What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1104373
APRIL 14-20, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 7 FAQ 'Images of the World: The Fascinating Story of a Life of Adventure' WHEN — April 16: 5:30 p.m., happy hour; 6 p.m., presentation; 7 p.m., Springdale Bike Club Weekly Ride WHERE — Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main St., Springdale COST — $5 INFO — 751-5441 Riding Around The World Photos illustrate life on a different kind of road LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette B ruce Junek and Tass Thacker have found a unique way to fund their love of travel: For half of the year, they crisscross the United States, presenting to audiences that are eager to see their gorgeous travel photography and to hear the tales of their adventures. For the other half, they strike out to the far-flung corners of the world, bankrolled by the money they make from their speaking engagements. On April 16, a lucky audience at the Arts Center of the Ozarks will have the chance to hear from the courageous couple as they share their stories. ACO's Bryan Gott says the organization was motivated to bring the couple to Springdale for a few reasons. "The growth of biking activities is bringing people [into Northwest Arkansas], and it's becoming a bigger and bigger part of people's lives," says Gott. "[The couple] also have a connection to Blue Zones Shared Spaces. That's becoming more of a focus of the Northwest Arkansas Council and some other groups in the area, so we felt it was a great time to bring [Junek and Thacker] in and introduce them to the area and show people what could happen to them with the biking lifestyle." National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner is the founder of Blue Zones, an organization that discovered five places in the world where the life expectancy exceeds the average. Junek and Thacker touch on the diets and physical activities of those people living in the Blue Zones during several of their presentations. Health, after all, is a primary focus for the couple, who, in addition to traveling hundreds and hundreds of miles on bicycle on each of their trips, also ski and rock climb. Not all trips are completed on their bicycles. The couple says there are distinct differences between a trip on bike and one via planes, trains and automobiles. "It's nice to travel light and stay in a place for longer spans of time," says Thacker. "Traveling by bike is a huge commitment," agrees Junek. "You have to pack the bike, and you have so much more gear." "[On bike], there's more of a sense of arrival in a place, because we'll have gone through so many different environments to get there. We have great experiences with people — when you travel by tour bus or car, local people are hesitant to come up to you. But on bike, people feel comfortable talking to us, so we have great interactions," Thacker says. "You learn so many things each day that, if you were zooming around in a car, you wouldn't pay attention to," says Junek. "You definitely get a more rich experience in a country if you travel by bike." There are very few areas of the world that are off limits to the couple, which can, on occasion, lead to some frightening encounters. Bike culture from country to country can vary greatly, leading to some dicey experiences on the road. Thacker was even hit by an army truck once; she was fine, but her bike was totaled. In the end, however, they both agree that animal encounters in Africa would rate among the scariest. "We've been charged by elephants, we've been charged by lions, I had a jaguar jump over my head one time," says Junek. Want to know what to do if you're ever in a similar situation? "Run as fast as you can through the bush, zig-zag through the trees, that will slow them down," advises Junek. "If you're charged by a lion, don't move at all, or they'll attack." Though the couple's presentations cover a wide range of subjects, Junek and Thacker say the main thing they've discovered — and hope to teach — is that learning about other cultures in the world can lead to greater understanding, acceptance and, ultimately, peace. "We feel like we can give back, we can repay kindness by paying it forward and getting the students in the audience more of an open attitude toward other people in the world," says Junek. "So many poor people are so great and invite us in their homes. When you're vulnerable, and you have people looking out for you, it changes your attitude about humanity and how you want to be better in your own country." "After 9/11, Tess and I traveled in countries where people were predominantly Muslim, so we decided we wanted to do a program on Islamic culture," says Junek. "We had unbelievable encounters with people. They were inviting us in. That was kind of our purpose, we wanted to see if our Muslim hosts had changed after 9/11. Sometimes people will say, 'The world has changed, you couldn't do that today, everything is more dangerous,' and it's sad that we have that view. I don't think that's true at all." The couple say they knew soon after they met that they shared a love of adventure that would end up being quite a bond. "We realized we both had the same capacity for hard-core adventures and pushing ourselves to the extreme," says Thacker, while Junek adds, "We both have really good senses of humor, so if something goes wrong, instead of ranting and raving, we can make a joke about it." Courtesy Photos SPRINGDALE "It's so important for us as Americans to learn about these countries and cultures, and equally important for them to learn about us," says Thacker. "Good will can really spread throughout cultures."