Robert Fletcher- you of course know about me from previous posts. There are five team members: Wayne, Yiota, Kim, Johanna, and Kyle. Three have provided a brief summary below.

Wayne Grover- co-rider

Wayne Grover is a long-standing friend of mine, through the Edmonton Bicycle and Touring Club, having completed rides from Anchorage to Mexico City (2015) and Quebec City to New Orleans (2016) and a series of shorter (~1000km) rides together. Wayne has also completed rides from Paris to Istanbul, Haida Gwaii to Newfoundland, and most recently across the southern USA in Fall 2021. In his 30s he was an Ironman triathlete and ultra-distance XC skier, kayaker, and marathoner. Now a retired Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, his professional life encompassed time with the military, with Bell North Research as a Research Engineer, then as founding VP Research for TRLabs, and as a full Professor (ECE) at the University of Alberta. He has over 150 peer-reviewed published articles, one book, and 38 patented inventions. Among other awards and recognitions he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Commonwealth Scholar to the UK, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, Life Fellow of the Alberta Association of Professional Engineers, Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and Professor Emeritus University of Alberta. He turns 69 on the first day of Bob’s Octogenarian Odyssey. He lives with his wife Jutta in Edmonton and their son Edward lives and works in Vancouver.

Johanna Pineda- cyclist, Spanish speaking and support.

Kim Voogagreed- photographer, drone operator, and support.
28 years young Kim is born and raised in the Netherlands, based in Denmark and living her best life when she is on the road.

After she received her bachelor degree in Art & Technology she went in a solo backpack trip for 8 months. On this trip she met her current partner and moved with him to Denmark. They quickly decided that they wanted to do a big trip together and started working hard to save up money. After 2 years of work they quit their jobs and left on a 2,5 year adventure around the world.

Twice over she spend 3 months roadtripping through New Zealand and just recently she finished her biggest adventure so far. In 2020 during the pandemic, Kim and her partner started driving the Pan American highway from North to South America. Starting in Seattle USA and finishing in Punta Arenas, southern Chile. For 1,5 years they have been living in a campertruck with their Mexican dog, traveling through various countries. Now she will be part of the team from Alaska to Canada, finishing her last part of the Pan American Highway.

‘’When I saw Roberts post on Facebook I knew we shared the same vision and I had to be part of his team. Breaking a world record will be an amazing challenge and he will set a great example. But the part that I love the most is to inspire and motivate others to never stop living and to live freely. Which doesn’t mean you need travel or do something extraordinary, it means to have mental freedom. Mental freedom from wanting and freedom from materialism.’’

Kim never backs down from any challenge and is very solution orientated; ‘’There is always a solution, for everything. It might not always be pretty or might take longer, but I will find a solution.’’ Some of her favorite things to do are hiking, campingtrips, creating memories, do photography and inspire others.