Relax - Epic cycling adventure gave him life lessons

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WHEN 33-year-old Rob Lilwall set out to cycle from Siberia to London in an adventure of a lifetime in 2004, little did he expect he would return to England close to four years later with a fiancee in tow.

Now married to Singapore- educated lawyer Christine Liu-Lilwall, Rob is busy giving lectures around the world and promoting his book, Cycling Home From Siberia.

He will be sharing his experiences in a talk at the National Geographic store here in April.

Recently, my paper caught up with Mr Lilwall in a phone interview.

Why did you go on the trip?

I was at a point in my life where I wanted a big adventure. I quit my job as a geography teacher in Britain to do this. If I didn’t do it then, I probably never would.

Why the bicycle?

I wanted to experience the world at ground level and meet real people.

Why Siberia?

I wanted to start as far away from home as possible.

Looking at the map, I saw this small city called Magadan in Russia. It was out in the wilderness, but has lots of history – Stalin used to send a lot of prisoners there. It was on the edge of the world; looked great to me.

During his four-year cycling journey, Mr Rob Lilwall - pictured in Australia - travelled to Afghanistan and got engaged to a Singapore-educated lawyer.

What were the most memorable moments?

My best and most vivid memories involved the people I met. I was very well looked after by all the kind people in many countries I visited. Strangers would buy me a meal or offer me housing in their homes.

The trip has changed my view of humanity. There’s so much goodness in humanity.

In Iran in 2007, for example, where I was quite nervous, the people were very friendly and kind.

One guy I met was a bicycle mechanic. He waved me down as I was cycling past his shop.

He then spent the next two hours fixing my bike. He didn’t have the right spare parts, so he took apart his own bike!

Then, when I took my wallet out to pay him – I was hoping it wouldn’t be too expensive – he refused payment.

Through gesturing and a little bit of broken English, he told me he couldn’t take money from a visitor to his country.

But I also saw a dark side of humanity. I went through countries at war and saw extreme poverty in places like the Philippines.

Rob Lilwall river crossing on ice.

How did you stay safe in Afghanistan in 2007?

When I was in Afghanistan where there was actual fighting going on, I didn’t have any bodyguards.

I was very careful and took all the precautions I could.

It was the only country in which I took a bus. I had to catch a bus for about 300km, travelling via the Khyber pass from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

It was a very dangerous road.

Taking a bus was a big compromise for me but it was the right thing to do.

I got to Kabul but cycled north to the border with Uzbekistan.

Each night, I arranged to stay with a non-governmental organisation or I would stay where someone important said to stay. I cycled only in the day.

Sometimes, in the villages, some of the local people didn’t like the fact that I was English. I could feel it and, during those times, I thought to myself, “time to go”.

However, even more than fear, I just felt a lot of sadness.

What’s next?

I’m busy promoting my book, giving lectures and corporate talks. I will be walking the length of Israel soon (Mr Lilwall is currently on this expedition, which is expected to last at least three weeks.).

So, yes, an uncertain future, but lots of adventures.

estheray@sph.com.sg

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