Yesterday I ran into a friend, Robert Thomson, who is about to embark on an amazing journey. He is a fellow kiwi who is living in Japan and working at a local university, but from July he will set off by himself on a 200 day, 12,000km bike ride. Now for someone like me who can't even think of sitting on a bike for 200 seconds, that seems fairly impressive. But it doesn't stop there - in his own words his plan is"to cycle on a recumbent bicycle from Pusan in Korea, to London, ensuring that the route stays between 38 and 52 degrees north. Easier said than done. The biggest challenge facing Rob Thomson won't be the 4500m passes on the Pamir Highway (highway 'on the roof of the world'), the fermented horse's milk in Kyrgyzstan, the scorching heat in western China, or the frigid mid-winter crossing of the Swiss Alps. No, the biggest challenge in keeping between these latitudes for the duration of the trip will the the bureaucratic black hole that is central Asia. Invitation letters, visas in advance, set entry and exit dates...these will make for a real test of his planning and patience."
Some would call him crazy and others would call him incredible, but if you are interested in following his journey please check out his homepage (he is a bit of a computer wizard too..). The address is: http://www.14degrees.org/en/ For some less energetic activity you could always come and dig the potatoes here!
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