where you headed?” I asked. (Expecting somewhere in Mexico.) “ Nicaragua.” Wow. Where are you coming from? “Africa.” Yes, Fuji had been on the road for a while. He was on his 3rd year of a 5-year journey of self-discovery around the world. He explained that he was a “retired” schoolteacher. Three years of working in the rigorous Japanese school system and it was time to take off for 5. I love it! Fuji is my hero right now. Now that’s a good work to play ratio

Maybe I should be more specific. “Fuji, where are you going tonight?” On his wrinkled map, he showed me where he planned to stop for the night and eat. I knew that there was nothing there but an old burned out rest stop. What a horrible place to spend the night, especially with no food or water. We offered to take him further down the road, but he insisted on going by his own pedal power. However, he was more than happy to accept our donations of cold water, pita sandwiches, candy and his favorite; two Red Bulls. (He downed them both immediately.)

After sharing the rest of his story with us, he thanked us profusely, we thanked him for the inspiration and he sped off down the road with his new pair of “wings.”

Clearly, where there is a will there is a way. We are rooting for you Fuji! Good luck bud.  –Jesse