Category Archives: Great trips

Karaban

Kibera is a large suburb in Kenya in which a million people live under difficult conditions as it comes to scarcity and high mortality rate. Here, a lot of children do not choice in living on streets. Thus, whatever option to progress is rather limited.

Karaban was a project developed by at least Elena Milà and David Vilanova with the aim of pedaling from Andorra, a small country in Europe, to Kibera to bring opportunities to 22 children. This 12,000 km trip proposed being sponsored with €50,000 to allow the children being accepted in important student residences, with personalized following, until university or microcredits if they want to become entrepreneurs. However Karaban brought a little bit of hope to Kibera, most of the hope is provided by the NGO Kings and Queens of Kibera which works on the field since 2011 to help Kibera inhabitants develop a better future.

Regarding the bike trip, Elena and David experienced some tough moments such as crossing Namibia (a country with the second lower population density), the Namib dessert (up to 45ºC and few water and food sources), a cub came across in a forest, a scorpion appeared inside a saddlebag, howls of jackals at sunset, etc. However, it is important to appreciate the good moments as when sleeping in farms, haystacks or schools at night. And above all optimism and positivism are the two most important ways of living when facing serious drawbacks, from feeling your mind and body tired to not having a source of water in kilometers ahead.

Sara Dykman

Every year, the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus Plexippus, goes from the USA to Mexico in a massive migration of about 5,000 kilometers. Millions of this butterfly start it with the unique help of their instinct. Sara Dykman accompanied them by pedaling for nine months in which she learned a lot about this insect and came across interesting people. As a result, she wrote the book Bicycling with Butterflies which is plenty of data and rigor as well as humor and lyricism.

In reality, the Monarch Butterfly spends Winter in the Oyamel forests in Michoacan, Mexico and flies to the USA and Canada. When the cold of Autumn arrives, they go back to Mexico. Four generations are needed to complete the migration and lay their eggs on the milkweed plant. Thus, the butterflies which return to Mexico are the great-granddaughter of the ones which initiated the migration.

Sara studied the specie and discovered that this butterfly travels about one hundred kilometers a day. This figure is the preferred one to ride in a day for Sara. She learned a lot about people and butterflies since she claims that we are connected to nature and the force of unity: A butterfly weights 0.5 grams, but if millions perch on a branch, they can break it.

Juan Dual

Juan Dual is the kind of person who stops at nothing to enjoy life. He lost his stomach, colon, rectum and gall bladder due to a genetic disease which made him more prone to suffer from cancer. Whereas some people can become depressed under so devastating health changes, he took advantage of biking and humor to overcome problems. Indeed, he has a tattoo in his right forearm with the following message: Do not give much thought to things, rather do them.

After successfully being physically cured, he needed to cure his head. Everybody goes through tough issues and sometimes we forget the most important: We only have one life and must enjoy it. A simple and powerful idea. His bicycle helped him to avoid pessimism. The most difficult moment was when he started pedaling after all the surgery. Relatives and friends told him not to do sport sometimes because of fear or ignorance, or simply because love, but he disregarded them. Today he reckons that did the right thing and has rode mainly on Latin American countries and Spain.

As it comes to great trips, he follows the three days rule. He gives away everything he has not used in the first three days of route as a way to avoid overweight. Moreover, he recommends consulting everything about your desired great trip before starting it and do not be afraid asking locals for information.

Preparing a great trip

When one decides to start a great bike trip, it is always a good idea to think in advanced about what objects to take. Here you have a proposed list:

