Touring - Zedo Pedal from Brazil?? (mid 80s)

Around 1983-84, I was driving a company blazer in Houston and I saw a fellow bicycle tourist riding north up 59 towards Houston. He was in pretty bad shape. If he wasn't sitting on a touring bike, he would have looked like a homeless street person from downtown. I was on my way home an decided to pick him up and help him out (it was late and he was heading into town and I knew he was screwed on a place to stay). I picked him up and we started talking while I worked my way thru rush hour traffic.

He was Zedo Pedal (pronounced Zee-do Pee-dal). He said that translated into Joe Pedal. He actually changed his name to reflect his bicycle touring. I think he was from Brazil. He had letter a from his president saying that he was representing his country and to help him in any way possible on his journeys.

I took him home (I still lived with my mom) and got him a shower. We then went to the house of some friends. 3 bicycling guys that shared a house. We all sat back and he entertained us that evening with his stories. He just got to the US from South America while travelling thru some seriously war torn countries. The guy had some serious gonads.

When he was at my house, he saw my touring bike. The entire night, he was begging me for all the gear on my bike (panniers, racks, cateye computer, tent...). He basically wanted everything but the frame. It took me a year to save up the money to buy all my toys. I felt bad, but I wasn't parting with my toys.

I eventually went home and he stayed with my friends. They washed his clothes, rode him out of town and gave him some food money.

I always wondered how his trip turned out.

damn, I googled him and I think I found him...

http://pedaljoe.blogspot.com/
Pedal Joe's trips and social projects (so
far):




1981/82 Brazil-Spain on a bicycle

1983/86 World Tour on a bicycle –
Campaign for Cancer

1985 Crossed Japan on a Velocipede –
Campaign for Ethiopia's children

1987 Chui-Brasilia on a Velocipede -
Campaign for Brazil's North~East region's children

1996 South America on a Motorcycle

2002 Rio São Francisco on a pedal boat
(from Tres Marias to Pontal do Peba) - Campaign of awareness against the
pollution of the São Francisco river

2004/05 New York-Dzilan de Bravo
(Mexico) on a pedal boat. 10.000kms - Campaign of awareness against the
pollution of the water on the Planet

2007 He crosses Guanabara Bay on a boat
made with 240 Pet bottles - Campaign of awareness against the pollution of
Guanabara Bay

2007 Piracicaba-Borborema (Rio Tiete) on
a boat made with 240 Pet bottles - Campaign of awareness against the pollution
of the Tiete - Parana rivers

2008/10 Paris-Johannesburg on a
Pedal-Kart - Campaign of awareness about Glaucoma and Cataract and to spread the
word about the SightFirst Program of the Lions International Club. Start: Paris,
10th of May 2008. End: Johannesburg, June 1st 2010. Actual position: Luanda,
Angola. Total distance: 17.000 kms. Already travelled: 13.500 kms. Still to go:
3.500 kms. Visited countries: France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Western Sahara,
Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin,
Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, and Angola. Still to be visited: Namibia, Bostwana and South Africa, just
in time to attend the first Soccer World Cup to be held on the African
continent.

I just sent him an email. Maybe I found him. The internet sure makes the world a lot smaller than it used to be

Sounds like an entrepreneur who chooses a charity for each tour and then skims off his expenses.
That's not a judgement. Just an observation based on the information available.

My guess is that people who throw a few bones (money) in his direction understand what is going on. It is money well spent to have an evening at home being entertained by Pedro's stories.