10/02/09: Pedal joe at the Lions' All Africa Forum

The Brazilian José Geraldo de Souza Castro (Pedal Joe), 51, member of the Lions Club of Viçosa, DLC12, APLIONS and CIRCLE, is in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, where he attended, between the 5th and the 7th of February, the 14th All Africa Congress, which had as its central subject: 'WORK: A MIRACLE AGAINST POVERTY', organized for the African Districts and counted with the presence of representatives of all African countries as well as delegates from other continents (Asia, Europe, Americas).


The objective of this conference was to continue to establish bonds, to consolidate the brotherhood and to strengthen the friendship between the African peoples and also to strengthen the paper of the civil society in development.

During the event, there were training workshops for the regional leaderships aiming at preparing the members of the diverse Lions Districts of Africa for managemental functions of the club and in its communities, pursuing the development of knowledge in communications, motivation, group dynamics and team management.


The workshops were directed by the former-president of the Lions Club International, Mahendra Amarasuyia.

The next All Africa conference, will be carried out between the 3rd and the 6th of February, 2010, in the Moroccan city of Marraquech (http://www.allafrica2010.com)

Pedal Joe returns today to Senegal to continue his trip to South Africa.

Lions are known in the whole world for the services they provide for the blind and the partially-sighted. This service was created when Helen Keller challenged Lions to become the knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness, during the International Convention of the association in 1925.

Since then, Lions Clubs, in the whole world, embarked on many fields related to sight in order to, help the blind and to prevent curable blindness. It is being quoted for memory that: the white cane which was designed by Lions Clubs in 1930 to help the blind to move, schools to train dogs guides for the blind are also supported by Lions Clubs.

Through the SightFirst campaign, the Lions:

• Are now recognized as world leaders with regard to the control of sight-related diseases:

• Played a significant role in the removal of cataract as a serious problem of public health in several countries ;

• Raised the awareness of Governments on the importance to support blindness control, and further sensitized the WHO on the importance of ocular corners by doing their best so that this question be recognized as a real threat to public health.

Acting locally but thinking globally, one of the great objectives of the Lions Club it is to eradicate Oncorcescose (river blindness) in South America by the year 2010 and in Africa by 2020. Another goal is to eradicate Tracoma by 2020.

11/01/09: Pedal Joe arrives in Dakar, on his way to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa

Pedal Joe's contact in Senegal: +221-778029819

Eight months after having left Paris in a pedal kart (built and donated for the adventure by the Dutch company Berg Toys - http://www.bergtoys.com), the Brazilian José Geraldo de Souza Castro (Zé do Pedal), 51, arrived at Dakar (capital of Senegal) thus finishing the Paris-Dakar leg of the trip, after having covered 6500 kilometres, which took him exactly 1140 hours.

The Brazilian travelled through France, the French Route of Santiago de Compostela, crossed Portugal from North to South, returned to Spain, crossed Morocco, Eastern Sahara, Mauritania and, finally, Senegal.

During that time, Pedal Joe was homaged in Portugal, received from a group of gypsies a proposal to exchange his kart for a horse (proposal refused), and gave lectures in schools. Being asked by a Senegalese Television journalist if the trip was difficult, Pedal Joe answered: "No… It was child's play… I leave with my toy at seven in the morning, and at the end of the day I have pedalled 30, 40, 50 and, sometimes, up to 100 kilometres".

The most difficult part of the trip so far has been crossing the Sahara Desert. After having crossed the Tropic of Cancer, Pedal Joe found on his path, besides poisonous snakes, scorpions and a burning sun, the frightful terrestrial mines that are spread about in the sands of the desert up to the Morocco-Mauritania border. "It has been a difficult week and very tense… knowing that I could not leave the asphalt for whatever reason; I was at times scared and even somewhat stressed". Fortunately, with the proper circumspection and precautions taken, nothing serious happened.

From now on, other problems await Pedal Joe: the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that already forced 300 thousand people to run away from their own homes, many of them looking for shelter in forests and refugee camps, a situation considered for by the Red Cross as an humanitarian catastrophe. The war in the D.R. of the Congo, which dates back to 1998, worries humanitarian organisations such as the UN, the Red Cross and other groups. The UN keeps in place 17000 soldiers to try and keep the peace. About 2 million people have so far died in this war, without knowing peace… that is still far from being a reality.

To avoid these and other problems, such as the cholera epidemic that devastated Guiné-Bissau since the end of May of last year, Pedal Joe will make small alterations to the script previously elaborated. One of the great concerns in this trip is precisely the tropical illnesses.

