Fredrika Ek

“I laugh alot because I was super naive and of course, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into”

In 2015 Swedish, small-town girl Fredrika Ek decided to go for the journey of her life around the world. Not by plane, by train or by bus, but on a bicycle! Forty-five countries, 51,000 km, and 1042 days later, she returned to her hometown with a backpack full of memories from riding her bike through the Argentinian Andes mountains to getting hit by a car in Australia, getting caught inside an electrical storm cloud, to making friends for life in West Africa. We had the opportunity to chat with 2017's "European Adventurer of the Year'' about her travels and what she has learned.

Tell us about your background My name is Fredrika Ek. I come from this quite boring ordinary town in the middle of Northern Sweden. Growing up I've always just been this ordinary girl. I think that I still am, but I have had some big ideas from time to time. Quite young at the age of 22 I decided to go for one of them. So I set up to ride my bicycle around the world!

Wow! So had you been biking a lot, like were you a professional biker or how did you come up with the idea that - “I'm going to take my bike and ride around the world. Where did that come from? I still wouldn't describe myself as a cyclist. I found the bike to be just a perfect tool to explore new places. A lot of the places that I've had the fortune to visit or see and discover at a slow pace would have been impossible to reach had I not had the bicycle. But for me, it's really only been a tool. For me, it's been about traveling and just curiosity of seeing what's out there. As I told you, I come from this quite mundane place in the world, and I’ve always watched TV, movies, or read books about all these other places, and I wanted to see them for myself.

When you decided that you were going to do this journey, and make this happen, what was the whole planning process like, where did you begin? I had that one moment when I decided! The idea grew on me, but then there was this one moment of decision when the whole thing went from just being a dream or a fantasy to a project that was going to happen, even though starting was still a year of. Looking back at my planning process, I laugh a lot because I was super naive and of course, I didn't know what I was getting myself into, which on one hand was quite good I think because I would never have had the guts to go for it (she laughs). I didn’t have any sponsors, any organization, or anyone helping me. It was just me trying to Google. I didn't own a bike when I decided to ride a bicycle around the world, so that was one problem. And I'm quite broke (back then), so I need to get money to buy a bike and a tent, and bags to put that tent inside. There was a whole really basic map exploring.

“With experience, you get more secure in yourself. But I feel like I became a bit too cocky sometimes”

No, I thought this idea was so great, so surely someone was gonna support me doing this, and I was wrong (she laughs). I mean I was just someone saying, like so many people, that I'm going to do this huge thing and it's going to be great. I was so excited about this and most people didn't really give me a reaction at all because it was just so not grounded in reality.

Practically, how did you manage to take care of yourself financially, with clothing, housing, packing, etc? Because you said at first you were broke or you didn't have much money, you were young... I think about the idea I had for a budget before I started, it was really basic, simple math. I figured a hundred Swedish Crowns (approximately $12) a day, for a thousand days, would be enough to go around the world. Preparation was for me most of the time getting that money. I was running around to like three different jobs. In the morning, in the afternoon, sometimes on the weekends, just to get the cash. And I got the gear. Depending of course on what country or climate, I had racks in the back, in the front like quite a lot of winter and summer clothes, because I was going from 50 degrees Celsius in Turkmenistan, to minus 25 degrees coming home here, and that whole range in between. So it's quite frustrating sometimes carrying these heavy loads. You have rain, you have snow, you have ice. For example, in Los Angeles weather, you're still carrying winter gear. I had all my worldly belongings with me.

Were you ever scared of traveling alone? I was obviously scared. My fears from taking off to coming home were quite different because we all have some expectations, thoughts, and fears of what would happen to an alone 20-something girl heading off to the Middle East to cycle on her own, right? I spent a month cycling alone through Iran, with Sharia laws. And as a foreigner, you have to wear a scarf, like be fully dressed. And still, I got stopped by the police so many times for not being proper enough. I was really scared going into this country because my preconceptions were many. I mean, I’ve grown up watching these places on TV. But in reality, I've never had a warmer welcome in any place in the world. I was scared of the people when I got in there, and then getting out I was so in love with the country and everyone that welcomed me. But then scared of the traffic around...the capital has one of the highest death rates in traffic in the world. And no one thinks of that, that's like an actual risk.

