Stories

 

Lessons from the Road

The Lightning and the Shepherd

"Every road has something to teach us.
Some lessons come gently. Others arrive with the sound of thunder."

People often ask me how I learned everything I know about travelling by bicycle.

The truth is, no one ever handed me a manual.

The road became my teacher.

Every mistake became a lesson.

Every challenge became experience.

Looking back today, I realise that my greatest education did not come from books or classrooms. It came from punctures repaired beside lonely roads, unexpected storms, generous strangers, difficult decisions, and thousands of kilometres travelled one pedal stroke at a time.

This is one of those stories.

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My love for bicycles began long before I ever dreamed of cycling around the world.

As a little boy, even my favourite toy—a small metal pedal car, given to me by my grandfather—already had pedals.

Perhaps my journey had begun long before I knew it.

Not long afterwards came my first real bicycle.

It was an Eska, a beautiful three-speed racing bicycle built in Czechoslovakia. If I remember correctly, it had actually been bought for my older brother.

But somehow...

It became mine.

I was still too small to reach the ground properly whenever I stopped.

Instead, I balanced myself by resting against the top tube while the tip of one foot barely touched the road.

Without knowing it, I was already learning my first lesson.

A bicycle teaches balance long before it teaches speed.

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As I grew older, my world became larger.

Each week I rode a little farther from home.

Each ride taught me something new.

I learned how to repair a puncture by the roadside.

How to adjust brakes.

How to replace gear cables.

Why a leather saddle becomes your best companion on long journeys.

Why good gloves protect far more than your hands.

And why a helmet is something you should never ride without.

Every small lesson gave me a little more confidence.

Without realising it, I wasn't just learning about bicycles.

I was learning how to prepare for life on the road.

One tool at a time.

One mistake at a time.

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Then came the day that taught me a lesson I have never forgotten...

I wanted to surprise my grandfather.

He lived in Polygyros, about seventy kilometres from my home in Thessaloniki.

I knew my parents would never allow me to make the journey alone.

So I made a decision.

I would organise everything myself.

I packed my bicycle.

I checked my equipment.

And early one morning, without telling anyone, I quietly left home.

I felt proud.

Independent.

Ready for adventure.

I believed I had planned everything perfectly.

I was wrong.

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