From Dakar the cyclist will travel towards Mali, on the way he will pass through the region of Tabacounda, where Oncocercosis (river blindness) is one of the Senegal's biggest eye sight problems. Later, Pedal Joe will go on to Burkina Faso, where he will attend, between the 5th and the 7th of February, in Ouagadougou, the '14th All Africa Conference - Ouagadougou 2009: WORK MIRACLE AGAINST POVERTY'. It will be organized under the High patronage of the highest authorities of the country, covered by several medias, and in presence of representatives of all African and friend countries (ASIA, EUROPE, USA).

The objective of this conference, in addition to profits provided to the country which organizes it, is to further establish bonds between African people, strengthen friendship between the members of African countries, and consolidate African brotherhood and also strengthen the role of the civil society in development.

The Francophone Regional Institute of leadership training is being held from February 3rd to 5th, 2009 at hotel SOFITEL Ouaga 2000 in Ouagadougou, in margin of the 14th Conference of African Lions. This Training Institute aims at preparing African Francophone Lions for managerial duties within the club and the district by developing their competences in the areas of communication, motivation, group dynamics, team management.

On February 4th and 5th, 2009, a SightFirst training workshop will bring together the representatives of all African Districts in order to promote the SightFirst Programme in Africa. On February 5th, 2009, the Meeting of African Leaders and Coordinators of CSFII will be held.

08/12/28: Pedal Joe arrived in the city of Saint Louis, Senegal

Pedal Joe's Contact in Senegal: +221-778029819

Zé do Pedal has already reached the city of Saint Louis, Senegal, 300 km from the capital, Dakar.

Saint Louis, a city laying on the border with Mauritânia, has an approximate population of a million inhabitants. The time is the same as that of Portugal. The temperature is 37º, while in Europe it rains and snows intensely.

Zé will spend the passage of the New of Year in this city.


He wishes Happy Holidays to all his friends and a New Year of Tranquility!

08/11/05: Pedal Joe has completed 5000 Kms and is "pedaling" in the Sahara Desert

Î Click to see larger picture Î

Pedal Joe's Contact in Morocco: +212-55783251

"The Sun that warms the soul is the same that melts the asphalt" (Pedal Joe)

The Brazilian, Jose Geraldo de Souza Castro, Zé do Pedal (Pedal Joe), 51, member of the Lions Club of Viçosa, arrived this morning at Boujdour, in the Sahara, after having covered, in almost 6 months, more than 500 kms of desert and completed 5000 kms of his planned trip through 20 countries of Europe and Africa (a total of more 17.000kms) in a pedal kart, manufactured in Holland by BERG Toys (http://www.bergtoys.com) and especially prepared for the trek, bound for the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, where he will attend the World Football Cup "South Africa 2010".

The mark, that surpasses the two of the previous trips with similar transportation means (2.500kms in Japan, 1985, and 4.300kms in Brazil, 1987, Chui - Brasilia) and represents 30 percent of the total of the planned trip, was reached at 30kms from the city of Boujdour (name given by the Portuguese and which, in Portugal, has the meaning of "the last limit of man and his world". Fernando Pessoa in his unforgettable poem said: "Portuguese sea… It's worth everything if the soul is not modest, who wants to go beyond the Bojador, has to surmount suffering", in a clear allusion to the great navigational feats that gave the Portuguese the conquest of other latitudes: "oh salty sea, how much of your salt are the tears of Portugal!") at kilometer 1559 on national road 1, that connects the city of Tanger to Lagouiria (2476 kilometers), at the border with Mauritania. In that city there is an old Portuguese fortress. Last monday, the 27th, Joe obtained his best performance since he left Paris, on the 10th of May: he covered the 101 kilometers between Tarfaya and Laayoune in 11 hours. The cool weather and a northern wind helped him in that feat.

Pedal Joe informed that, "thanks to the 'winter', the temperature is not very high and the highest so far has been of 41 degrees. At 7 in the morning the Sun warms the soul and at midday melts the asphalt. Fortunately I am travelling in the 'winter' and the sun is not very strong, the average temperature is around 40 degrees and there is often a strong wind, which diminishes the effects of the heat. I was lucky when I arrived at Laayoune, since it rained for two days which was rather refreshing. The alimentation consists of vegetables, fruits and a can of sardines every now and then".

"The trip is happening normally and without mishaps. I am in contact with the Portuguese friends Brito Rocha, Julia Lima, Henrique Veludo and Jorge Albergaria. I am also in permanent contact with members of the United Nations in the region of the Sahara and with the Brazilian Embassy in Rabat through the Vice-consul, Luiz Geraldo Magalhães Moraes who, together with Embaixador Virgílio Moretzsohn de Andrade, contributed to the obtention of the visas for Mauritania and Senegal".

