THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411230246
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES FRASCA, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Alan Glover says he is ``waking up people's dreams'' all across America by doing what he's always wanted to do - bicycle around the world.
Glover left San Jose, Calif., on April 22 and pedaled 5,500 miles of back roads and rural highways before arriving in Virginia Beach on Oct. 28. Glover will hibernate here for the winter before continuing his trek to Europe.
But first, he needs to tend to a few details. Like learning several foreign languages. And then there's the small matter of crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
``I had hoped to work on a cargo ship or a yacht,'' Glover said, adding that he's already been in contact with a ship's captain about trans-Atlantic accommodations. Glover expects to visit more than 40 countries during his journey, an undertaking that will occupy the next five years of his life. In preparation for the trip, he sold all of his belongings, including a three-bedroom house.
``One of the things I wanted to do was free myself,'' he said.
``When people ask me about this trip, I tell them I'm doing something that I've always dreamed of doing. The older people get a glimmer in their eye, as if recalling dreams never pursued. But the young people just say, `Wow, let's do it.' I feel like I'm waking up people's dreams.''
Glover is an aspiring actor who is quick to compare his long journey to a stage production.
``The trip is like a road show,'' he said. ``Every day there's a new audience. And near the end of a long trip, you get those final curtain call blues.''
Glover has pedaled cross-country twice before, in 1979 and again in 1981. ``Fifteen years ago, the country seemed to have a naive freshness,'' he said. ``Now, America's been tainted by satellite TV and the belief that everyone carries a gun, even the kids. Usually, one of the first questions I'm asked is, `Aren't you afraid?' But,'' he adds, ``people are still receptive.''
As far as the dangers of the road, Glover said that he will avoid New Jersey in the future, ``where motorists all play a game in which points are earned by hitting me with objects thrown from their cars.''
And then there was an incident in Arizona that Glover describes as ``a little standoff on a deserted stretch of highway.''
How did he escape with his life and his 21-speed modified recumbent bicycle still intact? By acting.
``I had a dog whistle which I held near my mouth. I spoke into it like it was a police radio, projecting my voice as if I were on stage so they could hear me. I was giving a description of their car. The flag on my bike looks just like an antenna whip. Pretty soon they drove away.''
Glover is not discouraged by such events and instead offers the advice of Mark Twain, ``Get a bicycle, you will not regret it, if you live.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JAMES FRASCA
In preparation for his trip around the world, Alan Glover sold most
of his belongings, including a three-bedroom house. ``One of the
things I wanted to do was free myself,'' he said.
by CNB