The World at 10 MPH
The following is adapted from The World at 10MPH, by Jacky and Ward Budweg.
“Ward, we need a better map,” said Jacky. “There are no roads. There are no towns on this map!”
“Welcome to Patagonia!” replied Ward.
We should have researched Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego in particular, more thoroughly than we had. Yet, here we were, bicycling in the Andes Mountains, seeing no roads marked on the map, and facing the Patagonian winds. This phenomenally windy area should have been named Tierra del Viento!
We spent a week of fighting the winds in Argentina; we thought the windy condition would never change. Winds continued, ranging from 15 to 60 mph as we entered Chile. We struggled to haul ourselves and our bikes — Ward’s weighed 130 pounds and Jacky’s close to 75 — through the Andes. The winds swirled around us constantly through gateways in the mountains, so we couldn’t go very fast. The highest speed Jacky could muster was 5 or 6 mph, only to be stopped in her tracks by gusts of wind. Sometimes we were both blown sideways off the road. Big trucks passed us, whipping the wind around so we could barely steer. One gust actually blew Jacky over onto the road itself.
The harsh conditions affected us differently, though. Ward was in heaven, loving the survival-style ride we were on. He kept saying, “Isn’t this great?! I just love this!” However, being at the mercy of the elements was frightening, especially for Jacky. The moment of reckoning came as we realized we were alone amidst the constant swirling winds with no hope of rescue should things go badly wrong. We had sort of stepped off the edge of the world. There was no 911 out there; we could only rely on ourselves.
After a while, you wonder, “Whose idea was this?!”
It was time to face the reality of what we had undertaken. We needed to decide: are we committed to this trip or are we turning back? We decided to ride on.
The next morning, things started to get better as we were able to get out of the wind thanks to a homesteader called Aquarius, who invited us in for coffee and fresh bread, cooked in his wood-fired stove. No bread will ever compare to his. It was prepared with such kindness. He had so little and gave so much. That’s how our around-the-world trip began, with courage-testing trials followed by the welcoming, nurturing kindness of others.
Many memoirs proceed in chronological order, but that just didn’t seem right for a journey as unusual as ours. Our three-year bicycle trip around the world launched unconventionally, after all, with Jacky writing a prenuptial agreement on the back of a bar napkin.
That’s where we — Ward and Jacky — first agreed to pedal the planet.
So much happened to us between 2007 and 2010 that we decided to organize our tale into thematic sections rather than plot out all the places we went in the order that we went to them. Several themes became clear over the course of the trip — the importance of staying dry, warm, and fed chief among them — but it always came down to the people we met and the warm, welcoming spirit we felt all over the world.
Writing a memoir is often a lonely experience, but we’ve done that differently, too. We’ve written it together, in much the same spirit that we give talks about our adventures. We tell the basics of the story as if we’re reporting on this crazy couple who biked around the world, but each of us has a unique perspective on the experience, as well.
So, in our memoir, you’ll hear us bantering back and forth like the long-married couple we are. We’ll take turns telling our story. You’ll have no trouble telling who is talking about scooping up loose change at a busy intersection (Ward) and who is more concerned about making it through the traffic alive (Jacky).
Our mission statement at the outset was this:
From our bicycles, we want to explore the many cultural differences and hospitalities of the world, as we respond with open arms of friendship and service.
We wanted to learn as much as we could. Eat everything. See everything. Accept all the hospitality, be of service, and build friendships.
At times, our journey might seem like the most spontaneous adventure ever, but this mission statement was at the heart of it all. We thought a lot about it and came up with a framework from which we would enjoy the world. Built into that framework was a lot of space for serendipity, which is just the way we wanted it.
We chose stories from the road that we hope will inspire, motivate, and entertain you, as well as reassure you that the human spirit is alive and well all over the globe. These are the tales that restored our belief in humanity.
Let’s go for a ride.
To learn more about Jacky and Ward’s adventures, you can find The World at 10MPH on Amazon.
Who is Ward Budweg? (By Jacky)
Very simply put, Ward is a very kind, giving, strategic, inventive, resourceful, helpful, frugal, confident, and physically fit guy, but mostly he is one very driven son of a bitch. Get out the way if something needs to get done. Do not tell him it can’t be done.
Who is Jacky Budweg? (By Ward)
Brought up Catholic, Jacky and her sisters all developed the trait of “niceness.” When it comes time to make a decision, it is hard for some of them. I experienced this with Jacky on the bike trip. It drove me nuts if she couldn’t make a decision. Even if I didn’t agree when she finally did decide, I was just so thankful that she actually made one!
When they are not biking the world, Ward and Jacky Budweg make their home in Iowa.