Tomorrow Pedal Joe hits the road again towards Dakhla, 350kms away, where he thinks he will enjoy a small 15 day vacation. "Now I am crossing what could be the more mentally difficult part of the trip: from here to Dakar, in Senegal, lies 1740kms of much sun and sand, however I am satisfied with the way the trip is evolving and for the extraordinary forms of aid and solidarity that I have received throughout, especially in this zone where the sand dunes of the Sahara and the wild sea are the landscape that serves as companion. The gifts of water, fruit and bread, etc., that are offered by the drivers of the trucks that carry fish from the ports of Laayoune and Dakhla, are not few! After six months on the road, I find that it timer to give the body a rest and to try to put the column in it's proper place..."

Pedal Joe has been registering his impressions of the trip in his new blog http://www.zedopedal.skyrock.com where, at least once a month, or when he finds easy access to the Internet, he places some photos and information about the trip: "thus, it will be a little easier for my friends to follow the trip."

Worries about the environment

Pedal Joe lamented the little attention that the authorities give to the environment: "the amount of garbage that I crossed throughout the 2000 kilometers covered here in Morocco, mainly in the desert, is mind boggling. The utter absurdity was when I passed Sidi Akhfinir: the coastal guard is a vast garbage dump. The guards simply throw incessantly all the garbage over the great cliff by the seaside. A good percentage of this garbage is "hanging" in the cracks of the rocks. What happens to fall into the sea has other destinations: Canary Islands, Europe, Americas, South Africa and, what does not "catch a ride" in the open sea maritime currents, ends up on the Moroccan coast. During the cleaning of the streets in the city of Tanger, which was flooded during last week's strong rains, it was possible to observe the tractors removing, next to the silt, tons of garbage coming from the sewers".

The purpose of the trip

The purpose of the trip is to call the attention of the international community about two of the biggest problems that affect children's vision around the world (mainly in the poor countries), Cataract and Glaucoma, as well as spreading the word about the great campaign of the Lions Club International: the SigthFirst program.

A few words about the Lions*

The International Association of Lions Clubs commemorates its 91st anniversary since its foundation, which had as its first president Dr. William P. Woods and as secretary Melvin Jones (Idealizer and Founder), a position he occupied until his death on the 1st of June, 1961. During these 90 years, the entity formed by men and women imbued with a disinterested desire to Serve, disposed to carry through activities directed towards the betterment of our society and to valorization of the human being, has distinguished itself as the largest Non-Governmental Organization in the World, respected and admired by leaders of all Nations.

During the historic convention of the Lions in Dallas, Texas, between the 8th and the 10th of October, 1917, thirty six delegates, representing 22 clubs from nine states, approved the designation "Lions Clubs", the statutes, the regulations, the objectives and the Code of Ethics.

In the next three years, the association became international, with the foundation of the first club in Canada and as the years went by, the international expansion continued with the foundation of new clubs, especially in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Brazil in the decades of the fifties and sixties.

In her speech at the International Convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1925, Helen Keller challenged the Lions Clubs to envolve themselves in the fight for the blind and visually impaired: "Will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in this crusade against darkness?".

With the ambitious SightFirst Program, the Lions International Club has commitments with the young, with work to improve the environment, with the construction of houses for the physically impaired, with spreading awareness concerning diabetes, with programs to prevent serious vision loss and improve eye care services for hundreds of millions of adults and children and, through the Foundation, to offer assistance to the victims of catastrophes in all parts of the world.

The associates form an international network of 1,3 million men and women, distributed throughout 202 countries and regions, working unselfishly to respond to the necessities faced by communities around the world.

In this its 91st year, the Lions reaffirms its commitment to the conservation of vision, through the international program SightFirst and of the World Sight Day, in global partnership with agencies of the United Nations and ophthalmological, philanthropic and professional health organizations. With the collection and recycling of eyeglasses that are distributed to the developing countries, especially in the month of May, which is the month of the Lions' program for eye glass recycling.

The International Association has modernized, with the inclusion of the young (LEOs) and the recognition of the affiliated Leo Clubs, that have much collaborated for the enlargement of the movement that we embrace.

In the amplification of its international activities, the Lions Club has collaborated with the United Nations in the construction of the sections of non-governmental organizations, in 1945, maintains a permanent chair and continues to hold its position as an advisor to the UN.

The month when the Lions commemorates the foundation of the association was chosen for a campaign of affiliation of new associates; every month is important, but it is good to underline the concern of Lions International with the program to increase the number of associates. During the month of October, in Brazil, the Lions will publicise a campaign aiming at the increase of new members whose hearts will be committed to the leonine service.

The Lions Clubs of Brazil have always distinguished themselves and are recognized by the Direction of Lions International as producers of great Lions, great campaigns and of recognised fellowship. Cordiality and friendship is the link between the associates of the Brazilian Clubs. Currently, in the person of CªL Rosane Teresinha J. Vailatti of the Lions Club of Jaraguá of the South-Center - District LD-5, Brazil is represented in the International Direction, and is the first Brazilian woman to occupy an important position within the Lions, elected at the International Convention of Lions Clubs, held last June in Bangkok.

