Cycle Touring Patagonia with a Toddler

It’s happening. Nearly ten years ago when Kevin and I were on our multi-year open ended bike tour we met multiple cycling families and dreamed of someday bringing our own kid(s) along and showing them this way of life. Now, we get to. Kinda.

We will be going back to the basics; camping every night, cooking on our small gas stove, pedaling during the day, bathing in rivers, and stopping whenever we please, unsure how many miles we will cover a day or where we will end up that night. That being said, this trip is also incredibly different from our open ended tour (which, in my heart, is still what “real” cycle touring is) because we have a start and end date/location, six weeks (a pretty short time frame for cycle touring) in between, and our phones with maps and apps on them which may be the biggest difference compared to the mapless (literally, sometimes not even a paper one) and researchless exploring we have done before by bike. The biggest and best difference though, will be our 25 pound dead weight and her 25 pound trailer which will ensure a healthy dose of type two fun for us all in the coming months.

We have chosen to go back down to Patagonia because it checks some of our most important cycle touring boxes: good easy beautiful wild camping, quiet(ish) roads and relatively easy cycling (except for the insane winds), stunning mountains (with fish in the rivers for Kevin), and perhaps most importantly, the ability to cycle it during our winter when Kevin can get time off. It feels wrong in some ways to return somewhere we have already been while so many new places are on our list, but for this trip, our first as a family, and the time frame we are working with, it just feels right. 

Our prep for this trip has consisted of and buying new waterproof socks and gloves to replace our worn out one, and while we meant to cycle at least one day fully loaded, sickness and snow prevented that from happening. This means that our first day down there will be our first day cycle touring as a family! 

We leave next week and expect a very long tedious 30+ hours of traveling to get down there. I don’t plan to update the blog so if you want to follow along on our adventures, check us out on Instagram (@awanderingphoto) where I will post updates! 

Dirt Roads and Happy Hearts: NZ Honeymoon

We have had an amazing first week in the South Island. After the ferry ride we started out on a 60km detour along the coast which included four steep climbs (half of which were on gravel) along a very quiet road – the sort of road with only a car or two an hour. It also included our first penguin sighting, an afternoon sipping tea with two kiwis in their amazing 1950’s bus, and an evening exploring little bays and beaches.

Gear, Routes, and Rings: Honeymooning in New Zealand

“Let the dream devour your life so that the life does not devour your dream.”

Kevin and I are currently sitting at the airport in Sydney waiting for our final flight of the day which will bring us to Auckland, New Zealand, where we will begin our three month cycle touring honeymoon. We left straight from our two-day wedding campout – which took place around a huge campfire in a ranch at Silver Falls State Park – and can’t wait to begin life as a married couple on our bikes enjoying the absolute freedom that cycle touring brings.

Favorite Cycling Routes: South Yungas (Bolivia)

This green and very hilly route will take you up and over two 4,700m passes as well as over smaller ones in the almost jungle-like vegetation for a total of 10,000m of elevation gain. The people are friendly and welcoming, and the villages are picturesque as they sit atop hills for as far as the eye can see all over the various valleys. We found this route to be difficult due to the heat and humidity, though it was a nice change from the high altitude cold nights.

A cyclists nightmare; tunnels.

Some of the towns throughout this area were deserted as many people are headed to the cities.

Cycling through a stream, great way to cool down!

One of the towns we stayed in.

A typically dressed lady walking with her son.

This patchwork farming was everywhere, which really reminded us of northern India.

Typical green hills which make up this region.

Typical farming house.

Switchbacks anyone!?

These guys were not happy to see us on their road! Most aggressive Turkey we have ever met.

Little villages in the middle of nowhere!

Switchbacks anyone!?

A lady and her son walking down the road.

Favorite Cycling Routes: Double Salars (Bolivian Altiplano)

Though I visited the Salar de Uyuni by jeep on a trip years ago, cycling across was a whole different incredible expedience. The first eighty kilometers were busy with tourists, but after that, we had the other half and the whole other Salar completely to ourselves. It’s really easy cycling across the salars as its flat and hard-packed, though the forty kilometers of sand in between was much slower going. This is definitely a must do route for anyone cycling Bolivia as its just so unique to spend days cycling across pure white salt.

No hands!

Finally a cycling photo of both of us!

It’s never good when you can see your own tracks in the sand.

The hexagons of salt were so defined, we assume it has something to do with how the water evaporates because every rainy season the salt flats turn into a lake.

Kevin far off in the distance. The Salar de Uyuni (though not the smaller one I’ll talk about next time) has this hexagon shaped natural marks all over the whole thing.

