[dc]Kayden Kleinhans is a “climate change carbon crusader” — his goal, to solo bike around the world and prove it’s possible to travel the globe without using fossil fuels.[/dc]

Since 2005, the South African founder of Global Wheeling has biked more than 53,000km and in November will set off for India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

If he completes the eight-month journey through choked Indian streets and the rugged Himalayas, Kleinhans will have cycled close to one-and-a-half times around the world.

It’s the ultimate goal for eco-travellers with want to tread the earth lightly, since air travel is one of the deadliest environmental sins.

“One round-trip flight from New York to Europe or to San Francisco [between six and seven hours each way] creates a warming effect equivalent to two or three tonnes of carbon dioxide per person,” reports the New York Times.

Kleinhans says his mode of travel is “carbon negative”, since he plants trees and participates in sustainability projects along the way. These efforts work to permanently remove greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere.

Over the past decade, Kleinhans has cycled unassisted though most of Europe, Australia, South East Asia, Africa and most recently from the southern tip of Argentina through the Andes to Nevada, USA. His next leg of the journey will be broadcast on E-TV starting in February.