*Luiz Mar Sória/Cal Jacira
Lions Clube de Porto Belo Bombinhas
Costa Esmeralda - Distrito LD - 5 - SC

Lions Club of Viçosa

While the world commemorates the 91 years of the Lions Clubs International, District LC12 commemorates the 41st anniversary of the Lions Club of Viçosa, to which belongs Pedal Joe.

The commemoration was on the 29th of October, with the club holding its festive meeting in the Panorama Restaurant, at which two new associates were admitted. Pedal Joe participated in the meeting by telephone and wished the new members a rewarding and fruitful work in favor of those in need.

08/10/23: Pedal Joe already in the Sahara Desert

Report given by PCC Brito Rocha, after a phone conversation with Joe:

"After passing a day resting in the small and pretty beach of Tan-Tan, Pedal Joe began pedaling again, this time already in the Sahara Desert - very similar to the Desert of Baja California in Mexico, — many stones, very dry and almost without vegetation and the one that exists is scrubby. Temperature is about 38ºC.

He is already 370Km south of Agadir and 600Km north of Dakhla where he will take a boat that the PDG Jorge Albergaria arranged to reach the Capital of Mauritania - Nonakchott - in order to avoid a very dangerous area where conflicts and abductions routinely happen.

His alimentation consists of onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and cans of sardine. He has with him a 15 liter jerrycan of water which significantly increases the weight of his pedal kart. He makes coffee by making a fire with pieces of wood that he finds by the side of the road. There is a great deal of wind which makes the pedaling difficult.


He is 70Km north of Sidi-Achsennir, but given the wind he does not expect to reach that town, thinking to spend the night 30Km before, sleeping by the side of the road, which is asphalted and has some movement. It is from this locality that Joe will face the true sand dunes of the Desert until Dakhla.

This is what Joe told me, as always well disposed, happy and satisfied with the population he comes in contact with, people who stop to just talk to him. His kart and harness have the Flag of Brazil and the Lions Emblem well displayed.

Joe sends a Hug from the Heart to all his Companions and Friends of Brazil and Portugal."

08/10/12: Pedal Joe meets the President of the Lions Club International

The environmentalist and Brazilian photographer, José Geraldo de Souza Castro, Pedal Joe, 51, member of the Lions Clube of Viçosa (DLC12) visited this weekend the Moroccan city of Casablanca where he met with the president of the International Lions Clube, Al Brandel, and his wife Maureen Murphy, who are on an official visit to several Districts of the Lions in Africa.

During the meeting, Pedal Joe offered the president a copy of his project "Extreme Worlds" and talked about the importance, principally for the least developed countries, of the program "SightFirst" of the International Lions Club. "The Program SightFirst is a great light at the end of the tunnel. It is the tangible hope of millions of persons, most of them children, who dreamt of one day to be able to see again. And the program SightFirst is managing to realize that dream", said Joe.

After the meeting, Pedal Joe participated, after being invited by the Governor of District 416, Abdelkader Masnauni and by the ex-governor Aicha Detsulli, in the seminar "For a Responsible Leonine Ethic" and the launch of the plan of action of that Moroccan District, at the Faculty of Medicine of Casablanca. During the seminar, the difficulty of creating a proper Cornea Bank in the country was stressed, mainly for cultural reasons.

In her intervention, Maureen Murphy spoke about the experience that the couple had in Kenia, where they visited an Ophthalmology Hospital (built and equipped with allowances from the Program SightFirst) and they asked a patient who recently had had a cornea operation, a mother of 2, what were her feelings after being able to see again. And she answered: "To know my children and to be able to see their smiles".

Al Brandel also talked about the great social commitment of the Lions. He showed figures relating to the investments of the Program SightFirst in the region and of the efforts that the Club is making in combating "river blindness" in Africa, where it is expected to be eradicated during the next few years.

Tomorrow, Pedal Joe takes to the road again... he will face the great Sahara Desert!

08/09/09: Pedal Joe arrives in Morocco

Pedal Joe's contact in Morocco: +212 55783251

The book PEDAIS DA ESPERANÇA (PEDALS OF HOPE), which gives a detailed account of the life and travels of Zé do Pedal (Pedal Joe), is being published and will be launched in December. In case you would like to purchase a copy, please write to: zedopedal@gmail.com. By buying this book, you will be collaborating to the success of Pedal Joe's current project. Thank you so much for your support.

Travelling at an average speed of 6 kilometers per hour, and doing about 50 kilometers per day, in a pedal go-cart, the Brazilian José Geraldo de Souza Castro, alias Zé do Pedal (Pedal Joe), 51, arrived at Rabat, capital of Morocco, bound for Johannesburg, South Africa, where he will assist at the Football World Cup "South Africa 2010".

