Riding for research: Cyclist Ian Andersen follows 17,500 mile path
Ian Andersen, who is riding 17,500 miles from Alaska to Argentina, in Redondo Beach’s Czuleger Park. Photo Three years and two months ago, Ian Andersen was studying abroad in Spain when he received dire news. His longtime friend, Natalie Fung, had been injured in a car crash in Las Vegas, struck by a drunk driver. “She was in a taxi, stopped at an intersection, and a drunk driver in an SUV hit their car,” he said. Fung woke up the next morning with the news that her spine had been injured, she had been paralyzed from the chest down, and she wouldn’t be able to walk again. “It was an unpreventable, tragic scenario…she was doing everything right,” Andersen said. Today, 23 year old Andersen is undertaking a 17,500 mile bike ride, stretching across two continents, with the aim of helping raise funds and awareness for spinal cord injuries. With luck, he hopes to raise $20,000 — little more than one dollar per mile — for the United Spinal Association “I’m only a casual cyclist, but I plan to prove that with a little willpower and a good cause, any normal healthy person can do what I’m doing,” Andersen said. In August, Andersen set out on his journey, starting in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Two…
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