Indonesian Digital News Archive

On March 11, 2011 a massive earthquake off the coast of Japan created a giant tidal wave that had a devastating effect on that country's coastline. Boats, cars, homes and countless tons of other debris were washed away in an instant. Now, months later, much of that debris is washing up on the shores of North America, which has prompted a group of three kayakers to launch an expedition to survey the shores of the Olympic Peninsula and document the junk that is arriving there.

The team consists of Ken Campbell, Jason Goldstein and Steve Weileman, each of whom have extensive experience paddling throughout the Pacific Northwest and the world. They've named their adventure the Ikkatsu Project and over the past few months they've spent time exploring the remote coastline of Washington state to examine the debris that has been washing up with alarming regularity there.

You can read about more about Ikkatsu, which means "United as One" in Japanese, on the expedition website, where you'll also find trip reports, gear lists and more details on the scope of the project. Sadly, it seems they are finding plenty of items to document from the Tsunami and the impact on the environment there probably won't be fully known for some time.

Interesting project in a beautiful part of the world. I'm both fascinated by the forces of nature that have brought this debris to the shores of North America and saddened by what those same forces did to the Japanese people and how they could now impact these pristine environments.



Ikkatsu Project - Phase 1 from Steve Weileman on Vimeo.

The annual Race Across America (RAAM) got underway yesterday in San Diego, California, where the first participants hit the road on this epic cycling challenge. The race, which is in its 30th year, will now proceed across the U.S., eventually ending in Annapolis, Maryland some 3000 miles (4828km) later.

The competition actually features a staggered start with the solo women, and men over the age of 60, setting out yesterday. Today they'll be joined by the solo men with all of the teams beginning on Saturday. It is estimated that the first riders will begin crossing the finish line around the 21st of June, which means they'll have ridden the entire distance in about eight days. Most of the cyclists will arrive between June 21-25.

RAAM is unique in its approach and scope. This isn't a stage race and riders are free to use any strategy they want to complete the course. They will have to follow a preset route and pass through several checkpoints along the way, but they can ride for as many hours in the day as they feel comfortable.

The course is definitely a challenging one. It features more than 170,000 feet of climbing and passes through 12 states on its way across the country. The cyclists begin at the Oceanside Pier in California and end at the City Dock in Maryland, in between they'll ride through 350 town and cities.

One of the riders in the race is 70-year old Michael Patterson who is part of a four-man team that will begin the ride on Saturday. Patterson its on the board of the Trust for Public Lands and he and his teammates are riding to raise funds for that organization. The TPL will use those funds to help create "parks with a purpose," setting aside lands for public use across the United States.

Good luck to all the riders and enjoy the ride.

I haven't posted an update on Jesper Olson and his World Run II expedition since January, which was when he was starting the North American leg of the journey. Now he's nearing the end of that leg and has passed a major milestone along the way.

For those who aren't familiar with Jesper's epic undertaking, back in 2005 he completed the first fully documented run around the world, which for most of us would be enough of a challenge for a single lifetime. But in 2008 he decided to hit the road once again, this time running north to south and back again. He dubbed this second challenge the World Run II and starting from the northernmost point in Finland Jesper started running south. The route took him all the way across Europe, through the Middle East and down down Africa, before reaching the tip of that continent. From there he hopped a flight across the Atlantic and resumed running again, this time heading north through South America and eventually North America as well.

Currently Jesper is running through Maine and quickly approaching the U.S.-Canadian border, where he'll soon cross over and start the final leg of his journey, which will eventually end on Prince Edward Island. He still has a few more weeks of running before he reaches that point, but he is most definitely closing in on the finish line at long last.

A few days ago Jesper crossed a major milestone on World Run II. On May 15 he crossed passed the 35,000km (21,748 mile) mark. Thats an impressive distance to have run and eclipses World Run I by a considerable margin. On his original run around the world, Olson managed to cover 26232km (16,300 miles), but he passed that mark a long time ago and has passed into uncharted territory.

Recently Jesper lost part of his support crew so now he's also being forced to run while carrying a backpack. That added weight has changed his approach some, but he continues moving forward at a surprising pace. On the day that he crossed the 35,000km mark he covered 51km (31 miles), which is very impressive considering he's been running long distance nearly every day for four years.

As always, thanks to Darrell for keeping me updated wit Jesper's progress. It is such an amazing accomplishment that he is closing in on, although it sure makes my nightly five mile runs seem pretty insignificant.