All across America, women have replaced their beloved pair of jeans with their favorite pair of leggings. Despite the controversy raised over the umbrella concept of “street to gym” attire by numerous style experts, the appeal is at its all time high.

It has become vitally important today to surround ourselves with art and to choose thoughtfully the artistic realm we want to be in – those places where we find solace and pleasure. However, every once in a while we come across a piece of art that transports us past sheer aesthetics into the world of emotional uncertainty – museum-quality artwork that is not always something you would want to hang on your wall or display in your home.

My conversation with someone who has crossed over 40 country borders (from the United Kingdom all the way to Mongolia) in less than seven years promised to be quite a compelling one. But my anticipation was amplified by the fact that all those trips were taken on, believe it or not… a bicycle. But there is even more than that to this unusual story.

If Shavarsh Karapetian lived in Ancient Greece, he and his lifesaving deeds would have become a part of Greek mythology on the same scale as those of Hercules. His heroic acts saved the lives of countless, and it all happened in times of peace. All of that on top of his athletic achievements as a multiple record-holder and world champion finswimmer.