This bike trip was conceived on a fall evening in the comfort of the McGill Outdoors Club house in Shawbridge, Quebec. My friend Ben and I felt that since we were both graduating in the winter and since we both had (temporary) research jobs awaiting us in Canada for the spring and summer, it was time to blow some money on a much deserved trip. Since we are both outdoorsy, a bike trip seemed in order. (Cycling has the advantage of being cheaper and more physically challenging than your average "back-packing" while not requiring the specialized skill or equipment of mountaineering vacations :-)
But where were we to bike? We didn't want to spend a fotune, which barred favourites like New Zealand and China. We thought about many cheaper candidates including Cuba, Baja California, Turkey and Morocco but finally settled on Patagonia, largely for emotional reasons (I was born in Argentina). So after buying some tickets, upgrading our bikes, pouring over maps and recruiting some much needed back-up (namely my bro' Andrew), it is time for us to get our rears in gear!
Hopefully we will be able to post some updates and pictures on this page during the trip, but in the mean-time here's some info: we hope to cycle for 20 days, travelling a distance of 2000 km in the process. We will be bringing our hiking boots and hope to spend some time tranping arround on foot. If the winds are particularly merciless, we may find ourselves spending more time on our feet than on our bikes!
Here was the plan.