Because It Is There: A Zero Emissions Odyssey

On March 24th 2010, I (Kevin Shannon) began a zero emissions circumnavigation of the globe, cycling over 40,000 miles (61,000km) across 5 continents and sailing approximately 10,000 miles across 2 oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. During the journey I’ll pass through extreme sub zero temperatures, scorching heat and face thirst, hunger and physical and mental exhaustion.

Through this site follow the eco-expedition as i pedal, paddle and sail my way around the globe across 5 continents and 2 oceans over the next 3 years. Through the expedition i will be raising awareness of Climate Change and promoting eco friendly travel. I will also be trying to raise money for the veterans charity Combat Stress.

Follow the expedition Live -

Find out who’s supporting the expedition –

Learn more and about the Charity i’m supporting and donate -

Become an Individual sponsor of the journey -

Say Hello –

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(This is a short post as i only have 25% battery on my laptop)

“Wear Sunscreen. If i could offer you one piece of advice for the future, Sunscreen would be it!” Those words ran through my head repeatedly as i try to fall asleep, ignoring the impulse to vomit as the Bow of Jenever bounced of the waves. I’d stupidly fallen asleep earlier in the day in the Cockpit of the 43 foot yacht as we made our way across the English Channel. I had nodded off in the warmth of the sun without donning any sun block. The result was a Lobster – esque tone to my skin and a minor case of sunstroke, which, accompanied with the motion of the yacht, caused me to feel quite ill. We arrived in Cherbourg mid morning and i remained there until the next day. After a quick photo with Mark and Hugh,the gentlemen who very kindly helped me cross the channel, i helped slip the lines on Jenever. I was left standing on the pontoon watching the boat fade into the distance. I pushed the bike tentatively down the pontoon and up on to french soil. I sat for a half an hour rearranging my panniers and off i went. The first day, i covered about 50 km’s due to a couple of wrong turns. I stopped early in the small village of St-Sauveur-Le-Vicomte and found a small campsite in the shadow of a large Chateau – The perfect way to spend my first night on the road in France.

Over the next few days i found myself travelling through small remote villages and passing by huge fields of Maize and Sunflowers. I would stop at small cottages in the countryside to ask for water from old ladies watering their well maintained vegatable patches. After a few moments of gesturing (my french is a little on the weak side) the lady would disappear into the house and return moments later with my water bottles not only filled but also of cubes of ice. Ocassionally i’d find a small shop where i grab a can of Coke and for the next hour i would pedal my backside off on a sugar high.

I passed through a few of the countries cities such as Tour and Le Man but would only stay for a few of hours due to my low budget not allowing for Hostels or Campsites which are more expensive the close to large ‘touristy’ areas.

I’ve been sleeping wherever i find a space. One night i slept in a car park in a small village surrounded by campervans, i awoke to find a small dog sniffing around my kit. As i moved to stroke the mutt it grabbed my toothbrush out of the front of my handlebar bag and ran off with it. Another night i slept in a park underneath a huge elephant statue with fireworks illuminating the night sky. Most campsites in fact were farmers field. I’d sneak into the field under the cover of darkness, inflate my sleeping mat, unroll my bivvy bag and sleeping bag and fall into a deep sleep. I wake, eat a nectarine and pedal off leaving nothing behind but a patch of crumpled grass.

Getting back on the bike has been tough. The leg which was injured feels stiff and sore some days and for the first week i would i wince every time a car passed a little too close. It seems the accident made me slightly nervous in busy traffic but i seem to have got my nerve back.

I’m currently enjoying a few days off the bike in a small village on the outskirts of Clermont so will hopefully update the site once more before i head off again.

So i’m setting off again. It’s taken a couple of months to heal fully from the accident and every now and again i will feel a slight twinge in my leg but it’s nothing to write home about. My fitness isn’t quite back to where it was when i left but i’ll soon be back up to speed. The main thing is that i get back on the bike, across to France and then keep heading East. I’ve managed to get a lift over to France on a yacht moored in Plymouth and i should be on the bike again tomorrow. The boat leaves on Tuesday in the early hours of the morning so i have to cover in 40 miles (from when i had the accident) in a day and a half which shouldn’t be an issue.

An issue that has arose due to the delay in the expedition mean i may need a change in the route. My initial route took me through Russia and down into Mongolia but unfortunately i will now be crossing Russia 3 months later than expected – in the middle of winter. Although i’m not overly worried about the -40 temperatures (i’ve done my research), i still think it’s an unnecessary risk and an alternative route might be the better option. I’m thinking about heading in a more southerly route across Iran, a couple of Stans and into China or perhaps from Russia, to Kazhakstan and into China. This will be a decision i have to make closer to the time and it’s something i’ll be thinking about quite alot as i pedal across Europe.

The time spent off the bike has afforded me the opportunity to hunt for sponsorship as i still do not have enough money to complete the journey. I am waiting to hear back from a few companies so my fingers are tightly crossed. Remember, if you’d like to become an individual sponsor you can make a donation here.

