Dan Burton from Utah will leave for Antarctica to accomplish something that has never been done. He aims to become the first person to ride a bicycle to the South Pole.
The route will span from the edge of the Antarctic continent at Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole.The 750 miles long trek is stacked with all of the challenges you might imagine.
A potentially historic ride that never leaves the snow, promises consistent temperatures well below zero, dodges hidden crevasses, and rises 9,000 feet. While riding, he expects a 20 to 30 mph headwind most of the time.
Dan is sleeping in a tent, and cooking prepared meals. An expedition company will place three caches of food on his route and pick him up at the end.
It will be a tough solo trek on a fat mountain bike with four-inch knobby tires that perform well in the snow. He expects to cover 20 to 30 miles each day. He won't ever ride in the dark because the sun does not set at the South Pole this time of year. He expects the ride will take him 30 days. But, he has to be done by January 23 to catch the last plane out of Antarctica for the season.
An Australian and a Spaniard have announced that they also will attempt to bike to the South Pole this coming December. So this has now become an international race to see who can get there first.
›› Read the
South Pole Epic blog
