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  • Photo Gallery: Attempting To Cross Panama On Insane Backroads

    Photo Gallery: Attempting To Cross Panama On Insane Backroads

    This was always going to be ambitious.

    The rocks are like ice, the clay mud has zero traction and the roots constantly throw you and your bike in separate directions. Mix in the fallen trees, giant spider webs and near 100% humidity – and you’ve got yourself a pretty rough time.

    MY BIKE: Koga WorldTraveller-S 2.0
    MY GEAR LIST: HERE
    MY ROUTE: HERE
    MY CAMERAS: Panasonic G9 + GoPro Hero 6 + DJI Mavic Air

    Please note: These are social media updates rather than gallery captions, so my apologies if the captions are a little abstract.

    July 22, 2019: I got my PONCHO back! This 130g/4oz sheet of plastic is THE best item of clothing for tropical areas like Panama.

    Ponchos don’t just keep your upper body dry, they keep the whole damn thing dry because you hook the front over the handlebars! Plus, you know how really expensive rain jackets are meant to ‘breathe’? Well, the air swoops up underneath the poncho while you cycle, making it the best ventilating rainwear for humid conditions.

    The obvious downfall is when cycling in the wind (or cold) where a rain jacket/pants are always best.

    My poncho/cape is made by a Korean brand which will be hard to get your hands on, but it’s the smallest/lightest available and has an elastic waist drawstring – I love it. The Brooks model is definitely the nicest of the lot, with a tonne of features, but it’s pretty pricey so there are two other good value models in there.

    July 29, 2019: If you want to learn about every detail of my super fancy KOGA WorldTraveller, you should check out my deep-dive video on YouTube.

    I discuss ALL the cool features, customisations and ways I like to set up my bike, including the five hand positions I use with my signature handlebars.

    August 8, 2019: The lightest hammock is the one you don’t have to carry! Time for a rest after a week of mischief. 😏

    August 9, 2019: I found the most INSANE road. It was 37% in sections but luckily only a few hundred metres long.

    I’ve spent a silly amount of time in my first gear in Panama so far, the only redeeming factor is the ultra-high-speed descents (think 100km/h), makes me feel like I’m back on a moto! 🏍

    August 10, 2019: It was a surreal experience camping on the Panama Canal.

    I had ships that are over 360 metres long (1200ft!) passing within throwing distance of my little two-person tent. Crew members gave waves from the decks too, I guess navigating narrow canals with such a big vessel never gets old. 🚢

    August 10, 2019: If there were a picture to summarise how DIFFICULT the jungle has been to traverse, well… this is it.

    The rocks are like ice, the clay mud has zero traction and the roots constantly throw you and your bike in separate directions. Mix in the fallen trees, giant spider webs and near 100% humidity – and you’ve got yourself a pretty rough time! ☠️

    I can’t really complain though, I get to go on adventures every day of my life. 🙏🏼

    August 14, 2019: In the jungle, the humidity is so high that your sweat completely soaks through your clothes so you NEVER feel dry.

    You get to slip over a dozen times per day, muddying your clothes, and you quickly realise that shoes are useless. It’s also a mission to use touch screens or keep your camera lenses clean.

    In short, I’m far from optimised for exploring the jungle, but I can see how tribespeople would thrive out here without clothes, technology, bikes or shoes. 💪🏼

    August 14, 2019: Sketchiest bridge in quite some time! Half of it was held together using barbed wire, making it especially thrilling to drag a bike across. 😅

    August 15, 2019: I’ve slept in abandoned quarries twice this week.

    They’re super easy to spot from a distance and they always have a flat and protected place to pitch a tent. I’ve just got to make sure I’m not in the pathway of falling rocks (sometimes it’s best to camp up top) and then I’m guaranteed a great night’s rest. 😴😴😴

    August 15, 2019: My biggest strength is also my biggest weakness. 😳

    I am fiercely independent and always have been. Ever since I could earn my own money (13 years old) I’ve been using it to teach myself things, increase my skills, be more capable, take responsibility for my wellbeing, and chase after my crazy dreams. My desire for independence allows me to roam the world – alone – and trust that everything will work out fine.

    But here’s where I think being independent negatively affects my life: I feel uncomfortable asking for help, receiving gifts, delegating tasks and collaborating on things. Even something as simple as refilling water bottles, I often waste time looking for a tap when I could just knock on the first door I see.

