The Pursuit Zone

In a yearlong adventure to explore his home country of Scotland, Will Copestake kayaked 1655 km around the coast in 122 days from Solway Firth to Berwick Upon Tweed. He then cycled 2510 km while summiting all 282 Munros. It was a doorstep adventure he calls Machair to Munro and you can read more about it at his website willcopestakemedia.com. Will Copestake, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Maria Leijerstam became the first person in the world to cycle from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole in December of 2013. She rode a custom, 3-wheeled polar cycle on the Antarctic Traverse covering 400 miles in 10 days 14 hours and 56 minutes, setting a new speed record. Maria produced a documentary about the expedition called The White Ice Cycle and you can learn more about it her website whiteicecycle.com. Maria Leijerstam, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

We're back with our 2nd podcast with Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber who are cycling westward on the TransAmerica Trail and writing about it at crazyguyonabike.com.

For Julie Buckles and her husband Charly, their honeymoon plans consisted of building a wood and canvas canoe, paddling 1,700 miles from Lake Superior to Northern Saskatchewan, wintering over on Wollaston Lake, then paddling 1,100 miles to Gjoa Haven on the Northwest passage of the Arctic Ocean. It's an adventure she writes about in her book Paddling to Winter and you can learn more at her website juliebuckles.com. Julie Buckles, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Ian Packham traveled around the coast of Africa for 13 months without the support of a backup team. It was a 40,000 km journey using locally available public transportation and although Africa has a coastline shorter than Europe, crossing the borders of 31 countries is no easy task when corrupt regimes, poor infrastructure, and war may be around the next turn. Ian wrote a book about his adventure titled Encircle Africa: Around Africa by Public Transport which you can learn more about at his website encircleafrica.org. Ian Packham, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

During the summer of 2014, Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber will cycle the TransAmerica Trail from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon – a distance of 4,242 miles. Both recent university graduates and aspiring farmers, the adventure was partly born for a desire to live and work in the Northwest as well as to understand the relationship between agriculture and community across the United States. This is the first of several podcasts with Brian and Robin during their journey westward and you can read more about their adventures on their journal at crazyguyonabike.com. Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail spans 3,100 miles across 5 states from Canada to Mexico. It is one of the most remote and challenging long-distance trails with altitudes ranging from 4,000 ft. to 14,000 ft. across landscapes from tundra to desert. Dan Drehmel was one of the 150 people that attempt to thru-hike the trail each year. In 2013, he set out on his first long-distance hike and spent 131 days on the trail going north to south. He did it to challenge himself both mentally and physically and to immerse himself in the history of the old mining towns and the wild west. Dan Drehmel, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

In March 2013, Oli Goulden and Matthieu Liard left Shanghai China to cycle the Road of Smiles. An 8-month cycling adventure to London to raise money for Operation Smile an organization that performs free surgeries for children around the world that have cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities. It was a 16,000 km cycle tour across 16 countries, 4 deserts, and 3 mountain ranges and you can read the whole story at roadofsmiles.com. Oli Goulden, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.