Riding Through Peru!!!

Leaving Ayacucho was not quite as smooth as we had hoped. As soon as we were all packed, Kai realized his debit card was missing which meant he suddenly had a to do list of canceling and ordering a new one. Really not the end of the world, but when you've sat on a bus for 36 hours and the time finally comes to get leaving again, sitting in the hotel room is not an ideal way to spend the morning.

The Journey to Peru

Leaving Cuenca, I was caught in a bit of a debate. I could bike all the way to Loja and potentially have Kai and Jon waiting for me, or I could try to hitch and save some time and energy. Opting for a bit of both, I rode about 60 miles and found a truck to bring me the rest of the way. Grabbing a hostal near the bus terminal, I waited for my friends and picked up a couple treats to make their arrival more fun, including a new holiday themed bike towel. There may not be snow this year, but there will be Christmas.

Ben's Solo Adventures

For the first time in over 2 months, I was left alone. Sure we'd spent an occasional day or afternoon apart, but this time Jon and Kai were headed a different direction for over a week. Crazy to think this should be our longest time apart over a 6 month span. Probably a good thing to finally have the opportunity to miss one another.

South America!

Our last few days in Panama City were almost like we were just students again. We woke up, ate breakfast, headed to class, combined learning with joking around, scrounged up a cheap lunch, did some sort of hike or activity, went home for dinner, completed our homework, and went to bed. Jonathan even had a migraine one morning so I got to re-live him skipping class, even if it was a legitimate excuse. Since Jon felt so miserable, I took it upon myself to relax for the both of us by investing in a roll of cookies, carton of milk, and settled into my book.

Adventures in Panama City

Leaving David, we put in some decent miles and ended up sleeping behind the police station of a small town. That night, we looked at the rest of the map and realized we could either dramatically draw out the next few days before catching a flight on November 23rd, or we could make a huge push for Panama City and try to find something fun to do. Opting for the latter, I decided to make the push official and see if I could pull off a century ride (100 miles). Believe it or not, Kai and Jon were not as convinced 100 miles in Panamanian humidity was a good idea, so the next morning I took off alone.

Costa Rica and Panama

Waking up to an early morning filled with oats and chai tea, we were ready to seize the day. Cruising to the nearest town on the coast called Jaco, we stopped in a coffee shop to indulge in some WiFi and feel like less than super dirty travelers in desperate need of laundry. Jon went off to find a bike shop to see if he could find a way to remove a grinding sound, and by the time he was back we were all in a similar mood. Entranced by the calm beach life, word of a 3 day mountain bike race leaving in the morning, and the possibility of an air conditioned room, we decided to stay for the night. Fully relaxed, we kept VH1 playing old songs in the background all night, thoroughly entertained by the strangeness of early music videos.

Turtle Saviors

Back on the road, we kept rolling until a couple people made the worst mistake in the world--looked friendly and waved. Needing a place to stay, we circled back and once again got a yard to camp in. These peoples were way easier to understand and incredible hosts. A perfect combo of Spanish and English, curious but still gave us our space, and super helpful offering chairs, water, a place for our bikes, and even coffee that the man got specially roasted in the morning with tortillas and cream, as well as a local crisp pastry. Energized, we were able to ride all day to a town called Samara. The road there was literally a roller coaster, both in terms of hills and emotion. Every time we started a downhill we thought was the final push to the ocean, we'd round a corner and climb right back up. Nevertheless, before it was too late in the day, allowing time for a swim, walk on the beach, nap/reading time in the hammocks, and dinner. Besides a palm branch and coconut falling and scaring me half to death, it was a wonderful stay.

Steep Climbs and Beautiful Views

Leaving our little piece of paradise at Greensurf was a little bittersweet, especially when we remembered there wasn't any breakfast food left in our panniers besides coffee and a couple tortillas which we gratefully ate on the beach. Fully caffeinated, we took advantage of the first store we saw. However, the selection was incredibly limited so breakfast turned into Oreos and off brand Doritos.

