Hitching a ride across the Atlantic

[SteveFox]

Hi, my name is Steve Fox. I am currently planning an around the world bike trip to raise awarness for the David Suzuki Foundation and for sustainabel energy. www.stevesworldbiketrip.com is my website if anyone would like to check it out and see what I am all about. I have only one problem with biking around the world. There is a large body of water, some of you may have heard of it, its called the Atlantic ocean. I need to cross this. I am looking for someone who is leaving from Mexico or the Southern United States travelling NE to Ireland or somewhere near there in about 16 months. I would like to travel in a wind powered boat if possible as the basis of this trip is to travel without using fossil fuels. I would also prefer not to have to pay anything for this trip, but instead to work on the boat doing what ever grunt labor you can thnk of as my budget is very slim. Anyone help anyone can give me at all will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. If anyone would like to contact me for any reason, my email is stevesworldbiketrip@hotmail.com. Thank you again.

Steve Fox

 

[demonboy]

We can't help you Steve but good on you for your efforts. A worthwhile cause most sailors should have an affinity with.

Fair winds to you!

 

[tcm]

harumph

sustainable energy eh? It's not sustainable that everyone nips off on a bike trip, esp seeing as how this is not a necessary trip and the bike uses lots of fossil fuel - to manufacture it and all the spares you'll use/waste on this trip.

Likewise it's not that much differnt to go on a "windpowered" boat than a ferry - the sailing boat will have an engine and it'll have used loads of fossil fuel to build it as well. At least a normal ship can usefully carry cargo.

Ok, look, what i mainly mean is - it's a jolly, not "something really useful". Getting exercise might be vital in the west, but not a top requirement in parts of africa where it's a 20mile walkfor water, see?

Most of all of coursem, you could raise far more money knocking on doors around your local area than you would by biking round the world - so it's a jolly with the *veneer* of a purpose- but i hope you have a nice time!

 

[demonboy]

Re: harumph

Jeeeesus! Pass me the razor!

It's nothing to do with Africa, is it? It's about the effort. Having the bollox to do something about it rather than sitting on his lazy arse in an office and berating anyone who has a give-it-a-go attitude. We could all do a cycle ride jolly but at least he's bothering to give it a cause.

And it's "Most of all, of course, ......", not "Most of all of coursem" /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[SteveFox]

Re: harumph

I am doing this to bring the big picture to as many people as possible. Our world is in some trouble right now, and it isnt gonna get any better if we all just ist around and watch it..."maybe if we watch together some magic will happen - Dane cook"...I am doing this to bring some light to our situation and convince some people that we need to do something. Even if I dont get through to everyone, at least ive tried to make a difference. Going door to door only lets a few people see what I am doing. I am going door to door, only the doors are in differnet countries, and a larger population is going to hear my story. for instance, I posted my website here and so far over 200 people have looked at this topic, most probably read it through and some even went to the website. Theres 200 people i just talked to without saying a word. over the course of 7 years or so, think of all the people ill talk to all over the world. Im bound to convince at least 1 person of my cause. Also, Im travelling over 80,000 KM on my bike without using any fossil fuels. How many liters of gasoline would it take for a new car to travel that far? a lot more than i am using. I am just trying to show people that if i can ride my bike around the planet, they can ride to work and do thier part for the environment. sorry about the rant, and thanks for your support demonboy, its appreciated.

Steve Fox

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: harumph

Also, Im travelling over 80,000 KM on my bike without using any fossil fuels.

You may wish to explain to us non enlightened types how you built your bike and will keep it in tires and lubricants without any involvement of fossil fuels. I assume that you will be keeping off any roads that have been constructed using asphalt or which used fossil fuels in their construction - a bumpy ride ahead I suspect.

Am also interested in your arrangements for ensuring that the food and drinks you consume on the way (and one assumes that you will consume more than most of us given your higher energy demands) have been produced and delivered to your points of consumption without any use of fossil fuels.

Have a pleasant ride but please do not sweat too much as some of your friends claim that we should also conserve fresh water.

John

 

[tcm]

Re: harumph

Good point well made. But his website and his post specifically says it is focused on sustainable energy. Thanks for the English lesson as well - all this time i've been writing "coursem" instead of "course" and nobody thas said a word. In future i will do my very best to follow your example, and will pepper my text with more expressive and thoughtful words like "arse" and "bollux" as you do.

 

[demonboy]

Re: harumph

Chill, Winston! I just noted that your bio describes you as "part-time spelling/grammar pedant" and thought we'd have a laugh, hence the smilie. Just a bit of fun, ok?

Back to the matter in hand......

I really can't believe the cynicism on display here! Are you guys on a wind-up? Seriously?

He's not asking us to live in huts and travel by bare foot, he's merely "doing his bit". The equation he's offering is really quite simple: car vs bike. Which of the two have a greater impact on the environment and what can he do to (im)prove the point?

