Adventure is the only way to describe Steven Weinburg‘s life, which features his car, a Renault 4CV, dubbed “the little one.”

Weinberg, 64, from Luxembourg, is currently traveling across the United States and back to Europe in his little car with his former student, Anna Luijten, to recreate the Great Race of 1908.

“People like me live by this motto: Don’t dream your life, live your dream,” Weinburg said.

In November of 1907, the French newspaper Le Matin and the New York Times teamed up to create the Great Race. The challenge was to travel by car around the world from New York to Paris. The original goal was to travel across the Bering Strait, but it wasn’t frozen enough to travel on, so cars were shipped to Europe to complete the race.

Out of six teams, three managed to get to Paris, six months later.

Originally the cars came through Ames in March 1908, following the race route that went through the intersection of Main Street and Duff Avenue and past the south and west sides of campus.

The German Team had trouble making it up the Hyland Street hill west of campus and ended up staying overnight at the Sigma Nu fraternity.

Weinburg made his way to Ames following the race path Monday.

His journey began in New York City July 15, and he is on day 10 of his 31,000-kilometer trip.

This isn’t the first time Weinburg has attempted something like this. He traveled the La Nationale 7, the French version of Route 66; the Alps; and Siberia, all in his little car.

His travels began with his little Renault 4CV, a popular post-war car made in 1947, when he bought it seven years ago because it reminded him of the first car he had when he was a teenager. The car then gained its nickname of “the little one.”

“People flocked to the car simply out of curiosity,” Weinburg said.

On one of his first journeys, he made it to the Chinese border, where the trip ended because the Chinese border was closed at the time.

“I got to there and cried, thinking this is the end of a 1,600-kilometer journey,” Weinburg said.

After the trek, the car was badly beat up and facing mechanical problems to the point Weinburg didn’t think it would make it to the next town. The car was flown back home where a group of technical students fixed up the car as a learning experience.

Since Weinburg’s adventures are about the people he photographs, he has met numerous interesting people.

On a past trip he met a man who was building an ancient railway station complete with train and shops. After talking with him, Weinburg learned the man also had a love of old cars and had a 1903 Oldsmobile. Weinburg was given a ride in the ancient vehicle.

“A few cranks of the handle and this 107-year-old engine was purring,” Weinburg said.

Among his travels, he visited Auschwitz. Six of his family members had been gassed, though his father had survived.

He also went to Lake Baikal, which Weinburg said was the most beautiful part of his trip.

“It was like we were driving through Antarctica, since we were driving on the ice,” Weinburg said.

While the adventure was full of interesting people and places, his travels weren’t without difficulty.

Constant mechanical issues plagued the car. At one point they were stuck in the sand in the Gobi Dessert with no one around to help pull the car out. Eventually Weinburg’s travel partner found help.

“There is always that question of will this be the end of it,” Weinburg said.

While his family and friends are supportive of Weinburg and his travels, and are constantly checking his blog, they have their worries.

“They think I am completely nuts, and they are probably right,” Weinburg said.

When asked what was next on his life’s adventure, he laughed and said, “One thing at a time … I mean, what more can you prove than traveling around the world?”