  • A bicycle: Obviously a bike is needed, but consider incorporate a rear rack and a front rack to carry all the necessary. Do not discard additional racks. As it comes to the bicycle frame, it is a good idea to choose a steel bicycle frame.
  • Mobile phone: Even if one of the targets of practicing cycle tourism, a mobile phone is helpful in a critical situation. Turn it off in order to save battery and focus on your path.
  • Cash: It is possible that you can not find cash machines or use cards in your great trip. Having cash at hand, without having too much, can open some doors.
  • Water: Hydration is basic when pedaling long distances. Approximately determine your daily stages to calculate whether or not you will be able to replenish your bicycle jerrycans.
  • Gloves: They protect from cold and humidity. Even good gloves can protect you from a fall.
  • Rain jacket: Select the lightweight one which do not take up too much space so as to avoid downpours.
  • Saddlebags: If you are thinking in a great trip, it is recommended to carry a triple saddlebag on the back carrier: one on each side and the third on the back carrier. Additionally, some rider use a smaller, double saddlebag on the front carrier.
  • Helmet: It uses to be compulsory outside cities. Select a helmet with good ventilation and better if it incorporates lights.
  • Powerbank: If you carry gadgets, you need a powerbank. Remember charging it when you have the possibility.
  • Lights: Front and rear lights are compulsory in most traffic regulations. If they are charged through USB, you can use the powerbank.
  • GPS (if your mobile phone does not include it): To check what is your next path. Or you can also bring paper maps.
  • Sleeping bag: There are several types of sleeping bags in the market and choose the most appropriate one depending on the climate and temperatures of the planned dates.
  • Multitool: A multitool can save your day when you have a mechanical problem in your bike. A multitool with a chain cutter is always a good idea.
  • Tire levers: When you are riding and suffer from a wheel puncture, tire levers help you to strip the inner tube of the wheel. It is better carry plastic tire levers rather than metallic ones since you will save weight.
  • Patches: Essential objects to solve a wheel puncture.
  • Two new inner tubes: This way you solving a puncture will take you less time. Moreover, if you change your inner tubes because of punctures, do not forget to solve the problems.
  • Rainproof trousers: Pedaling when raining is an experience, but too much rain can cause you problems. With rainproof trousers you can avoid them. Another option is to look for a cover place and wait until rain stops.
  • Glasses: Even if you do not use it normally, pedaling with glasses is a good idea to protect your eyes from sun and avoid mosquitoes entering your eyes.
  • Bike pump: A small one. When you solve punctures or put a new inner tube, you need to blow up it with a bike pump.
  • A basic first-aid kit: Bandage, hydrogen peroxide, plaster, gauze and anti-inflammatories.
  • Underwear: Three as much. You can wash them when you stop.

And remember, the most weight in your saddle bags, the most effort you make in your great trip.

Annie Londonderry

Annie Londonderry was the first woman to bicycle around the world. In reality, her name was Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, but the Londonderry surname came from her first sponsor The Londonderry Lithia Spring Water Company of Nashua, New Hampshire. The New York World declared her trip from 1894 to 1985 as “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman”. And she did it as a mother of three children under the age of six. This fact turned every Victorian motion of female property of its ear and was controversial.

She came to the United States of America at the age of five with her parents and two older siblings from what is now Latvia and settled in Boston old West End.

She started her journey on June 25, 1894, when she stood before a crowd of about 500 friends, family, suffragists and curious onlookers at the Massachusetts State House. Going a step further, the trip was set not only to circle the Earth, but also earn $5,000 in route. If she reached these two targets, she would win a $10,000 prize. Imagine the incredible money sum in the 1890s. Thanks to her physical endurance and mental attitude, she rode the planned trip on a man’s bicycle attired in a man’s riding suit. She earned the $5,000 by selling photographs of herself, appearing as an attraction in stores and showing her body and bicycle to advertisers. You can see some of her photographs here. Her trip was so outstanding that the SPIN musical opened in Toronto, Canada, in March 2011 to critical acclaim. In August 2022 another musical inspired by Annie took place at London’s Charing Cross Theater also to critical acclaim.

As Susan B. Anthony claimed, “Bicycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world”.

Yolanda Muñoz

Yolanda Muñoz is one of the women who does not fear traveling alone. This bike-lover did an impressive trip mostly under the modality of bike + train. She started pedaling from Vitoria, Spain, and arrived to exotic countries thanks to its strength, courage and perseverance.

Her initial idea was to cross Europe and Asia and this primary teacher planned everything until the X day came: July the 16th 2015. Unfortunately, she had an accident with a bee in Poland and she modified her plan. She took the Tran-Siberian railway from Moscow to Mongolia, and an additional train to reach Peking. From this point, she rode her bike to Tibet. Her great journey, about 19,000 km, made her to verify how neoliberalism creates inequalities around the world.

Yolanda is feminism and this fact made her to choose pedaling alone even though her family. She crossed France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Nepal, India again, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iran (it was a cold January), Turkey and Greece. Here, she helped refugees who were running away from the Syrian war.

She encountered good and bad days. In a hostel in Bangkok, she was talking with a man a he suddenly made a joke by calling her Indurain (by Miguel Indurain, a famous Spanish cyclist) and she immediately refused it by answering that she preferred Anna (by Annie Londonderry, the first woman to travel around the world). Sadly, only Yolanda knew about Annie.

