AROUND THE WORLD ON OXYGEN

I am a retired historian, writer and photographer who is oxygen-dependent, a problem caused by blood clots in my lungs. Every day I use supplementary oxygen, mainly for physical tasks such as walking and exercising. Portable oxygen allows me to live an active, independent life.

In the summer of 2004, I used a company's portable liquid oxygen system during this coast-to-coast bicycle ride across America. While my wife, Ardath, drove our support vehicle I rode a bicycle from San Francisco's Lincoln Park to New York City's Times Square. During the tour we bisected America's heartland along the Lincoln Highway, the nation's first transcontinental automobile route. Upon performing the traditional cross-country ceremonies –– dipping the front bike tire into the Atlantic Ocean and pouring Pacific water into the Atlantic –– I became the first oxygen-dependent person to pedal a bicycle across America. 

The purposes of the Freedom Tour were several. The main purpose was to bring COPD to the attention of the public and to encourage oxygen-dependent people to strive for mobility and thereby achieve more fulfilling lives. A continuing bicycle tour has the potential to educate people regarding respiratory problems and that SeQual is a potential solution. It is our hope that the tour might also affect healthcare perceptions among members of Congress who will determine the future of the U.S. Medicare program and, thus, the market for oxygen products.

In the summer of 2006, Ardath and I continued our transcontinental odyssey. I bicycled from Times Square to Cape Spear, Newfoundland –– the furthest point east on the North American continent. Last summer we followed U.S. Highway 101 along the northwest coastline from San Francisco to Vancouver, British Columbia. The total distance traveled in the bicycle tour so far is approximately 6,500 miles –– more than one-quarter of the circumference of the planet.

On July 24, 2008 I am continuing my ride around the world with the Eclipse 2 with AutoSAT Technology, Personal Ambulatory Oxygen System by SeQual Technologies Inc. The ride starts in San Francisco to San Diego, CA.  Thus, we will have taken the oxygen tour from coast-to-coast and border-to-border. Already the bicycle tour has made history. No one has done what my wife and I have done with the support of corporate businesses. Now we have before us a wonderful opportunity to accomplish an impressive, around-the-world, oxygen-powered, bicycle tour. We stand ready to represent SeQual Technologies in this venturesome and far-ranging opportunity.