    Yet I know how good it feels to help someone; I know that gift-giving isn’t a one-way street, and; I know how awesome it is working as a team.

    But even with all this knowledge, I’m never quite comfortable unless I’m doing things for myself.

    August 16, 2019: More SAVAGE gradients.

    I wonder if a longtail fat bike with about 2psi in the rear tyre will allow me to cycle up these kinds of mountains? Unfortunately, this road only got steeper, so I turned around – even I have a steepness limit.

    August 16, 2019: Why don’t I use suspension? 🤔

    OK, so here’s the deal: luggage on the front of a bike absorbs HUGE amounts of shock and vibration. I couldn’t ride half the stuff I do without my bags.

    Perhaps I could go even harder and faster with suspension, but keep in mind that forks need to be serviced every 100 to 200 hours, which for me is once or twice a month.

    In addition, I don’t ever suffer any hand/arm discomfort over the rough terrain I ride, so I might as well keep it light ‘n simple on a fully rigid rig. 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

    August 18, 2019: 6AM glow! 🌄

    So, here’s a crazy fact for you: in Panama, the sun rises over the Pacific Ocean and sets over the Atlantic. 🤔

    This had me so confused for about a week until I realised that Panama is really oddly shaped. I’ve actually been getting closer to Argentina, rather than Alaska, while I’ve been here. 🤯

    August 22, 2019: I’ve done over 800km on highways in Panama. You wouldn’t think it looking at my photos, but hey, highways are usually far from photogenic places. ✨

    August 25, 2019: When I thought it couldn’t get any harder, it did.

    That’s the problem with using satellite maps to create routes through countries; you can’t see whether the trails are sticky (clay mud), slippery (loose surface), rocky (boulders), steep or simply on private land.

    I created a VERY ambitious route through Panama using just satellite imagery in RideWithGPS, as I was keen to find an alternative to the typical highway route.

    Unfortunately, I’ve had to turn around more times here than the rest of South America. 😲

    August 26, 2019: High-speed aqua g-outs never get old. 💦

    Pretty cool that my 15” Apple laptop somehow survives all this madness. I honestly thought it would fall to bits within the first year, but it’s a sturdy beast.

    I do seem to blow up an expensive laptop charger every year though, and I’m wondering if it’s because of all the dodgy power sockets. 🔌

    August 27, 2019: Panama has been insane for wildlife spotting, it’s so biodiverse when you disappear into the forests.

    I’ve seen sloths, armadillos, snakes, various monkeys, coatis, agoutis, metallic-coloured birds, giant insects and dozens of unidentifiable mammals.

    I was letting some shiny wasps crawl all around my toes the other day, but I later found out the Tarantula Hawk Wasp 🦟 has the second most painful sting in the world, paralysing you for five minutes! Whoops. 😳😳🤭

    August 29, 2019: After quite a few years in the game, it’s hard to picture a time when I won’t be going on adventures.

    It’s only just now that I understand how the most travelled person ever (Heinz Stücke) ended up on a 50-year, 609,000km, 195 country bike tour. He didn’t necessarily set off knowing this would be the result, he just did what he loved, made a tonne of sacrifices and followed the tailwinds.

    Who knows, maybe I’ll still be sharing my adventures with you when I’m 75 years young?? 🤗

    August 31, 2019: Crossing into Costa Rica tomorrow. I wonder if my time there will be as difficult as Panama? 🚵‍♂️

    September 2, 2019: The film about my unique crossing of Panama will be delayed by a few weeks.

    After gloating about how my laptop survives so much abuse, Murphy has sent me on a detour (with my tail between my legs) to find a Mac repair shop. The film has come together really well, so I can’t wait to finally render and upload it. 🤘🏼

  • Photo Gallery: Crossing Colombia feat. Tatacoa Desert and Los Nevados National Park

    Photo Gallery: Crossing Colombia feat. Tatacoa Desert and Los Nevados National Park

    Let’s explore the incredible desert, paramo, alpine and rainforest environments of Colombia. While we’re at it, we’ll cycle up the highest road in the country; a lofty 4700m/15400ft! But shh… in order to access the active volcano areas, we’ll be breaking a few rules.

    MY BIKE: KOGA WorldTraveller-S
    MY 24KG GEAR LIST: HERE
    MY ROUTE: HERE
    MY CAMERAS: Panasonic G9 + GoPro Hero 6

    Please note: These are social media updates rather than gallery captions, so my apologies if the captions are a little abstract.

