Okay so i need some advice. I am an eighteen yr old girl from sydney australia and in three months im travelling to South America. Im doing three months of volunteer work in costa rica but i want to travel before this from august to november. I have become very interested in cycling through chile for a month. All i want is some advice. I dont know if im being very niave about it. Im a fit and motivated person who really enjoys all types of physical activity especially hiking. However i am not a very experienced when it comes to cycling, i mean i can ride a bike, im not that inexperienced! I dont know if im being too romantic in my plans? I just want to know what i am going to have to do to prepare and what i should expect. This is probably very vague but i would really appreciate some feedback to gain some kind of perspective. Thankyou

Go visit the touring forum. Lots of good information there and at the Crazy Guy on a Bike website.

Whenever I travel, I check two websites:

www.comebackalive.com

...and...

I google news under the name of the country.

If ugly things aren't mentioned on RYP's site and the news is fairly tame on google, I tend not to worry. If the country is flagged and tagged on Come Back Alive and the googled news is problematic, at least I know what to expect.

As far as I can tell, Chile is a very hospitable part of the planet. You should be fine.