Through every country that you traveled through, did you ever end up in any dangerous situation or anything that shook you up? Yes, I was hit by a car in Australia. I've also had crappy situations meeting the wrong person at the wrong time sort of stuff. I think that exists, but that's such a minor part of the experience. But I have really come to have great respect for nature. With experience, you get more secure in yourself. But I feel like I became a bit too cocky sometimes, and that haven't had consequences with people, on roads or with cycling, but like not thinking that sand storms or electrical storms in the Andes, or actual drought, will kill you. So my first, and I think only, like real “I'm gonna die experience” was at 5,000 meters of altitude 5.5 in the Argentinian Andes. I was inspired one morning and decided to climb this volcano. I went up to 6000 meters. It was epic and then came the electrical storm. The whole thing about getting to be that incredibly stupid and getting away with it (she laughs). I'm grateful for it, so if anything, I've gotten a different respect for the whole environment we’re in.

Where did you start your trip and where’d you go next? It started in Sundsvall, Sweden. It was actually a line me and my mom drew in the ground the last evening I was home. A starting and finish line. And I went through South Europe and took a left turn through Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. And I took a flight to South America, and the plan was to go to The States. That was my fantasy before I had started, but then stuff happened and I went for Africa instead. So from Ecuador, I made my way to Western Africa and went through the Sahara. I rode the

silk trade road from Iran and Uzbekistan, all the way through China. The visa I got for Turkmenistan, it's called the North Korea of Central because the bureaucracy is out of this world. I think I've read that this is the second most closed up country in the world - apart from North Korea. The way I got my visa was just a lot of reading, trying to figure out loopholes into these desert countries.

And that was a whole other thing! You had to plan for getting visas as you traveled… Yes, I got all my visas along the road, because I mean things happen - war happens, like everything changes, so you can't set up a route for three years, and think you can travel. So in the end I got a fiveday transit visa through Turkmenistan. I had 500 kilometers through the desert. And you realize that's the perfect amount of time if you have a truck (she laughs).

But you had a bike! Exactly, so I was quite in a rush (she laughs)

Out of all the countries that you traveled to, was there any country that really touched your heart? I think I have a few places where the actual landscapes and the actual cycling have been just so incredibly breathtaking.

What places are they?

That would be the high Andes, or the Chinese Himalayas, Australian outback is really cool. But then coming close to heart,

I have a simple answer, that's Guinea

Conakry in Western Africa. Western Africa overall, but in Guinea - I rode through it in the rainy season, and it's not too much concrete, it's muddy, and I felt like I was molding because I had no way to wash my clothes. Everything was damp for such a long time. And it was just this late evening that a woman, my age, decided to invite me to her house. She was alone and

I was too. And I mean, I'm always asked about this whole thing of being “alone woman” and “if it is not risky, is it scary”, maybe but a girl like that, would she invite me if I had a beard? Probably not. She had no gain in inviting me that evening, and I didn't speak any of her like nine languages. She just gave me a roof, and we 22 shared a bed. She had a two-day-old baby girl in her arms when she invited me. That's quite brave of her. She was one of the lucky ones to have a bed, and the three of us with this mini person baby in the middle. And in the morning after breakfast, trying to speak a little bit, and swapping Whatsapp’s, her family came home, and all of a sudden from just the two or three of us, we were a whole crowd, and she told me and everyone at the same time that their baby was going to be called Fredrika. Now she's three years old, and I still get photos. That was one of my proudest moments.

For anyone that would want to go on the same adventure as you, what advice would you give to them? Not to ever think that you're going to be ready for it. I mean you can plan, you can train, you can do anything, but you're never going to be ready. So don't wait for that, because it's never going to happen. Most people don't have a dream of riding around the world, but I think most people have a dream. And whatever that may be, if it's a big one, if it's a scary one, I think my advice would be sort of the same - you're not going to be ready.

Would you do this again? Yes!

