The College Preparatory School senior will travel what he estimates to be 16,000 miles across Europe, Asia, South America and the United States starting this summer. And he plans on doing most, if not all, of it alone.

Barton is no stranger to long, challenging treks behind his handlebars. He was the youngest finisher in the 500-mile Furnace Creek race across Death Valley in 2003.

"Being the youngest finisher was pretty much my motivation," Barton said, "and I didn't have a lot to lose."

That race took Barton 47 hours to complete. During one leg of the trip he biked for more than 17 hours straight.

Last year, Barton biked his way from Paris to Rome to take photos for a school photography project. The triptook a month and a toll on the then 17-year-old pedaler.

"I got a little bit lonely," he said. "But after a while I started to accept my role as an observer."

Before taking an interest in bicycling, Barton wanted to become the youngest person to ever climb the seven highest peaks on each continent — Kilimanjaro, Denali, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Carstensz Pyramid, Vinson and Everest.

When Barton was 14, he and his father climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa. He attempted to climb Elbrus in Russia, but he and

20 other climbers failed to reach the summit after getting sick from food poisoning.

So, of course, when his focus changed to cycling Barton wanted to be the best and youngest right off the bat. He said he believes he is the youngest person to attempt a bicycle trip across the world.

He would also like to be the youngest person to ever enter the Race Across America, a non-stop cycling race across the United States, for the last leg of his trip.

But making records is not his only focus.

Barton said while he is in Asia he will be visiting AIDS-focused health clinics and organizations to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic in Asia. He will conduct interviews with care givers and AIDS patients, take photos, and post everything on his blog.

"I have hope that I will get a lot of readership and inspire people who don't know much about the situation to make donations," he said.

He wants his readers of his blog, at www.rideagainstaids.com, to donate to The American Foundation for AIDS Research.

The foundation contacted Barton after learning about his Web site and wish to ride around the world to raise money for them. The foundation is the leading U.S. nonprofit organization that supports AIDS research, prevention, treatment education and advocacy of AIDS-related policy.

The organization recently spent a few days in Oakland hosting the National HIV/AIDS Update Conference. Barton was invited to the conference as a special guest by Jill Clark, vice president of major gifts for the AIDS foundation for research.

"We are particularly excited about this program and Bevan because, as you know, AIDS is a global pandemic and he's going to carry the message across the globe," Clark said. "I think he's going to be a very powerful messenger for (the foundation)."

Barton is a one-man public relations machine, sending letters to local officials and corporations and asking them for their support. He hasn't figured out how he is going to pay for his trip, but hopes a corporate sponsor or two will step in to help.

"I could do it with very little," he said "I don't need much."

Barton's friends and others have offered to lend some money to his adventure, but Barton would rather private donations to go to amfAR.

After his trip, Barton plans on going to Middlebury College in Vermont and study International Studies or Arabic.

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