Omar Di Felice completes first round-the-world Arctic bike ride
It has been more than two months in the saddle in polar temperatures (-42°C was the lowest it has ever been). "More than 4,000 km and 33,000 metres of elevation gain over ice and snow, against storms and extreme weather, living below zero". Di Felice set off on 2 February from Kamchatka (Russia) and then headed for Lapland (from Murmansk in Russia to Tromsø in Norway), the Svalbard Islands, Greenland and Iceland. From Russia he managed to leave a few days before the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The last stage, in the Arctic regions of North America, took him cycling through Whitehorse (Yukon region, Canada) and Alaska (USA) along the Dalton Highway. In total, Di Felice covered 4,000 km and 33,000 metres in altitude.
03/03/22: Omar di Felice completes the first stage of the first solo round-the-world arctic cycle ride
Omar di Felice completes the first part of the Arctic Tour by bike. At the end of January we reported on his adventure: to attempt the first solo round-the-world Arctic bike ride. 4,000 km and 40,000 m of positive elevation gain to raise awareness about climate change, and give visibility to how it is affecting this region; from Kamchatka, in Russia, to Lapland, and then from Svalbard to the islands, and even Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Beginning on 2 February 2022, until the date has crossed Russia's Kamchatka region and travelled through Lapland from Murmansk to Tromso, in a total of 2000 km. Omar is very active on Instagram (here his profile), where you can follow their Arctic journey.
"Every day is a delicate balancing act. From the moment you stick your nose out to the moment you get back you have to be good at assessing every little thing. Even a gesture as simple as using the gear lever has to be as delicate as possible. There is no room for improvisation up here. Of course, it takes a lot of courage to decide to leave, but this cannot happen without having studied every detail beforehand. It is about respecting life.
There is very little difference between having courage and being stupid improvisers, and I could never forgive myself for being in the latter category. Life deserves respect and as we have all the tools to evaluate each step well, nothing makes more sense than to think once again as we leave the starting point behind. Behind this frozen face, seemingly on the edge, there is a life spent studying and thinking about each small step. Courage without reason would just be sheer madness". -Omar Di Felice
26/01/22: Arctic adventure by bicycle.
Omar di Felice's challenge: the first solo round-the-world Arctic bike ride. 4,000 km and 40,000 m of positive elevation gain to raise awareness about climate change, and give visibility to how it is affecting this region; from Kamchatka, in Russia, to Lapland, and then from Svalbard to the islands, and even Greenland, Canada and Alaska. The adventure will begin on 2 February 2022 and we will be able to follow him on his social networks. Now as an appetizer you can see how he is preparing for the challenge in this Teaser "THE ARCTIC WORLD TOUR".
Great experience in a winter environment: Omar di Felice, first to reach Everest Base Camp by bike in winter
Italian ultra-cyclist Omar di Felice brings his challenge to an end after 19 days and 1,294 km mountain biking from Nepal's capital Kathmandu and Everest base camp. In the following video he gives us an overview of the team of bikepacking which he has used for his adventure.
