World
July 13, 2011
Roie “Jinji” Sadan and Orly Tal, a blind Israeli woman, with their tandem bike on the Great Ocean Road in Australia on one of the last legs of his adventure, June 2011. Photo courtesy of Roie Sadan
Even during the darkest moments of his four-year cycling odyssey, traversing 42 countries on six continents, Roei “Jinji” Sadan knew he’d never stop.
After all, Sadan had a bike he called Emunah — Hebrew for “faith.”
In Melbourne recently on the eve of the last leg of his 39,000-mile trek, the 29-year-old Israeli recalled cycling through the Mexican desert on New Year’s Day 2008. Suddenly a car pulled up.
“I didn’t know Spanish; I thought they wanted to help me,” Sadan recalls. “Then one of them showed me a gun and I started to understand what’s going on.”
The bandits stole clothes, money, credit cards and supplies, as well as a tent and sleeping bag — but not his 27-gear, custom-built, blue-and-white Thorn Nomad bicycle.
“From then on, I called it Emunah,” he said.
Within an hour, his faith was rewarded. Two American surfers passed by and drove Sadan to San Diego, where he restocked with supplies. Another American, having heard a TV interview, drove him back to Mexico so he could continue his adventure.
The incident served as a microcosm for his arduous journey of self-discovery: nightmarish episodes and seeing humanity at its glorious best.
Now that he’s within striking distance of the finish — Sydney’s Opera House — Sadan said he intends to use his experience by becoming a motivational speaker and transforming his diaries into a book that he hopes will inspire people to follow their dreams. And there is perhaps his biggest challenge — settling down.
His journey started with a simple question. “I thought, what’s the biggest adventure?” said Sadan, who lives in Oranit, a West Bank settlement of 6,000 near Kfar Saba.
He aimed to cycle around the world — not for any records but to discover himself. Sadan would prepare a year and a half for the trek, including walking the length of Israel and training several months in India in the Himalayas.
On the adventure, Sadan could have quit during
To read the whole story, visit here: http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/biking_adventure_takes_israeli_around_the_world_20110713/
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