Pedal Joe reached Tanger on Wednesday, arriving from Spain, after having crossed the strait of Gilbratar, and has already covered 320km. In Rabat he was received by the ex-governor of the Lions, Aicha Detsouli, and by members of the Lions Clube in Rabat, and, this morning, Tuesday, was received in the Brazilian Embassy by the Ambassador, Virgílio Moretzsohn de Andrade, the Vice-deputy, Luiz Geraldo Magalhaes Moraes, and the Counselor, Marcelo Marotta Viegas. In the afternoon he met the mayor of Rabat. Tomorrow, Wednesday, he travels to Mekines, Fez and Marraquech. Later, he will cross the Sahara desert, following the Atlantic coast, bound for Mauritania.

The objective of the trip is mainly to call the attention of the international community about two of the biggest problems that affect the vision of the World's children, especially in the poor countries, Cataract and Glaucoma, and to spread out the word about the great campaign of the Lions International Club: the SigthFirst program.

Since its launching in 1990, these are some of the accomplishments of SightFirst:

• distributed US$ 211 million for 896 projects in 90 countries

• provided 7,3 million cataract surgeries

• hindered the serious loss of vision of 20 million people

• improved the eye sight services for hundreds of millions of people

• constructed or it extended 300 clinical hospitals/sight infirmaries

• modernized 337 sight centers with equipment

• promoted the training of management for 115 installations

• trained 345,000 ophthalmologists, nurses and other ophthalmology professionals, and also local health professionals

• launched the first global initiative to combat infantile blindness in the world, in partnership with the World Health Organization

• the 30 constructed or modernized ophthalmological pediatric centers improved the lives of 71 million children

Control of Onchocerciasis (river blindness) and Trachoma:

SightFirst financed more than 65 million treatments of Onchocerciasis (river blindness) in Africa and Latin America since it formed a partnership with the Carter Center in 1999. The treatments of river blindness have transformed the lives and the communities in 12 countries of Africa and Latin America. In reality, in Latin America, the specialists foresee the eradication of the illness in 2010. The subsidy for the Carter Center is also focused towards trachoma, the main world-wide cause of preventable blindness. SightFirst is controlling trachoma in two million people in three countries.

Project SightFirst Action in China:

Concluded in 2002, Phase I of the program SightFirst Action in China, promoted by LCIF, financed 2.1 million cataract surgeries and established ophthalmological surgical units in 104 agricultural counties that previously had none. Phase II will approach blindness again on a large scale. A subsidy from SightFirst of US$ 15,5 million was complemented with about US$ 200 million by the Chinese government. The goal of Phase II is to carry through at least 2,5 million cataract surgeries, as well as strengthening the infrastructure of the ophthalmological units, creating secondary units in hospitals of 200 underdeveloped counties and provinces, and also in Tibet. To guarantee the continuity of the services of ophthalmological attendance for the vast and poor agricultural population, training courses of paramedics will be created in the occidental and northern provinces.

Pedal Joe will pass through the following countries, during the approximately 700 days that will take the trek, having in the end covered 17.500kms: France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Namibia, Bostwana and South Africa.

08/08/27: Pedal Joe finishes the European leg of his trek to South Africa

Joe's contact in Spain until Monday 01/09: +34627795786

After having logged more than 3200 kilometers in his pedal go-kart since he left Paris, on the 10th of May, across France, Spain, Portugal and again Spain (including a quick walk through Gibraltar), the Brazilian José Geraldo de Souza Castro, alias Pedal Joe (Zé do Pedal), bound for South Africa, where he plans to assist the Football World Cup "South Africa 2010", arrived at Tarifa, ending thus the European part of his unusual adventure.

On Monday he will cross by boat the Strait of Gibraltar, bound for the Moroccan city of Tanger.

The most heart felt moment of the trip was when Pedal Joe met with José Lima and Rosa Carvalho in the Portuguese town of Quarteira. Lima and Rosa had just crossed Portugal (870 km., north to south) on wheelchairs to incentivate the Portuguese to become more aware of the necessities and basic rights of the physically disabled.

Pedal Joe informed that in the first stage of his voyage he received much support, especially from the Moto Clubs of Faro (Portugal) and of Jerez de La Frontera (Spain) and of several Lions clubs of Portugal. In all the Portuguese cities where there is a Lions Club I was received with great warmth by its members. Important also was the support of the delegations of the Portuguese Red Cross of Vila Viçosa, Beja and Vila Real de Saint Antonio.

The pedal go-cart specially prepared for this trip, manufactured in Holland by the toy company BERG Toys, was based on the model BERG X-plorer X-treme and is equipped with tires of high durability, rims in polyethylene, armoured transmission chain, torque bar, steel frame, 7 gears, head lights, ergonomic seat, LED lights, rear-view mirrors and odometer.

