July 20 Devlin:
  Time to leave the madness of the city and head west to begin our crossing of he States. My segment was very busy because I was cycling in town so I had to concentrate non-stop to deal with the traffic. After a while I got further into the countryside and the traffic got less. I got a flat about 2km before the end of my ride but I managed to limp to the waiting vehicle. Flats were common today and even the trailer had one, requiring a quick back-track to sort out. By evening we had finally arrived at the Ohio River where we decided to camp as it was getting dark.

July 21 Dylan:
  From our overnight camp (or should I say park and sleep) spot on the Ohio river we are off for a 470km day (overall) which will take us eventually into central Indiana. Ohio is perhaps best well known as an industrial state, with mills and manufacturing lining the banks of the mighty Ohio River, but it is also a vastly situated farm state. Cornfields dominating the farm front with other crops taking a backseat it seems. Indiana painted not a vastly different picture both in human occupation as well as the lush greenery that prevails in the rolling farmlands along fairly linear roadways.

July 22 Mercedes:. 
10:30pm in Rosebud, Missouri, a small town with 350 inhabitants. We arrived in Rosebud after each of us had ridden 75km, ending a nice sunny and not so hot day for a ride. At this moment, laying in my sleeping bag on the roof of the camper (my preferred place to sleep ... when it isn't raining), a chorus of crickets and a clear sky are joining me to celebrate the dusk. Today we started cycling in some place around Bedford, Indiana. We crossed all of Illinois State and now we are here in Missouri. Even when my passion is the high mountains, with their eternally snow-capped peaks, I am still captured by the diversity of these scenarios: never-ending farmlands of mainly corn and potatoes, and blue alfalfa fields as well as ponds full of the sounds of many different sorts of life, like frogs, birds and insects. Often I still have doubts and questions running through my mind: What am I doing? Why am I here? It is difficult to keep the attention and the control of our feelings every day along this journey; but no matter, I know that the answers are coming.

July 23 Heidi:
We left Rosebud, Missouri early this morning. It was the first day Dylan tried cycling after his accident. He left before most of us woke up so that he'd have cool weather and hopefully less traffic. He reported that his cycle had been fine though he did have a bit of a headache, as we had expected. In the van, on the way to my drop-off point, the trailer had a flat tire. It took a long time to change, especially since we had only half a jack. I found out later that after I had begun cycling, they'd had another flat! My bike ride today, through central Missouri, was like a roller-coaster. Going up one hill would lead me to a view of three more hills I'd have to cycle up. But the fields and small towns were so pleasant to be in. My butterfly collection has been growing as I continue to find them by the side of the road. There is such a huge variety in the wings, shapes and colors of the butterflies I find. It is amazing what joy we can get from such simple things. This is something I have to learn in my life; to spend the time to really be in the moment and experience the beauty that surrounds me at all times.

July 24 Jessica:
Today was such an awesome day! Towards the end of the afternoon, while waiting for Renaud to finish his cycle, Heidi, Mercedes, and I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Mr. Ronald Pierre Marble It was a bit warm sitting in the beast (our van) so we decided to lounge outside in the meadow. I guess it looked like we were having vehicle problems and this nice gentleman approached us and asked if we needed help. Imagine a bouncy, energetic, seventy year old man talking away with such spunk and joy that you couldn't help but look at him in awe, with eyes opened wide and a smile from ear to ear!! Through his own experience he learned that the power of his mind and spirit was one thing that nobody could take away from him and that, even at the age of seventy, he was just beginning to realize what he was capable of. His dynamic personality was such a joy to be around and I even started to cry as he encouraged us to dream, and reach, and explore ourselves and push our "limitations." He was such an inspiration to me and reminded me that life is what I make of it. At the end of the conversation, he walked away leaving us still in awe, but a rekindled burning desire to grow and to discover. I must say I will forever remember Mr. Ronald Marble.

