Beyond The Driveway: Family Rides Bikes from Alaska to Argentina

Details
by Mark Stephens on Tue Sep 21, 2010 - (2) Comments

Bicycling Utah from John Vogel on Vimeo.

I love this stuff. On one hand, America is busy encasing the country in rubber in the form of TotTurf, and thereby altering the ubiquitous playground experience forever.

John and Nancy Vogel, on the other hand, are busy bicycling from Alaska to Argentina with their 11-year-old twin boys.  They began their journey in June of 2008 and are still on the road today.

On a grand scale, their trip ranks epic with a capital E. In the details, though, they go through all the un-fun calamities of bicycling: wind, rain, cold, heat, crappy roads, wrong turns, wondering where to camp tonight . . . but there is no doubt that the entire family will be looking back on these two-and-a-half years of their lives as some of the best. On a bike, you can experience a local culture much easier than if you're in a car, perhaps have a more authentic - if that's the word for it - encounter; Neil Peart mentioned the same thing in his book, The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa. This family is seeing the world, road schooling, doing fun stuff together, and lowering their cholesterol - though that last part is debatable once they hit Latin America.

Adventure travel isn't always easy. But neither is staying home all the time. Pick your poison. Then again, Albert Einstein once remarked about how he came up with his Theory of Relativity: "I thought of that while riding my bike."

They're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Family-on-Bikes/122286371124632
And they have a blog: http://familyonbikes.org/blog/

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Frank Ledwell
0 # Frank Ledwell 2010-09-22 09:12
Wow, now that is pretty darned awesome! I've ridden from Houston to Austin (approximately 185 miles) but this is definitely an EPIC ride for one person, much less the entire family. Thanks for sharing, Mark!
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Mark Stephens
0 # Mark Stephens 2010-09-22 15:39
Dude, Frank, did you see this one?
7 Secrets for Family Bike Camping Happiness? Sweet photos in there too. Check it out.
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