The Book is Out

A few days ago, Colin's book Beyond the Horizon, reached the bookstore shelves. With its glossy hardback cover, photo insert and 374 pages, it bears little resemblance to the waterlogged collection of torn notebooks that originally recorded the journey. This book was written in the most unusual of places; a tent leaning under the force of 100 km/hr winds with temperatures so cold that removing gloves to write would lead to instant frostbite, or in a rowboat thousands of kilometers from land with a school of fish for pets and a menacing hurricane approaching. Fortunately Colin's inclination to write seemed to flourish in times of duress. While I was lamenting our pending demise as towering waves prepared to splinter our rowboat, Colin was creating prose that detailed our experiences in less profane terms. For a sneak peak of the book, check out the excerpt in this weekend's Globe & Mail (March 31st) - also online with pictures and video. The Globe & Mail says "imagination and originality have long been Angus's trademarks" and his latest book is "livened by his fiendish sense of humour, and provides a fair view of modern adventure, with all its sponsorship struggles, internal feuds, endless planning and, thank goodness, thrills of the open road."

A lot of people have been with us on this journey - sending in letters of encouragement when the odds seemed against us, celebrating the expedition's end with us, supporting our pay-back-the-credit-cards film tour, and sharing ideas on exploring and environmental stewardship. We'd like to say thanks by offering all of you a free expedition in Siberia... okay, maybe we can't afford that and maybe not everyone would enjoy the temperatures. Instead we opted for an expedition DVD that costs less than a pair of woolen socks. When you buy the book "Beyond the Horizon" before the end of April 2007 in a Canadian bookstore, you can choose one of three expedition DVDs for $10 (including shipping & handling and GST) instead of the regular price of $28.27 ($22 plus S&H and GST). The expedition films are Amazon Extreme, The Yenisey River Expedition, and Beyond the Horizon. For more details on the $10 DVD please click here.

Julie Wafaei

Colin cycling in Siberia

Cold Weather Cycling

Cycle touring in extreme Arctic conditions may not be as appealing as spring in Spain, however, with proper preparations it can be quite enjoyable. Bad planning can quickly lead to disaster. Below are some tips to help prepare for cycling in temperatures below -30 Celcius.

Steel Versus Aluminum Frame in the Cold:
Steel is more flexible than aluminum meaning it can bend or flex more without fatiguing (or breaking). It is also easier to weld, so if it does break, it is much easier find construction workers or villagers with the equipment to fix it. Aluminum has a higher weight to strength ratio, meaning lighter frames can be created with equivalent strength to steel. Despite the fact steel has characteristics that might seem good for cold and remote locations; aluminum is actually the better choice. The reason is simply because very few quality steel bikes are available anymore due to limited market demand.

Tires
Various tires are manufactured for different winter surfaces. Sheet ice is navigated easily and safely using studded tires. Nokian tires in Finland makes high quality carbide studded bike tires. Studs are not necessary if the surfaces are mainly soft snow. For riding on snow, it is best to have tires as broad as possible to maximize the snowshoe effect. The limiting factor will be the bike frame size, so keep this is mind when purchasing the bike. Low pressure in the tires results in a broader, flatter imprint which will help keep the bike on top of the snow. Due to the fact that rubber becomes harder and smoother in cold temperatures, low-pressure tires (and tubes) will sometimes spin on the rim causing the valve to shear off. This problem is solved by gluing the tire to the rim with a few drops of crazy glue. More information on these issues and on hydraulic lines, pawls, clothing is available online.

Crossing the Bering Strait

It is easy when looking at a globe of the earth, to become captivated by the narrow gap separating North America and Siberia. At its narrowest point the Bering Strait is only 85 km across beckoning explorers to try crossing its icy waters. Despite the fact that a ferry could potentially cross from the USA to Siberia in two hours, political hurdles restrict traffic across this body of water. It is virtually impossible for a westerner to receive permission to arrive on the Russian shores of the Bering Strait. An adventurer wishing to kayak, swim, walk over the ice, or sail from Alaska to Siberia across the Bering Strait would have to do so illegally. Read more online.

Our Featured Expedition - Karl Bushby Walks Around the World (and on water)

Karl pulling his equipment across the froken Alaskan tundra. (Courtesy of Goliath Expedition)

Karl Bushby, founder of the Goliath Expedition is attempting the longest unbroken journey by foot. He is walking from the lower tip of South America to his home in England, a distance of 58,000 km through four continents.

What makes this journey especially unique is Karl is not using boats or planes to get across the aquatic portions. Instead he walked over the sea ice of the Bering Strait to reach Asia from North America and he will also negotiate the gap across the English Channel by foot. Karl is not related to Jesus; he will walk across to England by utilizing a maintenance tunnel of the "Chunnel" which connects England with France. When he reaches his hometown of Hull, there will be an unbroken trail of footprints all the way back to Chile.

Karl's gargantuan challenge might seem impossible to some, but Karl believes otherwise. The expedition began nine years ago, and Karl has so far made it two-thirds of the way home. He is currently in Northeastern Siberia and some of the most dangerous legs of the journey are behind him.

Read more about Karl and the Goliath Expedition online.