Review on 8 alternative types of transportation to inspire your travel plans
Have you recently taken your couch out for a ride? Or perhaps tried unicycling across countries on your last holiday? If not, it's time to get creative with the stories of these crazy-ass adventurers and their weird ways of exploring. Inspiration guaranteed...
Ed Pratt and his Unicycle
This young explorer has challenged himself to become the first person to unicycle around the world. Leaving the UK in 2015, Ed has since cycled through 15 countries and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. His wild dream has unsurprisingly drawn attention, and he has currently racked up an impressive £9200 pounds for the charity “School in a Bag”, an NGO that distributes backpacks stuffed with learning material to children in need. So far, the charity received more than 500 bags thanks to Ed’s funding page. Not only was Ed able to discover different cultures and surprise all the locals he’s met on the road, but the 20 year old unicyclist has also managed to put his dream to good use. His new target? Collecting enough donations to reach a total of 1000 bags and of course, end his unusual world tour.
Follow his story, check out his website or donate to “School in a Bag“.
Nick Gough and Richard Sears with their TUK TUK
These two mates from Surrey in the United Kingdom wanted to find an effective way to spread awareness on the lack of education worldwide. And how do you do that, you may ask? By driving a green 3 wheeled Tuk Tuk covered with stickers around the globe, naturally. Over the course of 16 months, Nick and Richard traveled to 39 countries with their solid 50km/h vehicle. They taught English in Africa, Asia and South America, raised funds for educational projects and charities through their website and clearly had a complete blast throughout their quirky adventure.
Brent and Eivind's Couchbike
This duo definitely knows that comfort is king when travelling. In the Summer of 2002, Brent and Eivind decided to go on an adventure… without moving from their couch. Imagining no greater comfort than sight-seeing on a sofa, the two friends decided to pimp their bike, transforming it into the weirdest creation the world of travel has possibly ever seen – the genius couchbike. A homemade DIY creation, the couchbike allowed the pair to lay back and relax (probably with beer in hand) during their trip around Canada whilst enjoying world class views first-hand, and not through their TV screen. As Brent says: “We may not have ridden the fastest or traveled the farthest, but we most certainly laughed the hardest. And in cycling as in life, I think that’s about all that really matters”.
David de Rothschild and his Plastiki sailboat
If like us you’ve got a serious gripe with the amount of plastic waste created each year, prepare to be inspired. Concerned by the quantities of plastic waste dumped in our oceans each year, British adventurer David de Rothschild decided to develop the Plastiki Project : a sailboat made of 12’500 recycled plastic bottles. Once built, David and his crew took their masterpiece out on a four month ride across the Pacific Ocean in the hope of attracting attention worldwide. Whenever they stopped they would host “open days” so that the curious-minded could visit Plastiki from inside to understand just how this sustainable wonder stays afloat.
Drew Milne and his vespa
Many dream of riding an iconic Italian vespa across the Tuscan hills like a scene straight out of a romantic dolce vita movie. Australian Drew Milne lived out this silver screen fantasy for two whole years, driving from South Australia all the way to Central London on his iconic red scooter. The expedition, cleverly named the “Vescapade”, attracted much attention, making it easy for the 31 year old to make new friends along the way. Drew’s victory pose at the end of his 2 year-long trip in front of Trafalgar Square in London says it all…
André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard's solar plane
In July 2015, André and Bertrand from Switzerland became the first pilots to fly across the Pacific Ocean with a plane powered entirely by 17,000 solar cells. The “Solar Impulse 2” – which required no fuel whatsoever to function – is living proof that technology CAN make our travels more eco-friendly in the future.Through this adventure, the two pilots wanted to raise awareness and shift perception about the possibilities of clean and renewable sources of energy, which they don’t think are currently being used enough. The whole expedition lasted 5 days with barely any sleep BUT they are now the proud world record holders for the longest solo flight on a solar plane in history. Good job guys, now go enjoy a well-deserved siesta!
Dave Nicoll and his fridge
Here’s an adventurer that takes challenges to a whole new level. Daniel raised a bet with his friends who didn’t believe he would ever take his fridge along on a tour around the world. But look who’s laughing now. The globe trotting fridge owner says the book “Yes Man” motivated him to experience random things in life, such as this 9 month adventure across 4 continents with a fridge as his travel buddy. Who would’ve imagined that just saying YES could take someone this far?
Karl Bushby and his great pair of sneakers
Remove all the travelling gimmicks and what are you left with? One man, one dream, and a pair of seriously dedicated feet. This is the unbelievable story of a man who is currently attempting to be the first human being to complete a world tour BY FOOT. Yes, you read correctly…Karl Bushby is walking around the world. The adventurer began his arduous journey – known as the Goliath Expedition – in Chile on November 1998, believing 8 years would be enough to complete his tour. Guess something went wrong with his calculations since the man’s still on his feet, with half of the trip completed. The English traveler is due to arrive home in 2-3 years (that’s a staggering 20 years of travelling), unless the travel bug compels him to go for another round. Check out his book “Giant Steps” or watch the film documentary about his story “The Walk Around the World”.
“Our addiction to safety and over abundance of caution can stop us from being the best we can be, can stifle the human spirit. Man has to realise he got where he is today because he was willing to take risks and he will have to take risks again” – Karl Bushby
....inspired much??
Find article on Six-Two website HERE