Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Long-distance biker travels the world
On the hundred-day journey across America, Amrit Baral said he became very close to nature.
It’s always fascinating to chat with someone who stretches physical and emotional limits to the max.
I recently enjoyed speaking with Chinese trained physician, West Chester University graduate student and long distance cyclist Amrit Baral, who grew up in the mountains of Nepal.
Baral is truly a citizen of the world. With his brother Ajit, he biked across the United States from Santa Monica, California to Yorktown, Virginia. The pair also biked through 16 other countries while promoting messages of HIV prevention and the impact of global warming and climate change.
They appeared at lectures, on television and radio, and publicized their messages in dozens of newspapers.
“I want to make this world a better place to live,” he said about HIV/ AIDS education. “I’m just concentrating my focus more on preventive medicine and lifestyle.”
On the hundred-day journey across America, Baral said he became very close to nature.
“I was very mindful to look at those majestic mountains,” he said. “It makes you very confident and gives you a lot of positive vibes.” Baral likes to promote. “I always wanted to travel for a cause—to give a message,” said the fluent speaker of Mandarin, Hindi, English and Nepalese. “I want to break the stigma of HIV/AIDS.”
After pedaling 20,000 miles, and experiencing 76 flat tires, Baral said he has both good and bad memories of the almost two-year-long world trip.
Overseas, he was robbed and was forced to pay bribes, but on the whole he was treated very well. The brothers stayed in temples, mosques, churches and sometimes in sleeping bags in a tent.
American police were always friendly and helpful.
Baral spent a year in China learning the language prior to attending medical school where he became a physician.
Baral spent time in his native Nepal volunteering in the villages.
“They have no proper access to roads and no proper health care,” he said. “They have to walk for days to get access to a doctor.
“They don’t have a basic understanding of the disease process and are very superstitious. When sick, they would rather pray then get medical attention.”
Following a huge earthquake in 2015, the physician traveled to medical camps and disaster relief centers in Nepal.
“It is my sincere belief that when one is born on this earth we should contribute in some way to the welfare of others and to Mother Earth to make our own lives more meaningful,” he said. “Serving others after the earthquake inspired me to want to also help those outside my country.”
So what did Baral discover while pedaling across America?
“It’s very unique,” he said. “Every state is different.
“We had the opportunity to learn about different cultures. We ate many different types of food.”
Americans are generally friendly, he said.
“People were very helpful and always supportive—sometimes they’d open their houses and invite us in,” he said. “We loved the landscape, the mountains and deserts of Colorado, the religion and red rocks of Utah and the corn fields of Kansas.”
There were good days and bad days; sometimes the brothers went hungry. Following the trip, Baral gained weight eating what he said are very large food portions of cheesy and creamy American food.
“While there are good and bad people, we have good memories.”
The brothers met Malia, a woman who had lived in West Chester, after meeting a friend of Malia’s while traveling along Highway 50, “America’s Loneliest Highway,” in Nevada. He took Malia’s advice and whittled down a world-wide search for a school to West Chester University.
Malia’s friend stopped her car when a bug had flow into Ajit’s eye and she then made fast friends with the brothers.
Baral is enrolled in a two-year program to earn a master’s of public health. He is very thankful for a scholarship and job as a grad assistant, which helps pay for his education.
Malia visited Baral’s family in Nepal and then moved there. She publishes a guide magazine for English-speaking visitors.
“I humbly and wholeheartedly thank WCU for believing in me and granting me with this lifechanging opportunity to learn and advance my career in the field of public health,” he said.
And Baral is grateful for the good people he met along the way.
“My whole bike trip was a donation,” he said. “People from all over the world have helped me financially, morally, and opened their doors and shared their food.
“I will always be grateful toward all the wonderful human beings I encountered along the way. I would like to thank them from the core of my heart.”
I’m jealous. Who wouldn’t want to get on a bike and pedal across America? But first I’d need to learn how to fix a flat tire or take somebody along who knows. Bill Rettew is a weekly columnist and Chester County resident. He enjoys those cheesy American meals and it shows around his middle. Contact him at brettew@ dailylocal.com.