Foursome Makes Longest Drive to Arctic Circle for Midnight Tee-off on Summer Solstice

CHICAGO - May 16, 2011: On Saturday, June 4, 2011, Vic Zast, Dan Johnson and Jim Thompson will board a rented Class C Four Winds RV with the ashes of their good friend, Mike Allen, to begin the adventure golf trip of a lifetime.

Their goal is to tee off in daylight at midnight on the summer solstice (June 21 - the longest day of the year) at Road'ss End Golf Course, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where Ravens steal golf balls on fairways and grizzly bears roam on this grassless three-hole course.

Inuvik is 5,500 miles from Chicago, where the travelers will begin their 17-day drive. Producer Martin Rodahl, of 71 Degrees North, will film the entire adventure, creating the documentary, Our Longest Drive, for the festival circuit this autumn.

Two years ago, Vic found Mike lifeless - the victim of complications from Juvenile Diabetes. An unpredictable and funny guy, Mike was the person who introduced Vic, Dan and Jim to each other. The three friends - members of a weekly Saturday morning golf group with Mike - couldn't imagine an adventure like this without Mike. So he is traveling with them in his urn, perhaps as spiritual advisor.

The Our Longest Drive foursome will travel through three time zones, seven US states, two Canadian provinces and two territories. Most treacherous of all is the notorious, tire-blowing Dempster Highway, a 500-mile gravel road with only one gas station. What they're tackling will be far from a "gimme."

Yikes!

• Will they make it?
• Will RV cabin fever set in along the way?
• Will they get along with each other?
• What happens when the real natives – wild animals - step in their way?
• What if they break down on Dempster Highway or along the challenging route's deserted areas?

Vic, a prolific sports writer on thoroughbred racing, will blog daily from the road beginning June 4, on www.ourlongestdrive.com , until the travelers are out of cell phone or Internet service. Visit the site now for updates on the trip's preparations, meet the men and see the route they are following.