Guatemalan engineer unicycling from Alaska to Argentina makes his way through Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Four years ago, Raúl García was inspired to do something he'd never done before: ride a unicycle.

Now he is partway through riding his unicycle 30,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina, and is currently one-wheeling his way through Utah.

"I saw this kid from the UK who was going around the world on a unicycle, and that's when I got hooked," García said. "I was like, 'There you go. That's it. That's what I need to do, but first I need to learn how to unicycle.'"

García, 34, is a robotic engineer from Guatemala who said he's always loved figuring out how things work and has long had an eye for adventure.

"When I was growing up, my parents had a worldwide map where you'd place stickers on each continent or country — like a kangaroo on Australia," he said. "It got printed in my brain ever since, that I wanted to explore the world."

He also recalled going to the volcanoes in Guatemala several times a year with his dad, which sparked a desire to explore his home country.

"And then Guatemala became small, and I was like, 'OK, what else is out there?'" he said.

García is an avid bicyclist who has taken many "sabbaticals" to travel the world by bike. He said that through seeing the world, he has noticed a commonality in people: the need for an exchange of kindness and kinship.

"People are just willing to help you, and they want to live vicariously through your adventures," he said. "A lot of people have other responsibilities and can't do things like this, and they will help you in exchange for stories."

García said that he's loved exchanging life stories with others throughout his journey, adding that he has also seen a need in many rural areas in South America that he hopes his trip might bring attention to.

That need he is talking about is sustainable energy so that small businesses in remote areas in his home country can operate effectively.

"I'm working with an NGO (non-government agency) from Guatemala to raise awareness and funds to repurpose secondhand bicycles to turn them into bike machines," he said. They save on energy costs, so I'm working with them to volunteer and spread the word."

The company is called Maya Pedal, which repurposes second-hand bikes into human-powered machines for communities where electric energy is not available or not affordable. It has products like bike-powered blenders, water pumps, power generators, nut-shellers, corn-threshers and laundry machines.

Seeing the goodness in people while trying to advocate for others is what García said has kept him going. And as he passes through the Beehive State, he said that, due to all the kindness he's received, he's having a hard time leaving.

"People have been really nice and have been inviting me to do things while I'm here," he said. "They want me to go mountain biking or horse riding or go to the lake or play frisbee golf. I'm a 'yes' person, but winter is coming, and I just keep reminding myself that I have to keep heading south. You can't get distracted too much."

But García said that he's allowing himself to get distracted along the way because he isn't in any rush. In fact, this journey that he started on June 1, could take up to three or more years to complete.

"I need to keep exploring. I want to keep exploring," he said. "My strategy has been to get a job, work for a little bit, save as much as I can, live a cheap life, and once I have my financial goals for each trip, I'm like, 'OK, time to go!'"

He said that he has met many in the unicycling community in Utah who have helped him form a route that will take him down through Provo to Cedar City and then St. George over the next several days.

"I tell everyone, if you want to recover hope in humanity, you should do a bike trip," García said. "You will find so many good people out there."

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