It’s an odd way to recover from a fourth knee surgery, but for Raimo Laosma it makes perfect sense.
Laosma, a 39-year-old bicycle salesman from Tallinn, Estonia, was in Quesnel last Thursday, 19,600 km into his year-long trek, finally on the last leg of his journey to Anchorage, Alaska.
The idea to cycle close to 23,000km to Alaska came to Laosma as he lay in bed convalescing from a third surgery on his left knee as he listened to the story of a Russian cyclist who had twice peddled around the world.
Laosma thought it might be something he would be interested in doing.
The decision to make Alaska his destination came following a television nature show.
“It’s so beautiful, it’s pure nature,” he said.
When the surgeon told him to stop playing soccer, after the fourth surgery on his left knee, Laosma decided to commit to the trip to Alaska.
Laosma’s been riding a bicycle for most of his life and has fond memories of his first bike, a green Lithuanian-made bicycle.
The fondest memory of his first bike is the way he earned the money to purchase the bike, collecting red berries which he then sold to people who added them to their apple wine.
The bicycle cost him 40 rubles. Not bad for a six-year-old.
Laosma left his city of Tallinn, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland, Sept. 20, 2010.
By November he was in Lisbon, Portugal where he boarded a flight bound for Boston, USA.
From Boston, Laosma cycled north to Montreal, Que. and then Toronto, Ont.
Prior to his departure, Laosma read up on average temperatures along his route and planned his schedule such that he would be heading to the southern USA well in advance of old-man winter.
Unfortunately, there was nothing average about this past winter.
“I hit eight winter storms,” he said.
“Nothing was average this winter.”
In addition to the winter storms, the colder temperatures made spending nights in a tent a little more difficult, waking up in his tent some mornings to temperatures as low as -15 celsius, which made early morning cycling a bit of a challenge.
“Riding in frozen socks and frozen shoes it’s not nice,” he said.
After cycling south and through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, Laosma hit the California coast and headed north to Vancouver.
Lasoma’s journey will not end in Alaska. After visiting Anchorage for a few days, he will hop a plane May 24 for Magadan in Siberia, Russia, to face an 11,000 km ride back home to Estonia.
The first 2,000 km, Laosma said, would cover terrain without paved roads or bridges, adding to the difficulty of the ride.
Judging from his experience in Scranton, Penn., the 2,000 km ride on gravel roads seems less daunting.
“I was hit by a snow plow,” Laosma said matter-of-factly.
“It hurt.”
Emergency responders wanted to bring him directly to the hospital, but Laosma was on a mission, he had a schedule to follow, so he just kept going.
“I know what pain is,” he said.
For two weeks following the accident, Laosma dulled the pain with pain killers, but even now, four months after the accident, he still feels pain, especially in his thumbs, particularly when the roads are not smooth.
Despite the trials and tribulations, Laosma sees the positives that have come out of his journey thus far, in particular the opportunities to share his love for Estonia.
“I proudly have an Estonian flag on my bike,” he said.
“People always ask me where the flag is from.”
The trek has also allowed Laosma to meet Estonians living in the USA and Canada, who he said, are happy to put him up for the night.
One of those families, is the McLean family in Quesnel. Katrin McLean is Estonian.
McLean received a call from Olev Rumm, president of the Vancouver Estonian Society, a person she had met while training for the 2010 Olympics.
Rumm asked McLean if she would provide Laosma with a place to spend the night.
“Bring him over,” McLean said was her initial response.
Eager for news about Estonia, the McLeans took Laosma out for one of his favourite meals, pasta, at Penisola’s.
Although his primary destination is Alaska, Laosma admitted to being impressed with the natural beauty of B.C.
“It’s like heaven.” he said with a big smile.
If you would like to follow Laosma on his journey visit www.fixusmustamae.ee/fujimees/en/.
