Les Antipodes: Rider Information


			Gwendal Castellan

			Gwendal is the instigator of this crazy dream to explore all the Americas on the saddle of a bicycle. A geographer by profession. He has worked for the last three years planning Radarsat imagery of the Earth traveling extensively training people around the world to use remote sensing information. As an experienced offshore sailor, international level windsurfing competitor and ski tourer and mountaineer Gwendal is happiest motivating others to learn and discover new landscapes. Gwendal has been on the entire expedition since Ushuaia, Argentina.



					Tania Lo

					Tania has been the financial officer for a growing landscape architecture firm in Vancouver. She is helping guide it through a doubling of personnel and streamlining its financial management needs. Tania is multilingual and has traveled to South East Asia, Central America, Europe and across North America to develop her knowledge of Cantonese, Spanish and French and their cultures. In the past she has worked as a lifeguard, personal trainer, and a personal finance consultant. Tania is passionate about helping people achieve their life goals. Tania will be a passenger for a section in the summer of 2004. She will manage communications and provide support to local educators, sponsors and media throughout the Expedition. Tania has been on the expedition for two weeks in the Seven Lakes district of Argentina and then continuously since La Paz, Bolivia.

					Armel Castellan

					Armel Castellan, obviously related to the founder of this loco idea called antipodes-expeditions, is now just as loco as his hermano as he´s joined up the cycling as of Quito, Ecuador. Armel in his other lives has been a biometeorology technician with the Fluxnet Canada chapter at UBC after completing an atmospheric science B.Sc. More recently he´s raft guided the spectacular rivers of the Bulkley Valley in northern British Columbia. Armel has been with the expedition from Quito, Ecuador to Vancouver BC. He is scheduled to also ride from Whitehorse to Inuvik.



					McCardle brothers: Adrian and Greg

					The McCardle brother will be joining and are currently in the process of writing up their bio. They joined the expedition for two weeks in Ecuador.


					Damien McCombs

					Damien McCombs grew up in the outskirts of Harrison Hot Springs, which is a small tourist village in British Columbia, Canada. My family lives on a mountain side in a log house near Harrison Lake. I love to spend time hiking and exploring. It was really neat growing up in an isolated area but as I grew older I wanted to hang out with my friends, and since I had no convenient way to get there, I began riding my bike into town. There are many reasons that I want to go on a trip like this. Here a few reasons: I have been involved in youth education (www.checkyourhead.org) for the past five years and I am really excited because The Antipodes Expedition is a great way to make learning interesting and exciting! For some time now, I have been dreaming of going to Argentina and having adventures. I love adventures so how could I pass this up? 'Dreams' are great; 'dreams come true' are better! "A bad day in the bush is always better than a good day in the office." Damien has been with the expedition from Ushuaia, Argentina to Montevideo, Uruguay


			Ryan Parton

			Ryan joined the expedition in Ushuaia and stayed with us all the way to Montevideo in Uruguay. He then Did another section from Iguazu to Asuncion in Paraguay. A graduate in Journalism from Paraguay he cronicled his adventure in his Atravesando Fronteras http://rgparton.tripod.com/af.html Born in Selkirk, Manitoba in 1977, Ryan made his first trip overseas in 1996, spending six weeks backpacking through Europe. Ever since his return, he's been plagued by the travel bug. This latest adventure has not left him unaffected. He is crafti an idea to form a non-profit organization called "Two Wheels, One World" which would raise money and awareness for humanitarian causes through bike touring. His first project under the new organization, currently awaiting official charity status in Canada, will be an ambitious five-month tour of sub-Saharan Africa to raise money for the United Nations International AIDS Comittee. He is now based in Victoria BC, writing and planning his next adventure...


			Brahm Dorst

			Brahm graduated from UBC in philosophy. He has worked for many years with the Disabled Sailing Association. He also has an avid interest astronomy and its theoretical quantum physics. He has travelled extensively recently through Oceania and Asia. For two years in Taiwan he was teaching english and learning mandarin. He took time off from saving for law school to join the expedition. Brahm has been on the expedition from Phoenix, Arizona to Vancouver.


			Maiwenn Castellan

			Maiwenn Castellan, obviously related to the other brothers above. She is studying Industrial Design at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. She took time off from saving for school to join the expedition for the last strech through Washington State. Maiwenn has been on the expedition from Spokane, Washington to Vancouver.


			Mael Castellan

			Mael is the last of the Castellan siblings to be roped into cycling in the expedition. He just spent a year on a university exchange at Banos in the Phillippines. While away, a typhoon hit the northern islands and he felt compelled to act. Soon he was using his weekends not to study but to volunteer with disaster relief. Mael is been on the expedition from Vancouver to Inuvik.


			Marcel Gijssen, Maria Josenhans and Dominic Albert

			I met Marcel and Maria in the middle of the Argentine, Patagonian pampas somewhere between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt in February 2004. They had an entourage of 3 german cycletourists. I was so impressed to meet such a large and happy group of cyclists after battling the winds for weeks. We exchanged stories and tips for one half hour and that was it. One year later having both taken different paths on our bicycles and by complete chance we found ourselves at 6am at a gas station on the outskirts of Tuxla Gutierrez in Mexico with their friend Dominic. It did not take long to figure out that we were going the same way. We then shared the road for three weeks to Mexico city as a "supergroup" of 6 cyclists. Dominic later joined us for the last 35km into Vancouver and Marcel and Maria will join us for the ride from Prince Rupert to Inuvik.