zoltani

Them's savages down thar! You will die!!!11!!!

aHAHAHA, yeah a bunch of uninformed wimps.

That would be a great ride. of course, you have to use common sense and be adaptable, but that is the case with any tour!

Machka 

Well, as I said back in post #9 (while this was still in the Road Forum) ... nancysv and her family (nancy, her husband, and her two young boys) are doing the trip. She will no doubt post in there to pass along some info.

In fact, here is her website: https://www.familyonbikes.org/



But the Road Forum crowd tend to ride the same 20 mile loop over and over every day ... they're not terribly adventurous.

Machka 

Bump to get nancysv's comments.

nancy sv

Thanks Machka! We are now in Mexico after having pedaled 7000 miles from Alaska - and it's been a blast! Yes, there are some hard days, but more days are good than bad so that's OK.

I would think you would be fine with your plan - but defintitely plan on buying your bike in the USA. since you are starting out in a relatively "tame" area, you'll learn the ropes and know what you are doing by the time you get out of the US.

The only way you'll know is to just do it! Good luck!

escii_35

Yes, last summer/fall I used the section from the border to San Fran as a "lets get fit for the crazy climbs of Nevada, Utah, AZ and New Mexico."

From Astoria Oregon South every small town has a bike shop for the tourists kinda like Texas and walmarts. Also, between the US boarder and San Fran there is a high probability of public regional transportation available if you break down.

As for where to buy a bike. Last summer I would have said, "Buy it in Bellingham the USD it is a bargin compared to the CDN and EURO." This summer it may be a different story. GO GO USD I want to tour europe again.

Erick L

Lots of stuff here: South America Touring Links.

Grobat

Wow, I was supposed to get e-mail notifications for this thread. Got nothing. I thought there was no answer, I see I was wrong!
Anyway, it's the first time I get so many negative answers from other cyclists, I'm quite surprised...
I'm glad I got some positives ones, too!

I can actually speak some spanish, and I understand it much better than I can speak. I'll be ok with it in a few weeks, I guess.
I chose to start from Canada/US to get used to all the technical (and physical!) side of the trip in a "tame" area, like you said, nancy. And anyway I wanted to see Canada, and I already got my plane ticket to Montreal.
Thx Erick for the link aswell, I'm going to check that right now! Thanks to the other positive people out there!

Joe_Gardner

Send me an email when you come through Costa Rica.

zoltani

I think your problem was posting the question in the road forum.

Did you have any idea what kind of bike you want to buy?

Grobat

I guess it should be a touring bike, 26" wheels to find spare parts easily, err, what else? I plan on getting good advice from a retailer once in vancouver, or the owner of a used bike if I find a good second hand one...

Xanti Andia

I am in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I know South America quite well, don't know Central America at all.

Looks like your route is well figured out. You also know that you should stick to 26" wheels. I suggest you also use standard 36 spokes.

You must have things fairly well figured out, and you must know that after wheels the next most frequent failure is in the racks/panniers area, need to pay attention to that.

What I might change of your route is to go into northern Argentina from Bolivia, you might find it more interesting rather than the Chilean desert, but it will be more work.

Grobat

Well, if you check my map again, you'll see I just changed that part of the route today, after reading a guidebook about Argentina! Northern Argentina seems to be a really nice place, especially compared to Chile at the same latitude...


I just went through some of the many answers to this thread, and I was wondering if it is really interesting to go to the US to buy gear instead of Vancouver. I saw something here about Bellingham... What about that? Is it really worth crossing the border to get a better price? No issues with customs when carrying lots of brand new stuff? I'm considering starting from Alaska, too. Do you think I'll find the good stuff at a good price there? I know it's part of the US of course, but it's so far I would not be surprised if prices where different to "mainland" US.

maphappy

I hear Colombia is dangerous this time of year.

I love your spunk but agree that you should probably know your machine a little better before hopping on a plane, buying one, and heading south. Still, assuming you are in reasonable condition, have the means, and have a sixth sense for steering clear of dodgy places and banditos, you could do it.

seeker333

similar tour underway for 33 months now:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?..._id=1419&v=7VC

jbpence

i dunno I am going to most respectfully disagree some

knowing the machine a little better is NOT going to give the OP any experience that would help him in "steering clear of dodgy places and banditos".

being in reasonable condition would help, but even that isn't essential. just don't try to do big daily mileage at first. You'll get in shape mighty quickly.

