Vallecito man bikes from Alaska to Argentina

Some people dream about having an epic adventure. Some people do it.

For David Yost, known solely as Goat, his dream of riding a mountain bike from Alaska to Argentina became a reality in July 2006 when he boarded a plane to Alaska to begin the journey.

Since then, Goat, 26, who was born and raised in Vallecito, has biked more than 12,000 miles on a journey that began in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and will end when he and his two college friends, Jacob Thompson, 26, and Sean Monterastelli, 24, reach Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America in 2010.

Courtesy photo/Ride the Spine

Goat came up with the dream of an off-road bicycle trip, inspired by the Great Divide, a 2,500-mile series of dirt trails along the Rocky Mountains from Montana to Mexico, while attending Bret Harte High School in Angels
Camp, but the plan never became a reality.

While at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Goat and Thompson, who met as dorm mates their freshman year, became close friends and lived out the remainder of their college time in a tree house they built 100 feet up in a redwood tree.

As the friendship developed, Goat shared his dream with Thompson. As they discussed the idea, it became an off-road bike tour along the Continental Divide, then grew to span the entire length of the Americas.

Monterastelli, who was part of Goat and Thompson’s community of friends, embraced the idea and decided to go along.

Since all three UC Santa Cruz graduates have been tree-dwellers at one time or another, sleeping under the stars and cooking on a camp stove was nothing new — it was a lifestyle choice, Goat said.

Living in a tree house saved them rent money, and each of the riders was able to save about $5,000 to fund the trip.

It also helps to be able to live on a budget of $7 to $10 a day, Goat said.

Adventure was the main reason for these three to embark on the journey, but there were other motivations as well.

For Thompson, who taught history at Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos, childhood obesity was a concern and, once the trip is complete, he would like to tour schools giving slide shows about active living, he said.

“Partially, it’s to remind people that cars aren’t absolutely necessary,” Goat said. “I’ve never driven a car. Never had a driver’s license.”

Since beginning the trip, the Santa Cruz alumni have biked through parts of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Mexico, Guatemala, Tajumulco Volcano, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Kuna-Yala and Colombia.

Not all of the trip has been riding.

“The hardest part is that you can’t always bike. You have to drag, carry or push the bike and the gear sometimes,” Goat said.

Sometimes you even have to paddle.

On a recent leg of their trip, the guys opted to disassemble their bikes and kayak from Panama to Colombia.

"It was really difficult with our packs loaded,” Goat said.

For 18 days they paddled five to six hours a day.

"We got really good at it,” he said.

Along the way, Goat saw the “cartoon islands.”

“There were two palm trees on the island. That’s it,” he laughed.

The enthusiasm he has for what he is doing comes through in his stories and in his voice.

“Exploring the world and getting to meet people on a human level, it’s like being an ambassador to America,” Goat said.

The adventure, however, hasn’t been free of hardships or danger.

Riding in Alaska near the Arctic Circle, Thompson was chased by a wolf and nearly caught.

Luckily, a truck driver, who could see Thompson was in real danger of being attacked, swerved and hit the wolf before it had a chance to catch him.

Montana greeted the riders with below freezing temperatures and snow that made biking extremely difficult, and Goat developed frostbite on his feet.

Scorching heat throughout Arizona made the trip extremely difficult for guest rider Nate Berner, of Murphys, who met the others at UC Santa Cruz and joined them for four months of the tour in 2007.

“Riding in Arizona was really technical, rugged riding,” Berner said of riding in box canyons with terrain that varied from slick rock to sand.

Inching his way out of the Verde River Valley, a four-hour climb with huge elevation gains, was difficult, he said.

“Your wheels would barely move,” he said.

Sweltering conditions didn’t take away from the beauty, Berner said.  

“It was really hot and dry, but all of the cactus’ were blooming. The colors were really alive,” he said.    

In the Copper Canyon in Mexico, the riders were surrounded by armed military guards at their campsite after setting up by a river next to a drug smuggling operation. All of the riders speak Spanish, but the moment remained tense until they could explain they were just gringos riding their bikes.

In Colombia, the trip has become more difficult than ever, according to Goat. 

“We are muddy and wet most of the time,” he said. “It’s kind of scary. It’s pretty cool, too. Pretty amazing.”

Knowing it would be the rainy season in Colombia, they were prepared to get wet, but nothing prepared them for the torrent of rains and landslides they have encountered, he said.

“One of the dirt roads was flowing like a river as we rode,” he said. “You don’t always stay up.”

They have had too many wrecks along the journey to keep track, and Goat is thankful that none were too bad.    

From Colombia, they plan to head south through the Andes Mountains to Ecuador, Peru and Chile before ending their journey in Argentina, Goat said.

He believes it will take another year and a half for them to complete their journey because of the topography of the Andes.

“Most of our roads go straight up or straight down,” he said.

Being on the road since 2006 has claimed more than a few bicycle parts, including brake pads, frames, drive trains and tires.

 It also claimed a personal relationship, according to Goat.

“It can’t work,” he said of the relationship he had with his girlfriend when he started the trip. “It’s the loss of connection thing.”

Losing touch with family has been a hardship for him, yet the experience of exploring and doing things no one else has done makes it all worth it, he said.

Goat said he has no specific plans for the future once the ride is over. 

At this point he isn’t even sure how they will get back to the United States.

"We most likely won’t have enough money to fly back,” he said.

Clearly he isn’t worried about such matters, since part of the point of taking a trip into unknown territory is the unknown part.

For anyone considering an adventure like Goat’s, he offers these words of wisdom.

“The hardest step is committing to do it and actually leaving,” Goat said. “Get the gear together and leave. You can’t plan too much.”