Juliana Buhring

About
made the first women’s record for Fastest World Circumnavigation by Bicycle.

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Highest Rated Comments


jujola36 karma

The moment I stopped anywhere, I'd be swarmed by giant mobs of men standing around me just staring. It was very intimidating. Once the police had to come in with batons to break them up. Even while moving, they'd follow me in big groups on motorbikes for miles. I counteracted this by acting as aggressive as I could. Sometimes I'd shout at them like a crazy woman.

jujola32 karma

Thanks! I think the scariest experience was getting stuck in the mountains in New Zealand after dark, with 170 kmph winds, without a navigator and no idea where the next town was. STarted to get hypothermia as I was underdressed and the temperatures dropped. Couldn't ride as the winds were so strong, they were lifting my bike in the air. Fortunately came on a lovely old couple in a camper van by the roadside who rescued me. Too me in for the night and fed me whiskey and sausages. I can now change a tire in under 3 minutes...

jujola30 karma

Yeah, I figured as much, so I wasn't too offended, but it was very uncomfortable. However, with that in mind, I did wear longer trousers over my cycle shorts to try not to look too provocative. But yeh, you don't see women on bikes in general across Asia, however the Malaysians and Thais were a lot more polite about it. I'm fairly certain if they'd laid a finger on me, I'd have trashed them first. ;p

jujola27 karma

Only in India. It was perhaps the only country that I felt continually unsafe the entire time I was there.

jujola18 karma

Curiosity and generosity.

jujola18 karma

Can you?

jujola17 karma

Apart from the Thai stalker who followed me a few hours on a red scooter, the majority of people were wonderful. I think we only hear the bad stories, so the world appears a lot more dangerous than is the reality. All through Australia, the locals kept telling me how dangerous it was for a woman traveling alone, and I heard horror stories ad infinitum, yet Australia was also the country I had people chasing me down the road to hand me money, and who were the very helpful.

jujola17 karma

Sorry, only saw the second part. I think the biggest challenge towards the end was the extreme mental fatigue.

jujola16 karma

Turkey, hands down.

jujola16 karma

The people are some of the nicest I met in all my travels. The food's great, prices are cheap, the country is full of incredible history. Plus, I think it's even more interesting now with all that's going on in Istanbul atm.