Radu Păltineanu

Radu Păltineanu (born January 23, 1989) is a Romanian-Canadian adventurer and explorer. From 2015 to 2018, he cycled 34,554 kilometres (21,470 mi) alone from Alaska to Patagonia through all continental countries of the Americas, a journey for which he was named European Adventurer of the Year.
In May 2020, together with Romanian adventurer Irina Repede, he began walking, kayaking and cycling across the New Zealand's three main islands, an adventure he successfully concluded in January 2021.
Radu says the best motivation that keeps him going for so long is the adrenaline of the unknown.
==Biography==
Radu was born in Iași, Romania but grew up in Piatra Neamț. He spent most of his childhood outdoors climbing trees, cycling and hiking, thus stepping outside his comfort zone from a young age.
In 2004, he emigrated with his family to Montreal, Canada where he went on to study Software Engineering at McGill University.
At 26 years old, shortly after graduating from McGill University, Radu felt the call of the wild. He sold all his belongings and embarked on an epic cycling adventure across North and South America, eventually becoming the first Romanian to successfully cycle across both continents.
In late 2018, shortly after he completed his epic journey across the Americas, Radu met his current partner, fomer professional tennis player Irina Repede with whom over the course of the next few years, he went on to traverse New Zealand and then Australia, walking, kayaking and cycling.
==Expeditions==
===Cycle The Americas (2015 - 2018)===
In August 2015, Radu launched his first big expedition: a three year long solo traverse of the Americas on a bicycle. He started cycling on August 5, 2015 from Deadhorse, Alaska and finished on October 23, 2018 in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Radu entered all 22 continental countries of the Americas and cycled a total of 34,554 kilometres.
After making it across the Rocky Mountains through the winter of 2015 in North America, entering South America required sharing a boat with drugs traffickers over the Darien Gap, one of the world’s most dangerous jungles, while Venezuela led to Radu Păltineanu experiencing first-hand both the beauty of that country and its economic hardship. 
Throughout his journey Radu had a few close calls with death. In Panama City he was robbed at knifepoint, in French Guyana three kids assaulted him with a gun and in Bolivia he was caught at 6.000 m of altitude in an extreme thundersnowstorm.
In Uruguay, he spent time with “the world's humblest head of state”, ex-president José Mujica renowned for his austere lifestyle.
Now and then, Păltineanu left his bike to scale mountains. He has climbed the Orizaba peak in Mexico and the Cayambe, Illiniza North, Carihuairazo and Chimborazo peaks in Ecuador.
Radu's expedition across the Americas was ranked among the top 10 expeditions of the year 2018 by Explorers Web which led to his nomination as European Adventurer of the year 2018.
===Walking, Kayaking and Cycling New Zealand (2020 - 2021)===
Along with the Romanian explorer Irina Repede, Radu set out in May 2021 to cross the three main islands of New Zealand. They first tackled the North Island of New Zealand walking and canoeing the Te Araroa trail from Cape Reinga to Wellington, covering a little more than 1.700 kilometres on foot and paddling.
They then cycled 1.500 kilometres from Picton to Bluff, mostly following the West Coast of the South Island.
Last, they spent 8 days covering on foot 102 kilometres of remote trails across the north west part of the Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island.
==Hazards and Difficult Moments on His Expeditions==
During his adventures, Radu has encountered many difficult moments and hazards:
* In the Alaskan tundra he had a one-on-one encounter with a Grizzly bear.
* In Provo, Utah, he was threatened with a gun by the local police.
* South of Mexico City his phone was stolen by a motorcyle driver.
* In Panama City he was robbed at knifepoint and spent the night on the floor of the local police station.
* He crossed the Darien Gap with local narco traffickers.
* In Calabozo, Venezuela thiefs came during the night looking for him in the hotel he was staying. They could't locate the room he was sleeping in and robbed the reception instead. The next morning he was escorted out of town by the Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela.
* In French Guiana three kids assaulted him with a gun.
* In Bolivia he was caught at 6.000 m of altitude in an extreme thundersnowstorm.
* As he was descending Mount Cook, the highest point on Magnetic Island in Queensland, he was stung by the giant australian nettle, the gympie-gympie.
* As he was climbing Mount Bowen on Hinchinbrook Island in Queensland, he had a close encounter with an eastern brown snake, one of the most venomous snakes in Australia.
==Future Plans==
===10 Islands Expedition (2023 - 2026)===
Between 2023 and 2026 together with Romanian explorer Irina Repede, Radu plans to cross ten of the largest islands in the world in a bid to explore and document the world's last remaining wilderness. Each of the 10 islands chosen will be traversed using non-motorized means in a north to south or east to west direction. The 10 islands are Tasmania, New Guinea, Borneo, Terre Grande, Madagascar, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Vancouver Island, Iceland, Greenland and Baffin Island. 
The toal distance covered on foot, kayaking and skiing across the 10 islands will be around 10,000 kilometres.
===Documentary Film===
Romanian filmmaker Andrei Dăscălescu is currently working on a documentary about Radu's solo bike journey across the Americas, exploring his motivations, philosophy and spirit of adventure.
==Awards==
* European Adventurer of the Year 2018.
Category:1989 births
Category:People from Iaşi
Category:Romanian Canadian
Category:McGill University alumni
Category:Explorers
Category:Motivational speakers