0:00:07.951,0:00:09.348
One year ago,

0:00:10.188,0:00:11.742
nearly to the day,

0:00:12.995,0:00:16.087
I crossed the border[br]from Iran into Turkey,

0:00:16.665,0:00:18.439
just north of Syria.

0:00:19.689,0:00:20.995
On my right,

0:00:22.142,0:00:25.568
Mount Ararat's immense silhouette rose up.

0:00:26.807,0:00:32.049
The legend says that Noah's ark[br]ran aground there.

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5,167 meters

0:00:38.749,0:00:40.454
Such a cone,

0:00:40.804,0:00:42.920
for a paraglider like me,

0:00:43.833,0:00:45.121
was like ...

0:00:45.773,0:00:47.046
a vanilla ice cream cone

0:00:47.854,0:00:49.320
on a summer afternoon.

0:00:50.188,0:00:51.744
I had three days.

0:00:51.912,0:00:55.590
I had very little time on the internet,[br]but I managed to learn two things.

0:00:56.333,0:01:00.349
First, conditions were perfect for flying.

0:01:01.377,0:01:04.048
However, guides were[br]to be avoided at all costs

0:01:04.048,0:01:06.910
as they might ask for my access permit,

0:01:07.480,0:01:09.431
impossible to get on such short notice.

0:01:09.431,0:01:10.439
I didn't have it.

0:01:12.628,0:01:14.531
On the second day of our climb,

0:01:14.531,0:01:16.692
halfway up the slope, I was sleeping,

0:01:16.692,0:01:18.816
rolled up in my paragliding wing.

0:01:19.557,0:01:22.559
It was just before dawn.

0:01:23.411,0:01:24.592
When suddenly ...

0:01:27.192,0:01:30.932
(Plane noise) (Explosion)

0:01:31.193,0:01:33.673
Fuck! It's war!

0:01:35.673,0:01:37.008
It was just over there.

0:01:43.677,0:01:45.202
I will freely admit

0:01:45.202,0:01:47.681
that I quickly ducked behind some rocks.

0:01:50.427,0:01:51.798
Seven years earlier,

0:01:52.405,0:01:55.390
on July 11, 2008 at 9:30 in the morning,

0:01:55.690,0:01:59.831
I began a round-the-world trip by bicycle,

0:02:01.277,0:02:02.522
an old childhood dream.

0:02:03.498,0:02:07.225
Anyone here who thinks the world is small,

0:02:07.225,0:02:09.164
believe me: you're wrong.

0:02:09.164,0:02:10.488
It's enormous!

0:02:11.148,0:02:13.817
I had planned to take four years.

0:02:14.598,0:02:15.537
I knew

0:02:16.108,0:02:19.527
there would be major[br]repercussions for my life.

0:02:20.709,0:02:24.326
I had a good job; an aeronautical engineer[br]under permanent contract.

0:02:24.656,0:02:26.980
In a way, I killed my career.

0:02:28.338,0:02:31.256
I had a partner that I loved ...

0:02:31.899,0:02:34.152
my family, friends.

0:02:34.458,0:02:35.422
I gave it all up.

0:02:36.214,0:02:39.848
It may seem another[br]irresponsible, stupid decision,

0:02:39.848,0:02:43.858
like the one I just described[br]on Mount Ararat.

0:02:44.191,0:02:47.083
But in fact, it was undoubtedly,[br]and I still think so today,

0:02:47.446,0:02:50.888
the most responsible decision of my life.

0:02:52.165,0:02:55.394
Basically, what I was looking for,

0:02:55.767,0:02:57.071
besides seeing the world,

0:02:57.551,0:02:59.430
was to regain control of my life.

0:03:01.556,0:03:03.198
I'd lost track of myself a bit.

0:03:05.002,0:03:08.199
I'd been on the traditional route,[br]ruled less by personal choices,

0:03:08.199,0:03:11.506
than by choices imposed on me by society:

0:03:11.506,0:03:15.006
education, career, family,[br]material comfort.

0:03:15.580,0:03:18.833
I never felt as though[br]these choices had been mine.

