Rickshaw racers' adventure to India

Local adventurists take it to a whole new extreme

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Nicolas Campbell and Matt Acosta have taken road tripping to a new extreme. A Microsoft employee by day, Campbell’s life is much more than simply working on computers. He redefined the phrase “on a mission” when he signed his team up for a journey that poses incredible challenges. Campbell and his two friends, Acosta and Joy Bloser, will travel to Southeast Asia for an international rickshaw race that will benefit impoverished men and women of India.

The race is expected to last between two and three weeks. It will cover more than 3,100 miles through various terrain, including deserts, mountains and jungles.

The team’s motorized rickshaw, which they say is more than likely to break down at least once, must take them from Goa, India, to Nepal without any electronic navigation. Sixty other teams will plot separate courses from the southwestern border of India to the Himalayan Mountains.

It’s not the first time Campbell has tried to do something out of the ordinary. But it’s the first time he’s attempted to cross a sub-continent.

Years ago, when Acosta attended Western Washington University, the two friends — both of whom went to Harbor Heights Elementary School in Gig Harbor — set out to walk from Bellingham to Seattle — nearly 100 miles. It took them about four days. They mostly followed train tracks, like in the movie “Stand By Me,” before they reached their destination.

The upcoming venture, however, will signify the first organized race Campbell has ever competed in.

“I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of fun experiences,” Campbell said. “I’m trying to go in with an open mind.”

Acosta’s attitude is similar. He said he wants to immerse himself in a culture he knows nothing about, and he’s looking forward to the many pitfalls that await.

“I’ve run with bulls, been in car accidents, slept in the streets, been ditched and robbed, but it has led to exhilaration, natural springs in mango forests, goodwill ambassadors, magical places in the middle of nowhere, 10,000 feet above sea level and below it,” Acosta said. “The rickshaw breaking down is the smallest of my worries, and I’m excited about that. I find that there is no better way to get to know a culture and a people than to get lost.”

It comes by no surprise that Campbell and Acosta are good friends. Both value uncertainty, bizarreness and adventure in life.

“I want to be a participant,” Acosta said. “I want the experience to be raw; otherwise, it is unreal. This is why I am going to India with little knowledge of the roads, the vehicles I will be traveling in, or the culture I will attempt to absorb.”

The Rickshaw Run is one of five renowned adventure races conducted by Adventures for Development, a British organization that began its efforts when it hosted a race in Mongolia that spanned 10,000 miles.

Campell and his friends said the September race filled up in less than 15 seconds. Campbell said he woke up at 5 a.m. in order to register his team. He plans to arrive in Goa a week early to check for potential problems they might encounter with the rickshaw.

“I’ve made some good friends in India, and they will help teach me how to drive ahead of time,” Campbell said.

The race is expected raise more than $100,000 for two charities, the Frank Water Projects and the Maiti Nepal. The Frank Water Project funds implements community clean water across India. Maiti Nepal offers help, support, protection and rehabilitation for Nepali girls and women who are victims of various crimes, such as domestic violence and neglect.

As for the relationship between the racers, Campbell said the trip will be an extension of their friendship. They won’t necessarily compete to win. Rather, they said they’re looking forward to the experience and the charitable cause.

“I’m confident the race will go well between the three of us, since we’re good friends,” Campbell said. “I think we want to spread the goodwill and happiness to people in India.”

Aside from working on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Campbell’s appetite for adventure racing continues to grow. He said it’s the traveling to various countries and continents that keeps his life free.

“I’ve always been interested in computers,” he said. “But I’ve tried to look for other things in life for satisfaction. It’s the thing I do to augment my life when I’m not at work.”

Campbell’s desire for an adventure may have been inherited: His father was a scientist who worked in the arctic and Antarctica. His older brother has kayaked to Alaska.

“I guess you could say it’s a family thing, but I’ve definitely found my own enjoyment,” he said.

Their team, dubbed the Karma Payment Plan, is scheduled to begin the race Sept. 12 with an expected finish date on Sept. 25 in Pokhara, Nepal.

Campbell, who holds a degree in computer science from the University of Toulouse in France, is intrigued by more than just modern technology. He devoted himself to helping children in India as a coordinator for World Camp for Kids last summer.

Since then, he’s been looking for a reason to return.