PRESS REPORT
Spartanburg Herald Journal	March 17, 2004
Englishman keeps pedaling to see the sights of the world
By MESHA Y. WILLIAMS Staff Writer

Richard Gregg heads up East Main toward Spartanburg Tuesday afternoon.

As cars whizzed passed him on East Main Street during rush hour traffic, Richard Gregg had one thing on his mind Tuesday evening.

He just spent six hours traveling from Lincolnton, North Carolina to Spartanburg, and was in a race to beat the sunset.

He wasn't tired or grumpy, nor was he impatient to get out of traffic. All he wanted to do was find a place to park his bike for the night.

For the past 13 years, Gregg has traveled the globe by cycling non-stop.

A native of Sheffield, England, Gregg, 40, has traveled to 38 different countries, pedaled 33,200 miles and gone through two bicycles on his journey.

Tuesday was his first cycling tour of the South, and his bike was loaded down from the handlebars with all of his belongings.

Why does he ride a bike to see the world? Gregg's answer is simple.

"I love biking," he said in his upper crust accent.

"It keeps me fit, it's a non-threatening form of transportation and it gets me into all types of situations, whether good or bad," he said. "Mostly good though."

Some of those experiences have included spending a month this winter in New York City sightseeing, and having his bike break down in the middle of the wilderness on his way to Africa.

Gregg got into cycling as a teenager, and his desire to travel the world started early, stemming from when he had to trace a picture of the Taj Mahal for a class project.

Typically when he travels he brings cooking pots, a camera, reading books, notebooks for journaling and binoculars to bird watch.

Gregg plans to bike in Caribbean, South America

In addition, he takes time to look around the places he visits.

In Asia, he spent two years teaching school.

He spends each night in his tent and stakes out areas that have good farmland.

However, he didn't have much luck finding a campsite in Spartanburg and had to spend the night in a hotel.

He doesn't have a favorite country, but he found India to be the most unique because of the different cultures and languages there.

He's been surprised by how open and friendly people have been to him in the United States.

"Lots of people stop at lights and roll down their windows, asking me where I'm going," he said with a smile.

Near Washington, D.C., a stranger bought him lunch, a contrast to the noodles and tomatoes he usually eats every day.

Billy Fowler from Gaffney said Gregg flagged him down Tuesday evening.

"It's amazing," he said. "I mean 'Survivor' doesn't have anything on him. He's got just enough to stay alive," he said laughing. One of the biggest lessons Gregg learned on his journey so far is to expect nothing from the world and hope for everything.

He tries to give back to the communities he visits by sharing pictures of the places he's visited with the elderly in nursing homes.

Gregg is headed to Georgia and Florida.

He'll board a ship to the Caribbean and eventually head to South America, where his journey will conclude. Then he'll go back England to be with his family.

His wife of three years lives in Asia. He met her while cycling there in 2000. They keep in touch when he can get to a phone.

Gregg hopes to one day write a book about his travels and to teach.

"I don't trust television to bring me the world," he said. "I have to see what's it like."