Once we arrived to camp, we realized that Jay had not arrived. It was already past 9pm and getting very dark. He probably missed the very obscure turn into the campsite and was now lost, in the dark, with no money or food. Heidi and I got very worried and went for a search. After an hour of looking around the huge campsite/park and driving back and forth on the main stretch of highway, Jay managed to use a phone and let us know where he was. We found him 20 miles past the turn on the side of the dark, lonely highway, tired, sweaty, and hungry. We all got back to camp safely and once again realized how important it is to have exact directions and names of places before taking off.

July 27 Renaud:. 
Splendid! Do you know how beautiful mountains can be? Hard to describe sometimes, but let me try this way: Figure out a guy from the French Alps who has already had to go and live in cities to study and work, and thus know the beauty of the landscape he has been brought up in. And now this guy is part of a huge but never-stopping project, looking sometimes as a rush south. That's one way among many others to view myself in Pole to Pole. Well then, I don't know how but we managed to have today open for one single, simple, and superb activity: a hike in the Rockies!
 
  So here we are: Dylan, Jay, our two Korean camera crew and myself, ready to go at 8 am for an 8 miles and 3000 feet walk. The path starts just around the corner from the campground we stayed at, in a valley one hour southwest from Denver. The end of it will be Lake Abyss, just under Mount Evans where a busy road offers some more conventional tourists to go more than 14,000 feet high, and to tell that they drove on the highest road in the States.
 
  A blue sky and a great sun watch us entering the forest. Even on this very well-prepared path, I feel happy to forget again about civilization. Half an hour later, we are just above a small creek, sneaking its way through the rocks. An opening in the trees around us allows a peaceful view on the other side of the narrow valley: a forest climbing up to the very bottom of the cliff that underlines a deep blue sky. Once again, I feel the power and the truth of that sentence: "The mountains shall bring and teach peace to humans." That idea is the expression of a feeling I discovered a few years ago at home, and a sign I read a few months ago in Radium Hot Springs, Canada. We kept going up, met Hank watching his son and two grandsons, aged seven and nine, going up through one of the openings in the cliff we just admired. The valley opened up and eventually reached another one that we followed for a short while before attacking the last bit up. That offered us a great view of both valleys rolling smoothly in the middle of the peaks around and with some other ranges in the background. I would have stayed there for ages but had to go over the ridge to finally reach the lake. Trees are gone and replaced by a rocky landscape, steep peaks and short bushes at this altitude (around 13,000 feet). Surrounded by those peaceful giants, we enjoy our lunch like a group of boy scouts as we start to head down.

The climate in Colorado's summer is supposed to be quite regular with an afternoon storm. We had our storm while descending and found a shelter under a group of trees in the bottom of the valley. Thunder in the mountains - I wouldn't encourage you to do the same under one lonely tree on a ridge! That short break also accentuated the smells of nature so that our nose could stop being jealous of our eyes in this magic place. After nine hours, including a long moment to just sit and enjoy, we're back at the campground with a huge smile across our faces. I loved it! And during that day I realized how lucky I was to be able to enjoy and appreciate the mountains. They are the best teachers I've met to share the beauty of nature, and they showed me again their strength through the peaceful feeling they radiate. Hope you'll all meet them, respect them, and learn peace; to stop rushing after our crazy modern life.

July 28 Dylan:
This morning begins with an early morning trip to Denver for a presentation to Americorps, a service organization working across the United States constituted mainly of young people interested in dedicating time and energy to various humanitarian issues within the U.S. The energy from this group was incredible. Although our presentation to them was short; it brought home a lot of things for me just hearing about some of the projects these folks were involved in, such as working with handicapped to inner city kids. I had an overriding sense that we, the Pole to Pole team are blessed on this journey as, through our travels, we are congratulated and thanked many times over for what we are doing. Let me not take away from what we are doing - we do our part - but there are countless others whom are forgotten or whose creative presence and small but powerful difference is not recognized by our "headlines" society. Through the many projects, events and presentations we have participated in, my observation has been of a consistent nature of selfless dedication by those we have had the privilege to meet, interact and work with. I say a special thanks to all of you who give greatly to that which you believe in, even if you don't get thank you's or appreciation that often. Remember that your dedication and difference is etched in the manuscripts of human evolution for generations to come.

