J.J. Hilsinger rides again.

• Author: Louiseize, Kelly
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: SAULT STE. MARIE

Remember when bike passengers were toted around on the handlebars? It doesn't happen often in Canada, but elsewhere in this world it is a common sight.

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Well, Jim Hilsinger wants to take as many people on his 108 day cycling journey as he possibly can in support of reducing carbon emissions.

It takes a certain kind of person to leave the comforts of home and brave the high winds, frigid temperatures and the aching body that will accompany him on his 11,000 kilometre cycling journey from Istanbul, Turkey to Beijing, China.

Call him a bit eccentric. Call him downright nuts. Regardless, Hilsinger, owner of Algoma's Water Tower Inn is riding out of passion for the sport and for the environment.

The trek will take him through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China; though deserts, mountain ranges and natural geological depressions--all in the name of global warming.

The challenge is to obtain enough pledges to save a total of 11,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions; one tonne for every kilometres traveled.

It starts with one's own positive carbon footprint that prompts others to consider their own contribution, he says.

The route he has chosen is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it is downright grueling, pulling himself up the Pamir Mountains, pacing his cadence through the Gobi Desert and catching a reprieve on the downhills.

But he does it for the accomplishment at the end of the ride, the camaraderie shared amongst the fellow cyclists who see one another through the pain and pleasure and for his "green" contribution.

This is not a new mantra for Hilsinger. He has always been conscious of the environment impacts.

He has gone to great lengths to reduce energy by installing new lighting systems at the hotel, and uses salts instead of chlorine in the indoor pool and outdoor whirlpool.

When society deemed smoking acceptable, Hilsinger was one of the few boycotting drugstores that sold cigarettes. In the lobby of his hotel stood a cigarette vending machine with a sign reading revenue from the machine goes toward the Canadian Cancer Society.

He was the one who bought acres of land around Trout Lake to limit the amount the development. Instead of no trespassing signs the...