Where are you going?

• The plan is to cycle through America, from the North of Alaska to the South of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Note that America is not the same as the USA. We want to see America and the USA is one country on these two continents.

Straight down?

• Well, straight down is impossible, you would hit water already in Alaska, but even in a straight line is not possible. The fastest route would be more or less straight to Panama, fly or sail to Colombia, then down the west coast of South America, over the PanAmericana.

So how far is that, 16.000km, about 10,000 miles?

• It might be if you could go straight down. We think we will have cycled at least double that distance (about 35000km) as we want to visit every country on the mainland, so including all the small countries on Central America and all the larger countries in South America.

How much do you cycle every day?

• Usually between 50 & 100km, depending on the wind, road surface, health, bike problems, interesting places and people.
• We will not cycle every day, we will take longer rests in interesting places, so our average will likely be around 50km/day or even less.

How long will this trip take?

• We think about 2.5 years, give or take a few months.

Why 2.5 years, why not 2 or 3 years?

• We have to start in Alaskan summer, so July (June is considered Spring, August Fall, the rest is winter in Alaska). As the Southern hemisphere has reversed seasons and we want to arrive in summer as well, we need either 1.5, 2.5 or 3.5 years. 1.5 is too fast, 3.5 a bit slow…

Who & what

Who are you?

• Ivana Coria from Argentina & Harry Kikstra from the Netherlands. you can read some backgrounders and links to our other projects and websites on the about page.

Argentina & The Netherlands? So where did you meet?

• In Tibet. She was cycling from Malaysia to India, I was climbing Mt Everest. We got engaged two years later on the summit of Kilimanjaro, 3 weeks before the start of this cycle trip.

Tibet? Kilimanjaro? Eh, ok. So you like travelling. Where else have you cycled before?

• Ivana has made one very long trip: first around New Zealand, then from Malaysia to India, passing Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China, Tibet & Nepal on the way. Then she cycled for a month in Turkey and has also cycled in France.
• Together we cycled in Italy for a month.
• I (Harry) was raised in the Netherlands, so was practically born and raised on bicycles. Previously I have not made any very long cycle trips, but have done some shorter touring of 2-3 weeks per trip (Belgium – Normandy – Jersey -England; Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland – Scotland; Amsterdam – Zermatt on a tandem).

What bicycles do you use?

• We ride on the perfect travel bike: Dutch made to order Santos Travel master, aluminium frame, 26″ wheels. Tubus racks and Ortlieb bags see for more details the gear pages.

Website:

How does this website work?

• well you found the FAQ, so you seem to have some idea already. On the homepage you see 4 tabs with a photo and shortcuts to the last 4 posts.
• You can check older trip reports in may ways: check archives, trip reports, search for words, browse by categories (the second/lower top menu) or use the tags system, which is a bit more detailed than the categories.
• You can contact us through the contact form and we love feedback on our posts, so please leave some comments when you read the posts. You will be asked to verify that you are a human being (and not a spam robot) by typing some random code. Though this might be difficult and annoying, it saves us hours of time and helps to control spam.

Will you write reports every day?

• We will try but already know that it will not be possible as we will be too tired, to grumpy, too out of battery power, or too far away from any internet connection. So likely we will write in batches, whenever we have a few hours or day off and post them when needed.

So do I need to check every day to see if you updated something?

• No, you can make it much easier to follow us: either add our RSS feed to your feed reader, so you get a notice when a new feed is available
• If you have no idea what RSS is, just subscribe to our mailinglist and get a maximum of one email every day new updates are posted. You can do this on every page, see the box at the right side, near the top of the page or just click here.

Why does http://WorldOnABike.com change to http://worldonabike.com ?

• World On A Bike .com is just easier to remember and to tell people. It automatically forwards to the real website which is located at harry.biketravellers.com. On http://BikeTravellers.com everybody that cycles can open a free weblog (yourname.biketravellers.com), try it yourself, many others have already done so.

Where are Ivana’s reports?