    May 10, 2019: Welcome to the Tatacoa Desert!

    This little arid zone seems quite unlikely when you consider the proximity of the Amazon and surrounding mountain forests. The winter months bring a bit of rain, which erodes the clay surfaces into very impressive 15-metre (45ft) tall red gullies, which are extraordinary fun to ride through. 🏜

    May 12, 2019: The desert was very hot and dry and reminded me a lot of Australia.

    I followed the marked trail through all the canyons hoping to find a rattlesnake, which the desert is named after. Alas, the only other things with a heartbeat were the leering vultures, who were hoping the heat would knock me off my feet. 🙄

    May 16, 2019: Imagine cycling at 3200 metres (10,500ft) and being confronted by thousands of palm trees – this is NOT where you’d expect them! 🏝

    Quindio Wax Palms can grow to 60m/200ft tall and are only found in the mountains of Colombia and northern Peru. A thick white wax covers their trunks which was once used to create candles, but these days the palms are legally protected as they are the national tree of Colombia! 🌴

    May 17, 2019: I’m camping on private property 90% of the time currently. I wish there were more options, but it’s practically impossible in Colombia! It’s often hard to ask for permission too as the land isn’t always connected to a house.

    My technique has been to arrive an hour before dark, wait to see if someone approaches and then ask for permission. If no-one arrives I set up my tent in the dark and start packing up at first light.

    This hasn’t caused any problems so far, in fact, the farmers I see in the morning often tell me to drop by their house and pick up some fruit and water! 🍇🍈🍉

    May 18, 2019: I was cycling along, way up in the mountains, and as I passed a series of rocks… one of them moved! Confused, I made a u-turn and discovered it wasn’t a rock, it was a crab. WTF! 🦀

    The elevation was 3000m/10000ft and I was well above the clouds. There were no lakes or rivers in any direction and the road was barely trafficked, yet here I was with a decent-sized crab dancing around my feet. Any guesses how it got here? Do crabs go on holidays?!? 🧳🗺🤔

    May 19, 2019: Colombia is great for cyclists! There’s always a big service lane to cycle in on the highways. In the cities, there are dedicated bike paths everywhere (like this one). And all the food is full of sugar so you never run out of calories or tooth cavities!

    Does anyone know a good dentist??? 😂🍬🍫

    May 24, 2019: After experiencing what water tastes like in most parts of the world, it’s safe to say that good water is a LUXURY.

    As a water connoisseur, it often pains me to have to filter yellow and brown-tinged water out of small creeks. If that wasn’t bad enough, the town water tastes like metal half the time, or it’s chock full of chlorine, or it’s simply not drinkable. Ahhh… travelling by bike makes you appreciate finding that icy cold, mountain freshwater source so damn much!

    BONUS QUESTION: Would you take good beer and bad water, or good water and bad beer!? You can’t have both. (Feel free to substitute beer with wine 🍷

    June 1, 2019: Colombia’s Forbidden Road is also its best road. I’m not usually a rule-breaker, but can you really blame me when these landscapes are on offer!? 🤘🏼

    June 2, 2019: To get to this location I had to wake up at 130AM, push my bike through the mud for 1.5 hours, sneak past some sleeping national park guards, cycle up a soggy sandy road to 4500m/14700ft, jump a tall “do not enter” gate and rush past two more already awake guards… all before sunrise!

    But after that, I had Colombia’s Forbidden Road all to myself for the next 24 hours. 💥

    June 3, 2019: The fog lifted and the euphoria kicked in. Perhaps I felt this rush because I was not meant to be here, but the more likely explanation is that I was immersed in one of the world’s most awe-inspiring landscapes.

    June 4, 2019: This is probably the most epic photo I’ve ever taken! ICE ❄️ SNOW 🌬 FOG 🌫, essentially the perfect movie set for dragons! Bet you didn’t imagine Colombia looked like this.

    If you had a million dollars, would you spend your life doing anything differently? I ask myself questions like this all the time to make sure I’m living with purpose, and spending as much time as possible doing the things important to me: adventures, learning, nature immersion, cycling and understanding people & cultures.

