Guim Valls Teruel
ElectricBicycleWorldTour
Guim Valls Teruel
I was born into a family with a strong passion for travel and adventure. My childhood memories are filled with the amazing experiences had during my parents annual summer vacations.
Summer after summer, they toured through most areas of the European continent, taking me and my friends with them to share in the journey.
Our car always carried our treasured Canadian tent, allowing us to make expeditions to areas of natural wilderness and secluded mountain ranges throughout the old continent.
It was those many summer adventures that sowed the seeds of a dream I’ve always had - to see the world.
My desire to experience and live in other cultures continued to grow as it did. I needed to see what life could offer me, I could not stay seated and be an observer as the world changed around me - I had to go and find my adventures.
I was born in a generation where everything was so easy, handed to us on a platter without even asking - education, food, medical assistance, etc. Despite all these luxuries, I always had the feeling that something was missing...something beyond my native Barcelona.
The path to follow was right in front of me - I had to follow it, there was no option. And so I studied and worked in many different areas, educating my mind and spirit to prepare me for whatever was next.
Never satisfied to settle with one thing, I studied audiovisual design, sound technology, radio broadcasting, hotel management and congressional organization...
For employment I sampled an equally diverse array of professions including sound technician, Christmas food delivery, waiter, congress organizer, events producer, topography assistant, road manager, commercial director, MaÓtre, advertising creative and tour-operator manager...
After my first journey alone to Sri Lanka for a month, I had no doubts - what I wanted to do is travel and live in other countries. I decided see the world by working in other countries.
The first step, leaving Barcelona and working for a company with international branches, brought me to London, where I stayed for years. Asia however, was always on my mind, and one day my office offered me the opportunity to work in Beijing. It took me less than a minute to accept.
Now, a year and a half later, my experiences thus far have been amazing. But when I take holidays and travel beyond my immediate surroundings, I have discovered that it is travel that truely makes me feel alive.
It is the journey, the adventure, the discovery, the constant learning, the excitement of not knowing what’s around the corner... To travel - that where my energy is renewed.
During my farewell party in Barcelona, a friend came up to me and said “wow, you really have balls, I would love to do the same, but I don’t dare to, I envy you”.
To me it is not a question of daring or bravado, simply a feeling, a desire deep within.
From my perspective the concepts of staying in one place, having a stable social life and working an unfulfilling job seem much more difficult to attain than moving around the world discovering. In a way I could say I also envy my friend, but I will keep my dream.
Next April will mark two years since my arrival in Beijing. Two years in which thanks to my electric bicycle (a dream my father shared), i’ve had the opportunity to explore the most undiscovered corners of this huge city.
The electric bicycle, the most common means of transport in China after the bicycle, is simply amazing. Clean emissions, no noise and enough speed and autonomy to enjoy a journey without concern.
There’s no doubt it is the best purchase i have made in this country, a purchase that has become a source of inspiration and the definitive push to start.