Friday, April 24, 2015

Correspondence with Polar Explorer and Everest veteran mountaineer - Eric Larsen // Explorers // Advice on overland expeditions // Mountain bike treks // Mongolia Solo 2500km Crossing 2012

 2012 Solo Crossing 2500km or 1553 miles and accumulated 40,000 meters altitude in Outer Mongolia. Now, I have professional explorers and world touring cyclists asking for advice. Eric Larsen contacted me a week ago to ask for logistical support for Mongolia. In 2010, Eric Larsen became the first person in history to successfully complete expeditions to South Pole, North Pole and the summit of Mount Everest in a continuous 365-day period. In 2006, Larsen completed the first ever summer expedition to the North Pole.
 2014 Cycle to the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia
 Reaching the 5 Saints in 45 days overlanding.
 My top of the world expedition experience made public on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
100 miles a day experience in 2013 crossing North America in 30 days, 3400 kilometers, 2000 miles.

Re: Polar training courses Inbox x Brian Perich Mar 29 to Eric, Rob Hi Eric, CC: Rob Hill, IDEAS 

 I went through tough terrain to follow-through and finish my 2500km 1553 mile journey. On finishing and returning to Korea I had to get back into work but had terrible physical complications. This was my second official bike expedition after China and the Himalayas in 2011. I returned two years later, last summer, to ride directly to the Gobi and out east to Khentii. In total, I covered 3700km in 65 days, 2500km in 38 days pedaling on the first trip+7 days resting/recovering. I wore the old Pearl iZumi shoes when the Walk-n-bike shoes I ordered to replace them came sized smaller than a decent fit. As a result, with very little padding, I took a beating scaffolding the mountains north and then west to Khovsgol and Altai. I walked a great deal, sand deserts and the mountains climbing up while pushing the bike loaded. I still support Rob Hill from the IDEAS foundation of Canada, he is also a professional mountaineer. Let's include him in this conversation. I have lost touch with Antony Jinman, and failed to get sponsored. I did have one-off support from Lynskey Performance for their titanium frame, but I had to buy-in at cost, then they dropped me before I had finished my 2012 trip. I am considering a frame building course to 1.build my own frame 2.learn the trade for potential small business 3.do more expeditions with my own hand-made equipment. My website revealed my routes (MongoliaX2014), and the routes across the Gobi to share finally with others, because like you, I have been contacted for the route by quite a few professional explorers/cyclists, and nothing was ever offered in return which is the nature of of casual online connections and information gathering....meanwhile though for me, I had to bitterly try to finish my physio, chiro, and steroid treatments to recover and resume a normal life in Korea. I successfully completed the journeys, but that was the end game for me. Not much happened next for me except returning to teaching in Korea, which ended in January of this year (department closure/university takeover/school challenges for my children Korean-only environment/pollution issues affecting my training and whole family's health conditions and the consideration of potential employment and betterment for my wife to return to the workforce - much on my plate). Now, I am on a new challenge living in North America where I have no foothold at all - except family here to connect with. So, my personal survival expedition in North America has now completed it's second month. I spend 10 years in Asia (China and South Korea). I am currently in Windsor, Ontario returned to my parents home while supporting my two children and my wife whom after a 9 year hiatus raising children, started working finally after two months search. I am currently unemployed with foreign credentials from Sweden, they won't hire me in Canadian-sector education with foreign credentials and there are few jobs/if any available anyways. I am overlooked for factory or other jobs, even in temporary staffing - I am untouchable.So, I am considering frame building as my next move. If you are planning an expedition for Mongolia, in the summer or winter, I would like to join you - no holds barred. If you cannot accommodate me, I can still offer the routes (2012/2014) on my website in return for nothing. I know the Mongolian language, understand their culture and have some connections there, very kind people some whom I met that I won't even know where they have migrated to now, others are settled in the cities or train wild horses. It's an amazing place to challenge yourself, discover and explore. I would like to carry on exploring and connecting there, even guiding, but I don't have the business finesse/panache to fuel adventures they way you do. Thanks for writing, in confidence. If you have any collaborative ideas, I would definitely like to hear from you again. -- Brian (Windsor,ON)

Update from Altai Taven-Bodg National Park basecamp, thanks to my friends who came to support the expedition this year....
Posted by ONE - Arctic2Argentina - Eco-Expedition of the Americas & Asia Expeditions on Friday, September 14, 2012

 Eric Larsen on Fatbike starting the attempted first ride to the South Pole. 3 completed in 2014.
 Eric Larsen on his triple grand slam North / South Poles and Everest Expeditions called Save the Poles.
 Eric Larsen on his Surly Moonlander
Eric Larsen leading Antony Jinman on a North Pole expedition with ETE.

On Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 12:38 AM, Eric Larsen wrote: 

Hi Brian -- I hope you are doing well. I was just doing a bit of googling and came across your video of Mongolia. I'm in the beginning stages of looking into a trip there and I'm curious to learn more about your route, etc. Do you have a web site that shows your track? Thanks! Think Snow! Eric -- 

It's Cool To Be Cold www.ericlarsenexplore.com Adventure * Achieve * Inspire Eric Larsen Explore 3840 Broadway St. #27 Boulder, CO 80304 Phone: 218.370.9137 
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/EricLarsenExplore 
Twitter: @ELExplore www.ericlarsenexplore.com 
 Begin with one step...
On Sat, Feb 1, 2014 at 9:15 AM, Brian Perich wrote: 

Hi Eric, I have wondered about taking these courses for years. Now the years of the Fat bikes in Antarctica make me want to take steps closer, although reasonably, I realize I may never have funding available to do it. I would be eligible for your course in 2015, I am still in South Korea this year and will move back to Canada next January. I know there a lot at stake and on the take for sponsored polar travel, and I have not been successful gaining support with cycles, despite my biggest effort crossing Mongolia entirely unassisted in 2012. 

