Episode 76: Vallu Heinilä

Curious Pedals – 15,000km Cycling Adventure from Finland to Singapore

In June 2022, Vallu Heinilä embarked on a 15,000-kilometre journey through 21 countries, from Finland to Singapore, with his best friend, Alvari. Despite facing numerous challenges along the way, including sickness and closed border crossings, Vallu encountered countless acts of kindness from strangers, shattering any previous misconceptions about travelling through so-called dangerous countries.

During this episode, Vallu shares the transformative experiences he had during the journey, from traversing the high mountains of Tajikistan to the crowded cities of India, and the physical challenge of cycling the Annapurna trail. This trip was filled with adventures.

What was really clear to me was how self aware Vallu became of his own personal progression during this trip. While cycling 15,000kms obviously requires a lot of physical effort, there is also a strong mental aspect to a bike tour, and I appreciated Vallu sharing his experiences and insights of this. In particular, mindfulness and meditation played a key role in getting through many of those tough moments.

Something else of note is that Vallu had never undertaken a huge bike tour prior to this journey. That idea of learning what is required for taking a long bike adventure, as you pedal along the road, is one which has come up with other guests as well and I think really highlights the point that you don’t need to know everything and have so much prior experience before giving something like this a go. What you do need is the goal and motivation to give it a try. As Vallu shared with me, the journey is very much the destination itself.

Vallu’s journey didn’t stop in Singapore; he has since paddle-boarded 320 kilometres across the Baltic Sea and spent 74 days cycling and hiking across New Zealand’s North and South Islands.

I definitely encourage you to watch the full length documentary film which Vallu’s friend Alvaris has put together about their journey together. It is entitled Curious Pedals and can be found on YouTube. Also be sure to follow Vallu’s instagram page to keep up with his future adventures.

The Seek Travel Ride podcast