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Bicycle Touring Patagonia

Photo Gallery: Bicycle Touring In Southern Patagonia

byAlee Denham
April 11, 2018

WIND. MOUNTAINS. HIKING. NATURE. Southern Patagonia is a tough place for cyclists… especially if you’re heading north to Alaska. This is the first photo gallery of many on my 2-year bike tour up towards North America.

bicycle touring patagonia
Guys – I don’t think I’ve arrived at the right Patagonia because there’s no wind or rain here! Does anyone have some reliable directions or maybe a GPX file which will get me to the REAL Patagonia???
bicycle touring patagonia
It doesn’t quite feel real yet, but it’s sure liberating to have unshackled myself from a comfortable existence at home. Endless adventures are waiting; the journey north starts tomorrow!!
bicycle touring patagonia
Alaska ☞ 17,848km. This is probably the most south I will ever stand on Planet Earth and I’m fairly sure I’ll never get closer to Antarctica. Right, north from here!
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Well, I promised KOGA that I’d test their bike to the limit.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Before hitting the flat, exposed, notoriously windy plains, it’s a rather pleasant ride through the mountains behind Ushuaia. This was my first day on the road, but for everyone going the other way – it was their last! Most cyclists had been travelling for months and seemed to be pretty enthusiastic about some highway called the Carretera Austral…
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
20 hours. TWENTY!! That’s the time between the start and finish of my ride yesterday. The first seven hours were ultra slow, as I was moving into a 50km/h block headwind. Unfortunately, the next section was even more notorious for headwinds BUT I had done some wind research and found that once in a blue moon… it can be dead still overnight. So I had a nap, cooked dinner, drank an espresso and launched a 160km/100mi overnight assault. This would save me two days of misery! I ended up cycling non-stop on the rough gravel roads all the way between sunset and sunrise. It was dark, wet, eerily silent and ever so peaceful. Total for the ‘day’: 240km/150mi.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
If there are strong winds all day, then you hit one of these signs… good luck staying upright!! Here I am trying my darndest to ride in a straight line.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Living life one dodgy bridge at a time here in Patagonia. Who knows which one will be my last!
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
I wouldn’t say the wind has broken me – I’m way too stubborn to ever let that happen – but I’m really longing for the cycling to be enjoyable again. To beat the wind you need to accept that you’ll ride all day at a slow jogging pace, then get NO REWARD for all your hard work. There’s no views, no downhill and definitely no freewheeling to help put that smile back on the dial. Out here, you’re relying on determination alone. I’ve been counting down the windy days for the last week, and with another all-nighter under the belt, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Absolutely loving the splashes of colour everywhere! The flowers make my monotonous grey, white and black getup far less dull (I’m trying not to stand out too much as a 2m tall human).
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
SENDING IT INTO 2K18!! Wishing you all the best for the next lap around the sun. My plan is to cycle to Mexico – hope to see you somewhere on the way.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Sorry, there’s been no internet for a while. I’m having a great time though!
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
I’ve been to lots of mountains around the world, and there’s not many that will take your breath away like these.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Computer generated image or real life?
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
I’ve spent an insane amount of time creating a video story for you over my first month CyclingAbout The Americas. I’m really proud of EP.1; please give it a watch and let me know what you think of it.
Welcome to my pleasure palace.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Don’t want to know what’s in my lungs today.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
It’s amazing how quickly the environment changes from valley to valley. One minute you’re cycling past jagged mountain peaks, the next you’re camping in a sparse landscape with not a tree in sight.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Would you believe this is 1130pm?! I was gifted an enormous Carnation Pink sky last night and it charmed me into riding until the curtains were fully drawn. You sleep when you’re dead, some wise person once said.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Monte Fitz Roy. 3405m. 11171ft.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
Million . Dollar . Views
Mt Fitz Roy
I’ve been really getting into trail running over here. Most people think I’m mad, but by running I can complete 2 or 3-day hikes in a single day. I only travel with a daypack, so it works out well to not require a tent, food or cooking gear either.
Bicycle Touring Patagonia
When I first shopped around for a touring bike, it had to be steel. Experienced bike tourers were touting additional comfort and were selling me on the idea that I could repair my frame anywhere in the world. A few years later, I started researching frame building and metallurgy and was now questioning these perceptions. It no longer made sense to me that steel could be more comfortable because diamond frame shapes are so stiff by design. In addition, a tyre, seatpost and seat already provides centimetres of vertical compliance, so any comfort steel may add would certainly go unnoticed. I also found out that steel frame manufacturing was a pretty specific skill set given the thin tube diameters — it’s really easy to damage a frame through repair! I’m lucky enough to have been given this aluminium Koga WorldTraveller Signature touring bike to test over the next 40,000km. KOGA is certain it will ride as smooth and be as strong as any other touring bike. Let’s see if they’re right!

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BIKE: Koga WorldTraveller Signature
GEAR LIST: My 25kg of stuff
ROUTE: View it HERE

Watch My Film From The Southern Patagonia Section HERE

Author
Alee Denham
Alee is a bike and travel addict who has cycled through 100+ countries and doesn't really have any plans of stopping. Along the way, he creates technical resources, in-depth reviews, inspirational videos, how-to guides and more. If you've learned something from him, you can support his mission to create the best bike travel content HERE.
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