I watch Antony Jinman and supported ETE in faith from the beginning, the same with Robert Hill at IDEAS Foundation of Canada, now both are professionals either semi-retired like Rob, or developing like Antony. And I watch you, and I see myself in Korean EFL classrooms and know I am in the wrong place. I budgeted XXXXX from savings to complete three treks on bicycles, western China from Urumqi, across the Tian Shan mountains and Taklamakan on the Tarim route to southern Silkroad to Yecheng into the Aksai Chin mountains and back to Kashgar for a flight to Chengdu and back across Sichuan and Yunnan Himalayas in 2011. I lost 23kg training and completing, 1/2 while in China for 60 days. 

In 2012, I trained again for 10 weeks (gym no bike) and setoff on 2500km and 40,000meters of Outer Mongolia, daily peaks 18-20% grade, no switchbacks, 2300km was offroad, 1 year of medical assisted recovery. And I took an easy 3400km 30 day trek on pavement from Grand Rapids, MI to Banff National Park in 2013. I want to do more with exploring, I know what it takes (having done it without the sponsors cash-equipment) and while supporting Rob and Antony's non-profit foundations. 

Thanks for listening, Brian -- 

Brian Perich Adventure Cyclist, Explorer, Father, University Lecturer 
Ambassador at IDEAS, Intestinal Disease Education & Awareness Society, Canada 
Korean-World Micro Blog 
A2A Expedition project 
Facebook groups, 1, 2, 3 
Facebook profile 
Twitter: Cycleagain 
Media Sample 1 Media Sample 2

No comments:

Please share the free inspiration and adventure cookbook with all your friends and families (:

Ted Simon Foundation

About the Korean-World Author

Brian Perich was an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lecturer for a decade, father, and adventure cyclist based in South Korea.

Previously, Brian has led Canoe adventures in Quetico Provincial Park, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada (1993/1999); led Grand American camping adventures (2000); lived at Paramahansa Yogananda's SRF Ashram for 5 months (see the film "AWAKE"), formerly worked in titanium welding at Agilent Technologies, formerly worked in Winery industry in Marin County with Kendall Jackson in California; Surfing and Meditation continued for several years in California, British Columbia, South Korea, Yoga training in California 1999-2000.

Between 1994-1998 - Brian completed his own adventures with motorcycles. His motorcycling marathons took him across the United States and central/western Canada, while traveling solo over an astounding 24,000km in 60 days! Brian endured 900 mile/1300km average days in the motorcycle saddle and apparently loved every minute of those adventures.

Today, he has given up motorcycle adventures altogether, but finds an outlet for his enthusiasm in outdoor recreation while bicycle touring and micro-blogging about those experiences on his mountain bikes.

While employed as an English teacher in South Korea, Brian has became an advocate for bicycle touring on his mountain bikes. The Korean-World blog originated from those small adventures in Korea, now expanded to cover his recent trek down the TransMongolian highway to the Gobi Desert, cycling 900km east through the Khentii grasslands and in 2012 crossing Mongolia in 45 days, 2500 kilometers 1553 miles. HimalayasX expedition Brian previously cycled across western China, the Taklamakan Desert, the northern Himalayas of East Turkestan Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, the corrugated back roads and mountains of Kham Tibet. Brian successfully completed his 2011 mountain bike expedition with 3200 kilometers / 1988 miles unsupported, on/off road MTB adventure cycling.
Brian has completed his second mountain bike journey, MongoliaX expedition - Crossing Mongolia 2012, an unsupported mountain bike MTB expedition across 2500km of Outer Mongolia from Ulanbaatar to Altai Taven-Bogd National Park bordering China, Russia and Mongolia.


In 2013, as a sequel to a trilogy of cycle tours, Brian enjoyed a more leisure bicycle tour onboard his Koga-Miyata World Traveller seeing the northern tier of the United States and western Canada covering 3400 kilometers / 2000 miles in 30 days. This North American cycle tour was called Totherocktour. Enjoying the adventure of bicycle travel and every great conversation started while traveling on the road - has refueled his inspirations to cycle around the Earth. In 2013, while he cycled solo from the Great Lake State of Michigan, United States to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. He weaved through local communities and reconnected with friends, family and community after spending almost a decade in Asia.


Brian is now supporting several non-profit foundations through expeditions: IDEAS Foundation of Canada IDEAS is the acronym for Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society which supports the IBD community, those suffering from IBD-inflammatory bowel disease, also known as Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis.


The second non-profit foundation is ETE.ORG - Education Through Expeditions, UK which supports educational outreach programs inside schools around the world. ETE connects explorers with students in the classroom, through an interactive online program in development (Beta).


Brian is researching support for a 18000 kilometer bicycle expedition across the Americas: North, Central and South America - ONE -Arctic to Argentina
Please contact him if you are interested in helping out.

Twitter: Cycleagain
Location: Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea or southern Ontario, Canada.

Thanks for visiting my Journal from Asia

I hope you enjoy the updates!

This site is best viewed in Google Chrome

Brian's friends have also been...Cycling in Korea!

Brian's friends have also been...Cycling in Korea!

Cycling in Korea, Warning: always wear a helmet! (I gave mine to my friend)

Cycling in Korea, Warning: always wear a helmet! (I gave mine to my friend)

Popular Posts

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...