According to the environmentalist, the objective of the voyage is to call the attention of the international community to two of the biggest problems that affect children's eye sight, all over the world, but especially in the poorest countries: cataract and glaucoma, and to spread the word about the International Lions Clubs great campaign: the program SigthFirst.

During the 700 days (17.500 km approximately) the trip is expected to last, Pedal Joe will cross the following countries: France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Pedal Joe expresses a special thank you to his Portuguese companions of the Lions Club: Julia Lima and Brito Rocha.

Press Clips

1981: Brazil-Spain on a bicycle

In November 1981, José Geraldo dreamed of a strange adventure: to travel from Brazil to Spain on a bicycle to be present at the Football Word Cup "Spain '82".

For many, he was only a crazy chap who wanted to appear in the printed press and on television; for the rest, a dreamer with a great desire to make his dream a reality. So, on the 6th of November 1981, the adventurer left Rio de Janeiro to travel to Seville, where the Canarinho Brazilian selection was playing and training in the first fase of the Cup. Road after road though Brasil, Uruguai, Argentina, Chile... and pretty soon the whole of South America would be left behind.

The Big Dream of being present at the Word Cup was becoming a reality. Without money, José Geraldo came across many problems at the various borders but, eventually, all were overcome. Of all these problems, the most anecdotal with a sweet political flavour: the local police would not allow him to enter the United Kingdom because he had been in Argentina, at that time at war with the UK over the disputed ownership of the Falklands. After many hours, and thanks to the help of latino-american journalists in London, he was able to have his passport stamped.

Having overcome the impasse, and already on the Old Continent, he steered his bike towards the Cervantes' homeland. Six and a half months after having left Brazil, and under the gaze of hundreds of incredulous journalists, José Geraldo arrived two minutes before the Brazilian selection in front of the hotel "Parador de Carmona", their home away from home in Seville. Between tears and happy smiles, the cyclist would welcome each one of the members of the selection, who also were thrilled to receive such an unscheduled welcome. Brazil's classification for the next phase went smoothly. While all the other supporters were travelling to Barcelona by air, José Geraldo was putting all his illusions on a backpack riding on his bicycle to follow the selection.

Six days later, Las Ramblas, one of the main thoroughfares in Barcelona, received with Samba rhythms the cyclist who was already known as "Zé do Pedal" (Pedal Joe). All was just perfection until, one fateful afternoon, Brazil fell to it's knees in front of Italy, saying goodbye to the dream of winning four championships in a row.

But, if the Brazilian players were returning home bowing their heads, Pedal Joe, to the contrary, on the transatlantic liner that was taking him back to Rio de Janeiro, was already dreaming of a longer, crazier and more exciting trip... a bicycle World Tour! The arrival at his native city, Viçosa (in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil) was climactic, with hundreds filling the streets to welcome the fellow countryman. No one was calling him crazy anymore...

1983-1986: Bicycle World Tour

The "holidays" between the trip to Spain and the World Tour lasted barely 5 months, time spent in seeking backing for his new adventure.

He found help in no less a person than the President of Brazil, João Baptista Figueiredo, who professed to be a great admirer of his. On the 15 of January 1983, Pedal Joe left his home in the city of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, for a four year long World Tour culminating in the World Cup México '86.

The voyage through the American continent was, in contrast with the previous one, rather tranquil. The cyclist even allowed himself the luxury of running and winning, in the "foreigner" category, the marathon commemorative of the 447th anniversary of the city of Lima, Peru.

This time, while entering the Old Continent, he didn't have any problems with British immigration... and, besides a small incident in Gothenburg, Sweden, and a few unimportant falls, all went according to plan. While José Geraldo was in Italy, died his biggest idol, Indira Gandhi, a person whom he planned to meet once in India. "For me, Indira Gandhi was one of the most important women who graced the face of the earth, very mystical, powerful and at the same time humble. She left a great void, very hard to fill."

Next stage of the trip took place in the North of Africa, Asia, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Birmania. In Thailand, the old Kingdom of Siam, he was able to contemplate the most beautiful things and events of the whole trip, like the wonderful beaches of Pukett and Pataya, the paradisiacal islands of Kho-Samui and the famous bridge on the Khuay-Ai river. Having been invited by the Ministry of Defense of Thailand, he spent one week in the Vietnamite refugee camp of Kao-I-Dan, where he could hear shots that came from the close by frontier between Thailand and Vietnam, the refugees being very, very afraid that the nightmare they were living would never end. "Each day that I spent in that camp, was like having lived a century of an absurd war that, in the end, only left destruction and death. On my last day at the camp, a six years old Vietnamien refugee girl, orphan and with cancer, one more victim of the chemical bombs dropped somewhere over Vietnam, got close to me and asked, her eyes watering, with the simplicity that only children manage to have, 'Farani (estrangeiro), what means peace?' At that moment I was unable to respond, and until today I am at a loss for an answer!" says José, with perplexity. All the wonderful things that he was able to come to know during his trip, were not enough to get rid of the thought of the suffering of that child and of the thousands of human beings thrown into that concentration camp as if they were a disposable thing.

