London-born activist and cycle champion James Bowthorpe is best known for his bicycle ventures around the world to help raise money for Parkinson's Disease research. In 2009, he received a hero's welcome back to Hyde Park, having broken the round-the-world cycle record, circumnavigating the globe in just 176 days.

In his latest project, currently on Kickstarter, the adventure junky is building a boat made of discarded waste that's been gathered from the streets of New York City. His plan? To set sail down the Hudson River, starting at the river's highest source in the Adirondack Mountains - the Lake Tear of the Clouds - then down through the Hudson River Valley and back into the Big Apple. The journey will take him through a variety of environments, from farms to industrial areas, which all share one thing: the use of the river as a water source.

'We see cities as something separate from the wilderness, but the former evolved from the latter,' explains Bowthorpe. 'I’m interested in the idea of how we set up these diametrically opposed state of minds. The Hudson River Project plays to this cyclic idea, charting the path that helped to build the megalopolis.'

The journey is being documented by Bolton-born filmmaker Antony Crook, and will eventually be released as a feature-length film with a score provided by Scottish post-rock masters Mogwai. The filming starts this September, which will initially follow Bowthorpe on his urban adventure for neglected city trash, before assembling his vessel, then cycle-hauling his creation to the start of what sounds, to us, to be a beautiful journey.