Totales:Kilometers: 6,320 (mas o menos 4,000 millas)
Plata gastado para los dos (desde los boletos de bus a Stg… no incluye equipo, bicis, etc): $3,260
Dias pedaleando (comienza el 28 de Nov): mas o menos 116
Dias descansandos-investigando-conociendo: mas o menos 86 desde 28 de Nov (+ 20 dias en Santiago)
Promedio de kilómetros pedaleados diariamente: 55km
Tiempo total de viaje en bici: 6 meses 18 dias (o 202 dias + 20 dias en Santiago) (tiempo total desde salimos de Quito… 7 meses 1 semana)
Altura mas alto: 4,500msnm (en feet es: 13,500 ft above sea level) entre Cocachabamba y Oruro, Bolivia y mas bajo: 0msnm (Valparaíso y Mancora!)
Peso total: ¿la bici es 45lbs… mas 75 en equipaje…?=120lbs mas o menos
Bike Tour Tips & Packing IdeasEach bike tourer will have her or his own priorities in what to pack , what to eat, and where to stay in their bike tour. However, in planning your own tour it is always useful to hear about what others did to help you make up your own mind. For this reason we have compiled some tips for bike tourers, specifically for those touring in the Andean countries of South America, and specifically for those hoping to tour very cheaply…
-For a cheaper trip, make sure to bring a light weight camp stove that uses anytime of fuel (so that you can re-fuel at gas stations, since you won´t find many camping stores). Make sure to also bring a tent (one which the fly can come off of… if it´s an integrated fly you will die of heat in the desert!) and a very warm sleeping bag (the altiplano in Bolivia is incredibly cold), and a sheet for the desert areas (we sewed it at the bottom so it folded nicely and could enter the sleeping bag, so that it also served as a liner so we didn´t get our sleeping bags too dirty). Sleeping pads ARE A MUST for staying warm!!
-For a cheaper trip, ask permission to stay at fire-stations (especially a good choice in Peru and Ecuador), schools, police stations, churches and community centers. Just explain that you are a cyclist, biking for…whatever you are biking for, and ask for a small area to put a tent up or a place to pass the night. We highly recommend that you write a letter of recommendation for the institutions you stay in to sign. We started such a letter of recommendation in Abancay, Peru and continued to get 15 more signatures (of fire-stations, churches, etc) and it helped us a GREAT deal… it allowed for people to instantly trust us and for us to be legitimate in their eyes.
-Compare prices of prepared food (almuerzos) and non-prepared food (we always had
sandwiches for lunch)… in some countries it will be cheaper to prepare yourself lunch (Argentina, Chile, usually in Peru…) and sometimes it will be actually cheaper to eat prepared food (i.e. a lunch in Bolivia was as cheap as $.70, cheaper than bread and cheese…)
-Cook local foods, buy whatever is cheapest in the markets (fruit and veggie prices vary wildly depending on where you are… for example potatoes are super cheap in the mountains and expensive on the coast, near the rainforest bananas are cheap but in Argentina they are expensive and instead grapes and apples are cheap.) Oatmeal (with fruit, honey, nuts) is the IDEAL breakfast… it´s super good energy and cheap too!
-Bring a complete set of rain cloths… Jacket, Pants, gloves, and something to cover your shoes!! This is incredibly important or you will suffer…
-Kickstands generally don´t work well with a loaded bicycle…better to find a light stick and jam it under your seat or your rack so you can have your bike standing. The stick can also double up to protect you from aggressive dogs!
-Speaking of dogs, they will try to attack you, but if you stay calm and ignore them they won´t bite.
-Line your panniers (bike bags) with plastic bags so you don´t get your stuff wet… if you are camping in rainy areas, rip open some garbage bike and bungee them to your bike so none of your stuff gets wet.
-The Argentine desert is IDEAL for wild camping. Bolivia is pretty good… but Peru and Ecuador are so populated that it is very difficult to find a safe, unseen place. That´s why we stayed 90% of the time in these countries in fire stations.
-Bring a book you aren´t attached to so that you can trade it in or give it away! In fact, you should also bring clothing you aren´t attached to incase you realize you brought too much and need to give it away.
-If you are a light sleeping, bring ear plugs because you never know where you will be sleeping!
