News - Local

Sunday, Jun. 28, 2009

Poly grad’s big adventure

David Sacher plans to bike from Alaska to Argentina to fulfill a goal and to raise money for a nonprofit

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A recent Cal Poly graduate is embarking on the journey of a lifetime — a 15,000-mile solo bicycle ride from the northern tip of Alaska to the southernmost point of South America. David Sacher — who received his bachelor’s degree in business this month — will set out in July on a 10-month bike trip that starts in a vast, isolated Alaskan wilderness and leads through rain forests, deserts, mountains and tundra to reach his final destination in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Part of the reason for his adventure is to raise money and awareness for the nonprofit organization Acirfa, which provides bicycles to needy people in Zambia, Africa. Sacher, 21, created a Web site, www.earningthehorizon.com, with information about his trip and charity work.

But it’s also a personal journey that he resolved to take as a sophomore at Cal Poly after listening to an Argentine friend who took the ride on the so-called Pan-American Highway about 10 years ago. Sacher doesn’t have a plan yet for his future occupation when he finishes his trip, he said.

People often ask Sacher why he wants to start life after college covering two continents, 14 countries and thousands of miles, mostly alone on his bike. He has never tackled anything like it, nor has he ever visited Canada or South America. “It’s easy to be pessimistic about the state of the world right now,” Sacher wrote on his Web site. “We worry about war, poverty, the economy and the environment.”

He calls the ride a push to achieve dreams and a condemnation of “the spirit of entitlement that has caused so many of the problems we deal with today.”

“It is a reminder of the value in working for every mile and ultimately, earning the far distant horizon,” he wrote. He trained daily for the ride through various cardiovascular-intensive activities, including kickboxing, and he had recent surgery to remove excess tissue from his knee. In the past, he’d feel pain in his knee because of the tissue, but he now hopes he won’t have problems.

Sacher plans to ride sunup until sundown nearly every day of his trip and camp or stay in youth hostels.

He acknowledges potential dangers — including sickness and possible encounters with muggers or wildlife such as bears. In addition to extremely remote regions in Alaska, he’ll pass through countries including Colombia and Ecuador, where crime is a serious problem.

Sacher said his family worries about his journey, but he has planned his route to avoid the most dangerous places and has researched pitfalls and how to steer clear as well as he can.

He’ll dress down and appear dirty in areas where crime is common so he doesn’t attract attention.

As for interacting with other people, he said he’ll meet people on the road and stay with some friends on his route. The trip includes a passage through San Luis Obispo, and he’ll spend two days here as he heads south.

But much of the time he’ll be alone, cooking food on a small stove while taking in the sights and sounds around him — blogging from his cell phone as much as possible.

“John Steinbeck said, ‘All great and precious things are lonely,’ ” Sacher said. “I think the experience is very real and raw when you do it alone.”