Jonathan B. Roy

My story

I was always picked last for dodgeball.

With degrees in engineering and law, I was working as a human resources director. At the same time, I dreamed of a long bike adventure, meeting people who never see tourists, just good, ordinary folks. But I didn’t know anyone who had done anything like it. So I kept putting the dream off.

Then my mother passed away at 55. All she had dreamed of was visiting Italy.

I realized there would never be a perfect time to leave. That I had to stop waiting and just do it.

In March 2016, I left England for what I thought would be a single year. The long trip turned into a journey around the world: 4 years and 40,000 km across 3 continents. I cycled from Europe to Malaysia, where I lived and worked for a year, before setting off again to Japan and across all of South America. All of it slowly enough to earn the nickname “the slowest cyclist in Eurasia.”

In 2021–2022, Airbnb chose me from 314,000 applicants to spend a year living from country to country. More trips followed, by bike and otherwise. I’ve now ridden in over 70 countries, for articles, videos and talks.

This talent for riding very slowly turned me into a storyteller.