From Alaska to Argentina By Bike
Source: Poldavo (Alex) at flickr
For the last two years, I have been avidly following the Family on Bikes, as they made their way from northern Alaska, down through Canada and the United States, all the way down to the southern tip of South America. They are almost there. They started cycling in June 2008, and have about 10 days left on their journey. It’s an amazing feat for any athlete, but a family – mother and father with two young boys – it’s a truly incredible feat. My hats off to them.
That is two and a half years of cycling many hours per day – only a few days off here and there to combat illness and bike repairs. Dusty roads, no roads, rain, heat, cold. Having to carry all your possessions with you. Wearing the same clothes over and over again – how many shirts would they pack with them? Pulling over to the side of uncountable roads and camping for the night. I almost want to say, two and a half years of being uncomfortable. All the things we take for granted – including hot food and hot showers – were luxuries for them. But at the end, I am sure they made a lot of friends, learned a lot, saw a lot, and have memories for a lifetime.
Thanks for Netflix, I recently watched a series by Michael Palin, the Monty Python actor turned world traveller, who tried to go from the North Pole to the South. Not by bike, but by train, boat and car. That was a multi-month ordeal as well. Finding himself in Africa, where the “once-a-week” train hasn’t shown up for 6 weeks. That’s still quite an adventure, I won’t take anything away from him travelling a bit more comfortably. Some of the trains and hotels did not look all that comfortable.
I wonder if I can do something similar. Perhaps biking is not in the cards for me. I was never much of a bicyclist. But can I get a motorcycle and travel the same stretch – Alaska to South America? Can I do it by car even?
Of course it has been done before. I read an interesting account of two friends that did it. It took them 7 months from Connecticut to the southern tip of Argentina although it seems there were long breaks in their journey. Part of me would say, I wonder how long it would take “non-stop”. But then another part of me says, why would you want to do a trip like that non-stop? I think I would need a week or two in various places. Seeing the sights, learning the language, and just enjoying myself.
Who knows. Maybe one day I will be able to do that. The next time I find myself with a lot of time on my hands, perhaps I might.
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