What:
The journey began on March 20, 2012 as Adam set out from Ushuaia, Argentina heading north to Alaska to set the Pan-American Highway Cycling Speed Record - all in the name of autism! The goal - to ride the highway in 100 days, making it the hardest individual cycling feat in almost a decade. Traveling over 2 continents, 14 countries and 14,000 miles, Adam and crew will face harsh weather and road conditions. During this journey, Cycle Pan-America will be using the ride to propel a $1.4 million dollar fundraising campaign in Canada and the USA.
When:
The 100 days of cycling will span as of March 20th, 2012.
Where:
The trip starts in Ushuaia, Argentina and ends in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. On this trip Adam will cycle through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, The USA and Canada.
Why attempt a Challenging Journey:
The sole purpose at attempting this journey is to raise awareness and money towards Autism. As this disorder grows, it affects millions of families worldwide, primarily diagnosed in children. Affecting social skills and how the world is perceived by an individual with autism, this makes it very difficult to go about day to day activities and having relationships with others. Setting the World Record is a natural extension of Cycle Pan-America's sole purpose of raising money and awareness for Autism. The funds raised will be distributed to grass-roots autism organizations around the western hemisphere. With your help we are hoping to raise a more than $1.4 million for Autism. Here are some staggering facts about Autism.
- More children this year will be diagnosed with Autism , than Diabetes, Cancer and Aids combined
- Over 50 million families are affected by Autism world wide
- I out of 70 boys will be diagnose with Autism
Route:
The 14,108 mile journey starts in the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina. From there the route weaves up the coast of the largest island in Patagonia, heading from Argentina into Chile and crossing a straight via a small ferry. Once on mainland South America the route veers back into Argentina and follows the eastern coast up several hundred miles before heading inland, across the Pampas, and travelling parallel to the Andes until reaching Mendoza, the gateway to the Andes.
From Mendoza the route traverses the Andes, in view of Mount Aconcagua, and heads north of Santiago, Chile towards the coast. It skirts the coast until entering the Atacama Desert, the world's driest desert. After 6 days of desert we head into the highlands of Peru and continues to rise and fall through the mountains of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia before arriving in Turbo, Colombia. From Turbo, the end of the Pan-American Highway in Colombia, alternative transportation is used to travel from Turbo to Panama City where secondary support vehicles are waiting to take the team to Yaviza, the start of the Pan-American Highway in Panama.
Weaving through the tropical coastlines of Panama, and Costa Rica, the route heads inland through Nicaragua, a brief crossing of Honduras and El Salvador before heading into the highlands of Guatemala. From Guatemala the route drops into coastal Mexico before heading into the Sierra Madres to Mexico City and Monterrey. The route continues North to San Antonio and across West Texas to Albuquerque. At Albuquerque the route heads straight North through Denver, CO, Casper, WY, and over to Great Falls, MT.
North of Great Falls the route travels into Canada and heads through Calgary, Edmonton and Grand Prairie before following the Alaska Highway which starts in Dawson Creek. Once reaching Fairbanks on the Alaska Highway, the route heads through the tundra to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean.
