Circumnavigation around the 48 states by bike, kayak

[3ric]

Never before has anyone attempted anything like it; a complete circumnavigation of the lower 48 states by kayak and bike.

The acclaimed adventurer Renata Chlumska is currently training and preparing for this great American odyssey. Where Renata cannot travel by kayak, she will attach it together with the rest of her equipment on a bicycle and ride until she is able to kayak again. The expedition will be self-supported in the sense that Renata herself will buy the food and supplies necessary along the way, when and where it is possible, meaning no supply drops and no organised outside support.

The distance around America (the lower 48 states) is about 11.200 miles and will take around 440 days to cover. The expedition will pass through spectacular terrain and a variety of weather conditions in 32 states: everything from the exposed Pacific Ocean coastline to the vast desert along the Mexican border, the wild water of the Rio Grande and the rugged Rocky Mountains.

The Around America Adventure will begin in Seattle, Washington, the 4th of July 2005. Renata will set out in a sea kayak near her home on Lake Sammamish, paddle through Puget Sound then head south along the West Coast to San Diego and the Mexican border. From San Diego Renata will then continue by bicycling through the desert along the border to the mouth of the Rio Grande near El Paso and then paddle down into the Gulf of Mexico. From here, Renata will follow the coastline down to Key West before heading north along the East Coast, past New York City and up the coastline to Maine and all the way to the Canadian border. Renata will bike along the border through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, then pull out the kayak to paddle through the Great Lakes. The final challenge will be a 2,000-mile bike ride through the Great Plains, through the Rockies and Cascade Mountains before arriving back in Seattle approximately 440 days later.

http://www.renatachlumska.com/



Amazing! Some of you guys might want to help her along the way...

[terpkristin]

Damn that sounds like a fun trip!

/tk

[Franklinnoble]

Eh. I doubt she'll finish.

[ice4277]

She may not finish but if she heads past here, you know there'll at least be a happy ending.

[KevinNU7]

I'd do the Rockies first

[KevinNU7]

Check out the website, she is pretty hot

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by KevinNU7

I'd do the Rockies first

You can have her Rockies, I'll take her valley!

I can't believe I just said that!

[3ric]

near El Paso

Jeeber, you reading? She looks like a redhead to me...

[3ric]

An update to this story - she's been traveling for a month and is in Oregon, north of Crescent City. I suppose that she'll be near San Francisco in about a week.

[Airhog]

Yeah but how long will it be before she makes it down to el paso? I bet she is gonna really stink by then...

[3ric]

Update. She's arrived safely in San Diego after 77 days of kayaking and inline skating. Now she'll continue on a bicycle towards El Paso. From there, she'll go back into the kayak and travel down the Rio Grande river.

[JeeberD]

Ugh, biking across Arizona and New Mexico to make it to El Paso is gonna be brutal...

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Ugh, biking across Arizona and New Mexico to make it to El Paso is gonna be brutal...

Yeah, should have waited until November or later to bike the south.

SI

[3ric]

An update:
She has almost completed the leg past Mexico and should reach the Gulf of Mexico sometime tomorrow.

[Dutch]

I guess she couldn't kayak the Rio Grande? I wish her luck on the rest of her voyage, I wonder how she's held up so far and if she is still on schedule.

[3ric]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I guess she couldn't kayak the Rio Grande? I wish her luck on the rest of her voyage, I wonder how she's held up so far and if she is still on schedule.

No, according to her website, http://www.renatachlumska.com/, she spent 12 days kayaking down the Rio Grande. She appears to be right on schedule as well, maybe a little behind but not by much.

[Dutch]

Cool.

[3ric]

Update - she's passed the Florida state border coming from Alabama. I think she's somewhere outside Pensacola.

[3ric]

http://www.news-journalonline.com/Ne...ST02030506.htm

[3ric]

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi...6/04_17-18/TOP

[3ric]

She's on the home stretch - yesterday she reached the Sherman Pass, elevation 5575 feet, leaving Idaho and entering Washington State. She's due in Seattle on Friday September 15th.