But life has to go on, and José Geraldo had to keep on going as well: Malasia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong-Kong, Macau, China, Japan... In the kingdom of the Rising Sun, last leg of his World Tour (from there he would fly to Mexico via New York to be present at the World Cup), the cyclist had prepared a "little big thing": to cross the 2500 km length of the large island on a child's kart. When he arrived in Tokyo, he was taken aback with the size of the velocipedes that they had... he had to contend with a small kart, given by the toy company Toy Park Ginza Rakuninkam. It took him 107 days, travelling 25-30 km per day. To travel at 5 km per hour, was a beautiful and captivating madness. "When the inhabitants went by me, they would smile and encourage me to persevere. I really felt the fondness and respect of those kind people", says José.

Back in Mexico, the Brazilian selection was left again lagging behind. Once more Pedal Joe was going home without the pleasure of witnessing the "tetracampeonato".

A trip to forget

Back in Brazil, Pedal Joe ventured on another bicycle odyssey, in 1987, from Chuí, Rio Grande do Sul, to Brasília. "The objective of the trip was to bring the attention of our politicians to bear on the children of the Nordeste (Moto: 'Constituinte, dê uma chance para o Nordeste' - 'Constituent, give the North-East a chance"). It became my worst project. I was caught by a policeman in Rio Grande do Sul, at a gas station, who took me for a bandit, first hitting me mercilessly and only then asking me for my documents; I was kicked on the head and spat upon by people who where passing by in cars; and, worst of all, until today the North-East remains forgotten, only talked about during election campaigns.

2002: On a pedal boat down the Velho Chico

"It hurts to see the sadness in the eyes of the former riverside dweller, when he remembers his life by the Velho Chico (the river São Francisco)" (Zé do Pedal)

The regrettable results of the project "1987 Nordeste", forced Pedal Joe to postpone any new ideas. It took him 15 years to come up with a new and audacious project: to travel from New York City, USA, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on a pedalo boat. But, before the long voyage, he settled for a shorter one, from Três Marias, Minas Gerais, to Piaçabuçu, Alagoas. To promote the project, Pedal Joe left on 22 March 2002 (Water World Day) on a pedalo boat (given by the company Playbalsa) from Três Marias, pedaling the 3000 km until the estuary of the river São Francisco at Piaçabuçu on the Atlantic coast. "I chose the São Francisco because it is a mystical river that speaks a great deal of the Brazilian dream, and is a great beauty, every day renewed in its mystery", says José.

"It was exciting to live those moments on the Velho Chico, trying to show to my fellow Brazilians a different river, a river that struggles to maintain alive the traditions and the dreams of those who entrusted it with hope for a better tomorrow."

The São Francisco river has its source at an altitude of 1285 metres, in the Canastra Mountains, municipality of São Roque de Minas. Wriggling, it courses through Minas, Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Sergipe before reaching the Atlantic, crossing the semi-arid north-east region and becoming a fundamental adjuvant of the region's economy, allowing for an intensiv agricultural activity on its margins as well as irrigation for areas further afield.

DEGRADATION

Regrettably, it's not all flowers on the Velho Chico's way. "One of the biggest problems is the garbage and the sewers that end up in the river without any treatment, which has compromised the quality of the water", states Joe. 

Ten percent of Brazil's population depends directly on the waters of the Velho Chico and its affluents. It's a deplorable situation, since nearly all the cities and towns washed by its waters do not have a sewer treatment station. More than an absurdity, it is a harsh aggression towards the environment and a disrespect and affront to human beings.

Thousands of plastic bags, cans, plastic bottles, used tyres, televisions and washing clothes tanks float down the river every day. Its main affluent, the Rio das Velhas, is also its main polluter. The constant aggression, the intense deforestation and the collapse of the banks, the fecal coliform and heavy metals pollution (cadmium, mercury, zinc, lead, etc.), is the cause of the river's on-going degradation. Another big problem is silting. "Sometimes I would run aground on a sandbank 200 meters from the banks", says Joe.

One hundred days later, Pedal Joe was received by the local Secretary of Tourism, Orlando Emiel Steylaerts, in the city of Piaçabuçu, a mere 13 km from the river's estuary. It was the last city, at the end of its course, to say goodbye to the Country and throw oneself at the mercy of the sea, in one of the most beautiful spectacles to be seen anywhere.