A couple hours down the road, riding got tough. A combination of small dinner, a smaller breakfast, 100 degrees by 10:30 in the morning, a strong headwind, and a continuous, gradual uphill all attributed to us feeling amazingly crappy. Low on energy, we took some breaks in the shade and popped electrolyte tablets, but the steady climb in the sun was relentless. Not sure when we would have another chance, we took advantage of the next store we found. This time, our nutritious snack consisted of donuts and coke. Funny how when you fill your body with only sugar how quickly it burns through. Luckily we had all downhill to the next town and rolled into a little restaurant, so hungry thoughts weren't operating quite right in our heads.

Nicaragua Bound!

Sometimes stumbling upon adventure is just as wonderful as planning it. After a couple days of relaxation at Lake Atitlan, we were ready to get moving again. Our morning couldn't have been much better, complete with a thick stack of pancakes and reading an email from a Luther student who has become inspired enough from our trip to study abroad in Costa Rica. Probably could have chosen better people to follow, but right on buddy.

Hello from Guatemala!

Hello from Guatemala!

The morning we left Mexico, we were all pretty intimidated by the looks of the mountains. We'd biked over long hills before, but the steep and rigid peaks of Guatemala looked like a whole different monster. Ready to tackle the day, we sucked it up and started to ride. Luckily, we weren't too focused on the road in front of us because we barely noticed the building to turn in our Mexican travelers visa and get the departing stamp in our passport. No signs on the road. It felt weird to be riding past Mexico but not officially in Guatemala either. Just one calm man hanging out on a lazy Sunday morning watching the third Harry Potter.

One Month In

Sometimes your body tells you when you need a break. Knees start to hurt or there's just an overwhelming lack of general energy. This time, however, we took a rest day I didn't realize we needed. We'd been building our miles up steadily and feeling strong but riding that much takes a physical toll, especially when we're still pretty new to the whole process.

Fighting Fires and Finding the "Garden of Eden"

One of the many great things about bikes is they allow your body to become slowly acclimatized to your surroundings. You can only travel so quickly and so far at once meaning, as the air gets warmer or there's less oxygen while going up mountains, the change is gradual and essentially pleasant. Unless of course you bypass the biking for a bit and take a bus.

Pyramids, Birthday Tequila, and Mexican Wrestling

My how days fly by the further you go south! After our kind breakfast in San Juan with the mountain biking friend, the three of us decided to try out a new part of our adventure with the bus station. You might be like us and think "busses? How hard can that be? People use buses everyday!" However, what we needed to focus more on was taking a bus with bikes. We were able to buy three tickets, but the storage underneath was far too small so we ended up waiting another 4 hours for a larger one to Pachuca. Since it was already late, we quickly settled for a little restaurant called "buen comida" since it had to be good food! Lucky for us, they didn't lie and we were so hungry we ordered an extra round of quesadillas.

Road Bumps

We had the longest day yet on bikes yet from the town of Teotihuatan to Puebla, covering approximately 78 miles at about 8300 ft of elevation. Not a bad day considering the bikes alone weigh about 30 lbs with an additional 50lbs of gear strapped to them. After spending two weeks on pavement, covering distance I realized bikes are a fantastic form of transportation; it turns food objects such as snickers bars, tacos, and rice into energy which allows for the begrudging traveler to cover immense distance (if they only have the determination to do so). But just like a car, guzzling in fuel with an energy output, sometimes you fill up with a bad tank of gas, and the car doesn't run quite right. For us, we think it was a bowl of soup, with juice, and a enchilada combo we all got for dinner one night in Teotihaucan. Luckily, we had a planned two days rest in Puebla, where we envisioned ourselves climbing volcanoes near the city, meeting locals, and exploring the city. Instead the three of us have been relatively holed up in a room much to small for three men, three bikes, and gear strewn everywhere. To make matters worse our "economical hotel" comes complete without a toilet seat, and a sink which drains onto the floor to flow into the shower drain.

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Waking up on our rest day in San Luis, we spent the morning apart from one another. The few hours of separation caused some serious anxiety since we hadn't been more than about 10 feet from each other for an entire week, but it was probably helpful to smell something besides the stench of Kai and Jon's Luther riding jersey. I spent my morning blogging, finding the best flavor of ice cream (vanilla with chocolate and caramel swirls mixed with oreo if you're wondering), and trying a guava fruit from a very friendly gentleman. Not wanting to  be too ambitious, we made sure to meet back up that afternoon.