0:03:18.833,0:03:20.678
So, for once,

0:03:21.228,0:03:26.528
I dared make a decision that would have[br]an enormous effect on my life.

0:03:27.729,0:03:30.126
But, then, it became imperative

0:03:30.126,0:03:33.126
that this decision be[br]a very responsible one,

0:03:33.534,0:03:35.625
that I seriously weigh the consequences

0:03:37.782,0:03:38.969
for my life.

0:03:39.815,0:03:42.270
But, from such thoughts came others,

0:03:42.894,0:03:44.463
about the environmental impact.

0:03:44.897,0:03:46.708
So much so that I decided

0:03:46.708,0:03:50.432
that my world tour[br]would be essentially non-motorized.

0:03:50.935,0:03:52.323
Zero-carbon travel.

0:03:53.057,0:03:55.464
I would cross the continents on a bicycle,

0:03:55.464,0:03:58.321
the oceans in a sail boat.

0:03:58.321,0:04:00.871
And, for a bit of added fun,

0:04:00.871,0:04:04.144
I would take along my paraglider[br]to view the world from above.

0:04:04.194,0:04:05.355
I called this venture,

0:04:05.355,0:04:08.679
"On the road with a wing."

0:04:10.340,0:04:12.438
I had not chosen the easiest route.

0:04:12.882,0:04:16.716
To increase my chances for success,[br]I had to be well organized.

0:04:18.184,0:04:21.732
Yep, I was still an engineer[br]despite wanting to leave it all behind.

0:04:21.999,0:04:24.235
My approach was to make[br]a real business plan.

0:04:24.265,0:04:27.147
For six months,[br]I contacted the media, sponsors.

0:04:27.587,0:04:30.045
I worked on a budget,[br]the equipment I would need.

0:04:30.045,0:04:31.555
In short, a real business plan.[br]

0:04:31.555,0:04:32.268
I love Excel.

0:04:32.268,0:04:34.145
I had a lot of fun, believe me!

0:04:34.145,0:04:35.723
(Laughter)

0:04:36.136,0:04:38.019
Then, I looked into visas,

0:04:39.193,0:04:41.464
winter in the Andes, in the Himalayas,

0:04:41.464,0:04:45.047
war zones, to create[br]the perfect itinerary.

0:04:45.429,0:04:48.753
I knew that if I made a mistake,[br]I would suffer the consequences.

0:04:49.535,0:04:50.995
As an example of my stupidity,

0:04:51.247,0:04:52.040
one day,

0:04:52.772,0:04:55.078
I was crossing the Pamirs in Central Asia,

0:04:56.081,0:05:00.582
and I met a cyclist[br]just as shaggy and unkempt as me.

0:05:00.582,0:05:03.266
At the time, this was [br]really something special!

0:05:03.306,0:05:06.758
So, we chatted a bit, and then he told me

0:05:06.758,0:05:10.016
that he also wanted[br]to use a sail boat to cross the ocean

0:05:10.386,0:05:13.316
from Asia to America ...

0:05:15.150,0:05:16.317
Whoa!

0:05:16.317,0:05:18.089
My stomach was in knots!

0:05:18.905,0:05:22.156
I had to tell him [br]that that wasn't really possible.

0:05:23.186,0:05:26.166
Sail boats follow the trade winds,

0:05:26.166,0:05:28.142
flowing around the world toward the west.

0:05:28.460,0:05:30.028
The reverse is very rare.

0:05:31.921,0:05:34.429
So, he was going to[br]find himself at the ocean

0:05:34.429,0:05:35.952
forced to take a plane

0:05:35.952,0:05:39.396
after he had worked like crazy [br]to plan a non-motorized voyage!

0:05:40.336,0:05:43.957
I, too, nearly went east.

0:05:44.826,0:05:46.050
But, fortunately,

0:05:46.775,0:05:50.141
a friend came to see me,[br]shortly before I left,

0:05:50.651,0:05:53.603
and gave me this crucial information,

0:05:54.212,0:05:56.457
and I was able to turn around.

0:05:58.194,0:06:02.914
The cyclist had made[br]the exact same mistake.

