Episode 172: Javier Carrasco

Cycling 20,000kms from Austria to Australia

Cycled to the Other Side of the World on a Dumpster Bike

Javi’s bike has no brand and no one knows how old it is. He found in a dumpster in Germany by a friend of his brother, who is a bike mechanic. His brother had a look at it, spent about 30 euros fixing it up, changing some cables and the chain, and asked if Javi wanted it for the trip. And that bike, that completely anonymous bike that someone in Freiburg decided wasn’t good enough to ride around one of Germany’s flattest cities, is now on the east coast of Australia having seen more of the world than most people ever will!

I was exited to record this episode outside, which may not sound like such a big deal but for someone who typically sets up a little studio situation at home and talks into a microphone alone, sitting in the sunshine at Canberra’s National Arboretum with a real live human being across from me felt like an absolute gift.

Javi is the partner of Rebecca Gross, who many of you will remember from her incredible updates throughout her year on the road. Rebecca and Javi cycled together from Austria all the way to Tasmania and then Melbourne, and when the year was up, Rebecca flew home back to Austria. But Javi, well, he wasn’t quite done yet so he kept on going!

By the time he rolled into Canberra and I got to sit down with him, he’d covered over 20,000 kilometres. He’d crossed the Balkans in cold, relentless rain. He’d eaten his way through Turkey (the food highlight of the entire trip, as far as he’s concerned). He’d cycled through Iran and Iraq and gone the ‘wrong way’ up the Bartang Valley in Tajikistan. He’d crossed Mongolia into China, climbed solo onto the Tibetan Plateau in minus 20 degrees, ridden through Japan in November, South Korea, New Zealand in the rain, Tasmania, and now is making his way up the east coast of mainland Australia.

A huge distance travelled and more than 200,000 metres of climbing all done on a bike that cost him zero dollars!

You can keep up with Javi’s journey via his instagram page – @hackerbikepacker

The Seek Travel Ride podcast