74-Year-Old Plans Solar Powered Walk Across Country
Walking cross-country with the help of solar.
In the next few years, we'll see solar-powered rowboats, sailboats, huge electric motor boats and solar planes traversing oceans and even the entire globe. But all that is too fancy for Bruce Maynard, a Bellingham, Washington man who is finalizing plans to walk across the United States with nothing but a homemade solar-powered stroller.
Bruce is not some Western Washington University student looking for a summertime adventure. He's a 74-year-old with a penchant for walking, and walking far. Sam, the name he gave his solar-powered stroller, will be his only company. Sam was born a simple jogging stroller but Bruce jazzed him up with a solar panel and battery pack, as well as a tent big enough to cover both travelers, supplies, food and water. The solar panels will power Bruce's computer and phone so that he can keep in touch on the journey, as well as communicate with clients of his packaging supply firm, Spectrum Ascona, back in Bellingham.
Think Bruce is too old for the journey? Bah. "I have good health," said Maynard. "I have the ability to do things. By God, I should be doing things."
The panels and batteries will also help Bruce get up hills along the way. The stroller coasts just fine on level ground, but needs some extra muscle to get up and over the hills and mountains that Bruce and Sam will have to ascend on the trip.
Maynard decided to make the trip last June and has been planning ever since. He is carefully diagramming his route to include roads with wide shoulders and relatively frequent towns. He intends to travel an average of 30 miles per day.
Barring any knee problems, Bruce will embark in June on his six-month quest that will end in Key West, Florida. He has spent much of his life traveling the country, including a solid 25 years living on the East Coast, but realized that he'd never done it slow enough to really enjoy the scenery.
Story and Photo Source: The Bellingham Herald
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