    After recently thinking about the question above for a whole day, I can say with certainty that I’d change NOTHING! Ok, maybe some fancy hotels, regular massages at day spas and new threads delivered quarterly. 💅

    I’d also pay my friends to ride with me so they can quit their jobs and come on endless adventures. 😅

    June 7, 2019: You might think the most satisfying thing about bike travel is cresting a mountain pass, finishing a technical route or ticking off another country. Those are all great, but here’s something I find even more satisfying: eating through my food supplies! Five days of food weighs a tonne; I love eating well AND getting a speedier bike in the process. 😅


    June 8, 2019: Off the brakes! I love that I can somehow defy physics by drifting my 50kg bicycle around corners… while carrying everything I own! 🤙🏼

    June 2, 2019: It’s hard to imagine a more friendly or colourful place than Colombia! Everybody here wants to help you have the best time.

    I walked into Dantori La Bicicleteria to get my first brake bleed in 18 months. I was instantly befriended while my bike was getting maintained, then they wouldn’t let me pay, then I was invited out for pizza and craft beer all afternoon! 🤙🏼

    I could get used to this red carpet service, but can’t afford to get inebriated every day or I’ll never make it to Panama! 😅

    June 13, 2019: Who builds 740 stairs up the side of a 200-metre tall granite rock? The Colombians! 🇨🇴

    June 14, 2019: BIG NEWS: I’m visiting Europe briefly at the end of this month! I’m also running slide/movie/q&a nights in Amsterdam on June 28 (for 35 people) and Antwerpen on July 4 (for 70 people).

    If you’d like to say hello, or ask a question, or pick my brain about destinations, or the drive efficiency of Rohloff hubs (or any other obscure bike-nerdery), hit the link in my bio and attend!

    I don’t normally get to meet people who read CyclingAbout, watch my films or like my Instagram posts… so this is particularly exciting for meeee. 🍻

    June 15, 2019: I don’t start looking for a place to camp until the sun is setting. This is so I can use the veil of darkness to help me camp undetected. Not only is this technique best for my safety (I don’t want random people approaching), it also means I won’t get asked to leave.

    Half the time I’m camped in a ditch, the other half I end up in dreamy locations like this!! 😍

    June 17, 2019: In the horns. Hunting KOMs! I love that my bike goes down the gnarliest off-road trails but then will also happily fly along at 25kph/15mph all day. 🤙🏼

    June 18, 2019: When you are freakin’ psyched by LIFE! I rode 260km/160mi this day because I wanted to squeeze the most out of my day. That might sound rough to you, but I loved almost every moment. 🔥

    June 19, 2019: For 450 days I’ve worn the same shirt… EVERY DAY, in the most testing conditions!!

    The Patagonia SOL Patrol II is the most legit travel shirt in existence. It’s soft on the skin, lightweight, fast-drying, well-ventilated, wrinkle-free, abrasion and UV resistant. It has tonnes of pockets, a pop-up collar and is bluesign certified (meets enviro standards).

    I wish Patagonia sponsored me to talk about this product because I’d have no qualms telling EVERYONE to buy it. Sooo… anyone got a Patagonia contact!? 👀

    June 21, 2019: If you’re cycling on a dirt road and it abruptly switches to cobbles – WATCH OUT.

    In Colombia, that means the road gradient will exceed 20% shortly! The Colombians surface the road with course cobbles so their cars can still conquer them in the wet. Quite smart.

    Oh, and I’m NOT smiling about how steep this is – that’s just my pain face. 😅

    June 22, 2019: Let’s talk about SAFETY.

    I’ve met thousands of people at times when I’ve been incredibly vulnerable (travelling with a bicycle, camping etc). The most important thing I’ve ever learned from these experiences is that I should always trust my INTUITION.

    Evolution has made us very good at detecting danger and shady people, in fact, your mind has done the risk calculations before you realise, which manifests as fear. We have a great ability to predict human behaviour, so I’ll always skip past a dodgy-feeling town or be rude/cold to somebody I don’t trust instinctively. I probably won’t see them again anyway. I’m certain this has prevented me from ever being robbed.

    Consider this – animals never override their intuitions, but for some reason humans do. The thing is that intuition is often right because it’s based on your every life experience AND it always has your best interests at heart (survival).

    If I was to be more specific, I think ‘shifty eyes’ are the most telling aspect. I’m also somewhat sceptical of people who are trying to charm/control me. And people who act unpredictably while drunk, or on weird drugs – I have little time for them.

