Human powered world circumnavigation to pass through Boise

PORTLAND, Ore, Oct. 7, 2004 - Extreme athlete Erden Eruc and his Around-n-Over expedition  to circumnavigate the globe by scaling the highest summits on six continents after approaching each by bicycle and on foot, and rowing across three oceans, departed Portland, Wednesday on his cycling leg east across the United States.

Eruc, 43, who has already scaled Mt. McKinley, North America's highest peak and logged over 5,700 miles on his bicycle, expects to arrive in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, Oct. 12 on his way to Miami. Monday, on the way from Seattle to Portland, Eruc cycled past an erupting Mt. St. Helens but was unchallenged by the volcanic activity.

Eruc's objective is the summit of Mt. Aconcagua on the Chilean-Argentinean border, which the Seattle resident plans to reach sometime in December 2005. Between Seattle and Aconcagua lies a 3,400 mile, 60 day cycling journey to Miami, and rowing voyage through the Panama Canal to Ecuador aboard his 23 foot trans-oceanic rower. He will reach the base of Aconcagua by biking south from Ecuador through Peru and Chile. The 22,841 foot peak is the highest point in South America and when summited by Eruc will put him within four peaks of accomplishing his goal.

On the first day of the Seattle to Portland leg, Eruc logged over 75 miles and then clocked 92 miles on day two. His journey took him past an erupting Mt. St. Helens in southwestern Washington on the way to Portland. The Turkish native will now pedal nearly 175 pounds of bicycle, trailer and panniers fully laden with food and personal gear from Portland east along Route 26 to Route 97 for a rest in Redmond, Oregon. He will then continue south to Bend and east along Rt. 20 via Middleton, Idaho for an expected Tuesday arrival in Boise.

The expedition will then take Eruc on to Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, Atlanta, Jacksonville and eventually an early December arrival in Miami.

Along the way, the former systems engineer turned expeditioner by way of a lay-off, will talk about his global journey to local school children to share the values of selflessness, sacrifice and perseverance of previous adventurers and expeditions including his late climbing partner, mountaineer Gцran Kropp. Kropp is well known for his role in the rescue of several climbers who were stranded by a violent storm on Everest in 1996 and then successfully summiting the earth's highest peak without the use of supplemental oxygen. Kropp's journey to Everest included riding his bicycle laden with climbing gear from Sweden to Nepal.

In May 2003, Eruc reached the summit of the 20,320 foot Mt. McKinley in Alaska which included the 5,546 mile bike ride from Seattle to Denali and back. His bicycle journey to Miami will push his odometer to nearly 9,000 miles. Following a break to recover, Eruc expects to depart from Miami for Ecuador in late February aboard Calderdale - The Yorkshire Challenger, his 23 foot trans-oceanic rower. He expects to summit Aconcagua in January 2006, then Oceana's Carstenz Pyramid in the summer of 2007, Asia's Everest in 2008, Africa's Kilimanjaro in 2009 and finally Elbrus in Russia in 2010 before returning to Seattle later that year. The expedition will include time-off between legs for hurricane seasons on the oceans and winters on the mountains which will allow for recuperation and equipment repair and replenishment.

About Around-n-Over

Around-n-Over  is a tax-exempt organization to support the seven year quest of Seattle extreme athlete Erden Eruc to circumnavigate the globe under human power. Eruc aims to climb the highest summits on six continents after approaching each by bicycle and on foot, and to row across three oceans. By sharing his journey with students world-wide through Around-n-Over, Eruc aims to instill the values of selflessness, sacrifice and perseverance in the tradition of previous adventurers and expeditions. This journey was inspired by the book Ultimate High depicting Gцran Kropp's 1996 cycling journey from Sweden to climb Mt. Everest, and by Tori Murden, who in 1999 became the first woman to cross an ocean by rowing.

Around-n-Over is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United State of America. Invicta Law Group is instrumental to the success of Around-n-Over, and the following organizations have contributed to the journey: BOB Trailers, OrtliebUSA, REI, and Seattle Vertical World.