Hey SighSee
I'm planning to traverse north and south America on a bicycle. How should I prepare? What questions should I be asking? What should I expect? Anything helps as I will admit that I am a novice with no experience. I want to do something for when I turn 30 so I feel accomplished in life.
There's not a lot of articles or routes that have been published on the web so I might be starting a novel route.
Route: USA, Florida to Argentina, Ushuaia
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someone planted drugs in your bags. Careful.
Make sure you use a good bike lock and at least lock up your frame and rear wheel. Black folk steal bikes all the time and some of them carry big ass bolt cutters and even angle grinders.
Also make sure you have the basics in case your bike brakes down. Mini pump, spare inner tube, patch kit, tire spanners if you need them, whatever allen keys or wrenches you need to take off the tires, adjust your brakes, tighten your saddle, etc.
Chain lube, a spare chain link, and offline maps.
Thank you. Much Appreciated. I feel like the trek accross the United States won't be bad and I''ll try to keep my bike inside any places I stay overnight at. I'll try avoiding riding at night. I'm more worried about the populace in South American countries.
why not stay in the US? at least for one trip before you cross borders to get used to the process.
we had a bike thread recently where i was bashed for telling someone who didn't even do any bike trips yet to start small. eg. first a full day trip, then staying somewhere for a night, then 3 nights, etc.
so i assume SighSee just likes to just go for it without preparation.
OP do you even know if you're gonna stay at hotels or what? i always carry my own tent, but it's not always easy to find a safe place to put up the tent. so idk i think it would be safer for new people to stay inside buildings. or official camping grounds.
have you ever had to replace a flat tire on your own?
I was planning to start small and build up towards that.
First locally camping then ride the eastern seaboard. Next, cross the US and finally the grand trip from USA to Argentina.
This would all be done over time. I still have two years before I embark on my journey.
>OP do you even know if you're gonna stay at hotels or what?
I'm going to camp and use Home | Warmshowers.org for hygenic needs while in the US.
Once I cross the Mexican border I'm going to stay in motels for the rest of the adventure.
>have you ever had to replace a flat tire on your own?
Yes, using a trashcan and spoons
Make sure you know where to get food and water. Your body will break down cycling everyday if you are not hydrated and fed properly. Canned food, high in carbohydrates is your best bet. Corn, maybe the canned pasta ect. You need a little fat and protein as of course. Maybe loafs of bred and some deli meats. And i cant stress enough on staying hydrated.
If you get dehydrated it will frick you for multiple days and be hard to come back from. As the other anon said start small, just do a 1 night trip, then a weekend, then a week, month ect
I forgot the obvious but fruits as well, fresh and canned. Same with vegetables. And drink your water. If you feel thirsty, especially in the summer when it's hot out in some arid climate, you will be fricked
Also you can even just take some sugar packets and dump them in your bottles with a little salt. Obviously you need some real food as well but it is a great supplement to add calories. Really if you are cycling even as little as 30 to 50 miles a day you eat as much sugar and carbs as you want. And I say again drink water BEFORE you are thirsty. Also sadly you really should avoid alcohol as much as possible. If you are going over a stretch where you cant refill make sure you are carrying enough water.
This is how you stay fresh and ready for the next day throughout your journey
>drink water BEFORE you are thirsty
This so much.
>I was planning to start small and build up towards that.
I hereby give you the blessings of SighSee, you will have an enjoyable trip. Or at least it won't be your fault if it's not enjoyable. No, seriously, have fun! It's a good plan.
Random bits of bike wisdom
>learn repair basics, but don't go overboard when it comes to hauling tools with you
>locks are generally overrated, bring a small one but don't go overboard - you can also get by with stuff like removing the pedals and putting your bike in a safe spot in the first place etc
>you need less stuff than you think you need
>read the above sentence again
>get a settle that agrees with your posterior and take care of your behind to avoid saddle sores
>get good weatherproof clothing and a comfy yet efficient camping set-up
>learn how to deal with adverse weather conditions, and how to deal with bad luck in those conditions
>take into account spare part availability in less developed countries when selecting your bike, get in touch with people who have toured where you intend to go
>traffic is the most dangerous thing by far, always have good lights and make sure you have a backup
>avoid overly busy roads, they suck the life out of you like you wouldn't believe, smaller roads are far more enjoyable
>be mindful about your resupplies, have some emergency reserve
>phones kind of suck for navigation, the exposure tends to kill them slowly, I recommend a gps or paper maps so you don't have to rely on internet access
>keep in mind paper maps can be outdated and may not always be easy to come by
>dynamo hubs are great, but you can just rough it and go light on electronics
>bear safety, don't be an idiot if you come across wildlife
>check up on vaccination requirements, malaria, etc, have a decent medkit without going overboard
Feel free to ask further questions. Also >>>/n/ tends to have a bike touring general.
Lots of people have already given you a lot of useful tips, specially
>Get a GPS on your bike if you lose it is over and you don't want to get lost in South America
>Get lights for your bike, you will need a lot of visibility you don't want to end up on /b/ in a rekt threat
>if you have friends on the countries that you are visiting it would be great if you can crash on their houses
Before trying to travel that long I would try to travel inside the US, I'm sure there are a lot of places that are worth to visit this way even Canada could be a good starting point.
Check if you can travel in a group or something, there is a lot of people that travels this way and that could be a good option too.
it's probably been mentioned but wear a helmet. In addition to being required in some areas it will protect your spine
Just incase you weren't aware, there is no road connecting Panama and Colombia
This is true, but OP can get a boat ride, and they help him to cross the Darien gap, from there he can continue his journey