One of the major challenges the expedition faced in crossing the Pacific Ocean by pedal power was a 350 mile belt of water just north of the equator known in lay terms as 'the doldrums'. As with the early sailors finding themselves floating helpless for weeks or even months in this area of relative calm, Jason and Steve likewise envisioned themselves spending weeks 'going nowhere' pedaling against a modest but persistent 1.5 knot counter-current.

For this reason an overland route by bike, kayak and hiking through Central and South American to Peru was chosen from where pedal boat Moksha could be launched to use the southern hemisphere currents and winds to pedal to the Marquesas and onto Australia.

Map courtesy of Map Resources

The plan was thwarted however by the effects of the 1997 El Nino that swept out large sections of the Pan American Highway and reversed the anti-clockwise flow of the ocean currents in the Southeast Pacific region. After 7-months biking and kayaking through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the expedition abandoned its southerly path in Tegulcigalpa, Honduras and returned to San Francisco to attempt the less-favoured option of crossing the Pacific via the equator.

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