Expedition 1000 Update: Crossing The Atacama Desert By Wind And Pedal Power

British adventurer Dave Cornthwaite has set off on the next stage of his Expedition 1000 project, which consists of 25 separate journeys of 1000 miles (1600 km) or more, without the use of motorized transportation. In the past, he has skateboarded across Australia, stand-up paddle boarded down the Mississippi River, and swam for over a thousand miles on the Missouri River. This time out, Dave, along with his traveling companions Ned Aufenhast, and Jamie Fulbrook, will be traveling across the Atacama Desert by Whike.

Is you'll see at the link above, a Whike is essentially a recumbent bike with a wind sail added to it. This allows the rider to both pedal and sail down the road. It looks like a fun ride, although I have never had any experience with one.

Dave, Ned and Jamie set out from Santiago, the capital of Chile, yesterday and have started traveling north to the Atacama. You'll be able to follow their progress on Dave's Facebook page and on Twitter.  Since they have just gotten underway, and intend to cover at least 1000 miles, they should be out on the road for some time. The Atacama provides plenty of great photo opportunities as well, so I expect we should see some great images and video from their journey.

The video below will give you a look at the Whike and more info on what Dave and company are up to in South America.


Welcome to Whike Atacama from davecornthwaite on Vimeo.