 

[tcm]

Re: harumph

Wwe're a *bit* serious, but not too serious.

Um, are you in the UK? We're very big on cynicsm here. We all have ideas about how much better things could or should be, and even if they're great now, well, they'll be worse soon. If peopel are rich, they probably ripped someobody off, if they're poor is their own silly fault. If they're famous they're exhibitionist and probably quite dim, and if someone has a bright idea there are three thousand reasons why it almost certainly won't work. Even banks asked to lend money for a new enterprise take as little risk as possible - they lend against property as far as possible.

Sepretly, the steve fox chap is a bit naive in that one rather large point about saving the planet and reducing the wastage of fossil fuels (which he mentions repeatedly) is .... not to make unneccesary journeys. And returning to where you are now via the entire planet is the epitomy of an unnecessary journey. It's seems hugely naive to tour the world spreading this message when the primary place it should be learned is in N America, where he is now.

So taking both the above - and the fact that it's a forum, my point (and others chips cat) was a rather different (but hugely valid) angle on his venture, one which his website totally seemed to have missed, as did you.

So altho his motives are great, there are valid arguments against making the trip - indeed there are more valid arguments against than in favour - if fossil fuel saving is the primary goal.

However, we're really quite nice and positive people, honest. We're simply showing some dark humour rather than innocent cheerful bobby-sox can-do cheer-leading positivism which (for brits anyway) can become irritatingly bland in a very short time. What else wd you have had us post "Yo! way to go stevie - go steve go! " Where's the fun in that?

Note that we wished him well, tho - even in my first post.

 

[demonboy]

Re: harumph

Point taken. I think I've spent too long in Turkey. Time for a trip home methinks /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: harumph

Anyways, I have the absolute moral high ground as far as the getting to and from work in a saving of fossil fuels manner is concerned - my office is right next to my bedroom.

I do have to open and close two doors in the morning to get there though - am seriously thinking of removing them to save on oil needed to lubricate the hinges, but there again, will probably put the heating costs up so undecided on that.

John

 

[demonboy]

Re: harumph

Why not quit working? Then you solve your consumption quandary altogether.

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: harumph

Now that is an idea that I am very, very attached to

John

 

[tcm]

Quitting work - world tour

Quitting work surely isn't allowed, cos then he will be lazy sitting on his arse all day and being cynical?!

In fact, I think that ships cat should go on a sponsored world trip to promote the issue of NOT giving up work and especially NOT going on long pointless excursions or holidays cos it wastes so much fossil fuel! He'll need a bicycle to make it all green and goodly of course, plus loads of spare bicycles, a sailing boat or two in attendance, plus lorry-loads of leaflets, translators, website access etc etc....

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: Quitting work - world tour

... and mustn't forget (mentioning it just in case) the TV crews and journo's with their generators, satellite broadcast vans, satfones, etc so's as viewers around the world can stay up all night with their lights burning, kettles boiling watching the progress of the hard working, intrepid and charismatic humble cat's progress.

John

 

[Sammo]

Re: Quitting work - world tour

Hi everybody I`m Albert
Take no notice of this young upstart he`s only on a jolly
Whereas I shall be doing it properly, My masterplan is to travel all around the world but I won’t be using any fossil fuels at all and if I see anyone wasting energy I shall go over and give them a good slap.
My intention is to walk the whole distance and I will only eat stuff that I can pick or hunt. Which I will eat uncooked.
I will be completely naked this should not only raise awareness but also a few eyebrows, and will swim all rivers and seas.
Oceans will be crossed using wind power but the raft will have to be made of driftwood, with sails made of pure silk, crewed by virgin tree huggers.
I have only one problem with traveling round the world, some of you may have heard of it, Its called, reality!
As my buget is non existent, any help would be appreciated especially in the later wheelchair stage.
I am initially setting sponsorship at £5 per mile but there may be a reduction for anyone giving £500 or more and for OAP`s.
Please give generously and perhaps together we can make this world a better place to live in.

……… /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tcm]

Re: Quitting work - world tour

oh dear, i wd happily donate - cept of course all my money is made of expensively-extracted highly purified precious metals and from not-cycled paper all of exactly the same type used by terrorists and SUV-driving selfish moneygrubbers, so of course it is of no use to your venture.

 

[tcm]

Re: Quitting work - world tour

i vote this thread as having received amongst the most useless (yet extensive) responses to a perfectly reasonable initial request.

 

[zefender]

Re: Quitting work - world tour

Stevefox's post has made me think about the energy I am consuming so I've decided to turn of my monitor and see if o con typr corecrtly....

 

[bbilly]

Re: Quitting work - world tour

Albert,
Sounds like my summer holidays. (but I do have a loincloth).

BB