Can Bikes Change the World?
Ever complained about your bike commute? You might rethink doing so after chatting with Jacob Thompson. In July 2006, Thompson and two other friends set out to bicycle all the way from the Alaska Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America. Instead of choosing the easy route, they opted for the dirt roads and trails that traversed the continental divide. Their name, Riding the Spine, was fitting. A little over three years later, and after having pedaled over 34,000 kilometers, been held at gunpoint, kayaking with their bikes from Panama to Columbia and dragging their bikes through mudslides, on January 10, 2010 the team finally made it to Ushuaia. A journey of this scope isn’t for everyone, but there are some broader lessons to be learned. We caught up with Thompson to talk bikes, adventure and environment. Planet Green: How did you decide to embark on a trip of this kind? Jacob Thompson: The idea began in college as a much smaller trip: to ride the Great Divide R
