Falling Uphill book cover and Scott standing on the edge of Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa
Book signing at my favorite childhood bookstore, Martha Merrell's in Waukesha, WI.
Book signing at Martha Merrell's Bookstore in Waukesha, Wisconsin. This is the store where I shopped when I was a kid. This is Jean. She was so excited that she had a friend take this photograph and sent me a print some months later, which I scanned in.

The fruits of inspiration

The real reward of sharing my story

I’ve never wanted to measure my life by money, which lately has been an overly idealistic philosophy; nonetheless, I believe in measuring my life by new experiences and new opportunities. Books are a very bad business plan, so often, my biggest reward is hearing the stories of how I’ve made a difference. Fortunately, there are many stories. Sometimes I think of myself as planting the seeds of dreams, and to me, these stories are the fruits of my labor. I love feeling like I get to be part of people’s new adventures.

Book signing at my favorite childhood bookstore, Martha Merrell's in Waukesha, WI.
Book signing at Martha Merrell’s Bookstore in Waukesha, Wisconsin. This is the store where I shopped when I was a kid. Photo thanks to my proud mom.

One recent story comes from an 88-year-old woman named Jean. She saw my bicycle leaning outside a store and insisted her driver stop and let her out. She “ran” into the store and told me that she had bought my book last summer and “just absolutely loved it” and that she had bought a copy for all her friends. She found it so inspiring, she said, that after reading it she added up all her frequent flier miles from a lifetime of travel, and not long after that, she made a solo journey to the other side of the world to Bangladesh. Her eyes were still on fire with the excitement of her recent trip. She rattled off a few amazing stories and told me of her new dream to write a book about her adventures. She says to me, “I want to call my book ‘An old lady and 3 Bangladesh men’.” Then she winks and says with a smile, “Do you think that will sell?”

I know I have inspired many people, several of which are attempting to ride bicycles around the world, an idea that used to be unheard of, and sometimes I sit back and wonder about all those people I’ve inspired who are trekking through the world, inspiring even more people like Jean, who will inspire even more, and the thought warms my heart and boggles my mind. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see our life’s influence ripple around the world?

It was a big day for me. They say you can’t return home, and in a way, you can’t because you aren’t the same person anymore. Despite what I just said, it was great to return home and share my story with so many childhood friends and new friends.

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More stories about the making of Falling Uphill

Scott Stoll being interviewed while his bicycle is on the red, white and blue podium, occupying first, second and third place.

VIP On The Race Podium

As a post world tour honor, me and my bike got to occupy first, second and third place on the podium at the Downer Classic race at the Tour of America’s Dairyland. I also had the chance to share my story with the crowd.

El Che Guevara and the hammer and sickle tastefully painted on the back of a road sign in Argentina

Where are you from?

I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, Planet Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy, the Known Universe, and have called various places home.

Scotts knee surgery. A picture of laparoscopic surgery and the inside of Scott's knee

Were you ever injured

Above is a picture of the inside of my knee. Almost two years ago I was knocked off my bicycle by a reckless motorist who ran a stop sign. As you can see the cartilage was torn and frayed and I had to have the loose pieces removed. It almost ended my dreams of riding my bicycle around the world.

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