The expedition

Thirsty Bike is a 16,000 mile motorized bicycle expedition down the Pan American Highway beginning in Augusta, Georgia and ending in Ushuaia, Argentina . The trip will be filmed in HD video and will work to raise awareness of efficient means of transportation, promote cultural awareness, and help people around the world gain access to clean drinking water by raising money for Water Missions International, a non-profit institute that works in developing nations to help increase access to clean water and sanitation. A blog with photo and video updates will be kept as well.

The Route

The adventurer

Will Adams

Project and mechanical coordinator

Will Adams is an avid kayaker, cyclist, martial artist and has a degree in Occupational Therapy. He has been traversing the outdoors since he first started walking. He recently set foot on every continent in the northern hemisphere in 7 days solo. Also an accomplished musician being proficient at playing the Piano, guitar, banjo, mandolin and any other stringed instrument he can get his hands on. He is as tenacious and unrelenting at finishing a project as he is caring for less fortunate people.

We will be donating a portion of the money we raise for the expedition and through subsequent sales of the documentary to Water Missions International as well as raising awareness about their efforts combating the growing global water crisis through the expedition documentary.  Water Missions International is a non-profit organization based in Charleston, SC.  They use a combination of approaches to accomplish their goal of helping people in developing nations gain access to clean water including engineering projects, educational techniques by training individuals and communities to maintain their own local water resources.

You can check out some of their projects here: Water Missions International projects

- 80% of Disease in 2/3 of the World is Related to Poor Drinking Water and Sanitation (1)

- Nearly 1 billion people in the world lack access to clean drinking water (1)

- A lack of clean water is the biggest cause of death and disease in the world (1)

- An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typical person in a developing country slum uses in a whole day (2)

- 10, 000 deaths occur every day from lack of clean water. 8,000 of them are under the age of 5 (3)

- Diarrhea is more prevalent in the developing world due, in large part, to the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as poorer overall health and nutritional status. (4)

- Diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to Diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. (4)

References:

(1) Water Facts 1. (n.d.) Water for Life – Safe Water for the World. Retrieved 27 Sept, 2010, from

http://www.waterforlife.org/resourcecenter.php

(2) United Nations.(2006). Human Development Report 2006. Retrieved 27 Sept, 2010, from http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR06-complete.pdf

(3) World Health Organization. (2008). Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, benefits, and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health. Retrieved 27 Sept, 2010, from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596435_eng.pdf

(4) UNICEF, World Health Organization. (2009). Diarrhea: Why children are still dying and what can be done. Retrieved 27 Sept, 2010, from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241598415_eng.pdf

Matt Riley

logistics and press

Matt Riley

Matt is a runner and a kayaker.  He is working on a degree in anthropology at USCA and currently managing logistics for Will while he is out on the road.

About the bikes

Details coming soon!