Destinations

So you are planning a cycling trip in Chile and you don’t want to miss any highlights? Well, before you go, first check out the highlights we recommend for cycling in Chile.

We find ourselves in the wilderness of Bowron Lake Provincial Park to paddle the famous 116 kilometer Canoe Circuit. Encompassing ten lakes, numerous waterways and nine portages it sounds like a perfect adventure for us. No services for the next seven days, just nature, primitive campsites and a few shelters. Let the fun begin!

When leaving Jasper the rain follows us into the valley for our (for now) last continental divide crossing. Back in 2010 we’ve cycled this route too, but instead of cycling South towards Valemount we head further North to Prince George. Crossing the Fraser River we spot a couple of large Chinook Salmons, they have come a long way (almost 1400 kilometers) to reach this place, as did we (almost 29.000km!).

Many times people ask us what our favorite memory of this whole trip is (we’re still on the road!), what was the best place, or what did we like most? There’s no simple answer to that question. Memories of all the people we’ve met, all the places we’ve visited, all the amazing campsites etc. are going around and around in my head and I’m sure things will settle down in my brain someday. To help myself with the chaos in my head and to inspire other cyclists, we’ve decided to write up a few great memories of each country we’ve cycled through so far. A few reasons to visit each of these countries to inspire you! Keep reading to find out what we love about Argentina!

So, what’s it like to cycle on one of the world’s most beautiful roads? The Icefield Parkway, 230 kilometer of pure pleasure or just hard work? Parallelling the Continental Divide, highway 93 goes straight through the Rockies with views of glaciers, turquois mountain lakes, white topped peaks and fast flowing rivers… that is… when the weather isn’t working against you!

With no more than one day left on our United States visa, we leave the States behind us and continue our ride into the last country we’ll visit here in the Americas: Canada! The smoke doesn’t care about borders though and follows us right into Canada as we cycle into Waterton National Park. I dare not ask for rain, since in 2010 I wished for it and it never stopped raining!

‘The track between Butte and Helena towards Park Lake is the most challenging part of the whole Great Divide Mountain Bike Route’, I read on the Adventure Cycling map. So, we give ourselves a day off in the mining town of Butte to prepare for this challenge. Stuffed with even more burgers (what else is there to eat in the US??) we hit the road to Basin on a paved climb to another continental divide crossing.

It must have been some perv to actually think about titties when seeing the Grand Tetons… Well, the guy was French, so maybe that says it all! 😉 I can think of many things, but I don’t associate those pointy rocks with boobies (maybe Elmar does?).

After crossing the state line into Wyoming the scenery changes dramatically. From the white peaked 14.000-ers we find ourselves on wide open, grassy land with cows and pronghorns. The first we’ve seen more than mosquitoes, but the pronghorns are new to us, but there are plenty of these animals running away from us. Not strange, since they are the fastest land mammal after the cheetah …or is it because we start to smell?!?