If Levi Ammundsen was still in school, he'd have one heck of a "What I did on my summer vacation" paper to hand in.
On Sunday morning, the 20 year old set off on a four-and-a-half month solo adventure that will cover 11,000 kilometres on his own steam.
Ammundsen is riding his bicycle across North America, and not only fulfilling a dream of crossing the country, but also attempting to raise awareness and money for a cause.
The cyclist was inspired by A Walk Across America, the 1979 book chronicling author Peter Jenkins's journey across the United States.
"I've always wanted to do something like that," said Ammundsen, who plans to cover 100 kilometres per day, six days per week. "I was poking around in the spring, thinking 'what am I going to do with my summers?' This summer, I'm actually going to do it."
Ammundsen's journey will take him from his Chief Lake Road-area home south to Washington state, east across the U.S. to Boston, north across the border to Montreal and back west across Canada.
Once he made the decision to make the trip, Ammundsen began looking for a cause to support with his ride. He found it through a friend's schoolwork about North Korea.
"It looked like something interesting, so I started looking into it. It's a serious situation that I think needs more attention," he said.
Ammundsen is collecting donations for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a non-profit organization that raises awareness about the human right and humanitarian crisis in North Korea.
"Money I raise is going directly to help refugees who have crossed the border into the China region to reach safe havens in south east Asia. Any refugees who flee North Korea right now, if they're caught by the Chinese government they're called economic migrants and deported back to North Korea where they face torture, execution for defecting from the country," Ammundsen explained. He also noted that one way to look at it is that there are 15 to 20 North Koreans in prison camps for every kilometre he covers.
With the support of his family and friends behind him and saddlebags filled with food, water, clothes, camping gear and bike parts, Ammundsen said he's sure he can handle the trip - which will keep him from home until September.
Along the way, he'll stop to visit friends and family and said he's particularly looking forward to riding the Iron Horse Trail in Washington.
Ammundsen will be posting updates to Twitter everyday and blogging about his trip at least once per week. To follow his progress or to make a contribution to LiNK, visit freedomisalongroad.blogspot.ca or follow him on Twitter (@LAmmundsen).