I’ve also managed to get the communcation company Telestial on board to help me to keep you all updated whilst i’m on the road. The equipment they are supplying is helping me to communicate via twitter and also a mapping software which gives you the location of each tweet. You can also sign up to receive each tweet via email (send me you email address to sign up – you’ll also be added to the newsletter mailing list).

I have had endorsements from world renowned adventurers, local MP’s, record breaking ocean rowers and even an astronaut. Now i can add an American film producer to that mix – Scott Mosier. Scott Mosier is well known for being the producer of many of Kevin Smiths movies but in the past couple of years has grown a following of his own through Smodcast, a podcast he hosts with Smith. If you haven’t listened to Smodcast before, do it!  I listen to the podcast as i’m cycling, and if memory serves, i was actually listening to Smodcast when i was hit by the car in April (can i sue?). Another reason i’m a fan of Scott is that he is very environmentally conscious, so i dropped him an email to tell him about my expedition and he was very enthusiastic. In between being Gordo, the righteously indignant Canadian, and Harry Scotter (a Smodcast thing) Scott took the time to write this….

“I once walked twenty miles in a day and considered amputating my feet they were so sore. When I heard what Kevin was doing I was blown away. This is the kind of bold, throw your hat over the fence idea that deserves attention. (Especially when the fence is the whole bloody planet.) This journey and what it stands for is even more important as we sit watching what is happening in the Gulf Coast region and what is now the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history.

I know you will have an amazing journey. I know that you will never forget this experience. I know that you will inspire and teach people with your message.  And I know that at some point or other you will smell worse than you ever have in your entire life.

So good luck! Good journey! And watch out for small white cars!”

So i’m gearing up for a weekend away as part of my recovery and i thought i’d expand on a post i wrote for Al’s Blog last year about the kit i use for Micro Adventures.

Rucksack – I always try to extol the virtues of taking what you already have. I recently took a trip up into the loft (or attic) of my house to look through the camping equipment i used to use when i was younger. I was searching through the numerous rucksacks looking for anything that may be useful and i found my old day sack rolled up in the bottom of one of these rucksacks. I’ve had the daysack, a 35ltr Karrimor pack, for close to 15 years. I decided to make use of this ‘relic’ and take it with me on my little jaunts.

Sleeping Bag – I use my trusty Vango Ultralite 400 whenever i’m camping.  OK so i’m sponsored by Vango and i’m supposed to use this sleeping bag but i was using a similar bag before the sponsorship came along. Inside i have a Sea to Summit thermal liner for the colder weather to add a few degrees to the bag. I also pack my inflatable sleeping mat, but if i know i’m sleeping somewhere where i can sleep on foliage i leave it at home due to the size of it when it’s packed.

Bivi Bag – Recently i was very kindly sponsored by Alpkit. I love Alpkit products, especially the bivi bag they provided me with. Compared to my ex-army bivi bag i’d been using previously, it’s far more lightweight and actually more waterproof. It comes with a integrated netted stuff sack but i prefer to simply roll it up and drop it in the rucksack.

Poncho – I used to use a poncho and string it between 2 or 4 trees with a bit of paracord or some bungy cords. Now i use a tarp that came with my hammock. It’s lighter, has cord already built in and covers a large area which is great on those wetter days.

Cooking – I’ve perfected my fire lighting (flint and steel) skills in recent months and can get a fire going pretty quickly so i’ve eliminated the my stove from the kit list. I carry a pan from my Trangia set with the pan handle and use that or sticks to cook my food. My fire lighting kit consists of a flint and steel, some cotton wool pads (for bad weather) and a storm lighter (for really bad weather!). I also carry water with me in two 1ltr Sigg bottles.

First aid – Even if i’m away just over night i always carry a mini first aid kit just in case anything happens. I have a small cloth bag, in which i throw a couple of plasters, a bandage, some duct tape wrapped round a old 35mm film case, a tub of parecatmol and some Ibruprofen gel. I also carry Wemmi’s in the kit although they are not just used for first aid. It won’t help with any major disasters but for any sprains or minor cuts it’s great.

Camera – My camera is a Nikon D40 which gets the job done (perhaps after the exped i’ll upgrade – unless someone wants to donate a camera!). I also carry a fisheye lens and a small zoom lens. I don’t usually carry my camcorder to record footage as it just adds extra weight.

Other ‘bits and bobs’ – I always have my Blackberry so i can tweet which i keep in an Aquapac case. I also carry a 60gb iPod in an Aquapac case with my lovely new Sennheiser PMX 680′s. I generally don’t listen to music except when i’m in my sleeping bag, where it helps me to nod off. I carry a book with me at all times and a Moleskine notebook which doubles as my diary. Another handy tool is of course the headtorch; i usually don’t make camp until just before the sunsets so i need a torch to find my way around. Incase i can’t cook any food for any reason and for energy during the day i carry a couple of Mulebars. All this kit gets thrown into a small drysac so i don’t need to worry about my equipment in the weather.

My micro adventure kit

Hello again. It’s been a little while since my last update. The reason for this? Well, I’ve not really been up to that much. I’ve been slowly getting back on my feet (or leg) and I’ve been heading out on the bike more and more. I’m very nearly back up to speed and should only be home for a couple more weeks. It’s taken me longer than I originally thought it would to recover but I want to be at full strength before I head off again so that I don’t end up doing myself a mischief further on down the road.

