CURRENT MISSION

Cycling across America

ABOUT ME

My name is Tobias Andersson and soon I'm on my first longer cycling adventure. I grew up in southern Sweden dreaming of being an Olympic swimmer but realized after high school that all the hard work would never pay off. Eventually, I ended up in Gothenburg where I’ve spent the last five years studying business administration at the School of Business, Economics and Law.

Life as a university student in Sweden is pretty secure and soon gets kind of soporific. That’s when my dreams of doing something extraordinary came back to life and I decided that it was about time to finally actualize them. This time I wasn’t going to be dependent of the efforts and contributions of others; this time I wanted my determination and willpower to be the only things standing between me and success. After a 150 mile bike ride to my parental home in Scania I realized that cycling was not only a rewarding way of traveling but also an amazing way to experience the countryside. All the sounds and smells almost make the road come alive and leg strength is the only thing limiting your freedom. I decided that this was how I should ease my lust for adventure!

My old, borrowed and rusty bike wasn’t good enough anymore so I needed a new one that could take me anywhere I’d like. After a comprehensive search I finally found one of my likings but unfortunately, the only retailer of this brand in Sweden was situated in the outskirts of Stockholm. I could have chosen the easy way, order it online and have it delivered to Gothenburg, but I couldn’t wait to take it for a test tour. I accepted the challenge and rode my new bike all the way home, more than 300 miles in two days of chilly fall weather.

The desire for endless, lonely roads grew stronger and my mind was now set to finally do something about my plans to sometime make a road trip across the USA. At some point, it made total sense to me; I wanted to experience the roads of America, the best way to do this is from the saddle and I wanted to do something extraordinary, showing myself and others what I’m capable of if I only set my mind to it. Besides performing a transcontinental bike ride I was going to discover the true image of America and evaluate the one brought by media, Hollywood and cartoons. In order to do this I decided to plan my route based on the U.S. contributions to the UNESCO World Heritage List to experience what’s truly unique about the country and what’s worth preserving for future generations. The trip was going to be a whole lot longer but hopefully also a whole lot more rewarding.

Do you have advices, questions or other comments about my trip or anything at all? Are you living close to my route and interested in offering me a place to stay for the night in exchange for a chat? Please feel free to contact me and I’ll do my best to respond to you as soon as possible!

Interests

• cartoons
• traveling
• cycling
• swimming
• business
• communications
• economics
• law

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