The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Around the world on a bicycle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Around the world on a bicycle

He has travelled to some 50 countries during the last two decades on a bicycle, but his desire is to go around the world.

Ken Shane from Rouyn Noranda, a city in the French-speaking Quebec province in Canada, is in the State capital as part of a mission to study the culture of the people here and to visit places of interest in God's Own Country.

Mr. Shane, who reached here from Kanyakumari, called on Minister for Tourism K.C. Venugopal at his office on Monday. The Canadian, who arrived in the country in mid-January from Nepal, visited several cities before coming down to the South. A laboratory analyst by profession, Mr. Shane quit the job in a copper mine to travel to Europe in 1981. "As I was not in the habit of borrowing money, I took to hitch-hiking to travel through Europe," he says. Since this was not feasible in other continents, he purchased a bicycle during his next trip to Africa. "You are independent while travelling on a bicycle. Moreover, you can travel at your convenience", he adds.

The cycle he uses now was purchased two years ago in China. "I learn about cultures and try to establish contact with people. Its culture and religion make India unique. The Hindu religion is difficult to understand with different gods, goddesses and beautiful temples all over", says the 46-year-old Mr. Shane.

The coup in Gambia during his visit to the place in 1981 was a horrifying experience for him. The visit to Antarctica in 1996, while working on a vessel in Argentina is one of the trips he cherishes. He carries with him a diary containing letters of persons he has met, currencies and stamps of different countries.

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

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