Finally on the Road

After our Independence day celebrations, we had a bit of a late start to the morning. Getting back on the Trolls, we made our way to the road and immediately went through a 2 km tunnel to pass through the mountain. The other side had a stunning view of the valley, complete with low hanging clouds. The next 25 km was all downhill, but the road was made of a dense cobblestone that made us wonder if our wheels would last. Whenever possible, we opted for the angled drainage on the sides because it was smooth. I must say, even though our first few days were very physically demanding and our wheels probably should look more like squares, our Trolls have miraculously withstood every test thus far with flying colors.

The First Few Days

Training

Well... I think it´s safe to say we've found adventure!

Our journey south in the car was about as ridiculous as you might expect. About 3 too many bags of chips, infinite brownies, and loud singing of the Spanish alphabet as a final attempt at learning the language. Talking with our Spanish guide, Laura, we quickly learned we are in fact not fluent, and spent more time emphasizing key phrases and ways to avoid speaking such as pointing and asking "What's this?"

The Final Countdown

Jon 

We are finally within the 24 hour countdown to crossing the Mexico border and thus the beginning of our adventure. It seems like a long time ago that I propositioned Ben the idea to take bicycles down Central and South America. We agreed to go even if we had to work crap jobs and pick up extra shifts to make it happen; knowing we would be leaving friends, families and, at least temporarily limiting our access to ‘comfort’, ‘stable incomes’, ‘cell phone plans‘, ‘good night sleep’, ‘careers’. A.K.A. ‘normal lives’; we thought we knew what to expect and figured our intermediate college level Spanish would see us through.

The Beginning of "To the End"

It's finally about that time to head south! Although we're super excited to get pedaling, before we go the three of us want to hold one last event in the place that brought us together. On Sunday, September 6th there will be a leisurely ride (all are welcome to join!) on Trout Run Trail at 11 am, a free-will donation for a Phelps Park cook-out beginning at 1 pm, and heading to the new Pulpit Rock Brewery that evening.

We would love to see each and every last one of you. This event will be a day to thank those who have already been so supportive, show off our gear, and give all of you one last chance to tell us what you honestly think about our trip :). It will be a day we remember for the coming months, and a memory of all those who believe in us. So please, come to Decorah, eat our food, wish us as much luck as you can find, and share one last beer before we embark on the adventure of a lifetime! Hope to see you there! Updates and additional details can be found on our Facebook page.

Why Bike?

Initial Reactions

Whenever you tell someone you're planning a bike trip for 6 months, the initial response is usually pretty entertaining. Sometimes you see eyes light up by inspired people who think it's "so cool" that we're taking steps toward an adventure. Others seem to laugh and say "good luck" or "sure you are." A few simply look like they must have misheard the words coming out of your mouth because the last phrase was one of the least relatable statements imaginable.

Feature Video

Special thanks to Bailey Mulholland for putting this awesome feature video together!!! Keep up to date with our trip by liking our Facebook page!

Spring Semester Fundraising

What a semester it has been! Last fall, this bike trip felt like an exciting idea but it’s turned into one of the largest realities I’ve ever faced. Without the constant, nagging distraction of school in the front of our minds this summer, we might actually make some serious fundraising progress. It’s crazy to think that at the end of this summer, we’ll be packing up all of our gear to brave the trails in Central and South America.

New Job

In the words of a famous scholar, "I made it up the mountain, and its all down hill from here." I am happy to announce I officially graduated from Luther College! This most recent J-term I finalized my senior paper, handed it in and received my completion sticker! All in exchange for my diploma, which was sent a few weeks later. To answer the immortal question facing grads everywhere, especially English/History grads: "What are you going to do next?" I finally have something to respond with. Working at Decorah Bicycles! The situation could not have worked out better. I have a great job which is incredibly pertinent to the trip, and still close to Ben, Jon, Habitat for Humanity and the rest of my buddies at Luther College.

Habitat Board Meeting

A lot of things go through your head when your alarm clock goes off at 6:30 in the morning. Most of them are along the lines of "it's too early" or "where's the snooze button," but this morning was different. Kai and I had a mission to meet with the Winneshiek Habitat for Humanity chapter in town and answer any questions they might have, since 60% of our donations will go directly to their cause.