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WATCH: Volcanoes, a robbery, and 70 flat tires part of this man's latest odyssey

Local ultra-endurance athlete recounts epic trek earlier this year

  • Raised money for charity: water
  • Trip took 51-days and over 300 hours of riding time
  • Big challenge was dealing with so many flat tires

When most people go to Mexico in February, they hit the beach and soak up the sun, likely with a few adult beverages along the way.

But Nick Pelletier has a different take on winter getaways – cycling around the country alone.

“I covered basically every landscape you can and all the places you want to go and all the places you don’t want to go,” the ultra-endurance athlete told Kelowna10.

Pelletier’s solo trek lasted 51-days, and covered 5,879 km, taking over 300 hours of riding time.

The man, however, is no stranger to adventurous journeys.

In 2019, Pelletier cycled across the United States. He’s also attempted to swim the entire length of Okanagan Lake, from Vernon to Penticton, twice.

“I think you need to be goal motivated, but process oriented,” he said. “Have the goal as the centre of what you want to do, but you have to enjoy, or at least appreciate, the process.”

Pelletier decided to ride across Mexico to keep logistics to a minimum. He said Mexico is a big enough country to complete a ride of this magnitude, without having to cross borders or deal with COVID testing while on the bike.

He hit four main spots along his journey. He started in Cabo San Lucas, stopped in at Mexico’s lowest elevation point in Laguna Salada, headed up to the nation’s highest point, Pico de Orizaba (a volcano – which he hiked), and finished in Cancún. He spent his nights camping or staying at cheap motels, after hours riding on dirt roads and busy highways.

“I had over 70 flat tire changes, which sounds mindboggling, and it is,” Pelletier said. “It was always just trying to find tubes and everything in Mexico… It was pretty frustrating, but just stay the course and keep your goal at heart.”

Although some of his friends and family worried about him taking on the solo expedition through a foreign country, he said he only had one scary incident where someone tried to rob him.

“There were some stretches where I may have been the only foreign person they’ve seen go through there in a while,” he explained. “I drew a lot of attention to myself with the bike and everything.”

During his time in Mexico, Pelletier filmed weekly vlogs for his YouTube channel, while also raising money for a non-profit called charity: water. Its mission is to provide clean and safe water to every person on the planet.

He said he’s been taking a bit of a rest since completing the journey, but he’s already thinking about the next adventure.

“I have some unfinished business with that lake swim in Kelowna,” Pelletier said. “I’m just not sure if that’s this year… but you never know. I’m a spontaneous guy so it might just happen.”

Published 2022-05-12 by Jordan Brenda

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