Mike McCann is at it again. For the summer of 2005 he will be pedaling his bike from Inuvik, NT, Canada, to Seattle, WA, USA. This on/off road journey begins 2 degrees into the Arctic Circle, and rambles over 2,500 miles through the Yukon and British Columbia. Once again Mike will be riding solo, without the aid of any support vehicle. As always, he will use the attention stirred by his trip to raise money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States.

I recall him telling me a few years ago that out in like Kansas or something, he once went for something like 10 miles without touching the handlebars, just for fun.

Good job. Always nice to hear someone raise money and awareness for a good cause.

I believe he rides something he got for less than $100, a steel-frame mtn bike of some sort. I know it's not lightweight, whatever it is.

The MAN.

Mike is pedalling the same bicycle that has survived all of his journeys: a 1999 Schwinn Mesa (a mountain bike weighing around 30lbs), that he purchased used for $64. All of his gear is towed behind him in a B.O.B. trailer, which weighs around 50lbs fully loaded (without water). Mike has "devolved" to the point of bringing a tent and sleeping bag…a far cry from the hammock or blanket and tarp travels of a few years back. He typically does not carry a stove or water filter (iodine tablets...yummy). Most cycle clothing has been abandoned for comfort’s sake…lycra shorts and clip-in pedals have given way to board shorts and flip-flops.

I thought this was going to be another chapter in the Lance Armstrong gospel. That guy's like Jesus these days, what with his WWLD bracelets, and his solitary testicle.

Not really quite as amazing but I saw a dude at coney island on a bicycle that had another frame mounted on top of the one with wheels and the chain was hooked up to the pedals/gears on the top bike. It looked pretty funky.

what with his WWLD bracelets

i'm not certain how many miles i covered or in how few minutes it took, but i do recall laughing and giggling and whooping and hollering finally realizing that i was back in the same shape that i'd been in when i finished the divide last summer. at last, my body was redisigned for bike travel...i was comfortable enough in the saddle to ride hands-free for miles, i was happy to climb hills all day long, i could continue going as long as there was sunlight. i was back.