Getting to South America

December 26, 2019
New York to Puerto Montt, Chile

This is a bittersweet moment for me. Three weeks ago I lost my mom. She was a radiant and extraordinary woman. My mother was my biggest fan. She herself was a world traveler, and she ventured to Patagonia a long time ago. I dedicate this journal to my awesome mom, whom I miss and will definitely be thinking about during this stupendous adventure.

Gearing up for a tour is always intense, but this time was overwhelming. My mom passed away, I had to complete grading for 70 college students, and I installed part of my latest public art project, culminating several years of preparation. In addition, there was the stress of the holidays.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve flown overseas with a bike in advance of a tour. Scott and I realize the challenges that await us. I’ve been packing for the past several days. I had a new chain, cassette, and front hub installed on my bike. I’ve gone over my list again and again, and I’ve made some small modifications.

I’ve been scouring Instagram and CrazyGuy for cyclists who are currently riding the Carretera Austral, and I’ve been watching the weather forecasts.

I used the same boxes that my bike and gear were shipped back from Anacortes WA this past summer. Props to Hal from Bicycle Habitat for the bike disassembly and packing advice. I broke everything down two days ago, and called the Über XL this afternoon. It was smooth sailing through check-in and security. I was charged $100 for my bike.

Scott and I were supposed to fly from Santiago to Puerto Montt together, but he got bumped - twice. He’s flying from Philadelphia through Miami. As it looks right now, I’ll be arriving in Puerto Montt tomorrow morning at 9:30am. Scott is now supposed to arrive at 4:30pm. The plan is for me to assemble my bike and wait for him at the airport. We need  to purchase camping gas, and then we have a planned destination 35 miles southeast of Puerto Montt. It’s supposed to be raining. Tomorrow when I set up my bike computer I’ll switch over to Kilometers. I’ve got a 10 hour flight ahead of me.



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