• Ivana prefers to write in Spanish, so her website is http://ElMundoEnBici.com . Note that this also is just an easy to remember shortcut, it forwards to http://elmundoenbici.biketravellers.com .
• Do not forget that our penguin friend Pablito is also joining us and he makes his own reports as well, sometimes in English, mostly in Spanish, check out his website here: http://Pablito.biketravellers.com

What are those ‘Google Ads’ I see on many pages?

• These are small advertisements, supplied by Google. We do not choose them, the content is based on the content of the page, so a page about Alaska will give you ads about Alaska tours or land. It might show things we do not support, like drilling for oil in Alaska.
• Every time somebody clicks on them, we get a few cents, which helps to pay for our website costs. So if you are interested in the ads, please check tem out as you are helping us.
• Do not just click a lot of ads just to help us, as Google might ban our account if some people repeatedly click our ads from the same computer/IP address. So only check the ones that are interesting to you.

How & costs & support

How can you afford such a trip?

• We spend much less than you think, we saved some money the past years and might make some more on the way.

So, how much will you spend?

• North America will be the most expensive: until we reach Mexico, we will spend about $15 per day (together). This means less than $3000 in the first 6 months.
• Then from Mexico down it will probable be less than half of that.
• In total should be less than $10,000 together for the entire trip.

That is less than my parents spent on a luxury 2-week safari trip last year! How come you can live so cheap?

• We do not need much. We have our tent, so we do not need to pay for hotels. We camp out in the wild or at people’s lawn’s, so do not pay for expensive campsites. We will stay in cheap hostels in cities -in central America, you can get these for a few dollars-, but will also do a lot of Couchsurfing/Hospitality clubbing/ WarmShowering: staying with people for free, in return we will host them later.
• We cook ourselves, so all we need is some pasta, some veggies and some candy bars to get us through the day. We drink water we get from people or take it from streams and purify it with our Steripen. We recharge our batteries using our SolarSupra solar panel. We never buy bottled water, that is a waste of money and plastic.
• We do not have an expensive taste and have no space for souvenirs on our bikes, so all we take home are pictures and memories.
• Our sponsors supplied us with most of our gear, so we had little costs up front.

It is still a lot of money, don’t you have any other costs as well?

• We do not have kids, we do not have a car and have no debts, we never bought and will not buy anything we cannot afford. We have a house, but that is rented out so almost pays for itself.
• So things we need to pay are: food & drinks. Sometimes camping fees (mostly we camp in the wild or on people’s lawns); Internet connections along the way, spare parts for our bikes; replacements for clothes we wore out; park fees; visa fees; entry fees for places we want to visit etc.
• It is hard to plan exactly how much we will spend, but we want to see things along the way and will buy some dinners or breakfasts along the way when we are too tired or lazy to cook or think we deserved it after cycling another 1000km or a tough day. Basically we are on a tight budget, but will not let this stop us from enjoying the places we visit.

Is there any way we can support your trip?

• Yes! Many ways, first of all you can sign up for our newsletter or RSS feed. Forward them to others that might enjoy reading travel stories, stories about people and culture, cycling, environmental issues, America.
• Leave comments on the posts. We love to read them, they keep us going. Small notes from friends and strangers are huge boosts for our confidence and can help us through rough and difficult times.
• Just think of this website as a free interactive travel magazine subscription. If you enjoy reading our stories and seeing our photos, you can thank us by donating some money using the form on the right side of every post and page, using PayPal or credit card. Every small amount is welcome, just think what you would spend on a magazine or book.
• Check out the Google ads if there is something interesting for you (do not click them all just to help, see notes above).
• Link to our websites or specific reports or photos from your own website or blog. Add us to Stumble Upon, ReddIt, Digg etc. get the word out that it is possible to travel by bicycle!
• Invite us to speak in your town. We can give presentations about our trips, about climbing the 7 summits, cycling Asia, Bike Travelling or a photo presentation of the culture and nature of the 7 continents . We can charge admission fees or just ask for donations. We love to tell about our trips and spread knowledge about cycling and the environment.
• Buy something from our shops, see the links above. We get a small percentage of every item sold and you promote cycling!
• Invite us for dinner or to stay at your place or recommend addresses to sleep (friends, family) or even just places to pitch our tent
• Start cycling yourself!

