Ted Simon

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Ted Simon is a British journalist born in Germany. He wrote for the English newspapers Daily Mail, The Observer and The Times. In late 1973, Simon began travelling around the world on a Triumph Tiger 500 cc motorcycle. For four years he travelled over 78,000 miles (126,000 km) through 45 countries. Most accounts from his trip are detailed in his book, Jupiter's Travels,^[1] while some of the books gaps are filled in its second part, the book "Riding High".^[2]

His book later inspired the actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in their journey from London to New York on motorcycles (Long Way Round), where they actually met Simon in Mongolia.

He also wrote the book, The Gypsy in Me,^[3] which details his search for his mother's and, particularly, his father's roots in Eastern Europe. This time he mainly walked and caught public transport between Kaliningrad and Romania. This was not long after the Communist regimes in Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Romania had fallen.

In 2001 Simon started a new journey that roughly followed the same route as his 1973 trip. He was around 70 years old at that time and completed the journey in 3 years. His new book, detailing this journey, was released in March 2007 and is entitled: Dreaming of Jupiter.^[4] It was published simultaneously in English and German hardcover editions.

Simon now resides in California, United States.

Simon also wrote the book The River Stops Here: Saving Round Valley, A Pivotal Chapter in California's Water Wars.

He has also been an organic farmer.