Seizing the World
Stephen Allen: Riding for a Cause
“It’s possible to accomplish a great deal so long as you have passion, simple tools and a group of close friends with enthusiasm for the project,” says local Tellurider Stephen Allen. Stephen and I met in October when he came on Travel Fun for a last-minute radio interview just before heading out on an around-the-world bicycling tour. Such a journey would seem daunting for just about anybody, but Stephen is not your average guy. He’s incredibly motivated and determined not to let life’s hurdles get in his way. He was thrown a real curve ball almost ten years ago in high school when he learned he had epilepsy; not surprisingly, however, it seems that that has forced him to be even more focused on making a difference in the world.
So far Stephen has logged close to 2,000 miles on his bike as he worked his way down from Colorado to New Mexico, across Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and as I write this, Mississippi. His goal is to promote active living with epilepsy and to raise money for research. He has been accomplishing much of this by giving presentations in bookstores, bike shops and a variety of other venues along the way. He’s headed to Charleston, South Carolina where he’ll fly out for Europe on December 8th to embark upon the international portion of his expedition. His mom, Susan, informed me that he’s pedaled with a number of different people at various intervals along the way. In all, Stephen thinks his grand tour might last two years. You can learn more about living with epilepsy and Stephen’s travels at Seize the World. Take a moment, too, to read my write up on him and my blurbs on other important organizations and causes on my Giving page.
May the wind always be at your back, Stephen, or at least may the headwinds be manageable!
His Round-the-World Rig
Book Pick
“The Monkey Wrench Gang,” by Edward Abbey. “My trip will be much cleaner, much more sober, much more organized, much less violent and (hopefully) more sustainable than Edward Abbey’s case, but the underlying dreams are similar,” Stephen wrote to me just before heading out.