But let’s go back a few weeks, back to the lowlands and share our journey with you in words and images.

I am not sure if it is me (us) or is there just no way to properly prepare for a 2.5 year trip? We had been planning since a year ago and still many things had to be done in literally the last minute. At least you can get a lot more done if you use the 8 hours we normally waste on sleeping on working and preparing

As our house was already rented out, we moved back and forth between my mom’s house and Romke & Anouks place. R&A have two wonderful kids and they were happy to assist in sorting out all the gear we received from our wonderful sponsors, this is Kira, checking out the Ortlieb and Carrera gear that Jacobsons sent us.

and this is how part of their livingroom looked during their vacation:

Thanks again, Romke & Anouk & Kira & Jelte, we would not have made it without you.

We took the train up North to say goodbye to my Mother and Sister. By the way, in The Netherlands we have a great railway system, which will get you everywhere in no time. of course people like to complain about the train service, but i think it is perfect, there are even a lot of special spaces for bicycles in every carriage, very useful to do some last minute fine-tuning:

My Mum helped us with some last things and we even managed to make a mess in her place. She was very sad; even though I have been away for many months at a time in the past, this will be the longest period away so far.

My sister lives close and we also visited her to say goodbye. We had a nice dinner at a organic Indonesian restaurant in Assen, with great food and service and we could even park our bikes inside. As with my mom, she was in tears when we waved goodbye from the train, but again somehow I was not sad, maybe we will see each other soon again.

Ivana had already said goodbye to her family in March, when she came to Amsterdam. But thanks to the wonders of skype and broadband Internet, she had been talking/videoconferencing with her mum and sister (that almost have the same names as mine) every evening for hours, while packing and sorting stuff.

Going on all these adventures is selfish in a way as we are worrying our friends and family. But I think we can repay their concerns and affection with stories and images and knowledge that we are following our hearts.

ps: we also had a nice going away slash b-day party, but i will post the images in a separate post once we find the images again

www.mariowolff.nl

Mario Wolff is also someone who has turned his passion into his living. A climber by heart, he is nw the importer and dirtibutor for Vertical clothing as well as Stic-it (for rockclimbing) as well as Tear Aid, clever stuff that you can use to fix everything.

His main focus is on the wonderful Vertical clothing. Vertical (French website, Dutch website) uses the innovative material MP+. More breathable than Gore-Tex, stronger and more durable. The jackets he gave us are fully waterproof and weigh only 200grams!

Mario went throug a lot of trouble to make sure our new gear arrived on time, many thanks for your help Mario!

The gear is very nice and though primarily focused on climbers, very useful for cyclist and other travellers and adventurers as it is durable, functional but light and pretty as well

Mario Wolff | Bezoekadres: Stemerdingweg 7a 3769 CE Soesterberg | Tel nr 06-48172310 | E-mail: info@mariowolff.nl | kvk nr. 34247900 | Btw nr NL146386723B01

Gecko Climbing is a small importer of quality brands like Boreal and Carinthia and smaller specialized brands like Trango Bleastone, Elliot ST, Acun & beta stick as well as their own brand Gecko Climbing. Owner Jort veen is a great guy, a strong climber himself and very enthusiastic. He has gone out of his way to make sure all our gear arrived ok and on time, thanks Jort!

Their mission is to make climbing more safe and pleasant for both individual climbers as well as professionals who work on height like arborists. To reach this goal Gecko climbing has the policy to deliver their customers with all the information and service they need.

Boreal (www.e-boreal.com) has given us great discount on our boots, gracias Jesus!

Carinthia (www.carinthia-bags.com) has supplied us with specially made sleeping bags as well as great light downjackets that we have been using a lot. Owner Wolfgang personally has altered some models to make sure we will not be too cold! Vielen dank, Wolfgang!

