20,000 Miles
560 Days
23 Countries
3 Continents
an expedition to
A solo journey by bicycle from Lisbon to Labrador. Starting at the farthest West point of Europe and going to the farthest East point in North America. From the Atlantic ocean in Portugal, the trip will skirt the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas. The route then crosses steep mountain ranges and through the vast open steppes of Central Asia. The most difficult challenge will be heading into the uninhabited reaches of Siberia and Alaska in winter. The path then crosses the interior of Canada before finally ending back on the shores of the Atlantic. An epic human powered journey to connect the people of the world using the power of the bicycle.
Date: March 31st, 2017
Distance: 38 kilometers
Song of the Day: Say it Ain't So - Weezer
I had planned on getting up and out early today. I wanted to push all the way to Galena, but after looking at the maps I decided that wasn't a great plan. That would have meant a very hard day, followed by another hard day to Ruby. I don't think my body is ready for that. So I will break up the trip to Galena into two shorter days.

A couple of miles outside of Koyukuk the river took a dog-leg to the right, but the wind didn't. It was still coming in from the port side, but at least it wasn't hitting me in the teeth anymore. I made it to town rather early and tried to check in at the school. Sadly, they're on spring break and everything was closed up. I ended up getting a spot to stay at the city office, though.
-Dravis
Date: March 30th, 2017
Distance: 56 kilometers
Song of the Day: Terminal Frost - Pink Floyd
Leaving Kaltag was a lot slower than I had planned. As I was leaving I got into chatting with Amy. She is a cool person and has lived a life about as crazy as mine. It was fun to hear stories from another crazy person. I was also interested in how well she was managing to integrate into the village she was living in. Before I realized how long it had been it was past noon. Whoops.

I arrived in Nulato before sunset though. Amy had told me to talk with the staff at the school there for a place to stay. I did that and they were happy to let me spend the night. Who knew I would spend so much time in schools on this trip?
-Dravis
Date: March 29th, 2017
Distance: 70 kilometers
Song of the Day: Don't Wake Daddy - The Tragically Hip


-Dravis
Date: March 28th, 2017
Distance: 58 kilometers
Song of the Day: Fooled by the Night - Minus the Bear

I said goodbye to Chase and was on my way. The trail out of town was great. The wind was even going my way. I was having just a fantastic day. It was sunny and bright. The mountains around me were sparkling white and blue, just awesome.

In the middle of the night I even got up and went outside to watch the northern lights again. Just a few green bands here and there, but a fun spectacle to see.
-Dravis
Date: March 27th, 2017
Distance: Rest day
Song of the Day: Aurora - Foo Fighters
I know I'm racing breakup here. For those of you who don't live in Alaska, there isn't really spring here. It's called breakup, because all the snow starts to melt and the ice, well, breaks up. That's what I'm racing. I need to get across some of the rivers before they start to thaw and crack. So I don't really have time to waste, but I really did need a break. I have been pushing hard the last few days and my body really needed a chance to rest. Plus, I had some other things to take care of. I needed to restock supplies and make some minor repairs to my equipment. (My gloves are getting holes and my rear rack is getting loose.) This was a good chance to get things fixed up.

After that I got everything I needed sorted out. When Chase got off work we headed out to the ice with his drone. We spent a while getting video of me riding around on the Bering Sea. It was quite a lot of fun. I will try and edit something together soon.
-Dravis
P.S.: Just after I wrote this Chase came by to say the northern lights were out. It's been a while since I have seen the Aurora Borealis. It was fun to watch the green lights dance in the dark sky.
Date: March 26th, 2017
Distance: 65 kilometers
Song of the Day: West Coast- Hey Marseilles
I thought today was going to be pretty easy, just a nice ride down the beach. And it was, for the morning. Nothing special to write about. The only interesting thing was a flock of
Then about 12 miles down the coast the beach ended in a big cliff. The trail from that point was up in the hills the whole rest of the day. That first slope was certainly the worst, just a huge uphill climb. Now, I don't mind climbing hills and I prefer the interesting nature of more mountainous paths, but this was just awful. No fun at all. I was happy when I got to the top. There were a few more climbs in the day, but nothing as bad as that first one. Things got a lot more fun.

