Kleon Papadimitriou, a 20-year-old Greek college student, found himself stuck in Scotland with no way to get back home to Athens.
He had been studying in Scotland when the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, including flights.
At the time, biking 2,175 miles to get home seemed like a reasonable idea. So, that’s what he did.
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“It’s just now dawning on me how big of an achievement this was. And I did learn a lot of things about myself, about my limits, about my strengths and my weaknesses. And I’d say I really hope that the trip inspired at least one more person to go out of their comfort zone and try something new, something big,” Papadimitriou told CNN.
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Papadimitriou booked his first flight during the last few days of March.
Many of his friends already left but he didn’t want to miss his classes.
He ended up booking three flights that were all canceled.
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“By the first of April I knew that I would spend at least the next month in quarantine in Aberdeen,” he said.
But that ultimately didn’t sit well with Papadimitriou. He figured now would be as good of a time as any for an adventure.
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So, he started researching what it would take to bike all the way home.
He had competed in bike races in 2019 and trained for a few weeks that year but decided to go for it with what experience he had.
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Papadimitriou bought everything he would need for the trip, including a bike, and told his family and friends he was setting out.
“They thought it was just an idea that I would eventually let go of,” Papadimitriou said.
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But before setting out, his dad made him download an app that would allow his family to constantly track him.
Papadimitriou left for his trip on May 10 with some sardines, peanut butter and bread, a sleeping back, and bike equipment.
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He ended up clearing between 35 and 75 miles per day biking into England and then into the Netherlands.
He then biked through Germany, Austria, and then down along the easter coast of Italy.
From there he took a boat to the Greek port of Patras and bike to Athens from there.
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When Papadimitriou got tired, he would stop to camp in fields or in forests.
S0metimes he would crash with a friend in the area.
He made sure to track his progress each day, plan his next day’s travels, and catch up with family and friends.
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“As a relatively introverted person, I was forced to kind of get out of my comfort zone in the sense that if I did not do some things, I would not have a place to stay, I would not have water,” he said. “It forced me to kind of have those interactions and reach out.”
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He arrived home to more than a dozen family and friends who celebrated his safe return home.
Papadimitriou said his trip really helped him to grow as a person and he doesn’t regret a thing.
“I think I improved as a person, I’m more confident in myself, I’m more confident in my abilities. If I didn’t know that I’ve done the trip and you asked me now if I could it, I would say ‘No, how could I do all those things?'” he explained. “When you set the bar really high and you attempt to reach a really ambitious goal, whether you achieve it or you don’t, you will have improved. You will learn things about yourself and you will surprise yourself.”
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Source: CNN, Kleon Papadimitriou, Greek City Times
