For husband and wife Ben Weber, 33, and Natalia Ameida, 29, a normal day is bicycling from morning to night. Weber, originally from Scotland, and Ameida, from Brazil, are currently completing the Cetaphil Arctic Canada expedition.
The two started the south to north Canadian journey in Emerson, Manitoba, and are making their way to the second-most northern settlement in Canada – Resolute Bay, Nunavut. So far they’ve been cycling, and will switch to skis once they leave Gilliam.
Weber said after one year of marriage the two were living a comfortable life in Brazil, but it lacked a little excitement. “Three-and-a-bit years ago we were both in our jobs, with a comfortable life, not good or bad, but Sao Paulo is a complicated city, around 18 million people, so it’s commuting to work a couple of hours there and back. There is no outdoor life, and something was kind of missing for us.”
Weber, who worked as a consultant for people investing in Brazil, and Ameida, a television video editor, decided to pursue their interest in geography through a pole-to-pole expedition from south to north, but would need some training beforehand.
“Cycling is easy actually but you need to get the body shape, then your body gets used to it very fast. The first thing we actually started with was going to a nutritionist, then we started rock climbing, and weightlifting,” Ameida says.
They decided they would do training expeditions, too. One was crossing the United Kingdom on bicycle. “We decided to do that in winter, because people do cycle from one side to the other, but we wanted to add on the extra challenge, to get us out of the comfort zone. With the polar environments here [Thompson], we knew we were going to be well out of our comfort zones.”
After the 1,500-kilometre cycle across the U.K., the next stop was mountaineering in Bolivia. The mountains were around 21,000 feet high, and something they had never done before. To switch it up, and to train in hotter conditions, Weber and Ameida cycled across South America in October. Temperatures got higher than 40 Celsius, and the route was 3,600 kilometres.
“These were completely out of our comfort zone, to give us challenges, which would be demanding of us, so we could get used to reacting to different situations,” said Weber.
The current journey through Canada is being funded through Cetaphil, a line of skin care products from Galderma Laboratories. The company is also providing creams and ointments for the couple to treat their exposed skin with while going through the north.
Weber and Ameida arrived in Thompson Jan. 7, and were offered a warm bed to sleep in by Tim and Jean Cameron, who also host Home Route concerts in town. “We actually met them on the road when we were getting out of Moosehorn. They were travelling up to Thompson,” says Ameida. The Camerons got to Thompson five hours later and didn’t see Weber and Ameida for 10 days.
On Jan. 9, the cyclists headed back to Winnipeg to sort out their skis and then will head north, Weber explains. “The original plan was to cycle over to Gilliam, but we have to get to Resolute by the end of May, because the sea ice starts breaking up in June. So once we get to Resolute, we will come back to Thompson, and then just complete that part from Thompson to Gilliam once we finish.”
The two agree this Arctic Canadian project has been their hardest training project. “In South America we were able to cycle daily at best 215 kilometres, and it was hilly. Even in the U.K. we usually did 100 kilometres, and here at best it’s 80 kilometres a day, on average though around 50 kilometrs a day,” said Weber.
Their favourite part of this trip has been the people. “We were cycling close to Ashern and a guy stopped us on the road named Glen. He told us it’s Christmas Eve, so to go to his bakery and they bought us sandwiches. We went there and talked and ate. They had friends in Moosehorn, so we stayed with Mike and Diane for Christmas,” said Ameida. Adding that even people waving at them help keep them going. “Some days it’s tough to be out there, and when we are cycling it’s pretty lonely because we don’t cycle together, and we don’t talk. People stop and bring us soup, or hot chocolate, it gives us the little energy boost we need.” Weber agreed, saying it’s humbling to have met so many kind people.
Once the explorers are finished this Arctic training, they will continue preparations for the big expedition. No date has been set for the ultimate adventure just yet. They will be looking for a sponsor since these expeditions are costly. “We’ll try to get more sponsorship for the full journey because North Pole, South Pole expeditions cost a hideous amount of money,” said Weber. “It’s at least $300,000 each. The whole journey itself will be expensive.”
This project has become their life, Weber said. They sold their house in Brazil to fund these training exercises; they quit their jobs, and drained their personal bank accounts. But for them, life is about adventure, and doing it beside someone you love makes for an even better story.
To follow their journey, find them at 360 Extremes Expedition on Facebook and Instagram and their website www.360extremes.com.