-You must tour on a mountain bike (you will be passing some pretty holey dirt roads)! But if you are used to road bikes… put road drop bars on a mountain bike and create a hybrid (that´s what I did and it was ideal for this trip!) You´ll need at least a 7 speed cassette…
My Basic Packing List…
Clothes:
Rain Jacket, rain pants, rain booties (that we made ourselves out of fake leather), dish washing gloves, bike shoes, sneakers, sandals, sunglasses, 2 bike shorts, 6 undies, 5 pairs of socks, 2 pants, one pair of pants to sleep in (comfy), 3 sports bras, winter hat, winter gloves, sun hat, 2 bandanas, 2 tee shirts, 3 tank tops, 1 fleece jacket, 1 sweatshirt, 2 shirts, 1 skirt, 1 dress, one compact towel, bike tights
NOTE: In the next trip I will pack many LESS clothes… you really don´t need much because you can constantly be washing things… I´d recommend 1 or 2 of everything… However, don´t skimp out on rain clothes or warm clothes , you WILL need them in the mountains. Also, make sure to bring bike shorts, they will save your butt for SURE! 2 pairs…
Health:Toothbrush-floss-paste, shampoo, soap for body, soap for washing clothes and dishes, first aid kit, scissors, sanitation gel, vitamins, keeper, water purifier (we used the MSR purifier MIOX that uses salt and electricity to create a solution that cleans the water… it works GREAT!), ear plus, lotion, comb, mace or pepper spray, bug repellant, sun screen, chapstick, utter cream (what folks use to put on cow´s utters… it´s super helpful for saddle sore! As is…), vasoline
Technology:If you are into music, and it helps to motivate you to climb giant mountains in your bike, then I highly recommend bringing MP3s or an I-Pod…or if you are trying to get away from technology and civilization, leave it at home! Camera, flash memory, cell phone (we used only for its alarm), headset (to be able to use SKYPE
www.skype.com to make international phone calls, it´s a LOT cheaper than calling from phone booths… just $.02 a minute to call the US), audio recorder (Crithian´s MP3 served as a recorder).
Educational Materials:Bike DVDS, zines, bike photos, articles on women and bikes, etc
Important papers and money:Credit card (good to bring 2 incase one gets eaten by an ATM…this happened to me), travelers checks, vaccine card (need proof of the Yellow Fever vaccine to get into Bolivia, supposedly…!), a small bag to go under your pants to keep your passport etc. in
Bike Stuff:Multi tool, 2 extra tubes, lube, grease, lots of patches and glue, spoke wrench, cable lock, fenders, front and rear racks, 4 panniers, handlebar bag, seat post bag (for tools), 2 water bottles, bike computer, extra chain link, extra break and shifter cables, front and rear lights (you may bike at night, or in fog!), extra brake pads, rags and old tooth brush, extra nuts and bolts, tire levers, adjustable wrench, cassette extractor, chainwhip, hex keys, cloth emergency spoke, 4 spokes
It´s important to have lots of tools if you want to be super self-sufficient. If you don´t mind hitch-hiking or taking the risk of being stranded for a bit, or only being able to find super cheap-o replacement parts, you can get away with a multi tool, lube, tire levers, patch kits and an extra tube.
Camping:
Tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, ground cloth, 2.5 gallon collapsible water jug, stainless steel pot and frying pan set, lighters, MSR Whisperlite International Stove, 2 plastic cups, knife-fork-spoon combo, headlamps, waterproof stuff sacks for sleeping bags, bungee cords, scrubby
Other: Diary, rechargeable batteries and charger, pens, notebook, maps (get good ones ahead of time, if not, look around in each country … it can be hard!), book
Try to bring the bare minimum you need to be able to survive and be relatively comfortable on your trip! If you wanna travel cheap you´ll have to bring more weight (camping and cooking gear for example) but it´s worth it… you save a lot, and plus you get more exercise!
