Tomas Cortijo and his family want to break a Guinness world record. So last month they embarked on an adventure that will take them around the United States on an electric bicycle.
They will be traveling from their small town in Montana to Maine and then to Florida and hope to get most of it done before the cold winter months set in. It will be more than 6,200 miles when they reach the end of the road.
An electric bicycle, also known as an E-bike or a booster bike, is a pedal bicycle with an integrated electric motor which can be used for propulsion.
“It’s a green transportation to go long distance,” Cortijo told Fox News Latino days after pedaling more than 500 miles through Glacier National Park and the badlands of eastern Montana. “We want to inspire people that as a family you can accomplish things like this.”
Cortigo was first introduced to electric bicycles while living in his native Buenos Aires, Argentina and in southern California. He said they are great for busy city life.
“We love that we can avoid traffic and parking hassles while using a mode of transportation that contributes very little net pollution to the environment,” he said.
This bike trip will take Cortijo, his wife Dylan Drake and their two children, 4 and 2, from Montana east to the Great Lakes, north to Maine then south along the east coast until they reach Miami. Cortijo will do most of the pedaling, while Drake and the kids accompany him in a camper van.
“When the weather allows and if it’s not a busy road, I ride with my kids,” he said, adding they go about 50 or 60 miles a day. “We go slow because we space it out to do activities with the kids.”
Along the way, Drake, who is graphic designer, will also capture the adventure on film in the hope of eventually making a documentary to educate people about electric bicycles.
This is not the first family adventure they have undertaken. They just recently completed a year-long trip from Buenos Aires to Montana in a camper van.
“It was challenging at some parts … but really fun,” Cortijo said.
To learn more about the family or to follow their trip visit www.camperclan.com.
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