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The Making of “Cayendo Hacia Arriba: El Secreto De La Vida”

I had the time of my life in Argentina as the Cultural Ambassador with the US Department of State. We worked with 12 schools to create the Spanish edition of “Falling Uphill: The Secret of Life”. I visited some underprivileged schools, an orphanage for HIV+ children, bicycled through Buenos Aires in their city “bicicleteada”, and much more. Rather than write 10,000 words to describe this honor, perhaps it is easier to just watch the movies of my trip below.

The first video is about my trip the Chaco and Corrientes, back where I got stuck in the mud so long ago. The second video is about the making of the book at a school for deaf children. The third video was one of my favorite days at an extremely poor community know as “Fort Apache”. The fourth video is about the “bicicleteada”. And the last video is a TV interview partially in English.

Once again I have applied to be a roommate at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Above you see what would be my bedroom. I also imagine my bicycle, the bicycle that went around the world, occupying a very important corner, along with some maps and photos. I considered my journey as an empirical study of the meaning of life. I had theory: If life means something, I should be able to find it somehow somewhere.

I can’t express how much a dream it would be to live day and night for a month in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and explore and report on all the amazing science, and, of course, being part of the experiment to see how this experience changes me and everyone I meet. I imagine it would be a great inspiration to people, just as my trip has already inspired so many people to live their dreams, like an 88 year old woman that decided to fly to Bhutan after reading my book.

Below is my application video. I didn’t have time to make a new video to emphasize my love for science. But the Chicago Sun Times liked this video enough to showcase it on their website during the last round.

My segment on Milwaukee Public Television with Outdoor Wisconsin has been pushed to next year! It seems the schedule for this year was filled before we even started filming. But don’t worry my story of self-discovery is as timeless as being human. The crew filmed me riding around Kohler-Andrae State Park for 3 hours. I was getting tired. And the interview only lasted about 15 minutes. It will be interesting to see what makes the silver screen, and how they interpret my thoughts on cycling Wisconsin vs the World.

I’ve also had a flurry of other media interest:

• Hopefully not-so-fleeting interest from National Geographic’s Locked Up Abroad.
• An article in The Waukesha Freeman about being a featured author at the SE WI Festival of Books.
• A radio interview with Michael Clish on WFAW. (Thanks to the Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop.)
• And a matching newspaper article in the Ft. Atkinson Daily Union.

World traveler came home to fulfillment — JSOnline

This is a great story about my trip around the world, coming home, and how this all evolved into working with local schools to illustrate children’s books.

Thanks to Laurel Walker for doing such a thorough job, and to help build our local community by spreading change. I also had a big big surprise to see that I made the cover of the online edition. I had many teachers tell me that it was a win for the education system during these troubled times of protests in the State Capitol. Also, see the fun photo gallery by Kristyna Wentz-Graff.

PS. The original full-page story about my trip around the world in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is no longer accessible :(

I had another great interview on WPR’s Larry Meiller program. We talked a little about my trip around the world on a bicycle, and a lot about working with Poplar Creek Elementary school to illustrate the new book Falling Uphill: The Secret of Life. Listen to the interview.

Also Listen to my favorite interview the first time I was on Larry’s show.

Thanks to WPR for helping to sow the seeds of the school book project at many more schools.

• Outdoor Wisconsin (PBS). Coming soon.
• The New York Times and the NYT slide show
• The San Francisco Chronicle
• Santa Maria Times
• The San Diego Tribune
• Korean Daily Economic
• The Milwaukee Journal. (This is one of my favorite favorites; and, unfortunately, this story has just been archived.) However, the follow-up story is currently available. JSOnline.

Unfortunately many of my favorites stories aren’t available, like my story in:

• The Cape Argus, Cape Town South Africa
• Momentum Magazine, Vancouver, Canada
• The San Francisco Examiner
• The Waukesha Freeman.
• And more.

Update: Despite my video being briefly showcased on the Chicago Sun Times website and my overwhelming (quite literally) desire to do this, I’m sad and a bit surprised (along with my friends) to say that I didn’t make it to the next round….

Here is video application to be a roommate at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

I can’t express how much a dream it would be to live day and night for a month in the museum, and explore and report on all the amazing science. And, I would love to make a display of my bicycle and photos and all the discoveries I made while cycling around the world. And, of course, be part of the experiment to see how this experience changes me and everyone I meet. Wish me luck and stay tuned to vote.

My photo is on this wall somewhere:

As a post world tour honor, me and my bike got to occupy first, second and third place on the podium at the Downer Classic race at the Tour of America’s Dairyland. I also had the chance to share my story with the crowd.

I’ve always been impressed that many world-class cyclists and teams that don’t qualify for the Tour de France come to Wisconsin for our excellent race series also including Super Week starting soon.

Why are this man’s legs so strong?

Update: My story in the acclaimed Milwaukee Magazine  was on the newsstands in March and was a sweet summary of my trip. Wish I had a professional photographer following me around the world. Can you guess what that white stuff is? BTW, how did I get beat for the cover by a piece of pizza?

Photo courtesy of © Dan Zaitz

Today’s interview is with Scott Stoll, author of the book Falling Uphill, founder of the adventure travel community The Argonauts, and perpetual traveler.  He’s currently cycling around the world.  Yes, cycling – as in on a bicycle. Read more….

Head on over to BikeRumor.com for a nice little blurb about Falling Uphill and a generally interesting bicycle site.

Plus read about the bike that sold for 1.3 million dollars.

The book tour continues. I have to say some of the unexpected adventures I’ve had is just learning how society works.

Top 3 lessons of being a businessman:

1. It’s a busy busy busy world.
2. Society operates on a lot of hidden agendas and unwritten rules.
3. Perseverance: because everything is harder and more complicated than you think it is, which is another reason to follow your dream, because there is no easy answer.

While I’m at it. “iCycled around the world” bicycle jerseys are for sale. I can change the body copy and customize the front. Contact me for more info.

I met Stephen Regenold, the Gear Junkie, last summer in Minneapolis. I admire how he turned his love of gadgets into a profitable career, which is essentially the art of creating an adventure in your own backyard. In fact, he just returned from competing in the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, the “toughest and wildest race on Earth.”

Thanks to the Gear Junkie for featuring my bicycle in his nationally syndicated newspaper column. The story was great. So often journalists get it wrong. Also, it has had a very big impact, much more so than any other story in newspapers, TV or radio. So that’s a testament to the power of a passionate blogger.

Read the story about the The Bike that went Around the World

“Great job yesterday! The anchors loved you, said only good things in the after show meeting.” Michael Dooley, the producer.

Stay tuned, I will post the spot with the teaser of me riding my bicycle into the studio on live TV. It was a very tight turn and I lost my balance and bounced off the wall. (I like to think I used the wall to my advantage.) It was either that or getting snarled in the curtain.

And for the record, Chicago has an amazing Lake Front trail for bicycling.

Or watch the video clip on their website.

Here’s a Skype interview done by Rick Owens, a guy that is truly passionate about everything bicycles. With my experience in the world of websites and video, I can attest that he puts far more effort into these videos than is apparent.

Watch the webisode.

For the record, I’m enjoying Minneapolis. Bicycling down the Greenway (a rail to trail) and around the lakes could keep me busy for a long time.