“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
  
  This little quote from all time classic “A tale of Two Cities” written in 1859 by Charles Dickens could sum up the trials and perils of our hopefuls.
  
  On a sunny Autumn afternoon, a ragged crew of 12 souls set off on a most perilous journey. To circle the world on top of a couple of wheels… a bike!
  They set off from numerous locations with their gear, their bikes, their hopes and expectations, converging on a parking lot to start their “voyage extraordinaire”.
  Their goal was pretty simple: to change the world. What could be simpler than that? Modesty was always one of the attributes of the group. So off they went, living family, friends, foes and everything else behind. The 40.000 km (straight line) could

not deter them from their goal. Their spirits were high, their voices loud and their legs still loose and strong. Sure they were expecting perils, hardships, stupidity and an occasional spot of snow, but they did not prepare for what was lurking around.
  The journey started pretty. Legs pedaling nicely, warn air, great support from the locals and a pretty decent average speed. Even the gods were starting to take notice. Promises were made to help along the way. What could be going wrong?
  The road just kept going backwards at a fair pace. Mountains, valleys, rivers went off without a hitch, succumbing to the will of these men on their mechanical steeds. Slope after slope, turn after turn they kept pedaling. Even without official support they were making very good progress and wherever they passed they were leaving friends.
  But, suddenly there was a shock. A hail storm came down on them. The heavens opened and the ice started firing at the poor peddlers. They did not give up. They kept on cycling. Then, the wind started gusting up at astonishing speeds. They refused to give up. The dread of the night made it harder and harder to see, but they somehow managed to stay together, wheels almost locked on each others’ bikes, shoulder to shoulder. The skies were not done and fierce and piercing lighting exploded in a ball of fire, almost taking out the men. The bikes trembled, the

bodies shook, the hearts almost went out of synch, but struggling they kept on. Then another lightning, followed by more and more, almost an orchestra of sounds exploding, filling the air with electricity, raising the men’s hair into the air. They thought about topping for a bit, but decided they could not be beaten by such a puny storm. The skies kept on increasing their power almost desperate to make them fail. They could almost see different shapes, hear loud voices. They weren’t sure if it was real of if just a fabrication of their stressed mind. But one thing kept on driving them. A stubborn refusal to kneel beyond peril kept the legs working while the minds went almost into overload with such an array of difficulties. They could not ear each other, they could hardly see the man in front or the back but the trust no one would quit or fault kept them together. As stubborn as the skies and the gods could be, those 12 souls refused to stop. Even in the darkest moonless night, the dampest and cold storm, the fastest piecing wind could not deter their hearts from the goal. Even if the journey had only started, even if the end was a very long way to go.
  
  Even if they could not change the world, the world could not change them. So they kept on.
  Even in the despair of the wildest winter, it was the spring of hope.
  
  Battle on brave souls... battle on.