What does this year look like for you? I have hopes, big hopes, that this year will open up some opportunities for us who like to move around the world again, and for the year that passed I've had some ideas, or like I want to do a lot of exploring closer to home also. I'm quite ashamed, I saw my first fjords in New Zealand, and there are bigger fjords, just a couple of days sightseeing from where I grew up my whole life, and it’s like you do it a bit backward sometimes. So I feel like I have a lot of, like, Norway, Finland, Sweden, that I still want to see, but obviously, the big real dream I have left is North America.

“you can plan, you can train, you can do anything, but you’re never going to be ready”

Married Musicians

Interview and photography by Amina Touray

We chatted with married couple Clifton and Jeniffer Williams about balancing their musical careers with family life, and what the year 2020 taught them. What are your musical backgrounds? Jen: I grew up singing in church, my dad is a pastor so I started singing before he preached each Sunday at the age of three. That birthed a lifetime of singing! As I got older, I started singing at different churches, I sang a lot at school (I tried sports at school but that was an epic fail- LOL). Eventually, I started singing in a school-funded summer program at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas Texas and the rest was history. This introduced me to the world of musical theater and stage acting! I went on to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where I met Clif! Clif: I started playing the piano at a young age. I started taking lessons at age 9 and by age 11 I was playing in churches and performing throughout the city! I went to a performing arts high school and then matriculated to Berklee College of Music on a Presidential Scholarship. I graduated from Berklee with a dual degree in Music Education and Contemporary Writing

“I have always known that my story was always a bit different than those of my peers.”

and Production. I’ve since moved to LA pursuing my dream of being a touring musician and musical director.

Both of your families live in other states. How are you managing parenthood on your own in a big city like LA, while also pursuing your careers? Jen: Whew! That is the question we ask ourselves each day! It takes lots and lots of communication and PATIENCE. We both do a million things per day, even our downtime turns into something productive, but one of the most important things we have learned is to overly communicate and to consistently check-in. Clif: Parenthood is such hard work! It is literally Jeniffer, myself, and Kyra. I have a family calendar, personal calendar, and work calendar. I feel like we take everything week by week. We help remind each other of what’s coming up and always try to negotiate and reevaluate our priorities in order to best give our family what it needs at the time.

What are your career goals? Jen: BROADWAY!! I love musical theater and I love performing. My biggest dream is to land a lead role on Broadway. I also just started a business called Comfort Cookies! It has opened up an entirely different world and mindset that is so exciting! I bake these delicious gourmet cookies and sell them at the Farmers Markets in Los Angeles, so far- so good! Clif: I aspire to increase my music directing clientele! I have some pretty awesome people that I am fortunate to call “boss”. I look forward to working with bigger and more iconic music legends. I look forward to writing and producing my own music and working towards becoming a music supervisor for various films and tv shows.

In what way do you hope to inspire people?

“Instead of panicking and following the crowd of worriers, I chose to go with the flow”

Jen: Great question! I have been through so many trials in life and I have always known that my story was always a bit different than those of my peers. So I have always made sure to seek out those in my community who guide and put my energy there. It always reminds me that even in your darkest times, you can still bless someone else. This is the way I choose to inspire, is by reminding myself of the Sankofa. The Sankofa is a reminder to me that I should reach back and seek knowledge left to us by our ancestors and then take that knowledge and feed it to our future generations. Clif: I hope to inspire people with my story and my level of perseverance. I feel like I started from a very stereotypical upbringing but I’m somehow creating my own legacy and taking charge of my life and its direction. I hope to inspire others to do the same.

2020 was a challenging year for us all! What did you learn from it and take with you into 2021? Jen: 2020 was incredibly challenging and ugly and scary and traumatic in so many ways. However, 2020 taught me how to reflect within myself, how to prioritize my marriage and family, and how to choose and make time for my purpose. From the protests for Breonna Taylor, losing half of my monthly income, to losing family members to Covid- 2020 reminded me of just how resilient and badass I truly am. And that is what I am taking into 2021. Clif: I learned to allow myself to bend! This year brought so much uncertainty! Instead of panicking and following the crowd of worriers, I chose to “go with the flow” I turned on a “chill” mode and worked strategically and purposefully. I think 2020 showed me that when all hell breaks loose, I still can breathe and I am still in control.

Follow: @Twenty4andmarried @Jenifferlauren @Yesclifwill