Amazing accomplishment you two! I’ve really enjoyed following your journey in these newsletters, Strava, and instagram. The instagram stories were my favorite - they were hilarious and I think you should do more of them. Can’t wait to follow along on your next adventure!
The memories of your remarkable journey will endure for life, commemorating the unwavering dedication and resilience you and Avvai share. By supporting Avvai's ambition to cycle extensively, you have given a profound gift of love. Your accomplishments are a reflection of your exceptional character, which we admire. - Auntie Gail
No parade, no, but I'm cheering for you over here in Saskatoon, Kyle and Avvai! Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Your dispatches have been great to read. I suppose I got the shorter version, not being an Instagram person, but this Making It Meaningful newsletter was enough for me. All that biking didn't hurt your writing any. Describing your understanding of history as a jigsaw puzzle whose edge pieces now are connected was great. And "The dream is dead. Long live the next dream." Perfect ending. I will continue to follow you two with great interest (and just a little concern).
Thanks for the comment. It's been wonderful to have people chime in and celebrate with us — it actually is making this feel like more of an achievement! Which again ties into the importance of community.
Wow I love it!! Bravo Kyle and Avvai! The party and celebration was when you took your photos at the Istanbul sign. I still remember taking victory photos as we hoisted our bikes above our heads on the edge of an ocean cliff at Cape Spear NFL! The victory of cycling over 3500kms in 1988 was truly celebratory but the ability to hoist my bike above overhead with my arms totally extended was momentous.
Your reflections on "worry" struck a chord with me. I've always just put my head down and worked my way through or around situations in life. Now for the first time it seems as though we are stuck. We are in the middle of several huge life changing events but are stuck and can't move forward. We are being forced to wait.... Neither dad nor I are good at waiting. So we are basically standing around looking for things to do and ways to "not worry". I have Dale Carnigie's book on how not to worry ( I bought it for dad several years ago) but it is buried in a box somewhere in a storage locker. Maybe you can share some insights with your mom when you get home. For now I will trust that God has perfect timing and keep looking around for growth and learning opportunities. I'm excited to see you two soon.
And the worry stuff is nothing groundbreaking. Just lots and lots of anecdotes about people worrying themselves to near death moments and then miraculously healing when they stop worrying haha.
I suspect the public library has a copy you could pick up!
Well, I, for one, am celebrating your achievement. Kudos, and thanks for taking me along! Also, "before smartphones and the internet" makes me feel old. I drove from Tucson to Lago Atitlan in 2009 (the dark ages, evidently) with a paper atlas, , Lonely Planet, a flip phone, and the occasional low bandwidth internet cafe to update my livejournal. Makes me feel like a dinosaur. A pachycephalosaurus, of course, discovered at my birthplace.
Thanks Dave. Even though Avvai said we were pre-smartphone, I can’t imagine doing this without one! The maps were vital and google translate saved our lives.
Maybe next time we’ll have to go full analog to really up the challenge factor.
I can't imagine navigating Mexico now without Google maps. Back then, we would drive to the center of town, park, and walk around looking for a hotel. Now, Maps tales me to the door. Plus, I'm sure we never took the best route.
Amazing accomplishment you two! I’ve really enjoyed following your journey in these newsletters, Strava, and instagram. The instagram stories were my favorite - they were hilarious and I think you should do more of them. Can’t wait to follow along on your next adventure!
Thanks Courtney! More videos are coming. It's been great having you along on the journey. We always appreciate your comments and encouragement :)
The memories of your remarkable journey will endure for life, commemorating the unwavering dedication and resilience you and Avvai share. By supporting Avvai's ambition to cycle extensively, you have given a profound gift of love. Your accomplishments are a reflection of your exceptional character, which we admire. - Auntie Gail
Thanks Gail! So far I haven't gone wrong supporting Avvai haha. It's the easy answer!
the dream is dead - long live the dream!
Kyle & Avvai, thank you for following your dreams. It was a real pleasure to follow along through the writing and the videos.
Great reflections. The people we meet travelling really do make the map. Also this:
"We were lucky to meet a lot of inspiring people on this trip. They tended to have one philosophy in common: They were never trying to be inspiring."
The most inspiring folks are the ones living their values.. not espousing or talking about what they want to do.. just doing it.
Bravo!
I appreciate the comment Lucas. Though I may be guilty of trying to be inspiring just a little bit haha.
No parade, no, but I'm cheering for you over here in Saskatoon, Kyle and Avvai! Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Your dispatches have been great to read. I suppose I got the shorter version, not being an Instagram person, but this Making It Meaningful newsletter was enough for me. All that biking didn't hurt your writing any. Describing your understanding of history as a jigsaw puzzle whose edge pieces now are connected was great. And "The dream is dead. Long live the next dream." Perfect ending. I will continue to follow you two with great interest (and just a little concern).
Thanks for the comment. It's been wonderful to have people chime in and celebrate with us — it actually is making this feel like more of an achievement! Which again ties into the importance of community.
Good to have you along :)
Wow I love it!! Bravo Kyle and Avvai! The party and celebration was when you took your photos at the Istanbul sign. I still remember taking victory photos as we hoisted our bikes above our heads on the edge of an ocean cliff at Cape Spear NFL! The victory of cycling over 3500kms in 1988 was truly celebratory but the ability to hoist my bike above overhead with my arms totally extended was momentous.
Your reflections on "worry" struck a chord with me. I've always just put my head down and worked my way through or around situations in life. Now for the first time it seems as though we are stuck. We are in the middle of several huge life changing events but are stuck and can't move forward. We are being forced to wait.... Neither dad nor I are good at waiting. So we are basically standing around looking for things to do and ways to "not worry". I have Dale Carnigie's book on how not to worry ( I bought it for dad several years ago) but it is buried in a box somewhere in a storage locker. Maybe you can share some insights with your mom when you get home. For now I will trust that God has perfect timing and keep looking around for growth and learning opportunities. I'm excited to see you two soon.
Maybe we’ll try to replicate that picture!
And the worry stuff is nothing groundbreaking. Just lots and lots of anecdotes about people worrying themselves to near death moments and then miraculously healing when they stop worrying haha.
I suspect the public library has a copy you could pick up!
Well, I, for one, am celebrating your achievement. Kudos, and thanks for taking me along! Also, "before smartphones and the internet" makes me feel old. I drove from Tucson to Lago Atitlan in 2009 (the dark ages, evidently) with a paper atlas, , Lonely Planet, a flip phone, and the occasional low bandwidth internet cafe to update my livejournal. Makes me feel like a dinosaur. A pachycephalosaurus, of course, discovered at my birthplace.
Thanks Dave. Even though Avvai said we were pre-smartphone, I can’t imagine doing this without one! The maps were vital and google translate saved our lives.
Maybe next time we’ll have to go full analog to really up the challenge factor.
I can't imagine navigating Mexico now without Google maps. Back then, we would drive to the center of town, park, and walk around looking for a hotel. Now, Maps tales me to the door. Plus, I'm sure we never took the best route.