Shakhriyer Azizov of Tajikistan left Istanbul in November 2024, heading east and aiming to cycle around the world. Nearly two years later, he is crossing China. For most long-distance cyclists, this would be extremely slow going, but Azizov has a major disadvantage — he’s riding a 27.5-inch unicycle.
Bigger wheels mean faster speeds and longer distances, but Azizov prefers the small size. With the smaller 27.5-inch wheel, he can easily find replacement tires, rims, and spokes. “But I pay for it by covering less distance per wheel revolution. Given the same number of hours, a wheel with a larger radius will travel a third more distance,” he told a Tajik news outlet. On just the one small wheel, he can cover up to 60km per day, at an average speed of around 13km an hour.
Over 6,000km but few days in the tent
From Istanbul, Türkiye, Azizov traveled through Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and then into China. Though he carries camping gear, he has found little need for it through most of Central Asia.
“How many times do you think I slept in a tent in 579 days? 12 times! Often people invite me into their homes, especially in Kazakhstan, but in general, in any country, I’ve been welcomed like a brother,” he told a Kazakh news site, Khabar.
Shahriyor Azizov. Photo: AA Turkiye
His exact onward route is unclear, but he will eventually head south through Southeast Asia. He says he will cycle through Australia, the United States, and Europe before completing the journey in Istanbul. He has covered over 6,000km so far.
Why a unicycle?
Born in Tajikistan but raised in Russia, Azizov does not have an expedition background. Before the trip, he worked as a trader.
As a child, Azizov remembers being fascinated by unicyclists at carnivals, but he wasn’t an experienced rider before this trip. In fact, almost unbelievably, Khabar claims he learned to ride in just three days before leaving Istanbul.
The choice of a unicycle is partly to increase the difficulty of his trip, and partly for attention: Azizov is documenting his journey on both YouTube and Instagram. “As a connoisseur of quality video games, I’ve never enjoyed playing on easy difficulty levels. To fully enjoy a game as it was intended, it’s important to me to play on the hardest difficulty,” he told Your.TJ. “[And] you must admit, far fewer people would have known about my round-the-world trip if I had traveled on a regular bicycle.”
