{"id":241782,"date":"2025-10-26T17:29:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T17:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/241782\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T17:29:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T17:29:05","slug":"b-c-is-amazing-man-cycles-through-squamish-in-epic-journey-across-north-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/241782\/","title":{"rendered":"‘B.C. is amazing’: Man cycles through Squamish in epic journey across North America"},"content":{"rendered":"

A South Korean man is peddling his way across North America from British Columbia to Montreal, and the kindness of Canadians is helping him do it. <\/p>\n

Dressed in all black and a navy blue toque, Seongmin Ji might appear to be an average cyclist tackling the winding Sea to Sky Highway from Whistler to Vancouver. <\/p>\n

His bicycle, however, stands out. <\/p>\n

Using bungee cords, he\u2019s strapped license plates from Alaska, Utah, Guatemala, and B.C. to the sides and back of his bicycle. <\/p>\n

\u201cB.C license, that one I got it from local people in Smithers,\u201d Ji said. <\/p>\n

\"AA stranger he stayed with in Smithers, B.C., gave him this license plate to attach to his bike for the journey. (Alanna Kelly\/CBC)<\/p>\n

At 28 years old, he\u2019s cycled the entire west coast of South America, Central America, and North America. Now, he\u2019s hoping to cycle all the way to Montreal, more than 5,000 kilometres over two months. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s for fun and to know myself more, and see my limit and then inspire other people,\u201d Ji said. <\/p>\n

Ji started his route in Ushuaia, Argentina, and cycled to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and then hitchhiked to Kitwanga, B.C., which is just north of Terrace, along Highway 16. From there, he cycled down to Squamish and plans to head to Washington next. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t train at all, I just bought my bike and started cycling,\u201d Ji said. <\/p>\n

\"ASeongmin Ji has visited 26 countries on his bicycle. (Seongmin Ji )<\/p>\n

When Ji arrived in Canada, he relied on the generosity of strangers who opened their homes. To facilitate that, Ji has been using Warm Showers<\/a>, a website that connects touring cyclists with locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey let me sleep on their couch or they give me a room and I can take a shower and I can do laundry,\u201d Ji saud. \u201cB.C. is amazing. Nice people, friendly, they talk to me first and beautiful nature and drinkable water.\u201d <\/p>\n

In Smithers, B.C., Rory Luxmoore hosted Ji, having connected through the website.<\/p>\n

Ji stayed with Luxmoore and his family for two nights, and left a lasting impresssion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need more people like [him],\u201d Luxmoore said. \u201cFor a young person he has so much maturity and so much passions.\u201d <\/p>\n

Luxmoore was also surprised by how quiet and humble Ji was, given his accomplishments.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\u201cAll the things he\u2019s done and how he\u2019s done it in such a peaceful and engaging way,\u201d Luxmoore said. \u201cHe just has a very nice way about him.\u201d <\/p>\n

While in Smithers, Ji joined group of local cyclists for one of their rides, which allowed him to be part of the community. <\/p>\n

\"threeA Smithers, B.C. resident who had Ji stay with him said he was humble and inspiring. (Seongmin Ji)<\/p>\n

Ji first heard about the Sea to Sky area while watching the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople from B.C. have been very welcoming and nice. I think here they love bicycles, especially mountain bikes,\u201d Ji said. <\/p>\n

Podcasts and peanut-butter sandwiches \u2014 every day, for 11 months \u2014 have been fuelling his journey.<\/p>\n

\"ASeongmin Ji, 28, cycles along the winding Sea to Sky Highway in Squamish beside transport trucks and vehicles on Oct. 17 2025. (Alanna Kelly\/CBC)<\/p>\n

When the climbs start to get challenging or his body starts aching, Ji reminds himself of all the people who have helped him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really appreciate it, and every time I cycle, I think about these people who helped me,\u201d Ji said. <\/p>\n

He’s also found strength from a new source of inspiration: Canadian hero, Terry Fox. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I go back to South Korea, I want to run the whole of South Korea for cancer charity,\u201d Ji said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A South Korean man is peddling his way across North America from British Columbia to Montreal, and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-241782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}