This, for us, is a road. Little jeep paths such as these are what makes Bolivia so fun!

We ate lunch on the island on our second day.

Dance party on the Salar!

Us, our bikes, and our home! Salt flats, May 2015.

My four dollar Chilean cowboy hat has been a savior out here! The sun reflected off the salt and burned any exposed skin.

Typically when we stop cycling for the day I start cooking as Kevin sets up the tent.

This was one of many mostly deserted villages we have passed throughout our time in Bolivia. Most of the people have left for the cities where there are more job opportunities.

We met an awesome Swiss duo (father and son) going the other way. We were surprised they were the only cyclists we met since we know its a popular route.

Beautiful sunset in solitude.

Favorite Cycling Routes: The Carretera Austral (Chilean Patagonia)

Cycling into Torres del Paines, Patagonia.

The Carretera Austral is said to be the most popular cycling route in the world, and I can certainly see why! This Patagonian treasure is full of colorful clean rivers, beautiful snowy peaks, and easy wild camping opportunities around every bend. The cycling is easy, the route seems to have more cyclists than cars along it, and the fishing is wonderful for those of you with poles; overall it’s a wonderful Patagonian experience for those who love nature.

Yoga in the mountains with friends, Argentina Patagonia.

Hiking in Torres Del Paines.

Catching a trout.

Fly fishing in Patagonia, Kevin has already dreamed of this, 2015.

There was wonderful camping almost every night on the Carretera Austral, Patagonia 2015.

Definitely one of our best camping spots! Especially since the fishing was great. Patagonia, 2015.

The small quaint town of El Chalten.

One of our best fishing rivers.

Our favorite kind of camping!

Rain, rain, and a bit more rain, Argentina 2015.

Enjoying the mountains with friends, Patagonia 2015.

Mike and Emily showing off their hippie side!

The white capped mountains were also wonderful to follow.

A bike packed full of food, some mountains, and a boy equals one happy girl! Torres del Paines, 2015.

The end of the paved road, it was a nice break from the washboard!

One of Kevin’s many fish, Patagonia 2015.

One of the bluest lakes I’ve ever seen, Patagonia 2015.

The lakes in Patagonia were simply stunning, 2015.

Team work! Patagonia 2015.

Need a tent anyone?

Headed into the peaks, 2015.

Beautiful mountains equals one happy girl!

Favorite Cycling Routes: Eastern Turkey

Turkey is a hospitable country with easy camping and great food, and though we found some of the country monotonous and boring, we absolutely loved the whole eastern section (after dropping in from Georgia). Snowy mountains, small quaint villages, and tea breaks whenever you please; what’s there not to love about cycling through eastern Turkey.

We really love the shepherds as they too understand our nomadic ways, eastern Turkey 2014.

Cycling into the storm, Turkey 2014.

Favorite Cycling Routes: The Country of Georgia

Georgia seems to appear on nearly every world tourers favorites list, and we are no different. It’s one of our favorites too. And how could it not be? Where else are you invited to a crazy picnic nearly every night just because you were passing by? Georgia has some of the friendliest, most hospitable people on this planet, plus, their beautiful country has many small roads without much traffic, beautiful mountains, and easy wild camping opportunities next to a new river every night.

Kevin and his little catch, Georgia 2013.

Favorite Cycling Routes: Far Western Nepal

The Far Western corner of Nepal was by far my favorite region; in fact I liked it so much that after cycling through it (and across the rest of the country), I bused back with my backpack in order to explore the remote foothills. This region is very different from the rest of the very tourism-reliant country, as no westerners ever venture this way and there are no hotels, restaurants, or shops like you see throughout the rest of Nepal. I particularly enjoyed my stay in the west as the people were hospitable and friendly.

Two wonderful women who invited me into their homes, 2013.

Dressed up Nepali style, 2013.

A beautiful rural women, Nepal 2013.

Cycling through the Nepali Terrai, 201:.

A curious Nepali cow, 2013.

Favorite Trekking Routes: Zanskar Valley (Northern Indian Himalayas)

Zanskar is one of the most isolated regions in the world, and for most of the year, this high altitude valley is covered in snow. The only way out in the winter is a ten day frozen trek on ice, though in the summer once the snow has melted, it is a fascinating place to visit. I loved the tiny patches of green which marked a village, and the beautiful monasteries throughout the valley. The climate and topography in this region make for some of the harshest living conditions in the world, and these Tibetan Buddhists who have been living here for thousands of years still live for the most part as they have for centuries.