What happened before our arrival at the start in Argentina?

Now at the start! We decided to drastically change our lives and embark on a big cycling adventure: 25.000 km in 20 months. It has taken us almost a year to prepare. Now the big moment is finally here! We have quit our jobs and flown from our home in Denmark to the starting point in Argentina.

Want to know what we had to do to get here? How we decided what to take and what to leave behind? And how we guided our bikes safely through an airline journey with three layovers? 

 Martin and Katja
 Santos Travelmaster 3⁺

How to pack for a big trip?

Packing for a big trip is a lengthy process. Ours started more than 10 months ago, when we first decided to embark on this great adventure. Already back then, we started thinking about and choosing the gear we wanted to take with us. Most of it, we have tested on smaller trips over the past 9 months. A few items, we have just bought/received just a few days before our departure. 

"Our gear weighs around 34 kilos, a bit heavier than planned

It may seem like a lot, but it has all been carefully selected. Ranging from which tent to bring to how many pairs of socks. In total, our gear weighs around 34 kilos, a bit heavier than we first planned. Mainly because we have chosen to bring some “nice-to-have” items, which we believe will make our days more enjoyable. Like the Helinox Chairs, that we brought along this summer on our big test trip to the Alps. We used the chairs every day on the Alp trip and therefore, we know that we will also use them on our big upcoming adventure.

We want to travel as light as we can, but we also want to have a good balance with comfort. If there is something we don't use, we will send it back home along the way. 

Handle with care! 

Our bicycles Mavi and Sabaca travelled with us by plane from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Rio Gallegos in Argentina. A long journey with three layovers, including a two-day stop in Buenos Aires, where we had to bring the bicycle boxes with us to our hotel.

Before we left, we had picked up two large bike boxes at our local bicycle store. Before packing the bikes, Martin did some maintenance, including changing the brake pads. We also adapted the boxes to fit the measurements stated by the airline.

"Our bikes survived three layovers in busy airports

It meant that we had to remove the front wheel, the handlebar and pedals. At the airport we realized that it was very important that we had done so, as the boxes hardly fit into the security x-ray scanner! 

We made sure to pack the boxes very securely and they did get some heavy beating on the long trip! However, the bicycles were totally fine, when we opened the boxes. They had survived three layovers in busy airports. Yay!

In Rio Gallegos, we were very happy to be reunited with the bikes and to check that everything was ok.  So it was totally fine that we could not find a taxi in Rio Gallegos as it was a perfect excuse to assemble the bikes at the airport and ride the 7 kilometers into town. The first small leg of our long journey! 

Now we are in Rio Gallegos getting ready for the real cycling adventure. We are busy with the final arrangements such as grocery shopping, downloading GPS maps and doing our laundry. We have also decided to stay in Rio Gallegos for a few days. To get a little rest after some very hectic weeks up to our departure from Denmark.

Come along on our trip

Follow our trip on our Santos page, on Instagram @americasbybike or on our blog www.americasbybike.dk.