Things did take some time though. It was just about sunset before I got in to Unalakleet. But when I did I was greeted with warm reception by Devin's friend Chase here. He was great and we spent a while talking about life and travel.
-Dravis
Date: March 25th, 2017
Distance: 72 kilometers
Song of the Day: Winter - TV on the Radio

Other than that it was just a day. Easy trail to follow. Mostly straight, since on the ice there isn't much to avoid other than a few cracks here and there. I made it to Shaktoolik an hour before dark, which made me quite happy. I want to make it an early night.
-Dravis
Date: March 24th, 2017
Distance: 83 kilometers
Song of the Day: Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones
What an exhausting day. I got a good start out of Elim, sort of. I left and went out to the ice where I had come in, but couldn't find the trail. I had to come back to town and ask around. They told me the trail cuts over the mountain behind town. Oh good, more uphill. I did hear there might be a trail right to Shaktoolik from Isaac Point about 25 miles away, though. It would be a tough day, but going right to Shaktoolik would save a day, and as I am racing breakup that's important.
The first mountain out of town was a bit of a bear, not what you want to do bright and early, though the ride down the far side was fun at least. I left the staked trail for one heading across the sea ice once I hit the beach. It was well used and seemed to go directly to Isaac Point. Unfortunately I was bedeviled by a wind coming over the port bow all day. It made everything so slow. I didn't make it to the point until early in the evening and when I got there I couldn't see anything heading in the right direction. There was one set of snow machine tracks that looked like they were going the right way, but who knows where they went. So no trail, I would have to push to Koyuk.

-Dravis
Date: March 23rd, 2017
Distance: 72 kilometers
Song of the Day: Somewhere Else to Be - VAST
In the morning I got up with my hosts. Sadly I wasn't quite out of the house as early as I should have been with the early rise. In fact, I ended up taking a lot of time eating. Which is good, I need the calories.
I finally made it out the door and ended up at the school, where I got to say proper goodbyes to Devin and Charlotte. I even spoke with Joanna's class for a bit. Sometimes I'm not sure if I am making any impression, but I hope what I do inspires other people. It doesn't have to be the same as what I do, but just to try something is all I want people to do.
On the road, or trail I should say, the weather was beautiful but the travel was slow. I am not sure what was going on but I was just feeling sluggish. The trail headed right down a river so I was back to riding on ice. I thought that would have been flat but for some reason it felt like I was always going up hill. Eventually I broke out onto Golovin bay, still riding on ice. The father who had been staying at Joanna's the night before passed by on his snow machine. He stopped and we chatted for a little while. They're going all the way out to Kaktovik, which is where the north slope touches Canada. They were hoping to be home before the ice melted out, which up there was early May. Soon enough he was off and the son passed by soon after being pulled by the dog team. Good luck guys.

I might also have fond memories of Golovin because after the big lunch my afternoon seemed to go much better. I had lost the sluggish feeling of the morning and was making good time back across the bay ice. After that it was up into the mountains. At first I was feeling all pumped up from lunch and was making great time. Soon enough the increasing slope got to me and I started running out of steam. More food and I pushed my way to the top. That was only the beginning, though. The trail ran up and down for a little bit up in the hills for a while, just like yesterday. I can never seem to go over just one ridge and be done here. It's always several.

Back on the sea ice I kept pushing along. I had really run out of steam now and was struggling a bit with a troubling wind. There was a beautiful sunset to see, though. Of course that meant I was out as things were getting dark. I'm glad the trail was well marked.

-Dravis
Date: March 22nd, 2017
Distance: 51 kilometers
Song of the Day: America - Imagine Dragons

That meant I spent most of the day climbing up and over a bunch of hills. It wasn't so bad. I kind of enjoy the hills more than the flat boring stuff. It was pretty out here as well. I'm starting to get back into some trees. It's been a while since I have seen those. Most of the Seward Peninsula that I have been on so far hasn't had them, just willow bushes and tall grass. The trees are a nice change.

When I arrived Devin was playing host to Charlotte, another teacher from Elim. I probably should have gone to bed earlier but I was having a good time talking with them. It was fun to hear about life in these small Bering Strait villages.
-Dravis