“Kids kept asking us, why not just fly to Singapore?”
That’s the opening line of Curious Pedals, a cycling film by self-described “novice photographer” Alvari Poikola and his friend Valtteri Heinila. The two men set out from Finland and rode to Singapore, shooting candid tent-bound selfies, dynamic cycling footage, and sweeping aerial imagery the entire way. The route took them through 21 countries and covered 15,000km, taking 245 days.
“My friends. You don’t get it,” Poikola often responded to the above question. “The journey is the destination. It’s a bit of a cliche, but the best things are, aren’t they?”
That kind of introspective mindset saturates Curious Pedals, a subtle and beautifully shot film that is — if a touch linear and by the numbers — still likely to scratch the specific itch that desk-bound travel lovers often experience in the fall.
Photo: Screenshot
From one adventure to another
“Travelling across Eurasia was a fascinating journey of cultures and landscapes gradually changing from the familiar to the unfamiliar,” the two cyclists wrote over at bikepacking.com. But the adventure didn’t stop there. As novice filmmakers, Poikola and Heinila found the process of refining their hours of raw footage into a documentary just as exciting as the ride.
“Making this documentary was itself a wild ride,” Poikola continued. “It’s my first time creating anything like this and I’m incredibly excited to share it with people.”
After an intro visually documenting a scattering of scenes from the length of the film, the story begins in Finland as the two men pedal out of their home city.
Photo: Screenshot
As anyone who loves cycling knows, there’s often a shakedown period when setting out for a long trip. Poikola and Heinila’s journey was no exception — they experienced their first flat tire a mere 10km into the trip.
But long-distance cyclists are prepared for such eventualities, and that certainly wouldn’t be the last mechanical issue. Still, the early days of the trip, as the men navigated the rolling hills and gentle farmlands of Eastern Europe, were idyllic.
The real adventuring started in the mountains, where our heroes learn a fundamental truth of long-distance human-powered travel: “Everything we go up, we get to go back down.”
Photo: Screenshot
Elevation, angry dogs, friendly farmers, and sunflower fields dominated as Poikola and Heinila transitioned from Europe to Asia. More rugged terrain was on the horizon, but so too were some beautiful moments. A twilight balloon festival in Cappadocia stands out as a visual highlight from this section of the film.
Photo: Screenshot
Cycling through the ‘Stans
The high deserts and extreme elevation changes of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan presented a physical challenge, while an armed conflict between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan threatened to derail the entire trip when the two men were turned around at the border between the countries.
Photo: Screenshot
But as so often happens on trips of this kind, providence intervened. A kind stranger donated some money to the cause, and as Poikola and Heinila began a laborious return trip to Tajikistan’s capital, they got lucky.
They caught a ride in a truck containing a high-ranking military official, and after making their case known through some tortured linguistic gymnastics, the official gave them clearance to cross the border. There was a hair-raising moment while Kyrgyzstan border guards leafed through their passports, and then the cyclists were on their way east again.
The border closed indefinitely the following day.
Photo: Screenshot
Mindfulness in Asia
In India, Poikola and Heinila traded lonely desert highways for crowded city streets.
“I understand why so many Eastern religions have a focus on mindfulness and meditation. Without it, you’d go mad living in a place like this,” Poikola observes while winding his bike through the human chaos of an Indian city.
In Nepal, the riders place their bikes on trucks and hitch a ride through two national parks. Along the way, Poikola manages to catch Dengue fever.
After a few days recovering in the shadow of the Buddha’s birthplace, Poikola visited a Vipassana retreat and meditated in silence for ten days, while Heinila got a taste of the Himalayas with a ten-day ride on the Annapurna circuit.
Photo: Screenshot
Reunited, the boys traded the rarified Himalayan air for the dense humidity of Southeast Asia’s jungles and waterways. More repairs, illness, and adventures with local cuisine followed.
Watch the film for yourself to see Poikola and Heinila’s triumphant arrival in Singapore. At over an hour, Curious Pedals isn’t a quick watch, but it’s a worthwhile one. Don’t miss it.
