We’re sitting on the beach, only a day away from Columbia. Our bike is broken, essentially unrideable. And for the next three days or so we’ll be taking a series of lanchas (motorized boats) in order to circumnavigate the Darien gap. It’s not exactly peak experience for us; as a reminder for those who don’t know we’re not big fans of the ocean or beach. However, we are feeling super grateful for the kindness we’ve received and confident in our ability to find a solution for our bike in Columbia, and overall actually pretty at peace with where we’re at READ MORE
Category: Bike packing
In the Rain and on the River
Cognitively, we knew that at some point on this trip we would have to deal with some real rain, but now that we are actually dealing with it, we are reminded of just how luxurious the dry weather we’ve encountered on most of this trip is. We are now in Panama, and have caught in a low pressure system that spans the majority of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and Panama. Our first night in Costa Rica we paid for a room in a hotel, enjoying the opportunity to make veggie sandwiches and get a shower after a long READ MORE
Sick Days in Guatemala
A heads up: now that we’re out of Mexico our regular cell service isn’t working like it used to. The easiest way to contact us is on WhatsApp. You can look up our phone number to contact us there. We had taken a day off in San Cristobal when Mark came down with a little cold. We were glad I hadn’t gotten sick as we rode into Guatemala, but simultaneously worried that he might have gotten dengue since it didn’t seem to be contagious. We rode into Guatemala with two other touring cyclists who we met that morning and then READ MORE
Coffee, not Nescafé
We have arrived in the southernmost state in Mexico, Chiapas, where we have enjoyed trying some of the locally grown coffee and cacao and taking on one of the most challenging climbs of this trip. We spent our final night in Oaxaca with Rodrigo, who must be the most popular Warm Showers host ever (so many people have stayed with him!) and we too enjoyed his company and beautiful family and huge garden to pitch our tent and bathe ourselves. After sharing breakfast with Rodrigo and his wife Lupita, we got back on our bike, rode in heat of the READ MORE
What do you say when someone is walking the United States?
After enjoying the cool air of the high elevation of central Mexico, we have made it to the southern end of the state of Oaxaca. Back at sea level, we are feeling the heat and humidity. We had an incredible stay at a small mezclaría, the brand of which we tried back in Todos Santos. We stayed with a variety of Warm Showers hosts who made us feel welcome in the bike touring community in Mexico. We met some other bike tourers heading to Argentina. We did some super fun mountain riding, winding up and down the volcanic terrain in READ MORE
On the Move and in the Mountains
I have been slow to update my blog the last couple weeks as Mark and I finished up Spanish courses and struggled to get back in the groove of bike touring. Here are links to our photo album and Marks Strava if you’d like to follow along in between posts! Mark’s Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/markandnic Google Photo Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8sK1ryrupSjneZ9BA After finishing our last day of Spanish classes, Mark and I packed up and rode away from Mazatlan and the coast on Tuesday. We were happy to be back on the bike after basically two weeks off (except a few days of riding READ MORE
Off the Bike for a Bit
Mark and I arrived in Todos Santos, BCS on Friday, October 20, just before Hurricane Norma started dropping rain on the city. We had signed up for a week long Spanish course and decided to get to town before the hurricane to insure we didn’t miss our clases. The school at which we are taking courses let us camp in their yard for a small price, and let us sleep inside and use their kitchen during the hurricane! We were happy to have a dry spot to wait out the weather. Todos Santos was relatively sheltered from the storm: some READ MORE
Hot, Hot, Hot, Hotel!
A quick note after a long day: See photos and videos from today here: Google Photos drive Mark and I have been riding through the heat the past couple days, but today we were especially exhausted in the 100 degree temperature (it’s also very humid). Today, our ride was mostly flat, which meant we were able to travel quite a ways—190 km—but the flat road, open desert and sprawling agriculture made the sweltering road feel endless. We didn’t talk much for the exhaustion of the heat, and without much to see, we only only stopped when we could get water READ MORE
Una semana en México
**Unfortunately, I am having trouble uploading photos to my blog from my phone, so please check out our Google photos drive if you are having trouble viewing them!** Neither of us had ever left the country before this trip, so when the Mexican border patrol ushered us through without even checking our passports in San Luis Rio Colorado, we were surprised to say the least. We left the agricultural area on the US side of the border into the bustling San Luis Rio Colorado. Overwhelmed by the busy streets and busy shops, we road through the city without stopping. We READ MORE
Still in Yuma, AZ
Mark and I left Tucson well fed and rejuvenated. We stayed two nights near the city, one with a Warm Showers host, and another with a close friend’s parents. We enjoyed delicious home cooked meals and lots of interesting conversation. We rode out past the town of Sells on the Tohono O’odham reservation. We cruised miles as we enjoyed a gentle downhill and a wide shoulder. When we called the local police department to get info about camping on the reservation they told us we could camp alongside the roadway, but it was illegal to camp on their land. They READ MORE