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Adventure travel show Interviewing people that dream big, get out of their comfort zones, and take on ambitious pursuits. People that have positive and interesting stories to tell. Travelers, adventure athletes, authors, filmmakers, or volunteers in remote parts of the world. These are just a few of many examples. The Pursuit Zone serves to inspire and challenge people to escape their comfort zones by combining their dreams and ambition with a healthy dose of pursuit.
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Ryan Wichelns is the founding editor of Trails Magazine. It is the only independent, quality-over-quantity, and print-only magazine for backpackers and those who love to sleep in the dirt. He is also an outdoor-adventure and environmental freelance writer and journalist. His work has appeared in Backpacker Magazine, Outside Online, Gear Junkie, and more. Ryan first appeared in episode 12 and again in episode 100. You can learn more about Trails Magazine at trailsmag.net. Ryan Wichelns, welcome back to the show.
At the age of 22 she had a spinal injury that ended her dreams of becoming an athlete. Through a lot of pain, disappointment and treatment she slowly got better. Two years later she wanted to prove to herself that she could still achieve big goals so she set out to cycle the Iron Curtain Trail also known as Eurovelo 13. The route took her from Norway on the Barents Sea through 19 countries ending on the Black Sea at the Turkish-Bulgarian border. It was 5 months and 5,600 miles of cycling a diverse range of landscapes, cultures, and climates. You can read more about her adventure at cyclingtheironcurtain.wordpress.com. Laura Scott, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
In 2015, with his friend Tarran, he completed a kayaking adventure along the Amazon River, traveling from the headwaters of the Rio Mantaro, high in the Peruvian Andes, to the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. It was 400 miles of trekking followed by 3,600 miles of kayaking for 4.5 months. You can learn more about Olie and his adventures at oliehuntersmart.com. Olie Hunter Smart, welcome back to the show. Olie appeared first in TPZ episode 204 about his walk across India I interviewed West Hansen about his Amazon adventure in TPZ episode 038
The first part of his 40,000-kilometer cycling journey took him from England to Tbilisi Georgia. After a winter break in England earning money, he reunited with his bike and continued through central Asia along the Pamir highway and into the Whakan Valley. He was denied a visa to China so he chose to cycle India from south to north. His adventure continued into Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and down Australia from Darwin to Adelaide enduring the relentless heat of the Outback. It was 775 days on the road with a budget of $5.40 a day. Check out Josiah and his other adventures include sailing across the Indian Ocean and hiking across Europe at josiahskeats.com. Josiah Skeats, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
In the summer of 2019, Anna Welch traveled from New Zealand to San Francisco to begin cycling across the United States. She was inspired by the Kate Harris book Lands of Lost Borders – A Journey on the Silk Road. She wanted to see a cross-section of American culture and geography in a way that tested her mental and physical limits. She followed the Western Express and Trans Am routes, using maps from the Adventure Cycling Association completing her journey to Yorktown Virginia in 83 days. Anna says the best thing about the whole adventure was how cycling facilitated a connection to the landscape and the people. You can learn more at thesevariousadventures.wordpress.com. Anna Welch, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. Anna's presentation on YouTube My Kate Harris interview - Episode 162
In 2018 they began a long cycling adventure, heading east from their home country the Netherlands. Some of the places they have cycled include Turkey, Iran, Oman, and Japan. They’ve experienced the extremes of the high mountain passes through central Asia and the heat and humidity of SE Asia. Along the way they captured these moments with their cameras and created some of the best cycling videos on YouTube. Their channel is called Wheels to Wander and you can find them at their website wheelstowander.com. Eric and Maudi, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. The Big Africa Cycle - Peter Gostelow's blog Earthships
He lives a life of adventure as a travel writer and broadcast journalist, reporting from over 100 countries in the past decade. Back in 2016 he sailed and cycled from China to London in 133 days. The main legs of this journey were a 28-day yacht race across the North Pacific then cycling across the USA in 49 days before getting back into the race on a different crew and sailing 11 days across the North Atlantic from New York to Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. His latest creation is a video series titled Earth Cycle. In the first season he cycles 2000 miles in Norway and Sweden, interviewing locals and shining a light on environmental issues. You can learn more about Simon at simonwparker.co.uk. Simon Parker, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. Simon's TedX Talk BBC Radio Documentary for the Sailing & Cycling Adventure
Christine Ka’aloa runs the YouTube channel GrrrlTraveler. It’s a channel that takes you inside her solo travel adventures around the world. Before YouTube, she lived in New York City for over 8 years, working in tv and video production including working with MTV. When the economy slowed in 2009, she decided to take a gap year to travel abroad. She spent time living in South Korea teaching English before spending 7 months backpacking in India and SE Asia. She also runs a companion travel blog at GrrrlTraveler.com where you can learn more about her travels. Christine Ka’aloa, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Photo credit: Susanna Oreskovic In the late 1920s, the husband-and-wife duo Don and Phyllis Munday believed there was an undiscovered peak in the Coast Range about 200 miles north of Vancouver which was an uncharted part of the province. They called it Mystery Mountain and set out to find it. They achieved their goal in 1928, reaching the lower summit of Mystery Mountain which became known as Mount Waddington, the highest peak inside British Columbia at 13,186 ft. About 90 years later, a team of six set out to retrace the Munday’s expedition to Mystery Mountain using only 1920s era equipment. Greg Gransden directed the documentary film about the adventure titled The Mystery Mountain Project which is available to view online. You can learn more about the film and the team at canadianehsociety.ca. Greg Gransden, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. View on Amazon View on Vimeo View on Reelhouse View on Adventure Sports TV Don and Phyllis Munday Photo credit: Museum of North Vancouver
