Many bicycle tourists will recognize that Mark Maund has solved a nagging problem — how to fund a bike tour.
Maund is cycling the 15,000-mile perimeter of the US. He started July 8, 2005, in Keyport, New Jersey, and is now in Florida. He's in no hurry. He expects it will take him a couple of years.
How does he pay for his adventure?
He uses his laptop, reports The News-Press of Fort Myers, Florida. Maund is a 3D animator and he makes gaming environments and characters and architectural layouts for three companies while he's on the road.
He also gets help from restaurants and hotel chains that sponsor him, including Internet cafes where he gets Wi-Fi access to update his website — 2005-2007 North America Cycling Expedition.
That website is where Maund promotes the charities he's riding to support: Youth Development International, Gospel for Asia, Compassion International, Habitat for Hope, and the American Red Cross.
Maund is currently riding between Naples and Pensacola. He typically aims for 50 miles a day on his Cannondale. But, as he says on his website, “I have the convenience to adjust my riding mileage according to the events of the day. Basically, I ride to enjoy the moment.”
Maund keeps a journal of his ride. He recently wrote about dumping off his winter clothes in a clothing donation box, getting rid of his bike trailer, and lightening his load so he's carrying everything on his bike.
“The bike feels so light now! I'm hoping to make better daily mileage.”
In an interview at the Port Charlotte Herald Tribune, the 45-year-old cyclist says he likes meeting and talking with people along the way. In his journal he writes about making a velcro travel chess set and then meeting a guy on the main street in Sarasota who's been playing chess for 40 years.
This journal is the basis of a book, named “The Edge,” which he plans to publish after he completes his US perimeter trip.
Right now, that journal is worth a good read for anyone planning a bicycle trip. He tells about how he finds places to sleep, what kind of mechanical problems he faces, and the traffic conditions on the roads he's taking. Some sound pretty dicey. We wish him lots of luck.
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