Why he rode: Continental cyclist A.J. Rowell returns home to Sylva after nearly 10,000 miles on the road

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

On June 1, 2007, A.J. Rowell left Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and began pedaling a bicycle across North America. Just before 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 19), the Jackson County native pulled into Sylva, seven months and nearly 10,000 miles later.

Pedaling my America: Jackson County native A.J. Rowell prepares for 10,000-mile summer cycling ride from Arctic Alaska to Cullowhee

By Michael Beadle

Before you ask the most obvious question – why? – remember, it’s not a race or a sudden urge to drop out of society so he doesn’t have to pay his bills.

Like the bumper sticker reminds us, “All who wander are not lost.”

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