From Rome to Kyoto: Leonardo's 15,000 km Ride for Love - Alo Japan

“Finally, I am home.” Leonardo Scarton, known on social media as @leonthesilkroad, announced his arrival in Japan after cycling more than 15,000 kilometers in 272 days, crossing Turkey, Central Asia, Mongolia, China, and South Korea. He had set off last February 8th from Garbatella with the goal of reaching his wife Sayaka in Kyoto to celebrate her birthday together.

“After 15,000 km, I carry with me an unshakeable faith in humanity,” Leonardo writes in his latest Instagram post. “I found the strength of humanity here, in the will of every people along the way to build a future of peace for themselves and their children,” he adds. “Of course, there were difficulties, and even though I was lucky that everything went well, I know the world is made of light and shadow. Yet the small shadows are always as long as the huge sun is low in the sky.”

Leonardo, 28, born and raised in Rome, has a degree in environmental economics. After two years working as a consultant, in 2019 he decided to spend a semester in Japan, where he met his wife Sayaka, whose family runs a restaurant. “I could give you a thousand different reasons why I undertook this journey. One of them is my wife, who was on the other side of the world. We needed to find a work-life balance for our future. At the time, I was working in a company, doing environmental consulting, but it wasn’t for me—I can’t sit behind a desk.”

Leonardo, who only learned to ride a bike at eighteen, got the idea for this journey by looking at a map and realizing that Asia was much closer than he thought. The desire to start came after cycling about a thousand kilometers from Kyoto to Seoul with Sayaka’s brother. “I fell in love with the fact that on a bike you reach a level of vulnerability to the outside world that allows you to connect much more deeply with the culture you travel through.”

But leaving Rome also comes at an emotional cost: “The hardest part is giving up the sense of community. Leaving behind my identity, the places where I grew up, the aperitifs in San Paolo. When you leave your home, others will continue their lives. But that’s okay. I’ll always feel Roman, but my roots are changing.”

Before departure, Leonardo dedicated six months to studying the best possible route, including points of interest, archaeological sites, museums, and natural parks far from the most touristy spots.

In these 10 months, he lived on a budget of about 10 euros a day, cycling on his 30-kilo bike, on which he mounted a tent, a stove, and a sleeping bag to withstand subzero temperatures. Once a week, he would check into a hotel to enjoy a shower.

In recent years, Leonardo lived at his mother’s house in the San Paolo neighborhood, saving about 10,000 euros from various jobs, living without unnecessary expenses: “I gave up aperitifs, going out, anything that could distract me from my goal, and I spent as little as possible. My mother’s support was fundamental.”

A journey made possible also thanks to the affection received from friends, like Lorenzo, who told him, “Look, the mountain is much more dangerous than the bicycle, because if you get hurt in the mountains, you’re alone. Instead, on a bike, you’ll always find someone willing to help you.” In fact, even though I never got hurt, I always found someone who lent me a hand, from followers and especially from my wife Sayaka. “You never wavered in your belief in this journey, you told me PEDAL on the hardest days and pushed me to get here. Without you, I WOULD HAVE MADE IT, but it wouldn’t have been the same. I traveled with a full heart, and that changes everything.”