Season 2: Tierra del Fuego to Lima
Remember the European Divide ride? It worked out pretty well! The only cycling I've been doing since then is the short, flat trip to the supermarket. That was all I wanted for a few months afterwards. But it's been a year. And that short flat ride is really not enough any more.
So obviously it's time to divide something again. Something bigger! Bigger than Europe?
America! Specifically South America, because I can't get leave until the end of the year, so the Southern Hemisphere will be warmer than the other one. (And not Africa or Asia or Antarctica thanks, I'm not up for actual serious challenges here.)
The plan is to start at the southernmost possible point, Tierra Del Fuego. I'll head north until I run out of leave or I hit Lima, whichever happens first. Here's the route I'm planning:
I've got 10 weeks of leave, which should be enough if I don't get sidetracked. This trip is going to be a bit hairier than Europe, mostly because of language and logistics but partly because there won't be so many boulangeries. The first few weeks are going to be frosty, because I'm starting in October and will be so far south.
It's also pretty remote, so there's some very long gaps between towns. The biggest gap is probably in week 2 or 3, where there's a 400km gap between Comodoro Rivadavia and Trelew. It's not just unusually long, but the route is a few sections of really long, straight road. Apparently it's so boring that there's regular roadsigns warning drivers not to doze off. It'll take me a few days, and the only thing in between is a very average service station which is going to look very exciting after 200km of desert.
The next few weeks run straight north through Argentina, it's green and flat and warm and has regular towns so it should be nice and easy. But after that is the Atacama desert, which is going to be interesting. It's a straight-up 4000m plateau, which worries me because I've been living 10m below sea level for the last few years and I'm as altitude-adapted as an anchovy. It's deeply inhospitable: there's some villages along the way but they are very few and very far between.
There's also some billion dollar astronomical observatories up there, and if I have the energy I'd very much like to get a closer look at them. After that it's Chile, and for the most part it's high, inhospitable desert with a long ride between towns. The last two weeks are in Peru, on the Trans-America highway. Which is low and nearer the coast but it looks like it's mostly surrounded by yet more desert, unfortunately.
Right now I'm trying to get fit, dredging all the gear out of the storage room, and reviving all the old spreadsheets so I can find what needs to be replaced. Proper training starts 1 July, and I'll be flying out about 28 September.
Reading back over the route description it looks like there's an awful lot of desert. So be prepared for lots of in-depth desert updates and dessert puns. But at least it's a change from all those Scandinavian trees - right?