July 29 Devlin:. 
A welcome chance to sleep in ... till 7:30. The Zapata Ranch owned by the Nature Conservancy is an incredible place and wonderfully peaceful. Today we gave an informal presentation to the staff of the ranch. After an awesome lunch we went to look for the wild bison herd that they have on the ranch. These are free-range animals that only have human contact once a year. It was incredible to see these magnificent creatures which once numbered 100 million in the early 1800's. Today there are precious few wild herds left and it is through the efforts of people like the Nature Conservancy that this species will have a chance to recover.

July 30 Mercedes:. 
After a night full of nightmares, when I escaped a hundred bison running after me and a black bear who was tempted by the smell of the orange in my backpack, I woke up in Zapata Ranch, The Nature Conservancy, in one of those days that I call "Dia de Locos", "crazy day"...it means wonderful. With sand in my sleeping bag, in my hair, and in my ears, memories of yesterday came, when Heidi, Jess, and I delighted ourselves like children playing in the Great Sand Dunes. We started our bike relay at 2pm to Santa Fe, New Mexico after saying goodbye to Zapata Ranch, which I will personally remember forever, not only for the landscape, which reminded me of home, the Patagonia, Argentina, but also because I found in the Nature Conservancy, people who inspired me by sharing with the team their passion they put into their work and projects. Today biking across New Mexico I was surprised with the view of Taos, an awesome city with a ski center and lovely architecture. The houses were made trying to conserve the landscape with special colors and material like adobe. I am starting to feel the nearness of Central America. I frequently find signs and names in Spanish and with luck sometimes I can hear some street dialogue in my language. Hopefully we will be there in a few weeks. Oh! And today silly Naoki surprised us once again. As he was busy shoveling his lunch down, he failed to get his bicycle out of the trailer before it left to drop off the next person! So, imagine a crazy Japanese monkey jumping, screaming and having a fit the second he realized he had no bicycle. Poor Naoki had to run until he reached Devlin to lend him his bike. You better believe he will never do that again!!!

July 31 Heidi: 
What a pleasure to be in New Mexico. We had the honor of staying at the Nizhoni School of Global Consciousness in Galisteo, right outside of Santa Fe. My godmother, Chris Griscom, started this school and it is truly a peaceful place for the spirit, heart and soul. I am especially thankful for Pole to Pole here, for it is my godmother who first told me of this project almost three years ago. Thank you Chris. The buildings stand out pure and white against the desert-like surroundings and the blue sky seems to stretch on forever. Having a special fondness for the bold and striking works of Georgia O'Keefe, I can understand why this area was her home and how it inspired her so much. Most noticeable for me is the general calmness within our team. Today was a rest day, a day to be quiet, a day to explore the adobe buildings of Santa Fe, a day to do the unattended tasks like fixing our vehicles and doing laundry.
 
 

 
  In the evening we had a group meeting in a beautiful white spherical building at the Nizhoni School, probably one of the most memorable places we've had the opportunity to meet in. It was wonderfully encouraging to hear from Martina - the words that others had spoken to her of how our project had inspired them. Sometimes it is hard to realize the immense magnitude of this project and how it is perceived from the outside, especially when one becomes so bogged down in the day to day activities. But it is important to realize that our message profoundly touches many people, and to keep that in each of our hearts will give us the strength we need to continue on each day.

August 1 Jessica:. 
Busy bees, busy bees. Today was a very full day in the city. The team split up and while some picked up the cars from the mechanic, others developed important slides, and still others had several interviews with the media. Sometimes the days where we have to be in five different places at the same time are more exhausting than the refreshing days out on the bicycle. This day in particular I had two interviews, one for the Albuquerque Journal and one for the UN radio station in Spanish. I have realized how important it is to keep up my Spanish, especially now, when we're are on the brink of entering Central America. I often feel that although my whole family is from Colombia, South America, growing up in the United States has made me forget my real roots. I'm excited to spend the next four months in my true native tongue and learn about not only myself, but my other cultures as well.
 
