Last month Andreas Johansson, a Swedish cyclist with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) began a nearly 6000-mile cross-country journey on an ElliptiGo 8C elliptical bike that will take him from New York City to Seattle and then down to his finishing point in San Diego, CA.
Johansson, who hopes to finish this ride by August 31, has previously undertaken several long bicycle tours, riding across Europe and the US multiple times, but this is his first trek on an ElliptiGo and his biggest challenge so far. Riding the ElliptiGo takes about 30% more leg effort than riding a traditional bike, according to representatives for the eponymous company, which is based in Solano Beach, CA.
Johansson hopes to raise at least $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which works to create athletic opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities. Read more at http://cmtchallenge.com/.
The seatless ElliptiGo device was designed for cross-training and for injured runners to emulate outdoor running without the associated impact.
We had the pleasure of meeting Andreas in April after I invited him to Albany to meet with our Upstate NY CMT group. He was hoping to meet others with Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuromuscular disorder and we were delighted to meet him.
On his journey across the country, Andreas is raising awareness of CMT and money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation® (CAF).
I encourage all to reach out to Andreas to see if he may be coming through your area and read more about his journey on his CMT Challenge blog.http://cmtchallenge.com/
When he finishes in San Diego, Andreas’s nearly 6,000 mile journey will be the longest ever completed on an ElliptiGO.