Her travels have taken her all over the world. Her first big adventure was traveling solo through parts of East and West Africa using public transportation. She is also into cycle-touring and spent 2.5 months in SE Asia, 5 weeks in Patagonia, and most recently was back in Africa cycling from Luxor Egypt to Khartoum Sudan. In 2019 she competed in the first Bike Nonstop US race from Portland Oregon to Washington DC. It was her first experience in an ultra-distance cycling race and she completed it self-supported on her Surly Long Haul Trucker. Alissa writes about these experiences and more at exploringwild.com. Alissa, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Her adventure began in Ushuaia Argentina in late January 2013. Nearly 7 months later she cycled into Santiago Chile after 4,600 km accomplishing her goal of unicycling through Patagonia. But the goal was more than just a cycling challenge. It was a way to meet people from different cultures and a way to discover herself at the same time. In 2016, she received the Kris Holm Evolution of Balance award that supports riders seeking creative and self-supported mountain unicycle adventures in remote places. She was granted this along with Kelli Carley for their adventure in the Alps on the Haute Route. You can learn more about Anne-Sophie at her website annesophierodet.com. Anne-Sophie Rodet, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
At the end of 2016 he left his job to begin 2 months of planning for a walk across India from Turtuk in the north to Kanyakumari in the south. The walk would begin in 2017. The year marking 70 years of Indian independence. The goal of the expedition was to learn about how Independence and Partition affected the people that lived through it as well as to demonstrate that with careful planning and determination it is possible to walk over 7 months and 4,500 km through high altitude, extreme heat and monsoon rains with a 50-year-old rucksack. He also made a film about the journey titled The Road to Independence. You can learn more about the film and his adventures at oliehuntersmart.com. Olie Hunter Smart, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
When she was little, she dreamed of becoming a writer. But by her early forties, after dozens of jobs from teaching to real estate to selling insurance, she wondered why she had lost sight of that dream. So, in 2011 she set out from Belgrade Serbia on an old 8-speed mountain bike with a budget of 5 euros per day to begin cycling around the world. Along the way she overcame many hardships. But she took time off when needed to rest, earn money, and most importantly to begin writing books about her journey. Nine years later she has cycled in over 40 countries and is currently in South America with plans to cycle to Alaska. You can learn more at her website snezanaradojicic.com. Snežana Radojičić, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
She left her job as a graphic designer and traveled to New Zealand to start her first bicycle tour. But when it was over, she knew she wanted more. A few years later in 2015 she cycled away from her home in Sweden with the plan to ride back to New Zealand. The journey took her through Europe, Turkey, and Iran before ending with an injured foot on the Pamir highway in Tajikistan. Back in Sweden after 4 months of recovery, she began again on a new route that would take her across Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Australia. Near the end of 2017, after 36,000 km, she cycled into Wellington New Zealand marking the end of her amazing adventure. You can learn more at her website mairawa.com. Ann Johansson, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Karma is from Sweden and Scott from New Zealand. They have a passion for long-distance hiking and exploring the world. Not wanting to be owned by their stuff, they sold everything but the packs on their backs and in 2019 began a multi-year trek from North Cape at the top of Norway toward Bluff at the bottom of New Zealand. So far, their journey has taken them through 8 countries. They traveled through the UK during winter then into France and Spain where the adventure was paused in March 2020. You can learn more about them and their adventures at rebootlife.me. Karma and Scott, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
Enjoy this bonus episode in celebration of reaching 200 episodes. 24 previous guests sent in recordings of what they are doing now.
Back in 2006 while snowboarding in the French Alps, he met some backpackers and became fascinated with their lifestyle and tales of travel and adventure. Soon after, he quit his job and spent a year working and traveling Australia. A few years later, while backpacking and volunteering in Central America, he decided to retire the backpack and begin traveling in other ways. First, he built a bike-car that seats two cyclists in the front and two in the back. Its maiden voyage was from the UK to Italy and after some modifications he cycled it across Canada and partway down the west coast of the US. Since then he has gone on to do many more adventures including kayaking the Inside Passage. You can learn more about Paul and his adventures at going-solo.co.uk. Paul Everitt, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
At age 15 he emigrated with his parents from Romania to Montreal Canada. He studied software engineering at University, but after graduation he decided to take another path in life. He left on a 9-month adventure to cycle the Americas from the top of Alaska to the bottom of South America, a 34,000 km journey that ultimately lasted more than 3 years. For this he was awarded the European Adventurer of the year in 2018. You can learn more at his website radupaltineanu.com. Radu Păltineanu, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.
In August 2019, he began a 780 km trek across Madagascar. Joined by three team members, the goal was to walk east to west along Madagascar’s longest river, the Mangoky. The journey was 29 days through jungles and across mountain ranges while avoiding crocodiles and the threat of armed bandits. Part of the adventure is to raise funds and awareness for the loss of wildlife and wild lands across Africa by working with the African Wildlife Foundation. You can learn more about Chaz and his adventures at thewildestjourney.com. Chaz Powell, welcome back to the show.
He is on a mission to use human power to reach the peaks of the seven summits. After cycling to Nepal and summiting Mt. Everest in 2016, he set out on a new adventure to reach the top of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak of Mount Carstensz in the Popua Province of Indonesia. He began on bicycle from Nepal, crossing India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and ending 9,000 km later in East Java Indonesia. From there he continued by rowboat another 4,000 km to Papua Province, but because of local violence, he had to hitch a helicopter ride with a climbing expedition team to cover the final 70 km. It was 2.5 years of training, preparing, cycling and rowing to reach the summit. You can learn more about his adventures at his website jelleveyt.be. Jelle Veyt, welcome back to the show.
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