Wheels Around the World 自行車環球夢

Do you have the courage to pursue your dreams? If you doubt your own abilities, perhaps you can take inspiration from the story of two Taiwanese women who made their wish come true. Like many other young people, Lin Chi-ying (Vicky) and Chiang Chiu-ping (Pinky) dreamed of traveling the world. What makes them special is that they actually did it; what’s more, they did it on bicycles.

Cycling was their preferred method of transportation because “bikes bring us closer to nature, local people, and the way they live,” said Vicky. Beginning in July 1998, Vicky and Pinky spent 922 days cycling through 32 nations, in all five continents. By the end of their epic journey in November 2001, they had experienced for themselves the vast beauty of Alaska, the bright lights of Europe, rural life in Turkey, and the breathtaking African wilderness.

At 18, Vicky read the famous “cycling diary” of Hu Rong-hua. Always an active and outgoing girl, she was inspired to take a solo bike tour of southern Taiwan. Two years later, in 1991, while riding along the island’s east coast, she met a Japanese cyclist, who invited her to join him on a world cycling tour.

In July 1998, they began their trip in Alaska. Vicky soon realized, however, that their travel philosophies were quite different. Her partner seemed intent on testing his stamina, while she preferred admiring the fantastic scenery and meeting the locals. They parted after a month. Vicky cycled alone through the Rocky Mountains down to the western United States. By this time, her constant efforts to persuade her college friend, Pinky, to join her had succeeded.

Although Pinky was more conservative than Vicky, she found that she, too, had an adventurous spirit. They met up in San Francisco, and headed north in summer, south in winter, like migratory birds chasing the sunshine.

Once, in California, Vicky and Pinky were unable to find any cheap accommodation, so they camped in a park. They were woken up by armed police officers, who told them camping there was illegal. They found a more peaceful location, or so they thought: The next morning, they got a rude awakening from water sprinklers.

In cities, they would wander through colleges and libraries, “in need of air-conditioning,” Pinky joked. Such facilities, in fact, “allow travelers to fill up on local information and take a break-physically and mentally.”

Vicky and Pinky praise friends back in Taiwan who supported them financially, as well as the many people who assisted them along the way. They have fond memories of the wonderful hospitality of the people in a Turkish village, where Vicky and Pinky farmed, cooked, and danced with the locals.

Having experienced the warmth of the human spirit firsthand, they certainly agree with the words of novelist Paulo Coelho: “When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.”

你有勇氣去追求你的夢想嗎？如果你懷疑你自己的能力，也許你可以從以下兩位臺灣女性實現她們愿望的故事中得到啟發。和許多其他的年輕人一樣，林姬瑩（Vicky）和江秋萍（Pinky）夢想能環游世界。她們的特別之處是她們確實做到了；而且，她們是騎著自行車做到的。

騎自行車是她們喜歡的一種交通方式，因為“自行車讓我們更接近自然、當地的老百姓以及他們的生活方式，” 林姬瑩說。從1998年7月開始，林姬瑩和江秋萍花了922天，騎自行車穿過五大洲的32個國家。2001年11月當她們結束史詩般旅程時，她們已親身體驗了阿拉斯加的浩瀚之美、歐洲的璀璨燈光、土耳其的鄉村生活和讓人嘆為觀止的非洲曠野。

18歲時，林姬瑩讀了胡榮華的那本名著《單騎走天涯》。一直都是個積極外向的女孩，她受其鼓舞于是一個人騎自行車環游南臺灣。兩年后，即1991年，當她沿著臺灣的東海岸騎車時，遇到一位日本籍自行車騎士，那位騎士邀她加入他的自行車環游世界之旅。

1998年7月，他們在阿拉斯加開始了他們的旅程。然而，姬瑩很快了解到他們的騎車哲學很不一樣。她的伙伴似乎熱衷于體能耐力的考驗，她卻偏愛欣賞綺麗的自然風光，以及與當地人接觸。一個月后兩人便分道揚鑣。姬瑩一人騎車穿過洛基山脈抵達美國西部。這時，她不斷地游說她的大學好友加入這一旅程，她的努力終于成功了。

雖然江秋萍比林姬瑩保守，但她發現自己也很有冒險精神。兩人在舊金山碰面，開始了夏天向北，冬天朝南，如候鳥追逐陽光般的旅程。

有一次在加州，林姬瑩和江秋萍找不到便宜的住所，只好在公園扎營。她們被武裝警察叫醒，并被告之在那里露營是違法的。她們找了處她們認為更安寧的地方。第二天一早，她們就被噴水裝置無禮地驚醒了。

在城市里，她們會逛當地的大學和圖書館，“在需要空調的時候，” 江秋萍開玩笑道。這些設施，事實上，“能讓游客了解當地的資訊，并讓身體和精神得到片刻輕松。”

林姬瑩與江秋萍十分感激臺灣朋友給予她們的財力支援，和那些一路上幫助她們的人。她倆曾在土耳其村莊與當地人一起下地、做飯和舞蹈，村民的殷勤好客給她們留下了美好的回憶。

由于她們親身體驗到人類精神的溫暖，她們當然會贊同小說家保羅·科爾賀的一番話：“當你想做成一件事，整個世界都會幫你去實現。”