Coast Guard arrests a man trying to run a giant hamster wheel across the ocean

I found the NPR article extremely funny. When it listed his other achievements as reported by the CNN in the same NPR article; it made me indulge further into this individual's history.

He ran away from his homeland, Iran, and spent seven years on a bicycle, pedaling 49,700 miles across 55 countries.

[..]

It’s been nearly 10 years since Reza Baluchi escaped from Iran. He has run across the United States twice and around its perimeter once. He sets out on every journey with the same mission: to spread a message of world peace.

This man sought asylum in the United States, the way he went about getting there was interesting too.

His life on the road – running in a security vest adorned with the American and Iranian flags – took him from China to Panama, France and New Zealand – 55 countries in all. Communicating the message of love and peace.

Eighty-five flat tires later, Baluchi arrived at the U.S. border in Monterrey, Mexico, asking for a visa to enter America. After waiting three months with no document, Baluchi says he got lost while riding his bike in the desert.

“I was 27 miles in Arizona and I had no idea,” he said. “I was awakened one morning by a helicopter hovering over my tent. It was border patrol. When they told me I was actually in the U.S. I started crying.”

It was a year after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and a Middle Eastern man riding alone in the desert might raise suspicions.

“I started speaking German, hoping they wouldn’t know my nationality. Once the officer searched my tent and saw one of the newspaper headlines ‘Iranian Runs Around the World for Peace,’ he jumped back and put his hand on his gun.”

Baluchi was arrested for entering the United States illegally and spent five months in a detention center, unable to post $5,000 bail.

A LA-based businessperson, David Hyslop, intrigued by his story wrote a letter of support to the detention center and ultimately became his agent for his cross-country marathon, alike Terry Fox for us Canadians, running an average of 29 miles a day for 124 days.

They left Los Angeles on Mother’s Day, planning to arrive in New York City by the second anniversary of Sept.11. They were traveling with a $28,000 donation for the Children’s Aid Society, Baluchi’s bicycle and “Rocky,” a stray dog they picked up along the way.

Baluchi arrived to a cheering crowd at Battery Park. The next day he presented his bike to Engine 33, Ladder 9, the closest fire station to Ground Zero. Ten of its 14 firefighters were killed in the response to the World Trade Center attack.

“We found out these guys were also cyclists,” Hyslop said. “We pulled up to the fire house and they were standing outside waiting for Reza. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, it was unbelievable.”

“These guys are true heroes,” Baluchi said. “They gave their lives to save others. So I wanted to donate my bike from the people of Iran, not from the government. I stay out of the politics.”

There's so much more in the article, but wow, what miraculous achievements and character.