    Sorry, not trying to scare you, but just reminding you to keep your wits about you, and to ALWAYS trust yourself. And shoutouts to the ladies who know this stuff way better than me. The world is by and large a very safe place, and by understanding this stuff it will be even safer for you. 😘😘

    June 25, 2019: Out of sight, out of mind.

    I had forgotten how it made me feel. With eyes straining to see outside, shrieks and grunts and a piercing smell, I can sense what is coming: it’s a truck brimming with live animals. The crazy thing is that when plastic sheets are draped around the sides of the truck, I feel so much more at ease. These animals are obviously suffering in a way we wouldn’t want our pets to suffer, and are then killed when they’re still babies.

    Getting bombarded by endless trucks towing live animals actually made me cut meat/milk/cheese/eggs from my diet six years ago. It was such a hard decision at the time because I knew I would be exploring the world’s harshest environments on my bicycle. I was initially anxious but quickly adapted to what to eat and how to get it. I recognise it requires discipline and sacrifice to do what I do, but simply reducing your meat, dairy, egg consumption results in less suffering, which is a better outcome!

    Start by trying some veg recipes online, pick a falafel wrap over a kebab, order a vegetarian pizza, try a nice filter coffee without milk. There’s a bit of a learning curve, so it’s cool to take it slow – I started out by limiting my meat intake to a couple of meals per week.

    Also, there are HUGE benefits to the environment (less land clearing and pollution) and your health if you eat your veggies – potato chips don’t count! Let me know if you’re thinking of eating more plants, maybe I can help. 🥰

    June 26, 2019: South America is now FINISHED. 💪🏼

    Took me 19 months, but look… I’m at the Caribbean Sea! Before this trip, I thought the Himalayas were the ultimate mountain range, but the Andes are my new fav because they offer so much more environmental diversity (thanks to the north-south orientation which brings huge climate variation).

    The coldest temperatures I experienced were -20c/-4f in Bolivia and the hottest +45c/113f in Argentina (soaking wet shirt dries in minutes). I’ve cycled the highest roads in six different countries (all 5000m/16400ft+), including Bolivia where I went up the highest road in the world (5800m/19000ft+). 🏔

    And of course, I’ve cycled everything in between: jungles, deserts, salt flats, mangroves, paramos, beaches and high alpine areas. Next up: a quick detour to Europe, then Panama. 🇵🇦

    Thanks so much for following along! I enjoy organising my thoughts and ideas into bite-sized pieces to share. It also keeps my weird brain a little less tangled when I get to dump my ramblings on you. 😂🤗🥰

  • Photo Gallery: Finishing The Trans Ecuador and Cycling Into Colombia

    Photo Gallery: Finishing The Trans Ecuador and Cycling Into Colombia

    This month was the toughest yet! I rode through the snow on the Equator, along aqueducts, up river-roads, down insane hiking trails and across the Colombian border to the Death Road.

    MY BIKE: KOGA WorldTraveller-S
    MY 24KG GEAR LIST: HERE
    MY ROUTE: HERE
    MY CAMERAS: Panasonic G9 + GoPro Hero 6

    Please note: These are social media updates rather than gallery captions, so my apologies if the captions are a little abstract.

    March 18, 2019: My photos and videos make it look like I do this all the time… but honestly, I over-represent these moments just to make you think I’m a badass. 😅

    March 21, 2019: My life is CRAZY. 🌊 Flash flooding turned the road I was riding into a massive river! 🤯

    March 22, 2019: Here I am cycling almost exactly on the equator. Given the average annual temperature is 31°C/88°F along the equator, you wouldn’t expect snow to be here, would you?! ⛄️

    March 22, 2019: Small fish ✖️ Big pond. It’s sometimes nice to feel like you’re just a tiny speck roaming around a massive planet. And it might actually make you a kinder, more generous person too!

    According to a recent study, “by diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, awe may encourage people to forgo strict self-interest to improve the welfare of others”. I’ll sign up to that! 🖊

    The feeling is also said to bind people together – by causing people to want to share their positive experiences collectively with one another. ⛰

    Ok, I’ve got the sharing done, now how do I do the binding with people bit?! 😅

    March 29, 2019: I rode the iconic water channel route in Ecuador, and only fell in… once! It’s a slippery bugger!! 💛

    March 29, 2019: I hope I haven’t put you off visiting Ecuador!

