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Old 02-04-26 | 07:47 PM
  #4956  
M1T
Junior Member
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 114
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From: Carbondale (nicer than it sounds), Colorado

Bikes: American- 3 of Jon Williams bikes, Pristine Wizard, Mclean, Italian, 50's-83, Riding bikes- SOMA Triple Cross gravel bike, SOMA SAGA DC touring bike, Pivot Les Fat for long distance bikepacking. One modern Carbon bike.

Originally Posted by M1T
Hey DJB, I shot a ton of GoPro footage and with the help of an editor, will make a video. YouTube at the least, a documentary if she thinks the story and footage are good enough. Either way, I'll follow up and post one here.

Appx 340 miles out and back, rarely had a calm wind, had several rain days, and there were several 'gale 5 to gale 7' winds days... Those are 15-25 mph, always from the SW to NE, with many gusts up to 60 MPH. Those were incredibly difficult but you just put your head down, sit it out in a ditch / behind whatever protection is there, and wait them out. Good news is the winds, the rain, sun, clouds, are constancy changing every 10-30 minutes.

I only had 2 days where it was 100% clouds all day and cold and windy (think 40 F and 15-20 mph head and / or side winds). All that said, I found the entire trip just super interesting. I was never bored or tired of the conditions because it was just so different than anything I had, or ever will, experience. It's all very British, they drive on the wrong side of the road (a few 'oh ****' moments when I forgot!), and it's just very empty. Nothing but positive experiences with the people who lived there.

There are a few 'firsts' left there to do if one is willing to suffer the wind and hills. I have the logistics down (permission to camp being the biggest... but solvable). Time to get there and back are another issue... I had ot spend an extra 5 days there due to high winds that made flying impossible, even for LATAM and A320's. So if you / anyone goes, suggested to buy trip insurance. I did for the first time every despite having traveled for 40+ years and I'm happy I did as those extra days cost appx $800.00 (stayed at a very nice place called the Malvina Hotel in Stanley).

Side note- I didn't focus on penguins or the war as those have been covered a ton. I did walk over to a colony of 100-200 penguins about 50 feet from the New Haven ferry terminal because they were so close by. Glad I did... cute and interesting little fellows! No fences, just vast grasslands and a bunch of free roaming penguins.

Happy to answer detailed / planning type questions off line.
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