Sunday, June 17, 2007

The Plan

In December, 2006, I finished my master's degree. A few months later I decided to start my PhD in the fall at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. For sanity reasons (some may argue insanity), I've decide to embark on another cycling adventure before committing myself to a life on academic servitude - starting in Portland, OR and ending in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Cycle touring is a wonderful way to discover a new place because one can cover large distances while not being removed from the environment as is the case with modern forms of transportation like cars and airplanes. I was introduced to cycle touring by my good friend Nick Cowan while we were members of the McGill Outdoors Club back in 2004. We, including Nick's brother Andrew, cycled across the Patagonian Steppe to celebrate our graduations from McGill. In 2005, Nick and I cycled in Western Europe because it seemed like the thing to do.

When I have a chance, I will post updates and pictures. I will also check my e-mail - benjamin [dot] heumann [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca if you want to say hey.

Theoretical Itinerary:

June 18th to 20th- Portland, OR
- two days of sightseeing and beer drinking
- cycling via Mt. St. Helens and Mt Rainier to Seattle

June 28th - Seattle, WA
-cycling and ferry around Puget Sounds

July 1st to 12th - Canada Day in Victoria, BC
- fireworks at the inner harbor
- hiking and cycling on Vancouver Island, visiting Erica
- visiting Steve and Nina on Cortes Island

July 13th to 15th - Vancouver, BC
- Visit Bri and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
- Meet up with Nick Cowan and Stacey Frisk, cycling the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island

July 20th - Port Hardy, BC
- Meet up with Nick Phelps, ferry to Prince Rupert

July 21st - Prince Rupert
- Cycling with Nick P. on the Yellowhead, Cassiar, and Alaska Highways to Whitehorse, Yukon

August 3rd - Whitehorse, Yukon
- Camping near Haines Junction
- Hiking the Chilkoot Trail with Carla Jensen
- Seeking out mystery man Chad Davey

August 13th - Fly out from Whitehorse
- back to Michigan, drive down to Chapel Hill, NC

August 15th - Chapel Hill, NC

UPDATE: Speelign mistake corrected, difficulties using random computers

4 comments:

Unknown said...

eih! I'm curious to follow up on your wild adventures- live it up and make up for those of us with less flexible lifestyles...

Bobby said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bobby said...

sounds great! i've got you on my RSS reader now so i'l follow along! --bobby

Olivia said...

Looking forward to reading about your adventures, Ben! Have a great trip.