by Jeff Bartlett for matadornetwork.com
Jeff Bartlett interviews Davy and Daryl Vogel, the youngest cyclists to bike the length of the Americas.
Unlike most 13-year-old kids, Davy and Daryl Vogel haven’t been in a classroom since they were 10. Instead, the twins have been cycling the Pan-American Highway along with their parents, John and Nancy. It took the family on bikes two years, nine months, and 13 days to ride 28,000 km from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina.
I first encountered the Vogel’s at my local supermarket in Fort St John, British Columbia. While the Alaska Highway News and Shaw TV were interviewing them, I just kept looking from bikes to family, wondering if they’d make it.
They did. Now, Guinness will officially recognize the boys as the youngest to have cycled the entire Pan-American Highway without support.
The day after their arrival in Ushuaia, I had the opportunity to ask the two young cyclists a few questions about their education, sibling rivalries, and new world record. Here is what they had to say:
Your arrival into Ushuaia marked the end of your three-year cycle tour. What were your first thoughts upon arrival?
Davy: We are finally here!
Daryl: I got to beat Davy to the sign. When we first saw the end of the world sign we had to walk the bikes over some curbs, but I jumped off the tandem and ran so I could get there first.
Argentina is huge, and it really tested your family’s attitudes. Long distances between towns, hot temperatures, limited water, illness, bad roads, and headwinds all slowed your journey. Was Argentina the hardest part of the entire trip?
Daryl: No. It was pretty hard though...Read Full Article