In late 2007 I had never toured before, yet bought a trek 520, got all outfitted after studying this forum and crazyguy, and took off only three days after getting the bike (had the crank swapped for Deore XT), and after only a 20 mile shakedown cruise I took off on a 1200 mile, solo, unsupported tour (this in the US). After the first day, I was accustomed to riding with a load, and having a BLAST.

Of course, I had been doing centuries (on road bike) every weekend all summer, so was in good biking shape. It WAS nice that I could do 80-120 miles per day right out of the chute. And the bike shop owner had toured a LOT and gave GREAT advice. the only issue I had with the bike was due to goat head thorns in western KS/eastern Colorado. Here it is only 17 months later and I am currently touring in Yunnan Province, China, only my 4th tour - though I would be the first to say that at least I am not facing banditos. Just REALLY REALLY bad drivers and sketchy roads. Haven;t departed yet on my big tour, so far I have been exploring and getting used to the area around Kunming, where I am living for the next three months. Soon - Dali.

Of course, your tour is LONG and you'll face more arduous conditions than where I am now in China, but any mechanical/touring/personal safety issues you'll face on your tour aren't going to be mitigated by "know[ing] your machine a little better"

go for it!. after the first couple of days, you'll be in the groove.

tourdottk

ah, all those armchair travellers...

you know how many people I know that are currently cycling this specific route...
Near 25... they are all nuts! Especially my wife, but I promised I would stay with her.

Come on, this route is one the most cycled routes in the world. Must see thousands of cyclists every year.
People on the road right now (in or near Mexico, but going south):
Max, Hiro, Sara and Sebastian, the Family on bikes, another Hiro, Nobu, Son and Ali (that's us) and a lot of people I dont' know the name of... and that's Mexico. And there are a lot of people just a few countries up the road or even coming our way... (Nicolai)
So no worries,
start pedalling! Check out Bicycles, bike shop in Vancouver
1823 W. 4th Avenue Vancouver V6J 1M4
tel: 604 737 7577 website: www.bicyclesvancouver.com
And ask for Lincoln

Great shop!
Cheers Ali

Xanti Andia

By all accounts I have read, the danger lies in Central America. The bad part of Colombia is far from the planned route. Eduador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile are all quite safe, with the exception of parts of the city of Lima.

ridesouth

Hi!

I am currently on this ride. Seattle to Tierra del Fuego. I'm in Cusco Peru right now, recuperating after a crash in the mountains. Don't worry, most cyclists I know don't crash much.

Anyway, I have to say, you are going to have a blast. I've been on the road for 15 months now, much longer than I had thought, but have had a lot more fun than I had thought. Here's some random advice I have for you:

Cycling the pacific coast of the US, you can use a book that has very granualar details on the road. It's very handy sometimes, like through places like LA. It think it's called "cycling the pacific coast".

Riding Baja is one of my best memories. Don't let the RV'ers discourage you. You will get used to the narrow roads there and the Americans yelling at you while the Mexicans smile and wave. Also, IMHO Baja really gets good after Rosario when you climb into the desert.

The Pacific Mexican coast: I don't think I would do that again. I eventually got a little sick of the beaches and later regretted not going inland more. Everytime I did go inland I was very happy. I loved Oaxaca, but if you take the route from Puerto Angel up, there is a 9000ft climb in a day. My map didn't quite illustrate that. The other route from Puerto Escondido sounds a little better.

Guatemala is a beautiful place. Don't miss Volcan Pacaya. You can hike up and watch fresh lava pour out of the hillside as your leg hair burns off and your shoes melt.

Central America is very hot at times. Be very careful. I had a day where I started to feint three times. It took me a couple days to recover after that. Ride early, then siesta.

I believed the hype about Colombia and skipped it, this is a huge regret. Everyone else I have met rode it and loved it.

Once you leave the US, your parts supply will be limited. You can find bike tubes easily, I only carry one spare and patches. Buy Schwalbe tires. I have had two flats in 15 months. That's right, no typo there. Others I have met with other tires are in the hundreds in the same amount of time.

