In the spring of 2007, television writers Steve Hely & Vali Chandrasekaran challenged each other to a race around the world. The only catch: no airplanes. As they ripped through twenty-four countries on five continents in their pursuit of victory (and Los Angeles’ best bottle of Scotch, the grand prize), they had countless crazy experiences, ranging from attempting to purchase a custom-built jetpack in Mexico to a blind date in Sweden. Their adventures are chronicled in The Ridiculous Race, a book that must be highlighted and underlined… it’s that funny. People Magazine (no underline) describes it as ‘Riotous fun” and Wired says it, “Reads like a 300-page Simpsons episode.”
In fact, I’m pretty sure that you, Reader, will not be complete without racing out to pick up a copy for you and five of your friends.
As you all know, when I come across something I deem a PURPLE COW I must pass it on - and this book was more than that. I was lucky enough to come across Steve via the Ridiculous Race Facebook page and he kind enough to answer a few not-so-Ridiculous questions. Enjoy!
Really Playing for Pizza: On the cover of the book, the premise of The Ridiculous Race is described as, “26,000 miles. 2 guys. 1 globe. No airplanes.” Seems pretty simple – but it quickly took on a life of its own. How exactly did you guys think of this idea, and more importantly, how did you convince a book publishing company to pay for it?
STEVE: The hard part was the convincing. A good deal of excited babble came out of our mouths but those listening didn’t quite understand exactly how this would take shape. So Vali and I staged a small demonstration. We decided to send each other off on the most intense weekend possible: we each planned a weekend for the other guy, packed a bag for him, revealing no details. The only rule was you had to leave work at your regular time on Friday and be back for work on Monday. On the appointed Friday we met, and exchanged manila envelopes containing destinations, itineraries, etc. As it turned out I sent Vali to Alaska, and he sent me to Cuba. We wrote up what happened, and that was our proposal.
RPP: In addition to the Ridiculous Race, you and Vali also had a number of other ‘contests’ along the way. Can you describe some of your side wagers along with a full explanation of the Awesomeness contest (Including winners)?
Both of us wanted to come back with the better stories. That spirit of competition was a good motivator - when I was alone and tired in Finland or some place, and my body was desperately screaming at me to go to sleep, I’d think “Vali’s probably doing something great right now,” and I’d have to keep going. In this way we nearly killed each other through mutual exhaustion.
RPP: When I was living in Italy, I picked up a lot of great slang words with absolutely fascinating insight into the local culture. Same is true when I was in Japan, where I learned that Bakku-Shan literally means ‘a girl who is pretty from behind but not from the front.’) What is the coolest local word you learned along your travels?
The only word I tend to learn anywhere is “thank you.” Throw that around enough in the local language and people tend to view you as at least harmless.
RPP: Readers of this blog have become especially familiar with Italy, a country that you visited for an unofficial ‘Volpe Family Reunion.’ What were your impressions (or most humorous moments) of this crazy country?
You really can’t go wrong in Italy. When I just followed meandering roads and stopped whenever I was tired, somehow delicious food would end up in my mouth and stunning views would appear in front of me and charming old people would start talking to me. I would not understand them.
RPP: Please rank yourself and Vali (separately) in this (noncomprehensive) list of famous world travelers:
Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Mark Twain, Ewan McGregor, and Charles A. Veley (Currently first-place in the world according to the website mosttraveledpeople.com, who at age 43 has visited 633 countries/autonomous regions, or 94% of the world).
Anyone traveling in the age of anti-diarrhea medicine, readily available cotton socks, paved roads and granola bars is a lightweight.
RPP: After returning from your journey, what is the most underrated place you visited in terms of overall Awesomeness?
Mongolia. For immersing yourself in someplace that feels absolutely different from life as you’re used to it, it can’t be beaten. In the countryside of Mongolia you can easily feel as though you’ve been transported to the 8th century. In the capital city of Mongolia you can easily feel as though you’ve transported to a horrible apocalyptic version of the 1970s.
RPP: In the Ridiculous Race Movie, who would play the main characters? (From the illustrations in the book Nicolas Cage immediately springs to mind…)
It should be turned into a chick flick starring Reese Witherspoon as me and Anne Hathaway as Vali.
RPP: Before you began your journey, you describe a world circumnavigation as “the kind of journey the grand nineteenth-century adventurers dreamed up at the gentlemen’s club.” Do you still have the same sense of wonderment now that you’ve done it, or has that proverbial itch now been scratched?
Unfortunately I am uncured. Ships are a consistent problem. You’d think after two weeks on a freighter I’d be over it. But I can’t look at a ship without at least sorta wishing I was on it.
RPP: Perhaps the most important question: Have you begun thinking about the sequel? And if so, are you and Vali open to accepting a gentleman’s challenge from worthy and honorable contenders?
I don’t think we want to spend our entire lives competing in frivolous wagers. But that being said: we’re listening.
You can pick up The Ridiculous Race online at amazon.com or pretty much any place that books are sold, as this is how I stumbled upon it! As I said before, this book is RIDICULOUS FUN - Please support these great authors and pick it up! I promise you will laugh so hard you can almost count it as an ab workout!
~ J. Twice
