Guest of the Week: Lars Bengtsson, cyclist through the world

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Lars Bengtsson was attracted to travel and adventure early on, but thought backpacking was too much about chasing the next bus. Instead, he realised that he could experience the world from the saddle of a bicycle. Lars' first major cycling trip was in 2004, when he cycled all the way from Europe to Asia.

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Since then, he has travelled extensively through Africa, South America, North America and Australia. The climate has ranged from incredible heat to severe cold while Lars has crossed countless deserts, rainforests and mountain ranges.

We have of course asked Lars a number of curious questions, as he is currently in the North Caucasus, on his way to China... If you want, you can also follow his adventures at Facebook and Instagram or check out the blog lostcyclist.com.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Lars and I am originally from Falköping. For the last seventeen years, most of my life has been about travelling, which has become more and more adventurous. First, a single charter. Then some hitchhiking and backpacking.

From 2004 onwards, I have mostly cycled around the world (interspersed with work at home) but I have also paddled a few rivers and climbed a few mountains. I've travelled to about a hundred countries, ninety-two of them by bike. Right now, I've covered 91,000 kilometres. I have probably spent about 1500 nights in tents. I don't see a return to a normal life, but it's not something I mourn haha.

How did you come up with the idea of cycling around the world and where did your first longer cycling journey take you?

I found backpacking boring. Too much time was spent chasing the next bus. In addition, I felt that I was constantly walking in the footsteps of others, I quickly got tired of the Banana Pancake Trail so to speak. At the same time, around 2002-03, I met cyclists while travelling around Burma, Cambodia, and Egypt. I want to try that, I thought. So I did.

The first long journey went from Sweden to Nepal and on through the Australian Outback and a bit of South East Asia. I tested the bike at home in my flat, and then rode it up and down the street outside a few times. Then I set off for fifteen months. It went really well. But I cheated on the bus through Baluchistan because of the real risk of kidnapping.

Name 3 amazing places you have experienced in the world and tell us why you like them!

I like dry, barren and unpopulated places. Preferably with rich wildlife. Namibia is a strong favourite and I have been there several times - and I will go again. It is an extremely beautiful country.

I also like the south-west of the USA. Utah, northern Arizona, around there. The colours, the mountains. World class. My third choice is northern Pakistan. It's been many years since I was there now, but it's a cool place. Wild, crazy, adventurous and incredibly beautiful with dirt roads and snow-capped mountains.

Can you tell us about the toughest challenge you have faced while travelling?

It was probably a trip with a friend up on the Tibetan plateau in 2010 - most of which was in roadless terrain at between four and five thousand metres above sea level. I had about fifty days' worth of food in my panniers. Including 72 packets of noodles, crushed and emptied in a waterproof bag.

After 39 days we came back to civilisation, and by then I had climbed three peaks that no one had ever climbed before. It was an amazing feeling. I guess I lost ten to twelve kilos of weight during the trip.

Another tough trip was the thirty-five miles I paddled in a heavy native wooden canoe along the Niger River in Guinea. Low water levels made it extremely difficult to pass some sections. At the same time, we had to constantly look out for crocodiles and hippos. I just had hippos outside my tent one night, sleeping on boulders in the middle of the river. They are undeniably awe-inspiring creatures. Moreover, the insects made it even tougher.

What kind of bike do you have and what is in your pack?

A customised Surly Long Haul Trucker with 26″ wheels. The luggage includes everything you need for camping, i.e. tent, sleeping mat, sleeping bag and kitchen. There are some spare parts, a few books and clothes. Then a lot of technical stuff: cameras, laptop, phone and a music player. A GPS. Sometimes I get tired of all the technology and all these heavy cables. But I like to write and take photos, so it's still worth it.

How do you finance your travelling?

Actually only through a regular low-paid job, with as much overtime as I get. Sometimes donations come in from blog readers - mainly those who have followed me for years. A few hundred dollars really makes a difference for me.

I also get the occasional sponsored gadget, but that's rare. For this trip I got a new bike saddle from Gamla Stans Cykel in Stockholm and a tent from Outdoorexperten in Västerås. Companies do not seem to prefer half-old foxes like me 🙂.

What are your future plans?

To keep chasing the sunset for as long as I want to. It could be another year, or another thirty years. We shall see. That I will stop hitchhiking, even though I don't really want to, because society's norms say this and that about how a person should live their life - will not happen. I will continue until I find something I would rather do.

It is really very simple. Nobody asks a musician, artist or writer how long he or she will continue. But a poor old bike rider gets asked all the time, haha. However, I want to do other things than cycling. I think I will paddle and hike more in the future. Change of clothes pleases.

Finally, a question we ask everyone we interview: What is your dream destination Lars Bengtsson?

Countless. Mainly ones that are tricky to get to for one reason or another. May I mention several? The Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad. One day I will stand on top of Emi Koussi - the highest mountain in the Sahara. By the way, there are many places in the Sahara desert that I want to visit, places with names that straddle the line between reality and myth: Agadez. The sacred cities of the M´zab. The Enedi plateau. The Hoggar Mountains.

Then of course I would like to visit some really remote corners of the Congo and the Central African Republic. And some obscure corners of Siberia. The Road of Bones. Canada is also hugely appealing. And northern Afghanistan. Probably there are many high mountains there that no one has set foot on after 1979... I would also like to see more of northern Sweden. Yes, as you can see - my list is never ending.

Thank you Lars Bengtssom for sharing your experiences and thoughts!

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