Provo » As a bush pilot flying around the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, Don Ross says he's seen first-hand evidence of climate change.

Warmer summers, milder winters and open water where ice pack should have been are among the warning signs he sees of an environmental disaster fueled by people's addiction to oil.

"We really need to create a clean, renewable fuel so we can break our addiction to fossil fuel and use less, and leave something for our children," Ross said.

Like former Vice President Al Gore, Ross wants to bring public attention to the problem. But instead of a slide show or a major motion picture, Ross is using a bicycle to get his word out.

Ross is cycling from his home in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to climate change and encourage people to get out of their cars.

Ross, a lean, balding 67-year-old man with blondish-gray hair, spent a couple days in Provo resting up before heading for Denver by way of Heber City. So far, he's been through one bike and a pair of tires. And he's picked up a companion for the ride, a stuffed dog he found on the road in Nevada.

The retired Navy jet pilot was hoping to get to Washington by April 22 -- Earth Day -- but he admits he's not going to make it with a 50-pound trailer hitched to his bike.

While skeptics, including members of the Utah Legislature, question climate change, Ross said it is all too obvious to Alaskans, who have seen polar bears drown because they couldn't swim the ever-widening stretches of water and shorelines wash away under more-intense storms.

His inspiration for the bike ride -- "Ride For The Planet" _ came from the story of Mildred Ryder, the "peace pilgrim" who walked across the United States seven times to call for world peace.

Instead of walking, Ross decided to use a bike as a way to drawing attention to the need to stop using fossil fuels and find alternatives, such as bicycles, to get around cities.

On the trip, he's seen signs that people are taking steps to address climate change and oil dependence. He noted that British Columbia is imposing a carbon tax as a way to control air pollution, and Eugene, Ore., has an extensive network of bike paths, making it easy for people to get around the city without cars.

"I don't get the impression that Provo has gone to that level," Ross said. "It would be nice to have bike paths here."

Ross has a few supporters to coordinate his blog and help raise funds for his ride. But for the most part, he either camps out along the way or relies upon the kindness of strangers.

One of those Good Samaritans was Nelson Mousques, a Provo car dealer who took Ross into his home and let him use an office at his Autocraft dealership. Mousques and his father were the first two people Ross met in Provo, where he was looking for a bike shop to lower his gear ratios for the grueling climb up the Rockies.

Mousques said he and his father were preparing to head to Fresno, Calif., to pick up a car when they encountered Ross, and offered to help.

The irony of staying with a car dealer while crusading against fossil-fuel use wasn't lost on Ross.

"What can you do?" Ross laughed. "We're a car culture."

But Mousques is sympathetic to Ross' cause. He said it is important for people to learn the truth.

"If I weren't tied up in business, I would get a bike and go with him," Mousques said.

Ross said government will eventually get serious about climate change when enough people become aware of the issue. And he hopes riding his bike will do that.

dmeyers@sltrib.com