A GLOBETROTTER from Almondsbury who packed a bag and cycled 20,000 miles around the world for two years on her own has written a travelogue of her life-changing trip.
in 2005, mother-of-two Astrid Domingo-Molyneux, 56, stumbled upon an amateur cyclist’s memoir in a charity shop. She devoured it and felt so inspired by the middle-aged woman’s account of her adventures that she eventually took the bold step to follow her example.
Three years later, she took a sabbatical from her job at Bristol University's centre for deaf studies, bid farewell to her slightly concerned but mostly baffled children Jessica, now 26 and Daniel, 23 and set off for the continent. From Europe she rode to the Middle East before covering Asia and India and later America and Canada--visiting 28 countries in total.
"I happened to pick A Bike Ride by Anne Mustoe. I thought, if she can do it why can’t I. If I had not picked up this particular book, I would not have have gone on a trip myself. It was such a fantastic experience."
So incredible in fact, that she read through the diaries she kept during her months abroad and decided to turn them into a book, Cycling Full Circle, to inspire others to go on the same enriching adventures.
"All the difficulties you see in the news colour people’s views of the world. But the world is not a place to be afraid of. I was welcome in all these countries."
Three months into her trip, she was knocked off her bike in Greece and injured her knee. Most people would have seen it as a sign to stop, pat themselves on the back for trying and go home, but Mrs Domingo-Molyneux was in it for the long haul. She took a break in Cyprus and six weeks later was on her way again, first to Egypt then Jordan, Israel, Syria and Iran.
There, however, her resolve and courage were heavily tried. Being a woman travelling on her own in a strong Muslim regime like Iran's brought its share of frightening and dispiriting encounters, including one with a dubious truck driver and another with a flasher. But she has no regrets and will always remember fondly her spell working on a farm in Japan or entering Tibet for the first time.
"There were a lot of times when it was difficult. You can scare yourself silly camping on your own. But you learn so much about yourself. My faith has deepened and I am much less afraid of the unknown."
To buy Cycling Full Circle visit www.cyclingfullcircle.com/65.html
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