Embarking on a PanAmerican bicycle tour is by no means commonplace these days, but adventurers are undertaking it more frequently.
That wasn't the case in 1974, when 18-year-old Keith Jackson, at right, left the comforts of his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the rigors of an 18,000-mile bike journey from Alaska to the southernmost tip of Argentina.
Jackson was one of the first and one of the youngest. Recently, that path has become more well-traveled.
PanAmerica bicyclists
Just this past winter, Scotsman Mark Beaumont finished the bike trek, which he blogged about at Cycling the Americas. Shortly before that, three Americans accomplished the feat, reported at their blog Riding the Spine.
There is even a family of four — mom, dad, and twin 11-year-old boys — bicycling in Peru on their bicycle trip from Alaska to the tip of Argentina. Their blog is Family on Bikes.
No blogs or Twitters or Facebooks for Jackson. He communicated with the world the same way bicycle explorers had done for roughly a century — he mailed dispatches to a newspaper, the Winston-Salem Sentinel.
35th anniversary
The surviving sister publication, the Winston-Salem Journal, recently remembered the 35th anniversary of Jackson's bike tour. The article by Lisa O'Donnell, “The Most Complete Freedom,” tells about the challenges Jackson faced and his untimely death in 1976 from injuries he suffered when he slammed his motorcycle into the back of a stalled car.
Her article makes me stop to wonder what challenges he would have undertaken had he lived.
Jackson left Anchorage on a Nishiki bicycle loaded with 30 pounds of gear. He and a friend negotiated some wilderness roads before reaching the coast and heading south to San Francisco. As previously arranged, his friend left for college there, and Jackson continued to South America.
For the last 15,000 miles, Jackson traveled alone.
The biggest obstacle was his attempted crossing of the jungle on the Panama-Colombia border. After struggling through the dense growth and too often walking in circles, Jackson hired a boat to Colombia.
The destination
The Journal writes about him reaching his destination:
But here on this mossy bank, he felt empty.
“No cannons, no horns, my heart isn't pounding. I'm not smiling,” Keith wrote. “I have reached the road's end.”
After gathering stones, he set out to pedal back into town. One last time, he turned to the sea and allowed himself a moment of triumph. Impulsively, he thrust his fist in the air and shouted: “We did it!”
More reading
Jackson's mother compiled his journals into a book, “Keith's Incredible Journey”published in 1984. It's out of print, but used copies are listed at Amazon.
The article and slideshow at the Journal is worth a read, especially for those who like to recall the sense of freedom that bicycle travel can instill.
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