Butterfly dream
Humanitarian principles and a passion for cycling drove him around the world:
Dena Rashed caught him at the last stop
Patrick Goni Diaz, 31, has been cycling since he was only five, but he didn't put his life on hold to tour the world by bike until two years ago. Setting off from Spain, his homeland, Diaz headed east through Europe to the Middle East, where he did an about face into Syria and headed back through Jordan to Cairo. So far he has visited 15 countries. His proposed destination, which he has yet to reach, was India: "The first year at college I studied oriental philosophy, Buddhism and Hinduism. It was then that I felt I really wanted to travel, and start with India." Having earned a bachelors of humanities, he was halfway through his PhD in humanitarian studies when he decided it was the right time to realise his dream; that was 2004. "I thought I'd had enough experience at age 30 and at the same time I felt fit enough to pursue the journey. It was the right balance of experience and youth."
Originally from Barcelona, Diaz feels he belongs in every country around the world. The trip might appear to be personally motivated, but his dedication to the dream of travelling the world by bike reflects the urge to bridge the cultural gap between East and West; everywhere he goes, he spreads his message. He says his brother warned him against cycling in the Middle East, saying it would not be safe, but he didn't listen: "there are many stereotypes associated with the countries of the East and the West at the same time. So when confronted with warnings about certain countries, I simply say, 'did you visit?' Because I realise you can't judge a place until you've been there." As expressed on www.imagineonbike.com, Diaz has a vision for a multinational association, Humanities Without Frontiers, whose members are willing to subordinate allegiances to their race, skin colour and language to an allegiance with humanity at large. And vision is backed up by experience: across 15 countries Diaz has interviewed and photographed hundreds of people, finding out what their dreams are; he is putting together a 15,000-photo exhibit of people on bikes, to open at the end of the tour; and his friends are turning the whole process into a collective project: photography equipment and web authoring, for example, are both donated by friends committed to Diaz's vision. Through September 2004- February 2006, the logistics have been organised with the help of a friend -- the one with whom Diaz was to embark on the tour as a team.
"We started from scratch -- we had to contact the Spanish Embassy in every country we were to visit, and those countries' embassies in Spain, to make sure all would go well before we started," he explains. "But my friend fell in love at the time when we were to start, and he chose love." The fact that the friend is still happily in love has made the solitude worth it, Diaz feels, and anyway he still helps. Diaz's own mother and girlfriend, Mirei, have been totally supportive -- so much so that Butterfly, Mirei's nickname, is also the name of the bike: "For me, the name implies rebirth -- a new life, and at a deeper level, the connection between the soul and love." Both women have had a strong effect on Diaz, and he makes no effort to play this down: "my mother is my first inspiration, so is my girlfriend. They have always encouraged me to pursue my dream." And it is their faith in him that takes the edge off the trip. Though by no means the first to undertake -- or indeed accomplish the feat in question, Diaz's brand of enthusiasm makes it feel unprecedented. "I am an optimist," he says. "I know it is my best quality and it keeps me going on. I also adapt easily to new lifestyles." Not even Cairo traffic, which makes it difficult enough to drive small distances, let alone cycle long distances, could put him off: "cycling in Cairo is fine with me. There were other places that were difficult as well, but I didn't mind them either." Given the budget, especially, no such plan could take off without unlimited optimism and imagination: "I decided it would be a very boring procedure to find a sponsor, and I felt that, with a sponsor, I wouldn't be entirely in control. So the funding comes from my savings -- all of it." What he needs, after all, is food -- and his legs. Even Butterfly is not the most expensive of bicycles: "I just focussed on getting the best tires and a strong construction to endure the long hours -- nothing very pricey."
Without hotel bookings or a clear itinerary of stops, the toughest thing has been sleeping, though Diaz typically insists that it hasn't been a problem at all: "the fun part for me is that with every step I take I don't know where I will be waking up the next day." He simply cycles until nightfall, then he stops, takes out his sleeping bag and dozes off. On the road, while one might expect people to present problems of their own, it is dogs that constitute "the toughest challenge when I decide to go to sleep at night -- still, when we fight I always win", Diaz giggles, "so it's not really a problem". When he set off Diaz had believed that, variety of emotions notwithstanding, kindness is the true virtue of 99 per cent of humanity: "And I have found my theory is true. People are very helpful and kind. It was nice to realise I hadn't been wrong about the hospitality and pleasantness of people from the Middle East." Wherever they found out why he was cycling, people have offered him food and shelter. "I was always received with a smile." The trip has been a success overall but there were two low points, optimism notwithstanding: "while I was in Greece, and by then I had cycled for 2,500km, I was on my bike for only 80km. It was very cold and I had a flu. So I felt a bit down." His second moment of low spirits occurred here in Cairo. He spent two weeks with his mother and his girlfriend, who came to spend the latter's birthday with him, and it was sad when it was time for them to leave; yet it has been a significant stop. "So basically my happiest and saddest moments on this journey were in Egypt."
Next, Diaz will retrace his steps to Jordan, whence either straight into the east or through Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. He doesn't know yet, he doesn't care. He knows how to enjoy a journey in solitude because he understands that life is not a destination, it's a journey.
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