    I’ve been following the Trans Ecuador “Singletrack” route, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to many people. There is a Trans Ecuador “Dirt Road” route which requires NONE of the craziness you’ve seen in my photos/videos – it’s essentially 100% rideable and almost as nice.

    I ended up choosing the ‘hard’ way through Ecuador as I wanted to escape the pasture lands and access the remote areas offering untouched natural landscapes. Trust me, if a dirt road took me to these places, I wouldn’t have pushed my bike on all those crazy trails.

    If you’re thinking of coming to South America to hang out in remote natural landscapes, first consider Peru, Bolivia, Argentina or Chile. They all have great dirt road networks that can take you right into the action! If you have any questions about Ecuador or anywhere else I’ve been, let me know in the comments. 👍🏼

    March 30, 2019: Welcome to my most ambitious trail yet!

    Imagine a 6km long narrow trench full of giant rocks, ankle-deep mud and almost zero room for me and my bike. Yep, it’s as average as it sounds. Needless to say, the work-to-reward ratio didn’t stack up here, but let’s look at the positives: the Ecuadorian hike-a-bike is finally over + Colombia is a day away (cyclists coming from the north say its definitely their favourite country). 🤙🏼

    March 30, 2019: Just wait until you see all the wacky plants of El Angel Ecological Reserve in my next film. I don’t think I’ve EVER seen weirder plants, in fact, I’m almost certain Dr Seuss was commissioned to design them all! 🌿🌴🌳

    Trans Ecuador Singletrack

    March 31, 2019: Spot the cyclist! Most days I get to hang out in some pretty bloody picturesque nooks of the world. Feeling ultra-mega fortunate to be able to share my adventures with you! The question is, have you decided to come visit South America yet??? 🙏🏼

    April 1, 2019: NEWS: I’m extending my Argentina-to-Alaska bike trip by a full year. Many things have come together to make this possible. Firstly, I’m having THE best time exploring the hard to access parts of the world, which is a much bigger time commitment than I had originally planned. And secondly, I have KOGA Bikes full support for the additional year. So brace yourself for 365 days of extra films and stories, and see you in Alaska late-2020… yewww! 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼

    April 2, 2019: My kit list has been optimised over seven years and 100,000km+ of bike adventures. I’ve got it to the point where I almost don’t break anything from wear and tear.

    This trip I’ve broken one spoke, an air pillow, a camera lens, some clothes and a pair of sandals. That’s it!

    I have previously used lots of ultralight equipment, but whenever it broke, it got replaced with something stronger. That’s part of the reason why I use panniers – the durable stuff is almost always larger in volume.

    Here’s the kind of stuff I broke in the early days: rims, tents, pillows, mats, water filters, pots, beard trimmers and Spot trackers. I’d recommend not going too ultralight with some of that stuff. To see the bombproof equipment I carry nowadays, click HERE. 😇

    April 4, 2019: I’m honestly not motivated by total distance, average speed, elevation gain, or even the idea of finishing this leg of my journey. Instead, I’m addicted to the adventure, freedom, unpredictability, vulnerability and diverse range of experiences that bike travel offers. Can’t get enough of this life. 🙏🏼

    April 5, 2019: What the hell! This picture shows the weird angle my leg swings over my seat when I dismount. Not sure legs are meant to bend like that, but hey – this adds to the growing evidence that my body was designed for cycling. 😅

    April 7, 2019: I believe that time is life’s most precious commodity.

    It, therefore, shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve dedicated my life to exploiting time for all its worth. My philosophy is simple: when faced with a decision, pick the option that selects for the most learning, sharing, compassion and personal contentment.

    Admittedly, this brazen optimisation has – by design – put me on a very long and uncertain pathway through life, which certainly isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But I must say, this approach has allowed me to live an undeniably vibrant existence, full of surprises along the way. 🙏🏼

    April 8, 2019: Ecuador. 🇪🇨 This is farewell.

    For such a small country, you pack a lot of punch! On the bike, you gave me volcanoes and mud as I’ve never experienced, roads that were literally rivers, unbelievably stony Inca trails and the steepest hills in South America. You’re definitely a tough nut to crack for us bike adventurers.

    Off the bike, you showed me your beautiful colonial cities, vibrant markets, reserved yet friendly people, and incredible biodiversity of both the Amazon jungle and the Galápagos Islands.