0:06:03.183,0:06:05.614
When I was behind the rock[br]on Mount Ararat,

0:06:05.614,0:06:07.393
being shot at by F-16s,

0:06:09.115,0:06:10.601
after the explosions ended,

0:06:11.507,0:06:15.655
I thought it had been a military exercise,

0:06:15.692,0:06:17.523
I continued toward the summit,

0:06:17.723,0:06:19.836
where I launched[br]the next day to fly clear

0:06:19.836,0:06:21.752
of the prior day's gunfire zone.

0:06:21.963,0:06:26.604
I landed safe and sound[br]and retrieved my bicycle

0:06:26.604,0:06:29.934
and made it to the first town[br]where I finally found someone

0:06:30.136,0:06:31.505
who spoke English.

0:06:31.685,0:06:33.545
He explained to me

0:06:33.545,0:06:36.135
that the mountain closed[br]three months ago,

0:06:36.710,0:06:38.555
that it was full of PKK rebels,

0:06:38.616,0:06:41.846
and that the army was shooting on sight[br]anything that moved.

0:06:42.390,0:06:44.460
(Laughter)

0:06:44.797,0:06:48.617
(Applause)

0:06:52.983,0:06:55.558
I had put my life in serious danger

0:06:55.903,0:06:58.013
because of ignorance.

0:06:58.558,0:07:01.611
If I had only been a bit more informed,

0:07:01.611,0:07:05.788
I would never have made [br]such irresponsible choices.

0:07:07.091,0:07:08.483
Because, yes,

0:07:08.842,0:07:13.179
a lack of information leads [br]to irresponsible choices

0:07:13.519,0:07:15.706
and, sometimes, even disasters.

0:07:15.999,0:07:17.795
However,

0:07:18.265,0:07:22.641
having made, for the most part,[br]choices that were informed

0:07:23.978,0:07:24.990
and responsible,

0:07:25.320,0:07:27.187
conscious of the consequences,

0:07:27.187,0:07:31.962
I was able to make my dream a reality[br]and go even further.

0:07:31.986,0:07:34.571
Four months later, on December 29, 2015,

0:07:34.571,0:07:37.832
I crossed the finish line[br]after 2,723 days,

0:07:37.832,0:07:41.125
Seven and a half years on the road,[br]rather than the anticipated four.

0:07:41.322,0:07:44.702
I'd travelled 105,000 km[br]through some incredible places.

0:07:44.702,0:07:46.893
I'd met all kinds of people.

0:07:46.893,0:07:48.829
I'd been able to see marvellous things.

0:07:48.829,0:07:51.464
I was happy, and I'd achieved my goal.

0:07:56.692,0:07:58.942
That's how it went for me.

0:08:00.661,0:08:02.366
But, what would happen

0:08:03.364,0:08:06.407
if it was like that[br]for each and everyone of us?

0:08:10.515,0:08:12.073
And what would happen

0:08:12.848,0:08:14.343
if it was like that

0:08:14.743,0:08:18.393
for everyone in our country[br]or on the planet?

0:08:19.513,0:08:23.957
Can we not imagine a society [br]that was more conscious,

0:08:24.896,0:08:26.676
and, therefore, more responsible,

0:08:27.449,0:08:29.315
and more liberated?

0:08:31.470,0:08:36.423
Because a world tour,[br]a lifetime project, or a social plan

0:08:37.607,0:08:39.365
is like paragliding.

0:08:40.095,0:08:43.615
They're all full of limitations and risks[br]that we've chosen ourselves.

0:08:43.615,0:08:46.817
We do everything we can[br]to control the consequences.

0:08:47.415,0:08:50.523
An inaccurate reading of the wind[br]could mean death or paralysis.

0:08:51.647,0:08:52.656
But, the take-off

0:08:53.816,0:08:55.287
is the ultimate instant,

0:08:56.236,0:08:58.058
the moment of truth,

0:08:58.672,0:09:01.457
when your choices become[br]truly accountable,

0:09:02.681,0:09:05.261
and hugely freeing.

0:09:05.261,0:09:06.987
So ...

0:09:08.559,0:09:09.738
ready to fly?

0:09:10.788,0:09:13.499
Thank you.

0:09:12.201,0:09:16.201
(Applause)