I never had saddle sores before I left. I had serious problems with them that were only solved when I had a Brooks saddle shipped to me in Mexico at great expense. I will never tour again without a brooks.

I am rolling on a Surly Long Haul Trucker, I see a lot of them on the road, I love this rig.

You can stay with the Bomberos (firemen) in any moderately sized town in Central and South America for free. There's also couchsurfing.com and warmshowers.org

Don't worry too much about bandits. Be careful but know it's fairly rare. There's a few spots that are notorious (road to Palenque Mexico, Paijan in Peru), but for the most part you will be suprised how nice everyone is to you and how inviting they are. I have had many many meals bought for me, been invited to sleep in several homes, been given all sorts of things, and have recieved many many warm handshakes. Don't worry about robbers, it won't help you to worry and I personally believe it's unwarranted. I had people in the US tell me they belived I would be killed. I feel so sorry for their misunderstanding of the world. Don't listen to them.

Learn Spanish early, it will enrichen the experience. Especially when travelling solo and wanting to interact with the opposite sex. You don't actually get that much time to practice during the day since you are cycling. It wasn't until I hung out in a place for three months, talking all day, that I really got a good grasp on the nuances.

Maps are hard to come by. I found a shop at Lago Atitlan in Guatemala where I bought all my Central America maps. Some friends brought me my stack for South America when I got to Ecuador. I use the "International Travel Maps". Sometimes the mileage is off, especially in Mexico, but it's usually close. hobobiker.com has some great route information as well.

I got a lot of advice before I left, much from people who didn't even cycle. When you do talk with long haulers they all have a different style, so know that you will develop your own. You will also develop the confidence to know you can deal with whatever happens on the road if you don't have it already.

Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.

Most of all, go, have fun.

Tailwinds,
Dave
dave@ridesouth.net

fantom1 

Looks awesome. The only recommendation I'd make is to avoid Tijuana and Northen Baja.

oddtanlines

Great review, ridesouth. Sounds like you are having the time of your life. !Buen viaje!

intransition

hey Grobat, you roll Dude...I was planing on doing South America only but now I'm thinking about your route. I do not know if you planing to do the ride by yourself or maybe I could join you? Let me know what you think...thanks...C

bbeck

my hats off to all of you. these long tours are something i can only dream of. you will be living my dreams through your eyes so post lots of pictures my dream had a lot of pictures

sth

Glad you found the touring site, or that it found you. Wow what a change in attitude from one type of rider to the next.

I think this will be a great trip for you, if it is your dream. I have always had it at the top of my fantasy list, only in the reverse direction.

I am in Vancouver and there are many bike good bike shops here. Unfortunately mountain biking is king here followed by road biking. Touring is some distance down the ladder. There are shops that sell the Trucker and the 520. I dont have one but think you would do well with the Trucker. Surly also makes bomber racks as well. However if you are a average to tall guy I think it is build with 700c wheels in mind. Smaller frames get the 26". There is also a large co-operative outdoor supply store here were you can get all the traveling items your heart desires...Mountain Equipment Co-op. If you need any local knowledge or sourcing, let me know.

Go for it. And do consider a Crazy Guy journal for all of wanna-be's to enjoy.

Grobat

Hi there,

I'm in Montreal now, heading towards Vancouver.
Nice piece of information, ridesouth, sorry for your crash. I'll have a new look at my route regarding to what you wrote. At the bike, too...

For the pictures, I'm starting to write a blog. It's empty for the moment, cause I've only been in Canada for 2 days, but anyway here's the link :

https://frenchguyonabike.blogspot.com/

DXprowler

Grobat... you've got a great trip planned!!

Like others have said go to crazeyguyonabike.com. There's some great active SA journals there. Here's some links to a few that I'm following:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?..._id=1419&v=7ia https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?..._id=1419&v=7ia
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=3733&v=Oh
And these are not the only tourers active in SA! The great thing about the CGoaB site is that you can contact the authors for info so this should be another good referance.

Also, and again as mentioned before, Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a great place for good priced good quality equipment. https://www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp There's one in Montreal if you want to check it out.

Eventually you will get all your gear together and I can see that your one who is not afraid to stumble along, so to speak, and learn from trying different things. If you did, you wouldn't even consider this!

Good luck and we'll be watching your blog!