Contactos de Movimientos de La Bici en Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru y Ecuador---Colectada por Cristhian Cuaces y Claire Stoscheck en su tour de bici “Movement Por un Cambio”
Contacts for Bike Movements in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador---Collected by Cristhian Cuaces and Claire Stoscheck in their bike tour “Movement Por un Cambio”
Chile:Santiago-
Taller Comunitario,
taller.cooperativo.bicicletas@gmail.com,
Jignaciocarrasco@gmail.comRicardo Jerez—Velo Santiago
velotour@gmail.comLina Maria Zuluato—Ciclorecreovia:
www.ciclorecreovia.cl,
lzuluaga@gomas.clDaniel Pavez—Mite y Bicicletas Públicos:
daniel_pavez@mite.clUdo—Arriba de la Cancha
udo@arribaelachancha.clAndrea Cortinez—Las Macletas
kineandre@gmail.com,
www.macleta.clLake—Cuidad Viva,
lake@sagaris.clAmarilis—Bicicultura,
amarilishorta@gmail.comValparaiso-Movimiento de Ciclistas Furiosas Valparaíso,
http://www.mfc-v.comArgentina:Salta- Casa de Ciclista, Ramon Marin, Vicente Lopez N 1414, tele: 03874392850
San Salvador de Jujuy- Casa de Ciclista, Bejamin Torrejan, Alvear 569, tele: 03884241616,
alitaespiritual@yahoo.com (E-mail de Ana Rosa, su esposa)
Abra Pampa- Familia Balderama en Abrapampa Calle Apolinar Ovando y Esq. De Julio n. 10 tel. 03887491433
ayllu_balderrama@hotmail.com lmica17yo@hotmail.com Miriam y Emundo Ellos conocen a Padre Quique quien es un padre y activista de la bici …
Bolivia:Cochabomba- Luz Marina Canelas del periódico Los Tiempos (que tiene una compaña de comunicación para promover la bici como medio de transporte)
lmcanelas@lostiempos-bolivia.com, 4254563
Peru:Puno- six_cuys@hotmail.com (los 6 amigos de la bici)
militaa@hotmail.com (Milagros)
natsuko16_6@hotmail.com (Vera Lucia)
Puquio- Padre Rueben (en la inglesia central en la plaza)
Ica- Jorge Bellido Melgovre de la liga de ciclistas
patanny.Jv@hotmail.com y
Abraham Jimenez, ciclista y activista: casa-056256611 celu- 056956418864
Lima-
Maria Isabel Melgarejo Torres de Project Zoom (instructora)
mimt1754@hotmail.comStefany de municipio y Project Zoom:
stefygj@gmail.com, 99316987
Jenny de municipio y Project Zoom
Jeny.germana@gmail.comSofia de Project Zoom (coordinadora)
siempremejor@yahoo.comTrujillo- Eugenio Boniqui, Padre y activista de la bici, 044247511
Lucho, Casa de Ciclista! Avenida Santa 347, Telefono: (044) 20 0313, celular: (044) 990 71 33, casamistadperu@yahoo.es
Chiclayo- Casa de Ciclista, Javier Cabrera Perez
perleche103@hotmail.com Amazonas 770
Ecuador:Cuenca- Bomberos
bomberoc@etapaonlin.net.ed www.bomberoscuenca.gov.ec (Arturo Bonilla) 2822518
Quito-
Bicicleteros
www.bicicleteros.comCiclopolis
www.ciclopolis.ecBiciaccion
www.biciaccion.orgOtros Viajando en Bici:Marcela:
Marcelaperez@gmail.com Sebastián:
bicicuervo02@hotmail.com nuestra inspiración en argentina…
Justin Vorel (EE.UU), thenomadlife.blogspot.com
jrvorel@gmail.comPierre (Swisa),
pierre.cauderay@montagne.net http://n-amasssepasmousse.blogspot.comLuke (Belgica),
kuifjesegers@yahoo.comKatrine y Phillip (Swisa)
www.tandemdream.chJuan Freites (Venezuela),
triciclista3r@hotmail.comTyson Eusebe Minck (EE.UU.),
tysonminck@riseup.net,
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Adventure-Learning-Grant/
Minneapolis-St. Paul, EE.UU.:The Hub Bike Co-op, taller cooperativa de bici,
www.thehubbikecoop.orgSibley Bike Depot, taller comunitario de la bici,
www.bikeped.orgGear Up, activistas por igualdad en el movimiento de la bici,
damesonframes@googlegroups.com
