Join me in learning about the individuals featured below, who use the bicycle to improve their lives. I also want to invite you to come join me, too! Pack your bike on a plane or allow me to help you buy one here in South America, and let's bike together! I cannot say it will be easy or anything like a "vacation", but I can assure you will see and do some awesome stuff!
Norm M.
Norm flew past me in a small town just before El Estrecho, Colombia, as I was taking a break for a little ice cream. When I continued through town, I chatted with him and his Ultra lite gear. He plans to bike from Bogota to Bolivia. Since he couldn't sit still at a desk after completing his Europe to China bike tour, he embarked on this current trip. I biked with him for a few hours on three consecutive days, but he is fast, often staying on his highest chain ring even when climbing hills. My favorite thing about the way he travels is that he has a rice cooker and uses it to cook at least 500g of pasta each night in his hotel room.
Luis Fernandez
He used a bike from the bike museum in Caicedonia, Colombia, to bike with me to his friend Alexander's place, where I ended up staying. The next morning, Luis visited me and joined me for breakfast. He's a super friendly guy who seems to love my journey more than I do. As I prepared to leave town, he told a few more people about my journey and then followed me in his car for a little until I had to tell him "no mas!". I gave him a big hug, thanked him for all his help, and waved goodbye. Luiz Fernandez is an administrator for a naranja finca with about 20 workers.
Alejandro
I met Alejandro flying down a big hill into Armenia, Colombia. He had a BMX bike and was using the ride down the hill for an adrenaline rush.
Diego Zapata L.
Diego was riding in Bogota when we crossed paths and I asked him for some directions. He was on his way home for a mid-day break. He biked 20 minutes out of his way to direct me to where I needed to go. He even gave his cell number in case we had future problems. He rode a single speed bike and typically rides 15-25km each day. As you can tell from his bike license plate, he is a big fan of cycling; when riding with him through the streets of Bogota, I felt a real sense of mastery of the roadways with confidence that made me feel very safe riding with him!
Anna L.
Anna bought a bike upon arrival in Colombia and joined me on the tour. At first, she used a backpack to hold all her gear, but quickly learned that a rack with side bags would help significantly. She also used some ingenuity to attach her camel back water bladder to the frame of the bike. With 400 kilometers on the bike, she enjoyed the tour and looks forward to other future adventures by bike.Jason the Juggler
I met Jason at night on a basketball court in Sesquile, Colombia and, while technically he was not riding a bicycle, he was basically running his own juggling and unicycle school to local youth (way cool!). He made juggling balls from 2 balloons and rice for his "students" and used Youtube to learn new tricks to practice. He picked up his pins and unicycle in Bogota, but felt the local circus in town was nothing special. He emphasized that he did not care about the monetary aspect of his street performance hobby, but rather the positive mental and social benefits of the practice.
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Senor
On his 30 minute bike ride to work somewhere between Los Remedios and Tigreras, Colombia. He was checking his watch to make sure he was on time for his job. It appeared he was doing some work on a farm. His bike was pretty neat, with a sturdy rear rack, rear wobbly tire, and brake handles that were not connected to any cables. He has a pump attached below his seat and a bag of tools resting over his handle bars in case of a possible bike repair.
Arelando
Arelando (age 18) passed me on the ride from Camerones to Riohacha with fish hanging from his handle bar grip. Eventually we rode together and he asked me where I was riding. He told me he was riding from a nearby beach where he had caught the fish earlier that morning for his family. We were riding into the wind and we both agreed that it made our bike ride much harder. His bike had a plank of wood along the top tube likely for carrying large coolers or for people to sit on. Note that he had some sweet shoes called Yantas. They use a small amount of fabric and a car tire as the sole. He took a break to chat with a friend on the side of the road who also had a pair of Yantas.
Raul R.
Raul is from Soledad, Colombia, and was probably one of the most generous local cyclists I discovered so far. He was riding solo in front of me when we eventually struck up a conversation. He learned English from listening to lyrics from American music (Train, Guns and Roses) as well as from school. We rode together through Barranquilla for over an hour. He informed me there was a dangerous area up ahead and wanted to guide me through it to ensure we'd be safe. Once, a guy crossing the street near us yelled out something in Spanish that I did not comprehend. I asked Raul what he said, thinking it was something rude. It turns out the guy was wishing us safe travels and may God protect us.
Cecilia
Cecilia was volunteering at a workshop in Guatemala that made useful tools and equipment from bike parts and metalwork (ie, bike powered washing machine). It was there that she eventually acquired all the necessary parts to build a "touring bike", and rode it south to Costa Rica. She never got a single flat tire nor ever rode in the rain (remarkable!). She loves her bike so much that she risked her life grabbing it out of the hands of thieves in Nicaragua. When she was finished biking, she shipped her bike back home so she could always have it to ride.
Layton K.
Layton discovered bike touring in Southeast Asia, after his backpacking adventure experienced a shift in purpose. I met Layton in Costa Rica, where he plans to continue his bike tour southward, starting from Mexico, and eventually on through the world! He is on Track my Tour if you'd like to follow his travel tales. "My bike is my life and my wife". He is a true inspiration for this trip!!!
Louie B.
Louie studied engineering at the University of California, Irvine, graduating in June 2011. He then spent almost three years working as an energy engineer in Pennsylvania and New York, developing energy efficiency solutions for all sorts of businesses and factories based on the East Coast. You can contact him via email (lbioche at gmail.com) or on facebook . We kicked off the trip in Costa Rica together and biked an awesome two weeks to Panama City. He is now traveling on his own through South America by bus. His website can be found here: http://somewhere-in-southamerica.blogspot.com/
