A small act of courage can lead to extraordinary distances. This is precisely what Leonardo Scarton is proving, having set off from Rome on February 8th on his bicycle, with Kyoto as his destination. There, his wife, Sayaka, awaits him. This journey will see him cover approximately 15,000 kilometers on two wheels. Although his crossing is solitary, he encounters numerous fellow travelers along the way, both those he meets on the road and the virtual companions following him on his social media pages, @leonthesilkroad.
How did it all begin?
And how did Leonardo and Sayaka find themselves living this adventure from a distance? In 2018, Leonardo was studying in Japan when he met Sayaka. Upon his return home, he already contemplated the possibility of making the journey back to her by bicycle, but the time wasn’t right. The opportune moment arrived only a few years later. Reached by Corriere della Sera while cycling eastward, Leonardo shares what led him to embark on this two-wheeled odyssey.
“It stems from how Sayaka and I reconnected,” Leonardo explains. “In 2022, she went to work for two years at the Japanese consulate in Dubai, and I started commuting back and forth once a month to be with her. During the same period, I met someone, now a very dear friend, Lorenzo Magri, who is even crazier than me. He climbed the highest volcano in South America, kayaked from Trieste to Greece, and travels by bicycle. Meeting him gave me a bit of courage, so in 2024, when Sayaka had to return to Japan, I decided to go with her, and to do it by bike. To my surprise, she also wanted to experience this adventure. We decided to go back to her home in Kyoto first and then set off. But things didn’t go as we hoped; the year was complicated, and Sayaka had to stop. We had to process this halt; it was a difficult decision, and we focused on work. However, a short while ago, a new opportunity arose for Sayaka to return to work at the consulate. To do so, she needs to pass a very difficult exam that requires a lot of time, and we thought it was the right moment. After about a month together in Italy, she returned to Japan to dedicate herself entirely to her studies, and I took my bike and began the journey to reach her.”
How was the trip planned?
“For the itinerary, I’m kicking myself, because if I had left in 2024, I would have done the route I had in mind, passing through Iran and Turkmenistan or Iran and Afghanistan,” Leonardo continues. “Unfortunately, Iran has become impassable; it’s a truly wonderful country to see, and I would have liked to, but not now. So, I am forced to go through Georgia to Kazakhstan and Aktau. It’s actually a very short stretch, but I’m obligated to dismantle the bike and fly it. Beyond that, the itinerary and preparation took about six months.”
A separate project Leonardo undertook was to catalog all UNESCO heritage sites, museums, and natural parks to visit along the way on travel maps. “I’ve cataloged over 30,000 of them, and I use those to navigate and choose my daily itinerary, trying to avoid busy roads, because ultimately, country roads, yes, are more winding, but they give you a bit more peace of mind.”
What do you enjoy about cycling?
“It’s a slow journey where you are exposed, for better or worse, to all the conditions of nature and everything around you,” Leonardo recounts. “When you pass through a village, you greet people, someone stops you, wants to talk to you; it’s also a way to connect. Furthermore, it’s slow enough to allow you to enjoy the journey, but at the same time fast enough that if you need to cover a hundred kilometers to find a place to sleep or eat, it’s easier. And above all, it’s an economical way to travel, because yes, the equipment costs money, but apart from that, you sleep in a tent, you cook with a camping stove; it really costs very little.”
Sharing the journey on social media
You’re also documenting your journey on social media. There’s a lot of positive and encouraging feedback, but as always, there’s also criticism. How are you experiencing that?
“I focus on the good things. I’ve received messages that have truly amazed me. People who say they saw me pass through their village and it made them happy, or people who say I’m giving them the strength to rebuild a project. The criticism? There’s constructive criticism, from people who write that they don’t know how to do it or wish they could afford it. And I think it depends on the fact that social media is a small part of the entire journey. I wonder if I should have shown the whole reality and started making these kinds of videos maybe last year, when I woke up at 6 AM and took the metro to go to work. Then there are angry people who pick up their phone and need to vent, and I feel sorry for them, but I can’t do anything about that.”
In your videos, joy and positivity often shine through.
“I’m not trying to force myself to show positivity; it’s simply what the world is giving me, and I’m showing what my day is like. It’s not always like this. I remember the first day of training, which I decided to do in Tunisia. It was January 1st; I was on a ship, terrified of leaving, because it had been a year and a half since I had done a bicycle trip, and now I was going alone to Africa, and I kept asking myself, ‘What am I doing?’ And in that video, I talk a little about my state of mind, but these days are happy days. It’s a journey that makes me feel good, and if a truly bad moment comes, I think I’ll talk about it with great transparency.”
Advice for aspiring cycling adventurers
What advice do you have for those who want to take a bike trip?
“As a man traveling alone, my advice is to plan and design if you want to take a long trip. And remember that the most difficult part is always the beginning. The idea of starting and doing the first week, physically and mentally, is the hardest. But on this, I was pleased to discover a different point of view. Along the way, I met three Spanish girls who are traveling from Spain to China. What they told me is that for them, the important thing was to start gaining confidence in themselves. Start with a weekend near home, in a controlled place or where there’s a place to camp, maybe going with other people who have already done it. This way, you start building some experience. And with that experience, little by little, you feel more and more comfortable to then take the big step and do a slightly more challenging trip. In particular, one girl, Isa, who has done several trips in Europe, told me that it’s less dangerous than one might imagine. All the women encountered on the road are people who want to help you because they recognize that your condition is more fragile than that of a man. In my case too, I found many young men ready to help me, while for Isa and her friends, it was mothers or other women their age who helped them.”
Leonardo is currently in Turkey, having already covered 3000 kilometers. In one of the recent stretches, he met Japanese travelers for the first time since he started, a moment that made him feel closer to his destination and filled him with happiness. And as the landscapes pass by, Leonardo has one last piece of advice for anyone wanting to venture out on two wheels: “The biggest challenge is deciding to leave, and the real resource in these cases is time. Time is indeed the most beautiful resource in the world, but also the most difficult to obtain.”
Source: https://www.corriere.it/sport/running-nuoto-bici/notizie/leonardo-bici-roma-kyoto-amore-15-mila-chilometri-raggiungere-mia-sayaka-0143a328-26b3-11f1-873f-f5a510693cda.shtml
