Robert Michon | Communications Specialist , ARTA

Sometimes it can be tricky to know what ’ s waiting for us around the next corner , but Bob Fletcher , a retired educator from Edmonton ( and ARTA member ), has been planning his next corner for over a year . On July 4 , 2022 , Bob will set out from Fairbanks , Alaska , on his e-bike and travel all the way south to Panama City , a trip of 14,000 kilometres that will take him just over five months . What ’ s more , Bob will be celebrating his 80 ^th birthday on the road .

A five-month bike ride is a daunting task for someone of any age , but for Bob , it ’ s just his next big adventure ; he ’ s been exploring the world on his bike for well over a decade . “ I love to travel and see new places ,” says Bob . “ I ’ ve been to over one hundred countries , and more than twenty of those visits have been on my bicycle .” As for the dangers of the road , Bob knows the risks , but he ’ ll be accompanied by a cycling partner and a documentary film crew who will be able to assist him if need be .

While always an avid cyclist , Bob ’ s interest took off when he joined the Edmonton Bicycle and Touring Club after retiring . “ I got to know my fellow riders and found there was a lot of comradery among cyclists ,” says Bob . “ Some months after my wife passed away in 2013 , I found myself in Dubrovnik , waiting for a bike tour to begin . It was the first time I had been on a trip without her , and I was just wandering around , unsure of what to do with myself . When the tour finally started , I got to meet the other riders , and of course they immediately accepted me as one of their own .”

Bob has taken cycling trips across nearly every continent since then , and he doesn ’ t plan on slowing down after this year ’ s trip . “ If I ’ ve still got the energy , I think I ’ ll continue south and do the length of South America , parts of which I ’ ve done before ,” he says . But that ’ s not all he has planned . He ’ ll be working with a writer to turn his big adventure into a book , Octogenarian Odyssey : Trading the Sofa for a Bicycle Seat . It will feature one chapter for every week he spends on the road . And then of course , there ’ s the film crew , who will be turning his adventure into a documentary series . And after that ? Well , for Bob , there ’ s always another trip waiting for him , around the next corner .

To the peak of Africa . Photo by Bob ’ s guide , Rob Caldwell .

Setting out on a Costa Rican ride . Photo by Gloria Pineda .

news & views SPRING 2022 | 19