SLEEPING BAGS

40 years CARINTHIA thermo isolation

Whether in the far north of Canada, the South Pole, the peaks of the Himalayas, the African desert or the Austrian Alps, having the right sleeping bag makes a big difference to the success of an expedition.

We are aware of the responsibility we bear.Our company, CARINTHIA, has been manufacturing synthetic and down fillings for more than 40 years.

CARINTHIA outdoor wear

In this catalogue again we proudly present our newest developments for our new product range CARINTHIA OUTDOOR WEAR and other current products.

SLEEPING BAGS AND OUTDOOR WEAR

Since many years CARINTHIA fulfil every aspect in thermo isolation.World wide many (thousands
of)people trust in our sleeping bags,-outdoor wear- and tent-technology, whether in private or on an official mission.

CONTACT

CARINTHIA – HEADQUARTER

Carinthia Sleeping Bags & outdoor wear
A. Mayer Goldeck
Seebachertrasse 11-13
9871 Seeboden / Austria

FON 0043.4762.510120
FAX 0043.4762.510118

email: office@carinthia-bags.com
Web: www.carinthia-bags.com

DISTRIBUTORS

Japan
E.I.A. Co.Ltd.
1-5-2 Hills SK Building 3F
153-0044 Ohashi Megur-Ku Tokyo/Japan
Tel: +813347630825
Fax: +81334760840
e-mail: eia@tkf.att.ne.jp

Denmark
AV EXPEDITIONSUDSTYR
Härbyvej 44
DK-8660 Skanderborg/Dänemark
Tel: +4586511535
Fax: +4586524013
e-mail: annalise@av-exp.dk

Germany/Austria
A.Mayer GmbH
GOLD-ECK AUSTRIA
Seebacherstraße 11-13
A-9871 Seeboden/Österreich
Tel: +434762510120
Fax: +434762510118
e-mail: office@carinthia-bags.com

Finland
GREENDOOR OY
Nuijamiestentie 5C
FI-00400 Helsinki/Finnland
Tel: +358956074223
Fax: +3589 56074224
e-mail: greendoor@greendoor.fi

France
L´AIR DE RIEN
74, chemin des Cerisiers
FR-38330 Montbonnot/Frankreich
Tel: +33607069127
Fax: +33476419189
e-mail: marc.tainturier@free.fr

PollandHANDLOWA “DAVIS”KAZIMIER HANUSIAK
Ul. Chelmonskiego 18
PL-43-300 Bielsko-Biala/Polen
Tel: +48338164890
Fax: + 48338164890
e-mail: davis@davis-bielsko.com.pl

Israel
SHLAGIM SKI & SPORT
Kfar Monash 42875
Israel
Tel: +97298940224
Fax: +97298940225
e-mail: sufa_tr@netvision.net.il

Netherlands
C.J.AGENCIES B.V.
P.O. Box 537
NL-3740 Am Baarn/Holland
Tel: +31355424200
Fax: +31355415277
e-mail: info@cjagencies.nl

Switzerland
KUNDERT VARIO AG
Huebstraße 3
CH-8633 Wolfhausen/Schweiz
Tel: +41552434320
Fax: +41552434322
e-mail: info@kundertvario.ch

Sweden
BUFFER MARIN
Fabriksvägen 9
S-18632 Vallentuna/Schweden
Tel: +46851170027
Fax: +46851170037
e-mail: peter.hallstrom@buffers.se

Slovakia
TATRA TEXTIL S.R.O.
Popradska 224
SK-05911 Hozelec/Slowakei
Tel: +421527894551
Fax: +421527881698
e-mail: bohumirzombek@tatratextil.sk

Turkey
MEYDAN AV MALZEMELERI
Karakoy Meydani Aksu Ishani
Kat 1 Karakoy
TR-34425 Karakoy – Istanbul/Türkei
Tel: +902122523420
Fax: +902122437588
e-mail: meydan@meydanav.com

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Nowadays a cycle trip is so much more than just a way to go from A-B. We make photos, maintain blogs, and film. All this digital material can get lost, broken or stolen, the nightmare of a photographer/filmer & writer like me.

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