The time off the bike is, however, affording me the opportunity to continue my hunt for sponsorship to help finance the project as the expedition kitty is running low. Luckily, my parents letting me stay at home and feeding me means that I’m not eating (no pun intended) into any of the funds that I have been very kindly donated. If anyone is interested in making a donation and becoming an individual sponsor head here to find out more.

I’ve also managed to secure a couple of new equipment sponsors. I’ll talk a little more about this in future post.

I’m now focusing my attention on reorganising my boat across the channel and will hopefully have something ready very soon. Also, to fill my time off the bike and to keep myself fighting fit I have a couple of micro adventures up my sleeve so watch this space!

Thank you for you continued support

Tedium. It’s the only word to really describe the past 2 weeks. My leg is still sore some days and cycling hurts a little, which means I’m not quite ready to hop back on the bike just yet. I’ve been using the time away from the expedition to search for the ever-elusive corporate sponsorship and have been working offline on site upgrades that I hope to implement before I start pedaling again.

To try and help fight my restlessness i decided I needed to get out of the house and have a little ‘micro adventure’. I called up my friend Pye who, as always, was more than keen to head out overnight with just a few essentials.

I threw my kit into my old 35ltr rucksack, the same rucksack I’ve had throughout my childhood, which is still going strong today jumped in the car and headed off. We found a large wood and after 30 mins of walking through dense woodland we found the perfect area to pitch the tarp. We sat and chatted, gathered wood and lit a fire. We baked some damper bread in the embers of the fire and ate it with baked feta with chilli. I fell asleep to the sound of trees creaking in the wind and every now and again I’d hear a loud crack in the distance as a branch snapped in the strong wind.

And that was it. Morning came and we trekked back to the car and headed home. It wasn’t much but it was a break.

Shortly after leaving Exeter I caught my first glimpse of the Channel. I started to weave myself through small coastal fishing villages whilst enjoying, for the first time in a week or so, glorious uninterrupted sunshine.  It was as I was cycling between these quaint villages that I met Hans on his bike and he and his wife Liz very kindly put me up for the night and sent me off the next day with a packed lunch. I was headed for Torquay where I would base myself for a few days to find passage across the channel.

******

3 days in Torquay was enough for me. There were only so many times I could sit by the Marina seeing boats come and go, twiddling my thumbs waiting to hear about possible crewing positions so I decided to take off and head to Dartmoor for a few days wild camping. So I loaded the bike once more and set off.  I weaved my way along the coast for a few miles and then double backed on myself to take an ‘A’ road to Dartmoor.

This is when it all wrong. One moment I was freewheeling down the road and the next I was face down in a patch of stinging nettles. It took me a couple of seconds to realize quite what had happened but as I lifted my head and looked back up the road I saw my bike and panniers scattered across the road, blocking traffic. I started to climb to my feet when a couple of men ran over and helped to pick my equipment up. We managed to gather all my belongings quite quickly and it was then I started to feel the pain in my left leg.

“What happened?” asked one of the guys, straightening out my handlebars.

“I’m not sure, I just came of my bike. I must have hit a pothole or something”

“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure that car hit you” said the other man now joined by his wife.

He went onto explain that he saw a small white car hit the trailer, which I gather threw me off balance and ended in a tumble. The driver drove off and nobody was able to get a good description or a number plate, so that was that. As we were stood there the pain in my leg grew worse and as I started to hobble around trying to piece together my bike I realized that the derailleur had bent and snapped, and that the front wheel was slightly buckled and the rear wheel had several broken spokes and was severely buckled. I wasn’t able to ride the bike anyway.

Luckily the gentleman and his wife who had stopped offered to go and fetch their pickup, put my stuff in the back and drive me to a campsite. In those few minutes I had to wait for them to return with the pickup the pain in my leg was growing worse and (rather comically) I realized I was covered head to toe in nettle stings from being unfortunate enough to land in the only patch nettles for 100 yards.

After spending an evening in the campsite I took my bike to be repaired at a local bike shop that replaced all the broken bits a pieces and made sure the bike was structurally OK. This unfortunately cost me £300 which had caused a huge deficit in my funds (and makes the search for sponsors even more important).

The bent derailleur

For the next week I stayed at my grandparents friends house as I rested what I thought was just a pulled muscle or some bruising. After the swelling went down and I was still in a lot of pain I went A&E to get my leg checked out. Apparently I have strained a ligament in my knee and have been advised to rest for ‘2-3 weeks at least’ and then ease back in to gentle cycling. The nurse confirmed that gentle cycling doesn’t involve a fully laden bike.

So I made the (extremely) hard decision to come home until my leg is healed and I can resume my journey from where I stopped. This is quite a blow as I was just getting into the swing of things and was really enjoying my time on the road.

So hopefully in just a couple of weeks from now I’ll be on my bike once more and pedaling east.

A huge thank you to Carol and Owen for putting me up (and putting up with me) during that first week. Another huge thank you to the very kind couple who helped me at the side of the road.