    I’ve gotta go explore Colombia now, but hopefully, I’ll be back soon enough. 😘😘😘

    April 13, 2019: Welcome to Colombia’s Death Road.

    Carved into the side of an unbelievably steep mountain is this crazy road. Dropping 2000 vertical metres from high plains to the jungle, Colombians drive this rough road at speeds that leave very little room for error.

    I’m glad I had full control of my destiny travelling on a bicycle. 🙏🏼


    April 14, 2019: As the sun was setting, the only flat bit of ground was this construction site. I moved enough large stones to pitch my tent on a nice surface, watching the fog rise from deep in the valley.

    My stove ignited with a bang, catching the attention of a little street dog who was keen for a pat and a feed. We shared dinner together (pasta) and then the little doggo curled itself up under the tent’s vestibule.

    At 5AM (still dark) the construction workers started digging. They kindly worked around my tent so I could wait for the sun to rise. With men in hard hats pushing wheelbarrows brimming with soil about the site, I made my coffee and oats and was thinking about how this situation was only possible in a few pockets of the world. 😅

    April 16, 2019: Let’s talk about belt drivetrains.

    I had the option to choose a chain when I ordered my KOGA, but there are two main reasons I went with a belt: they last 3-4X longer than a chain, and they require almost zero maintenance.

    I’ve been using belts to cross continents for nine years now, covering every riding condition you can possibly imagine. My belt drivetrains typically last more than 25,000km before I need to consider replacing anything.

    The main downside to a belt is that you need specialist bike parts (a belt drive frame and an internal gear hub or Pinion gearbox – both expensive).

    April 17, 2019: This is Mica. He was backpacking in Colombia but decided to try travelling by bike instead!

    He purchased a bike for $50, spent another $10 on upgrades and went to a welder to get a custom rack made for his hiking pack ($15). It’s not the ideal setup but fine for his five-week trip in the south of Colombia.

    We’ve been camping in eco-villages, on farms and on mountainsides. The Colombians have been very friendly to us, offering coffee, bananas, bread, lots of sweets and ‘agua panela’ which is a hot sugar cane drink.

    The last time I travelled with someone like this was ten months ago, so it’s nice to share the special moments again, even for a short time. 😎

    April 18, 2019: The mountains have been pretty dry recently, but all that changed when I dropped into the Colombian jungle. As you can see the roads get pretty flooded when the epic tropical thunderstorms roll through. You can’t say I’m not having fun though! ⚡️🌴⚡️

    April 19, 2019: When you hone your senses in on the life of the jungle, you can cycle along and spot so many animals.

    I’ve seen lots of tiny monkeys, colourful insects and all kinds of crazy birds. I usually try to focus on movement (rattling trees and silhouettes) and sound (crushing leaves, animal calls) when observing wildlife – do you have any spotting tips? 🔭

    April 21, 2019: The Colombians call me NAIRO when they see me cycling up the steep hills! This is the name of a very famous Colombian cyclist, Nairo Quintana, who has won 2/3 cycling grand tours. 🇮🇹 🇪🇸 Obviously, my cycling palmarès are equivalent when you factor in that I also carry my house, kitchen, office, wardrobe AND pantry. 😅

    April 24, 2019: For one week I travelled with Mica.

    His $75 bicycle was allowing him to experience Colombia in exactly the same way as me. The difference was in the bike maintenance; his top headset cup was removing itself from the frame’s head tube, a piece of glass punctured his front tyre, he had to replace his brake pads after a few hundred kilometres and he had flat-spotted his front rim a few times on the rocky roads.

    Mica didn’t really mind though, because he only had 440km until his end goal of Bogotá. In comparison, my bike needs to survive 20,000km more to my final destination of Alaska.

    May 5, 2019: I use rather wide handlebars which give me a huge amount of confidence when descending.

    The high steering leverage makes it super easy to make pinpoint-accurate steering manoeuvres which helps me to stay on the best lines. The aim of the game is to minimise brake pad wear – I’m up to my fourth set in 17 months of mountains! I reckon that’s pretty impressive considering where my bike has been. 🤙🏼

    May 8, 2019: I was loving the tree-lined highways of Colombia so much that I punched out 170km yesterday. That took me nine hours including a few breaks… oh, and I was carrying every possession I own too. 💪🏼