Setting the context for what’s about to follow 🚴‍♂️.

I started prepping for this trip four months ago, slowly getting everything into place. I knew I would have some time off at the end of the year, and this pretty much led me to look for places that would be warm between December and February. My YouTube feed was already full of people doing similar trips on bicycles or motorcycles, so I set my sights on South America quite quickly.

Initially, I wanted to take a motorcycle with me, that’s why I took my unlimited license test this year and bought an adventure bike. I quickly came back to reality 😅 after a trip to Italy that resulted in a burned clutch and being left without the motorcycle for most of the summer. On top of that, shipping and importing it here would have been another ordeal. The cheapest option was to have the bike shipped from Poland, and it still would have cost around 3,000 euros, not worth it, considering the shipment would take two months.

So, I started looking for a sturdy steel bicycle with plenty of mounting points.

Never try new gear on race day, so I tested the bicycle on a trip through the Loire Valley with Andra, where I wanted to carry all our luggage. Cycling now feels like driving a bus, there is so much weight and momentum compared to a fancy carbon road bike. I won’t even mention how different hills feel now, but it’s ok if you accept that everything will be done at a slower pace and will take a bit longer (…or more than a bit) .

Apart from the bike I didn’t realize at first how many misc objects I would need. As you go further south the distance between villages can take 2 or 3 days of cycling, during which I will need be self-sufficient. This means I have to carry camping and cooking equipment, enough food, and a bunch of extra items for when things might go wrong.

The water situation will also be tricky, but with a water filter and water purification tablets, I should not have any issues.

I probably went overboard and bought too many gadgets but the Garmin satelite connection will definitely be used extensively. Besides texting and SOS capabilities it will constantly broadcast my location and keep track of the past routes. If you are ever curios where I am here is the link:

The bike box weighs 31kg and it is as tall as I am. This, and the extra two pieces of luggage I have makes moving to the start of my trip quite cumbersome.

I would have preferred to take the train to the airport, but this would have been impossible without additional help, so 200CHF later I just took a taxi ride.

Once at the airport everything was a bit smoother, those trolleys are life savers. The bike was accepted with no problems and I was ready for the 3 planes and 18 hours of flying ahead of me.

I flew from Geneva to Amsterdam, then to Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. The only problem encountered was in Buenos Aires, where the authorities needed some convincing that indeed I am not planning to sell the bicycle here.

Santiago is the highest population city in Chile so getting out of this overcrowded area is my first task. I will head north for a bit to reach the closest mountain pass to Argentina, a road that passes near the highest peak in South America, Aconcagua at 6961 meters.

Currently, it is quite hot at 30°C but in two days I will probably miss it. As I get closer to Ushuaia temperatures will start dropping gradually; the plan is to get there before autumn sets in late February.

I only have today (5th of December) to buy everything else that I might need and I’m heading out tomorrow.

Will follow up in a few days as I am heading to the Andes, I am super excited to finally start this.
Sorin