Quote Originally Posted by onimity View Post
Hey Ladies,

I am trying to plan my vacation for this year and have been throwing around a few ideas. I am thinking in particular that I'd like to load my bike on a plane and spend a few weeks exploring someplace beautiful and interesting. I always take the full month of December off, and usually let vacation bleed over into January.

I've spent the past two Decembers in South America traveling alone. I find it a great way to meet new people and really enjoy that. I like to avoid organized tours except for short tours where that's the practical route to see something special (Salar de Uyuni, Inca trail, etc.). I speak Spanish fluently and feel very comfortable with self-supported travel in South America, but I've never done a long bike touring trip on my own. I'm not particularly scared about that, but I'm wondering a few things...

a) if any of you have cycled through Patagonia and have any route suggestions (I'm thinking Bariloche -> Ushuaia) and

b) if anyone has any suggestions for preparing for a long touring trip in general, i.e., what to pack assuming mostly camping & no/limited access to bike shops for several weeks.

Central America would be another option, but I am finding fewer documented bike trips online and Patagonia seems quite a lot more well-trodden by cyclists...

Thanks!

Anne
I have not cycled in Patagonia, but I was there in 05 (before I became a cyclist). We spent time at Torres del Paine which is absolutely gorgeous. There are lots of hostel type places to stay inside the park, and camping is highly restricted due to the sensitive land. I think you would love a cycling trip here, we saw two cyclists who were just setting out but we thought it looked incredible. Of course, that is in no small part due to the scenery.

One note, a lot of the roads in the area we were were not paved. Something to keep in mind.