Her passion for bikes started when she was 25 and used one to go to university and work in Vitoria. According to her words, she recommends planning and feeling like doing your great trip. Intuition is an important ally to avoid dangers, trust on your instinct and do not become frightened by potential aggressors.

Such experiences make you improve your autonomy, independence and wisdom.

Next trip: Africa.

Cris Lares

When talking about great trips some pass from one continent to another, whereas bike travelers also remain in the same continent. This is the case of Cris Lares. The Mexican woman started riding on her Specialized Pitch 27.5 from Oaxaca de Juárez the 23th of September 2018. She arrived in Pitumarca, Canchis district (Peru), but her plan was to reach the south of Argentina after pedaling more than 16,000 km. She had visited Guatemala, Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, and interesting places like impressive ocean coasts, the Amazon or the mountain range of the Andes. The problem was that she suffered an accident with a motorbike and broke both her fibula and tibia. This fact forced her to wait for months until restarting her great trip. After that, another accident happened with a car driven by a drunken and the Covid pandemic. Thus, some more months waiting for the recovering and then finally she could continue riding.

The tragic experiences show how strong this woman is and some tips she shares for life and specially for a great trip are to be positive-minded, not to think about negative issues, always thank people hospitality, be fit as a fiddle and ride with wisely-decided, low weight. This last point is really important. Take for example when Cris rode to the snowed Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador. She wore an impermeable trouser, but no jacket, neither gloves. Fortunately, she arrived at a mountain refuge where she could light a fire and warm up.

On March 2020, she arrived to Brazil after pedaling for 16,729 km.

Blanca Fernández

Blanca Fernández, Irún, Spain, has been living in London for more than four decades. She started long rides on bicycles back in 2015. First, she pedaled on a Surly Long Haul Trucker and crossed Romania, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, the country Georgia, Armenia and finally the planned Iran. Here, she discover the Pamir mountainous area which is one of the high mountain most impressive of Asia. At the beginning of this journey, she did not have any idea on how or when to reach her target, though she new the travel would lasting. Why? Because she affirms she always wanted more in each and every ride she had done. Moreover, she had the clear idea that the most important is not the start and the end of a ride, but rather what is between them.

Thus, she did not stop in the Pamir mountainous area. She continued to China, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. She experienced heavy rains, snow, windy days, but no climate conditions stopped her. Two years, 22,000 km, 23 countries, 687 days in total until she went back to London as a result of the Brexit. Her daughters asked her to come due to red tape and so did her. However, in march 2018 she kept on cycling in order to cover Africa from The Cairo, Egypt.  Then, she rode on Sudan, Uganda, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Benin and Morocco. Differences in languages were easily overcame by proper gestures. What amazes her is meeting people from distant lands and share views and ideas. At the moment of writing this post, she has pedaled for more than 44,000 km.

Koffeecleta

Bicycles can be used in a myriad of ways often as a surprising idea. One of them is what the Koffeecleta represents: a new local business. The entrepreneur Yoli Díaz made it up when pedaling on her loved Female Dragon bike through South Asia (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam). Traveling to exotic places makes it easy to see the world through different eyes, not to mention that Yoli is an extrovert, imaginative and passionate woman. She lives in Aínsa, Aragon, the Spanish Pyrenees.

On the way back, she contacted a friend in order to develop the idea of a food truck. However, something did not fit in with. Finally, her friend abandoned the concept and Yoli came across what she was looking for: a bicycle. Thus, she created the Koffeecleta by combining both concepts: bicycle plus selling food (coffee in this case). Before deciding the final model, she studied hard several options like the Foodicleta, on which she would sell octopus balls, or the Conocleta, to sell ice creams.

The Koffeecleta not only offers coffee, but also handmade chocolates and, in Summer, flavored water. As it comes to its characteristics, the Koffeecleta attracts people attention thanks to its shape and colors. A highlighted front wooden crate, the canopy stands out by its design and colors combination, the rear trunk and so on make the Koffeecleta special. It weights 170 kg net load and counts on a small fridge, a kitchen, a power strip and a battery, all the accessories to prepare good coffee.

An important issue is that she changes the route on a day-to-day basis. This way monotony is avoided, although she has made regular customers. Moreover, she escapes sameness while chatting with customers in the seven minutes it takes to prepare the coffee. And no matter if it is raining, snowing or a windy day, she starts the route with a big smile on her face.