A bicyclist on the ride of a lifetime made a stopover in West Seattle this week. Glen Boyd shares the story of playing host to Juan Tuñon Martinez – photographed Monday morning in Glen’s Admiral District backyard – who is from Spain and currently bicycling to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, on a journey that began at the southern tip of Argentina in November 2009. Glen says, “He has many stories, including being woken up at 3 AM on the beach during the Chilean earthquake just in time to run to higher ground before his bike and all his gear got swept out to sea.” Juan’s story can be followed on his website, panamerikana.org (if you don’t read Spanish, we recommend Google Translator), where he explains that he lost his job in 2009 and started planning this journey. So how did Juan wind up staying at Glen’s house? we asked. Glen says a friend of his met Juan at a Northern California campground last month and called to ask if they could host him during his Seattle stop: “Of course! was our reply, because we were treated with great generosity on our own international long-distance travel experiences and wanted to give back.” According to Glen, Juan is hoping to bike home via Asia after he makes it to Alaska, but is looking for a bicycle company or group to sponsor him. (P.S. For bicyclists wondering about his gear – we found this.)
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