Men, women and children gathered at the library on Monday evening to hear the tales from the trails of a man who has ridden across the county on his bicycle twice.
Steve Garufi, 43, is a tall man with long black curly hair and subtle sense of humor that makes him socially awkward, but a great public speaker at the same time. Although he is from Buena Vista, Colo., he likes to spend time in Arkansas and he has been known to wear some Razorback paraphernalia. He is a big fan of the team and the state, he said.
In 2008 and once again in 2011 Garufi rode his bicycle from Southern California to the Georgia coast, which he documented with multiple pictures and a book he wrote covering the first trip. The title of the book is "Under the Triumphant Sky: A bike across America story."
More than 40 people attended a recent event at the public library to talk to Garufi about his more than 5,200 mile journeys. However, he was not there to plug his book. Instead he did the opposite and implored the audience to do the same thing he did and write about their experiences.
"Part of my agenda is to encourage people to write their own book and tell their own story because every one has a story to tell," Garufi said. "Everyone has a book, an autobiography or something to tell the world. To bike across the county is a big dream for a lot of cyclist, and I am here to talk about biking across America and all the crazy stuff that goes with it from planning the adventure, the people you meet, and the physical fitness you enjoy. Honestly, it is just having the time of your life for bicyclist."
Garufi planned his journey out on a road atlas without the use of a smart phone. During his trip he took pictures and notes and made voice memos on what he called his non-smart phone. He slept in hotels, endured desert heat, and snow on the mountains in New Mexico all while living out of the saddle bags on his bike. He hitchhikee in the desert, had his first bike stolen from a Taco Bell in Phoenix, Ariz., and changed flat tires on freeways with cars zooming past at high speeds.
"I saw America through convenience stores, Walmarts, gas stations, and hotels," he said. "In some ways I did kind of feel like a vagabond or a semi-homeless person. It was just me and my bike."
His book took more than six years and seven different drafts to complete, but the trip was only six and a half weeks long. As he reflected on the trip and the book he said it was easier to ride a bike across the country than it was to publish a book from his first hand experiences.
"My book is more than a bicycle story it is a human story about having the courage to follow your dreams, to face your fears and make it happen," Garufi said. "My story is about all the struggles that I went through and how I overcame. My dream was biking across America, but for my readers I wanted them to be challenged to really think about what are their aspirations and dreams in their life. That theme comes up a lot in the book."
He added that the most important information he can give to another cyclist is to just have fun and don't compare yourself to others. He said people should not worry about how far they can go or how they fair compared to Lance Armstrong.
David Comstock has known Garufi for nearly a decade. Comstock is from Siloam Springs and is on a fantasy football league with Garufi. Although the two are friends Comstock says he is not about the cyclist lifestyle and added that he prefers motorcycles.
"I think that Steve's purpose, or the reason he came here was to inspire people to pursue their dreams, whether it is bicycling, or writing a book, or canoeing the river," Comstock said. "He wants people to live life to the fullest. I think he conveyed that very well and I think people that listened to him were inspired or motivated to at least look again into pursuing that, or to listen to their dreams."
Garufi's website bikeacrossamerica.org has stories and photos of Garufi's trip, as well as the cross-country trips of other riders. He said that he hopes to have a large collection of stories from other cyclists who have created their own paths, or taken their own journeys across the nation.
The library program coordinator, Delilah Williamson, said that the program was initiated by Garufi more so than the library, but that it was still a great program. There is nothing similar planned for future programs, but anyone else who wants to host something that would be akin to Garufi's event is more than welcome.
General News on 08/26/2015