Bike ride raises cash for autism

Adam Biel bought his first bike in June. Before then, the farthest he’d ever ridden a bike was 24 miles. That was in 11th grade.

On June 26, the 23-year-old set out to break that personal record and, perhaps, a world record as well. That day, Biel embarked on a 25,000-mile bike ride from Alaska to Argentina in the hopes of raising a million dollars and awareness for autism.

Biel said he averages about 75 miles a day, and he’s leaving Chapel Hill, where he’s taken a break since December, early Monday morning for Greensboro.

Biel, who graduated from UNC in May, has attached a name to his campaign, calling it the Adventure for Autism. He is sending the money he raises to charities L’Arche in Canada and the Pathfinders for Autism based in Maryland.

“It’s disheartening to see how widespread it’s become, but it’s been awesome to see people case by case,” Biel said. “People with autism aren’t just numbers or statistics.”

In nearly every town he visits, Biel stops to talk to students of all ages about autism and his bike ride. He asks everyone he meets for donations, and has a sign on his bike to help promote his cause. When he makes it to Mexico, he’ll switch it to Spanish. He said he’s not sure how much he’s raised so far.

“I cycle the same way the mailman operates — regardless of the weather,” he said.

He started planning his cycling journey in January 2008. Biel said he had known he didn’t want to immediately begin a job upon graduating in 2009. Instead, he wanted to use the time to make a difference and inspire others.

At first, he didn’t have a plan. Then he visited Belize.

He was passing an interesting sign on the road, and though he has yet to understand what the sign was advertising, he knew it mentioned something about a Trans-American Trail.

The idea of taking a Trans-American journey never left his thoughts. Initially, he thought he wanted to hike through two continents, but then discovered that such a trip would take seven years. So he settled for a two-and-a-half-year bike ride instead.

One of his friends has a younger sister with autism and suggested he ride his bicycle to raise money for the cause.

Before creating Adventure for Autism, Biel didn’t know much about autism beyond what he learned from coaching an autistic boy at a baseball camp and working with another at a Mexican orphanage.

“I did my homework on what’s going on,” he said.

Throughout his trip, Biel has been making regular documentaries with photos and video, which he updates on his Web site and YouTube. A monthly feature shows him getting to know people with autism and their families first hand.

“The world of someone with autism is very overwhelming, but it’s also very simple,” he said. “They find the joy in little things that I sometimes miss out on.”

Once he arrives in Argentina, he won’t be quite finished. On the way back, Biel said he wants to break the world record for fastest bike ride on the Pan-American Highway, which stretches straight from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Biel said the current bicycle record is 128 days, and that he’s shooting for completing his trip in 100 to 116 days.

While Biel said he and his parents paid $10,000 to fund the trip, his cause has enlisted the help of strangers, as well.

“I’ve gone to Starbucks almost every day, and I haven’t paid for Starbucks ever,” said Biel, who has stayed in the homes of strangers he has met in churches along his ride.

 “When you do good in the world, the world conspires with you,” he said, quoting a favorite passage from the novel “The Alchemist.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.