Wednesday, December 29, 1999

By AMY E. NEVALA
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

On Saturday, after six years of training, saving and waiting, 42 Washington residents will mark the millennium by starting on an around-the-world bicycling trek. That's 20,000 miles in 366 days. It's the first organized global cycling trip. You think you've got something cool planned to mark the millennium? Think again.

You haven't got anything over Adrian Perera.

On Saturday, after six years of training, saving and waiting, Perera and 41 other Washington residents will pedal their first stroke on an around-the-world bicycling trek.

That's 20,000 miles. On two wheels. In 366 days (Y2K is a leap year).

"I've structured my whole life around this trip," said 36-year-old Perera, of Kirkland. A contract employee with Microsoft, Perera shunned more permanent jobs, gave up girlfriends and bypassed new homes and cars in lieu of the yearlong adventure.

Called Odyssey 2000, it's the first organized bicycle trip hooping the globe. Seattle-based bicycle touring company president Tim Kneeland tackled the project in 1993.

"It's been a personal dream for years," said Kneeland, who since 1980 has organized 63 bicycle events lasting between one and 48 days.

With constraints on time, temperatures and political climates, Odyssey 2000 participants will not pedal a complete ring around the planet. Instead they will be served a cycling smorgasbord covering six continents: A slice of Africa, morsels of Asia, a piece of Australia, sips of Europe, slivers of North America, a chunk of South America.

Cyclists ride an average of 77 miles a day, with two days each week slated for rest, personal travel and exploration. By year's end they will have visited 50 countries and territories linked by 18 air flights, 11 ferries and one train ride.

Washington' s 42 riders, among the 246 registered, represent the most from any state (California and Oregon are second and third).

"My goal," said Russ Carter, 60, of Longview, "is to come home with all the friends I left with." He said that last year his bicycling friends "badgered" him into joining them on Odyssey 2000.

Highlights of their two-wheeled world tour include two Tournament of Roses parades in California, a visit to the Summer Olympic Games in Australia and a World's Fair in Germany.

"That's just the beginning," Kneeland said.

After riding in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena on Saturday, the cyclists head south to Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile and Argentina. Then they fly east to set up nearly 2,000 miles of biking through South Africa and Swaziland.

They soak up spring in Greece, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, France, Andorra, Spain, Gibraltor and Portugal before touching U.S. soil again for three weeks of riding from Washington D.C. to Canada. Then, with 10,000 miles remaining, it's back on a plane for a summer spent touring 20 European countries plus Russia, Australia, Japan and China.

At about the time Northwest salmon spawn, the cyclists will point their wheels toward Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.

While the itinerary may change -- as dictated by transportation, potable water availability and political stability -- Kneeland said riders can count on a blissful end to a long haul this time next year. They will spend five days pedaling and eight days resting in Hawaii before riding back into Pasadena on Jan. 1, 2001.

The cyclists are as diverse as the lands they will visit. The oldest is 80-year-old Elbert Pence of Seattle; the youngest an 18-year-old Vermont high school graduate biking with his father. The single riders are an equal mix of men and women; and there are 29 couples.

The average age of an Odyssey 2000 rider is 49.

"Most of the cyclists are not hardcore athletes," said Kneeland. "They are individuals of all ages and walks of life looking for an extraordinary way to see the world and spend the year 2000."

At $36,000 a cyclist, it's not cheap to ride the world. Though some simply wrote gigantic checks, others scrimped and sacrificed.

"I sold my house," said Ramona Peck, 53, of Kent. "You know that big Seattle housing market boom? That paid for my trip."

The fee covers "practically everything," said Odyssey 2000 co-director Karen-Ann Sutter. As riders pedal the countryside, the 30 or so volunteer crew members arrange breakfast and dinner, schlepp the 60 pounds of personal gear allowed per cyclist and arrange lodging -- 60 percent camping, 40 percent hotels and hostels.

Cyclists are encouraged to bring an additional $10,000 each to pay for a year of lunches, entry into tourist attractions and cash for beer, ice-cream and other treats.

Pampering follows each cycling day, Sutter said. In places that lack showers and toilets, Odyssey 2000 staff will truck in private hot shower units and heated bathrooms.

A mobile bicycle repair shop keeps gears shifting while massage therapists ease moaning muscles.

"We're like a small town," said Sutter. "Imagine moving a small town 77 miles every day for a year. We're going to be more like a traveling circus."

Sutter expects a lot of fun.

"One guy from Mexico keeps calling us -- he barely speaks any English -- and he says, 'We have big party when you get here,'" said Sutter.

Preparing for Odyssey 2000 has been its own adventure. Sutter and Kneeland logged three around-the-world treks on dozens of planes and 17 rental cars, making countless logistical decisions, from assesssing roads to locating emergency medical facilities to planning meals.

"In Chile, we had to visit every mayor in every town to get permission to cycle there," said Sutter. South African hosts proved "so hospitable . . . we even got to try warthog pie."

Want your own slice of warthog pie? While it may be too late for this year, don't sweat it.

Sutter said they are printing the brochures for Odyssey 2003.

Tracking the trek

Or, for periodic updates from around the globe, visit the Odyssey 2000 Web site: www.odyssey2000.com

For information on Odyssey 2000 or other Tim Kneeland & Associates, Inc. bicycle events, call 206-322-4102 or 800-433-0528.