This coming winter will force most cyclists to store their bikes for the cold weather. It is for this reason, winter is a challenging time to ride because of the cold and the difficulty of maneuvering the bike through the snow or a frozen road.
Surprisingly a Utah County man identified as Dan Burton, plans to take biking to a new level this winter months. Come November 30 of this year, he is going to ride his bicycle to the South Pole. This expedition is his way of promoting biking as a way to healthy living. Burton is a computer programmer of 23 years whose nature of work involves long hours sitting and being inactive most of the time. His health suffered as a result. Only a few pounds overweight, his cholesterol level and blood pressure were also high. He took to biking as a way of improving his health, to which he credits as his life saver. Burton who lost his mother to heart attack last year plans to raise awareness for fitness through this biking expedition.
He will start his ride at the Hercules Inlet in Antarctica which is roughly 750 miles from the South Pole and depending on how well he navigates he expects to cover 20 to 30 miles each day according to the article. While riding, Burton expects a 20- to 30-mph headwind most of the time. He will not be caught in the darkness because the sun does not set at North Pole this time of the year (the sun will sets in March).
The article also stated that Burton is expecting his ride will take 30 days and hopes to complete the expedition by January 23 to catch the last plane out of Antarctica for the season.
You might ask what Burton did to prepare himself for such challenge. Here is some of it:
- According to the article, he’s been training on a mountain bike with fat tires. Last winter, he rode across frozen Utah Lake to get a slight taste of his upcoming expedition
- He will bring along a satellite phone in case there is a need to make an emergency call.
- As he will be sleeping in a tent and cooking prepared meals, he had made an arrangement with an expedition company to place three caches of food on his route and pick him up at the end.
- A man who tried the trek last year but failed had shared his insights and tips with Burton to prepare him for his ride.
While the ride will be rewarding, it is going to be a tough solo trek on a mountain bike with 4-inch knobby tires (these perform best in the snow). Burton said that he does not give up easily and this determination may give him the success he seeks in this expedition.
Christensen & Hymas wishes Dan Burton success in his challenging trip. Biking does bring out the best in people and is beneficial to one’s health. History had shown that biking makes people passionate and tests their endurance and determination against odds. As Burton will saddle up and clip into his pedals for a historic ride, we wish him safety and good health. We will surely anticipate his success and eagerly wait for the outcome of this expedition.
Article and image courtesy of Deseret News.