  After the interviews we had to rush back to the Nizhoni School for a presentation. We were very fortunate to also receive a presentation about inner/global peace from the school facilitators. It was a wonderful learning experience to share with one another our passions, and although on the surface they might seem very different, we all realized that in fact, we all just want to bring about awareness about different issues. To end our day, Heidi, Mercedes, and I had the awesome opportunity of spending a few private hours with Chris Griscom, founder of The Light Institute as well as of the Nizhoni School for Global Consciousness. It was a very enlightening and inspiring talk that was very much needed in this stage of the journey. I must say that we have been very fortunate in having so many people really believe in the project and donate so much time and energy to its cause.

August 2 Jessica:. 
Boy oh boy, let me tell you, we have sooo many meetings all the time!! Although it is hard to sit and discuss and come to a decision about everything, by having meetings we manage to cover most of the angles and reach a decision that not only pleases everyone but is also to the benefit of the team. First thing this morning we had major issues to discuss regarding the logistics and precautions for Central and South America. After an intense, but very beneficial conversation we came up with several ideas and possibilities for the upcoming unknown adventure.
 
 In the afternoon we had the privilege of meeting with Waterworks and Global Relief Resource. These are two organizations that spread awareness about the importance and scarceness of water and also take positive action to get clean water to poverty stricken places. Mr. Robert Kline, of Waterworks, and his wife Marilynn most graciously invited the whole team to their beautiful home for an incredible dinner. We were very fortunate to hear several stories from different people about taking risks to make differences in this world. It's awesome for the team to hear this because it totally serves as an inspiration to us and makes us realize that even though we might not see it right away, we definitely are touching lives. In particular, Mr. Charles Clements' fascinating story of his involvement in setting up an international agreement to ban landmines, as well as his experience of practising medicine in the middle of the war in El Salvador brought tears to my eyes as I envisioned myself ten years down the road treating people as well. I must say it was quite a treat for me to be surrounded by such awesome, inspiring people...this is what keeps me going each and every day.

August 3 Renaud:. 
Early wake-up to leave Santa Fe. That's because we've planned a presentation with people from Americorps in Taos. They do a lot of work for that small city and, once again, it's good to see people using some of their time acting for others. Taos is a pretty place north from Santa Fe, it also has the oldest pueblo in Northern America, around 1000 years. It's an Indian place where some people still live and made the choice not to have electricity and running water. One of our guests from Americorps is part of the tribe and gives us a beautiful visit. The square houses can be built up to 5 stories drawing big stairs. All the walls are made of earth and dried by the sun. Despite the highly tourist aspect - the natives live one year out of the summer season - it was still very interesting to have this piece of education. We then head through the high desert toward our next destination Los Angeles with two great scenarios in the next day: Canyon de Chelly and The Grand Canyon.

August 4 Naoki: 
Today we entered ARIZONA. I can feel the color of the landscape is more vivid than before. The land is burning bright red with strong sunlight. I was really impressed by that color. We visited CANYON DE CHELLY National Park. There are several beautiful canyons. Their walls rise straight up and dramatically until they reach more than 1000 feet above the floor. Archeological evidence shows that people have lived in these canyons for nearly 5000 years. Pueblo, Hopi and Navajo tribes have lived on this land. They built homes in the canyon, and added their own designs and/or images to the walls. I was looking for them on the wall. On one cliff, I found some caves and climbed down to see them, which was very steep. After all of that I couldn't discover the artifacts or written accounts, but I was really satisfied with being there, because I felt the great spirit of Native people still living there!

August 6 Devlin:. 
Today would be the end of our crossing of the States. We biked into LA. First though, to get there we had to come through the Mojave Desert. It has been 115 F so we decided to leave at 4:30 am. After duct-taping my head torch to my helmet, I set off in the dark. Even with the light, it was really challenging to see all the roadside debris. By going out early, the majority of the team missed the heat of the day and we arrived better off for our decision.

---

Ottawa to Washington

Thunder Bay to Ottawa

Vancouver to Thunder Bay

100 Mile House to Vancouver

Inuvik to 100 Mile House.

North Pole to Resolute Bay

Training Camp