To the Bottom of the World

My name is Robert Hickman. I'm an artist and college professor from Brooklyn, NY. I make sculptural objects, installations, and public art. My work can be seen on my website at hickmanindustries.com . I've done many transportation related public art projects, the best known being the skylight for the 72nd street subway station on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I'm recognized for my unicycling and project to cross every single bridge in New York City on a unicycle. I commute everywhere in NYC by bike, often with my dog Blanka . In 2018 I rode coast to coast following the ACA TransAmerica trail. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. This past summer I cycled across the US following the ACA Northern Tier route. I'm addicted to cycling adventures. I'm embarking on the ultimate cycling adventure with my friend Scott, whom I cycled with on the TransAm. Both of us were inspired by our pal Kyle , who was part of our TransAm gang. Kyle cycled

• Introduction • Equipment List • Getting to South America • A day at the Airport • Carretera Austral Day #1 Puerto Montt Airport to Lenca • Carretera Austral Day #2 Lenca to Hornopirén • Carretera Austral Day #3 Hornopirén to Chaitén • Carretera Austral Day #4 Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia • Carretera Austral Day #5 Villa Vanguardia to Parque Nacional Queulat • Carretera Austral Day #6 Parque Nacional Queulat to Campo Grande • Carretera Austral Day #7 Campo Grande to Coyhaique • Carretera Austral Day #8 Coyhaique to Vista Hermosa • Carretera Austral Day #9 Vista Hermosa to Lago Cofré • Carretera Austral Day #10 Lago Cofré to Puerto Rio Tranquilo • Carretera Austral Forced Off Day Puerto Rio Tranquilo • Carretera Austral Forced Off Day #2 Puerto Rio Tranquilo • Carretera Austral Day #11 Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Cochrane • Carretera Austral Day #12 Cochrane to Tortel • Carretera Austral Day #13 Tortel to Rio Resbalon • Carretera Austral Day #14 Rio Re

EQUIPMENT LIST <<BIKE>> • Surly Long Haul Trucker 64cm frame 700c wheels • DT SWISS TK540 36H 7 rear rim w/ M99 spokes • modified 11-34 cassette • modified 22-32-44 chain ring • Brooks B67 Saddle • Maxxis 700X45C Foldable Bead 60TPI Dual Compound SS/TR (Dirt Road/Gravel) Tires (+ 1 extra) • Shimano PD-M324 dual sided pedals • Tubus Cargo Evo Rear Rack • Tubus Tara Front Rack • SKS P50 Fenders - silver (front modified) • Cinelli Gel Ribbon Handlebar Tape • 3 Water Bottle Cages • Lezyne Air pump mount • CatEye - Volt 300 Rechargeable Headlight (mounted to front rack with with hose clamps and 1” wooden dowel) • Serfas Superbright USB Taillight (mounted to rear rack with Planet Bike Tail Light Rack Bracket) • additional taillight • Kryptonite KryptoFlex 1018 Combo Cable Lock • Bell Helmet (yellow) • Blackburn Helmet Mirror <<TOOLS & SPARE PARTS>> • 2 Park Tool patch kits • Park Tool Emergency Tire Boot kit •

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 som

December 27, 2019 Santiago to Puerto Montt, Chile My flight arrived 19 minutes late and Scott’s flight was on time. We ran into each another at baggage claim, and he collected his bike before I did. Customs officials took my 3 apples and made me fill out additional paperwork. By the time I got to the departure gate, I was told that it was too late to board the flight. I was put on an even later flight to Puerto Montt than Scott.  Scott’s bike box was mangled and his tent was falling out through a large hole. My accessory box also had a large tear leaving my gear exposed. We had our boxes plastic wrapped and worried about the luggage bar codes that were now covered. We exchanged dollars for pesos and had a nice breakfast and plenty of coffee. Neither of us had slept well. We updated our plans, since Scott would now be arriving in Puerto Montt before me. The goal was still to make it to Caleta La Arena.  We saw numerous travelers with bicycle boxes at the airport. The air

December 27, 2019 Puerto Montt Airport to Lenca 46.63Km Ride Time 4hours Tour Total 46.63 Km At long last, I’m back on tour! After an eleven hour layover in Santiago, and over 24 hours since I left New York, I am finally in Patagonia. It’s been raining all day in Puerto Montt. Scott arrived two and a half hours ahead of me. I dosed off for a moment on the plane ride and got a chill of excitement when the plane broke through the clouds. It’s was so green and enchanting below. Exhausted and running on adrenaline, I reassembled my bike in the airport arrival area. Scott had put his bike back together in ninety minutes and then rode into town in search of camping gas. I had gone overboard with the zip ties when packing up my bike in New York. Without a pair if cutting pliers I injured myself with my knife trying to cut them. I was surrounded by a crowd of excited arrival area greeters at the small airport. People were walking through the area where I was trying to

December 28, 2019 Lenca to Hornopirén 69.22 Km Ride Time: 9:15:06 Pedal Time: 6:14:09 Tour Total 115.85 Km  xx We awoke to the loud squawking of birds at 8am. Our tents were in the shade and everything was soaked from condensation. We had gone to bed at 2am the night before. The stealth camping spot was located through iOverlander. We were about 100’ from the Pacific. The gulf water here was calm. There were beached wooden boats strewn along the coastline. Dogs had barked in the distance as we were setting up last night. Scott thought he heard hyenas. It was a slow morning pack up. We set our soggy gear in the sun to dry. Scott worked on his front derailer. A nice couple who had been camping nearby in a painted Batman van offered us staple provisions. We were fully loaded with such and declined. We had a 10:30am start. I had forgotten to bring my gloves into the tent and they were soaking wet. Out in the road I passed hydrangea bushes and numerous other flowers in

December 29, 2019 Hornopirén to Chaitén 61.1 Km Ride Time: 11:30 Pedal Time: 4:26 Tour Total Pedaled 176.95 Km I don’t know what time the rooster started cockle doodle do-ing, but it was dark and it seemed like I had just fallen asleep. It seemed as if the fowl were right outside my tent. I eventually fell back asleep only to awake at 7am. The plan was to get up at 8am and I hadn’t set my alarm. I set it and got a few more winks. There had been a lot of condensation and the outside of my tent was soaked. There were small droplets inside, and the foot of my sleeping bag was wet from rubbing up against the end of my tent. We had 90 minutes to pack and be at the ferry terminal. Actually we had only 75 minutes, because I didn’t start yelling for Scott to get up right away. The sun was strong so I began hanging my tent fly and wet laundry on a fence that divided the camping area from the geese and roosters. We methodically tried to harness the powerful sun rays to dry our w

Carretera Austral Day #4 Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia December 30, 2019 Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia 99.35 Km Ride Time: 8:54 Pedal Time: 6:31 Tour Total Pedaled 276.3 Km I didn’t sleep very well last night. My tent was lodged between two small mounds at  my head and foot and not on level ground. The campground was in a residential neighborhood in someone’s yard, and I could hear dogs barking all night. Also my pillow was overinflated, which I could have adjusted but didn’t. The sun hit my tent around  8am and it started getting warm inside. I was surrounded by other tents, and was concerned about queues for the bathroom, but there was no problem. My phone and battery pack were fully charged and my laundry was almost dry. My tent was soaked from the condensation so I hung up the fly and the ground cloth and placed the tent in direct line with the sun. I also put my laundry in the sun for a last minute warm-up before it was packed. While my things were drying, I organized