I Hear the Call of Distant Horizons 


For over 45 years, I have had the opportunity to engage in many different human-powered adventures, including bicycle touring and commuting, hiking and backpacking, mountaineering, running, cross-country skiing, canoeing, and sea kayaking. Over the years, I have logged in over 152,000 self-propelled miles of these activities, highlighted by a 7460-mile bicycle trip to Alaska and back, a 502-mile solo backpacking trip along the length of Alaska's Brook Range, and a 1136-mile sea kayak circumnavigation of Lake Superior, among dozens of others.

These adventures have provided much of the motivation that has driven the rest of my daily life. In February 2003, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma), and during the last four years,


       Arriving home after 7460 miles, Sept. 15, 1967.
 I have drawn upon the mental strength of my adventurous self to fight the battles of a series of surgeries, radiation treatment, and a number of new, targeted drug therapies. The backing of family and friends, and the inspired care of the University of Minnesota cancer clinic, have kept me going at mostly full speed.

After a successful bicycle trip around Lake Superior in 2004 on the 40th anniversary of my first bike trip around the lake, I started to hatch the idea of another motivational trip as the 40th anniversary of my first bike trip to Alaska drew near earlier this year. The call of those distant horizons of vast prairies and endless strings of mountains explains the reason for doing it again; I want to see those places, etched into my memories all these years, one more time.


Bicycling to Alaska and Back in 1967

In June 1967, I biked west out of the Twin Cities with the idea of eventually reaching Alaska. The first step was to catch up with three others- my brother Steve, Howie Graham, and Dean Anderson- who had left a day earlier than I could. I caught up to Steve and Dean in North Dakota and we continued northwest into Saskatchewan, where we slit up with a vague plan to regroup somewhere later in the summer, British Columbia perhaps. I continued northwest, trying to catch up with Howie, who thought I was already ahead somewhere. I found him several days later, and we continued through Edmonton to Valleyview, Alberta.

Howie wanted to see the McKenzie Highway, which I had done the year before on another bike trip, and he had to return to Edmonton briefly to get a wheel fixed, so we parted ways and I headed for Dawson Creek and the Alcan Highway.

More to this story coming soon - please check back

Click Here  to read the blog of my 2007 bike trip.

Thanks to all who have followed the trip.

Comments and questions can be directed to the following email:

                  andy@andytknapp.com



Additional Pages in the works to be added about 12-15-07:

1967 Bicycle Trip to Alaska, continued

Reflections on The 2007 Bicycle Trip

The Brooks Range in 1972: The Awesome Wilderness

Lake Superior: A Collection of Photography by Kayak

My Thoughts on Battling Cancer

Arriving in Alaska, near Skagway, 7-30-07


Other Links:



For information on kidney cancer, The Kidney Cancer Association is a good start.

Check out these fine companies that provided assistance for my trip:

  Detours/Mountainsmith  
       
 

The Minnesota Medical Foundation supports some of the leading cancer research happening in Minnesota.




Download a PDF of the Alaska Trip Press Release:

    Freewheel Bike
   
    



Mountain Hardwear

Camelbak Elixir