Joe recollects that during his trip he received a great deal of encouragement from the river bank dwellers, which went a long way to contribute to the success of the trip. "Normally at night I would sleep on one of the islands or in one of the river-folk's house, and would take advantage of that to learn more about life on and about the Velho Chico. He remembers the tears the river-folk would shed during their talks about the river. "It hurts to see the sadness in the eyes of the riverside dweller, when remembering his life by the Velho Chico of old. Remembering the good old days, the vast quantity of fish, the abundance of the of the plantations." Maybe the outstanding moment of the voyage was when Joe arrived in Pinapora and met "seu Coló", who said: "Look here , my boy, I saw when the Guimarães (a steam ship) went up the river for the last time, but I am sure I won't see it come back down river again, The river is dry."

Pedal Joe, adventurer, has many reasons for smiling when relating the last leg of his trip: "It's a beautiful region, with one of the world's most beautiful canyons, situated at the boundary between the states of Bahia and Pernambuco, and Alagoas and Sergipe. We must add the historical richness of the places I visited, like the Furna do Morcego, a cave on the flanks of the canyon. It's near the city of Paulo Afonso, Bahia, and there used to hide the famous bandit Lampião and his band. Another famous cave, the Gruta de Angicos, is where, in 1938, Lampião and ten of his companions wer killed and their heads cut and exhibited in several of the towns."

In this cultural itinerary we find also Penedo, Alagoas, one of the first towns built on the banks of the Velho Chico. The river, discovered on the 4th of October 1501 by the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, has on its banks a great deal of living history, that needs urgently to be rescued from oblivion by the public entities, before a great part of it is lost forever. Regrettably, important monuments are completely abandoned, and some are even crumbling away. It's five hundred years of abandoned history.

THE BOAT

The pedal boat used on the trip was 2,40 metres long, 1,20 metres wide, and weighing 117 Kg. It was kindly offered by the company Playbalsa (http://www.playbalsa.com.br). Pedal Joe had the support of the following companies and persons for this trip: Vurk Desing, Playbalsa, Transportes Eureka, Number One Instituto de Idiomas, José Américo Garcia, Caminho das Pedras, Vereadora Carmem Mendes, Buynet e Sebastião Diniz.

Pedal Joe baptized the pedal boat "Sir Blake", a posthumous tribute to the New Zealand navigator, Sir Blake, who had left from Aukland, in November of 2000, on board of the sailboat "Seamaster".

His objective was to educate the populations of the four corners of the world on the importance of the protection of the environment, the waters of the planet and other ecosystems.

His travels were part of a project of exploration and organizing expeditions to strategic areas of the Planet, like the Antarctic, the Arctic and the great rivers, such as the Nile and the Amazon. Peter Blake was fond of saying: "If the water is good, life is good. If there is little water, there is little life. Without water, there is no life."

He was not able to continue his dream of seeing a better world for all. He died, cowardly murdered, when his boat (one of the most sophisticated sailboats in the world) was anchored at the beach of Fazendinha, 17 km from Macapá. It was assaulted by robbers who wanted to steal an inflatable boat, clocks and an outboard motor. The crew resisted the robbery, but Peter died, with two shots in the back. He was only 53 years old. Peter had just finished an important part of his project: the Amazon region. The following morning of that fateful 5th of December 2001, he would have set off, bound for Venezuela.

2004-2005: From Liberty to Christ-the-Redeemer

On the 22nd of March 2004, aboard the boat Liberdade, a fiberglass pedal catamaran, donated by the American company Profish, Pedal Joe left from the Statue of Liberty, in New York City (USA), bound for the Marina da Glória, at the feet of the Christ the Redeemer statue, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The objective of the project called "Da Liberdade ao Cristo” ("From Liberty to Christ”) was to promote awareness about the urgent necessity of maintaining clean our rivers, lakes and oceans and, above all, our springs.

“If we keep on polluting and on not taking care of our waters, the future of life on the planet will be threatened. It ought to be every citizen's life's priority to do his/her part. Only that way will we be able to avoid wars, unbelievably, for a simple glass ... of water. For this reason, I wanted to attract the attention of the world by making, with this project, an appeal to the whole of humankind, so that the different social world organizations (governmental, non-governmental, political, intellectual and economical) would be able to join me in order to reach important and worthy results on the international arena. Only thus, by means of this interdisciplinary work, is it going to be possible to sensitize a larger number of persons on one of the basic water problems on the planet, namely pollution, through the diffusion of the photos and data results gathered by this project”, commented Joe.

The trip would have been 23 thousand kilometers long, approximately, and would have included the following countries and states: USA, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guianas, Surinam and French Guyana; and in Brazil: Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.

Regrettably, on the 21st of September 2005, 18 months after departure from New York City, and having suffered the fury of hurricane Rita (the 5th encountered during the whole trip), the boat was totally destroyed, putting and end to the adventure.