Photo courtesy Alan Bate.
Just keeping up with our own summer adventures is a feat in itself—but we’ve finally found time to compile a roundup of epic journey news. First, congratulations to Alan Bate, who on Aug. 4 finished his round-the-world cycling trip. He didn’t quite meet his goal of 99 days, but 114 is nothing to sneeze at (plus he shattered the previous world record of 165 days). Bate averaged 158 miles per day and covered 18,000 miles on his exhausting trek.
The Plastiki in San Francisco Bay. Photo by Luca Babini.
An epic journey report wouldn’t be complete without some sea-faring adventures. First up is the journey of the Plastiki, a wind-powered boat made entirely of plastic bottles whose mission is to raise awareness about the evils of plastic pollution. After launching from San Francisco Bay this spring, the Plastiki inched its way across the Pacific for months, completely at the mercy of the wind. Encountering no major mishaps along the way, David de Rothschild and the rest of the Plastiki crew sailed triumphantly into Sydney Harbor in late July. Read more here.
Laura Dekker.
Meanwhile, Dutch teen Laura Dekker, now 14, has traded high drama for high seas. She set off on Aug. 4 on her bid to sail solo around the globe. Dekker had planned to start her journey last year, but her mother and the Dutch courts were both opposed to the idea. Now, with consent from both those parties, Dekker is “going to try my best” to take the title of youngest solo circumnavigator from 17-year-old Australian teen Jessica Watson. Read more here.
Photo by Keith Ducatel.
Finally, thanks to The Adventure Blog, we read yesterday about another epic journey completed: On Aug. 9, Ed Stafford and Cho Rivera finished their bid to walk the length of the entire 4,000-mile Amazon River, spending 859 days on the sweltering, bug-infested trek. Find out details and see photos on their websites, WalkingTheAmazon.com and EdStafford.org.
