It’s been two years, one month, and a couple of weeks since I have been able to return to my heaven on Earth. The summer before this last visit, I began to film the places I return to during my solo adventures and record the people that have become close friends and family.
You’ll be able to meet some people that mean the world to me and whom I miss dearly. You’ll meet Gayla, my Tibetan Ama, Gama the monk, and Jamyang Tsomo. Jamyang Tsomo is about 6 months pregnant in this film and her childbirth is why I returned later that winter, to only get stuck in Garze because of the Covid outbreak.
I think about these people on a daily basis and my heart longs to return. Perhaps this experience has allowed me to come closer to understanding and sympathizing with the Tibetan diaspora and refugees that have left their motherland and may never return. Will this make me a better photographer, and human, when I finally can return to Tibet? Who knows. But I do know that’s cemented the fact that there may never be a “next time” or chances to give a proper goodbye.
The time away, and the longing to communicate through WeChat, is one of the catalysts to start studying Tibetan. It’s a way to stay connected to them, but also occupy my mind on a daily basis with something that means so much to me.
That summer, I remember wondering who would I be without Tibet. It felt like my entire career, identity, and socializing revolved around Tibet. I worked like a madwoman to be able to afford trips to Tibet. My entire life consisted of that one single goal. It was the reason I put my pants on every morning for nearly a decade.
And then…poof. It happened. I lost a place, friends, and my identity. And for the last two years, I’ve been building upon what started a little over a decade. Maybe you can start to connect the pieces of why I’m wanting to race and continue studying the languages of the places I love.
The song was sung by my friend, Jacob’s sister. I was staying with them when Covid broke out two years ago and obviously something happened because I was removed from his WeChat and wouldn’t accept my friend request. Again, many stories that hopefully will find their way to these pages someday.
This film was edited by a friend that I had met in Kham when I bought a horse a few years back, Mikey Matthews. I guess that’s another story for another time.
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Tribute: A short film to honor the people of Tibet. September 19th, 2022WanderCyclist
I’ve been telling myself for the last few years I was going to bring this blog back to life. Maybe it was a silent promise of my rise from the ashes. But here we are, again, turning the corner on a ten-year anniversary of completing that “epic” bike tour. (I’ve learned a few buzz words over the last few years but don’t worry, I’m not pursuing a career as an influencer.)
Sitting here in my photography studio gallery here in Dayton, Ohio with my Tibetan language textbooks open and trying to figure out how to schedule training for my next ultra, I thought maybe I’d peck a few lines out here to get the fire started. To push those wheels a little forward.
Where do I go, and how far do I return, to catch you up to today. Do I start now and fill in the pieces as we go along?
Singletrack in New Mexico. Currently one of my favorite states to ride in as it reminds me so much of Asia.
I live in Dayton Ohio and have since February 2020. There was a plan to return from China and I had been photographing hotels around China from about 2017 to 2020, which allowed me to save a little nest egg to return to the US and continue my travels and work “out west”. I was in Garze when Covid exploded two years ago and through all the drama and heartbreak, I left the second week of February of 2020 and haven’t returned. Fortunately, I had already begun the process to move back to the US so I didn’t lose too much. But I did have a-frantic-boxing-up-day right before I boarded my last flight from China. Abandoned a storage unit but was able to get three large boxes of my possessions home…there is a surfboard from Lombok still sitting in a friend’s AirBnb in Shanghai. (Oh yeah, I took up surfing in Indonesia a few years back.)
So since coming “home”, I’ve built a photography studio/gallery here in Ohio, taken up mountain biking, and am currently in my third semester of Tibetan language studies at Indiana University Bloomington. Working on that second foreign language and this time, formally. And…I have found myself pursuing ultra-endurance races.
I had planned on returning to Tibet during the summer of 2021 for an anniversary ride. Even had a custom titanium rig built from a buddy in Shanghai but obviously, that didn’t happen. So what would I choose to do instead? I decided to race in the Big Lonely last October.
Why an ultra? Because I had photographed the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan during August of 2018 for Brooks England. It was really my first exposure to racing not to mention the refined and compressed idea of long-distance touring. Besides meeting so many rad folks, I was captivated by the endurance aspect and how so many skills are needed besides just staying upright and pedaling after not sleeping for two days. (I tested myself during the Big Lonely and went 36 hours with no sleep. The evening hallucinations were spectacular and my eyes saw countless Tibetan nomads and little garden gnomes among the very alive and breathing great pines of the Pacific Northwest.)
So, what did I decide to do after the Big Lonely? Well, of course. I signed up, registered, and paid my entrance fees to race in the Silk Road Mountain Race 2022. Seems only like the normal thing to do. Right?
I may not be the fastest or strongest (although I’ve been weight training since December) but I know I can go days without speaking to anyone, possess those mountain skills that only come with living on a bike for two years, and as people said during the Big Lonely, I’m “tenacious”. I was the only cyclist that pushed my bike over the last pass of the race during the snow and then continued for four hours with all my lights burnt out while navigating singletrack by moonlight.
Did I get soft with age? I’m in the best shape of my life. Physically. Covid gave me the time to invest in myself. More bike riding, language learning, started some cognitive behavior therapy, and I even scooped up a dude that loves bikes almost as much as I do. We can thank Nick for the pics.
Shredding those New Mexico singletrack trails.
So, before I get too deep, I thought this would be a good first step in the forward direction. I’m working hard on my issues of perfectionism and how it brings up self-sabotaging procrastination.
I had told myself I’d write more about the Big Lonely race but of course, the pots in the front boiled over and that got thrown to the back. There was that familiar depression after the race and I’m lucky that I’m familiar enough with that feeling after a big trip, to know that it would pass. And of course, it did.
My little brother is a GOAT…and I’m still photographing!
My Spring Break begins on Friday, as I had my Tibetan midterm on Friday. I am finishing up this week in my studio with some portrait edits and preparing to dip out of the US for the entire summer. My plan is to give a go at blogging about a US trip, on singletrack, not alone. Ooof, so many new things.
Bikes are still my life but the true reason I get up every morning and carry on is for the people and places that became a part of me in 2010. That bicycle tour never really ended, I just got off the bike for a bit. I knew I needed to do something more than to enjoy the privileged life. I’ll pause here, for now, and leave you with the last two articles about my work over the last decade.
Considering the last two years, I’ve made the best of it. I am still working as a photographer. I still love bicycles. And I even love a special dude that rides bikes with me. So, not too much to complain about except just not enough time. Time. The greatest commodity. And on that, I’ll save you some time.
Curious to know who will navigate here. How many of you are still on a mailing list. And what in the hell will come of this site…and I just want to put a horizontal pen line through “update Wandercyclist” on my To Do list.
See ya out there, or around here ol’pals.
Tibetan Language, Singletrack, Ultra-Endurance Races, a Photo Studio, and a Life in the USA. March 9th, 2022WanderCyclist
