Technical Notes and Tips for Tandem Touring
June 2006.The trip is over; we've been home for almost 2 months ... It feels like we
forced ourselves straight into normal life again. Time seems to fly compared to
the days spent on the bike, yet very little happens compared to what we
experienced daily on our travels. Still, we are home, we are working, we are
happy!
Bellow are some of Ben's notes on the trip. Karen might have a more
"romantic" view of things ... this is purely "classic" so
might be a bit boring. Also at the very end, a list of links of websites of
cyclists and friends we met on the road. Enjoy!
Click here for maps
Click here for daily info and mileage
Tandem Design
After so long riding a tandem, we have a good idea of what an expedition tandem should
be like. Hopefully, Ben will have some time to build his own ultimate touring
machine one day!
We bought our first tandem in 1999. It was a second hand Burley Rock n Roll
with Softride rear seatpost. We liked it very much. It was getting a bit rusty, but it was a good all rounder. We took it touring (Thailand, Morocco, Pyrenees, UK ...) , we did lots of off-roading
(including the Polaris Challenge), and even did (or rather gate-crashed) the London to Brighton on it.
For mountain biking, we had a Moto 120 upside down
suspension fork which I fitted with Hope M4 disc brakes. at
the rear, I fitted the same 205 M4 disc brake ... but it was a heavy DIY job
and wasn't reassuring for a round the world trip. the
transmission was good (specialized cranks and Sram
9.0 gears) but old ... And then our friends and family bought us a new tandem
as a wedding present. It was perfect. We (rather I, Ben) could go back to the
drawing board and get the perfect touring tandem.
We hesitated between a Thorn tandem and a Bob Jackson. Thorn had more
experience with Rohloffs (well, at the time, they were starting to fit OEMs)
and expedition bikes and accessories (they proved the best to get spares during
the trip) but wouldn't do a custom frame, and especially not with disc brakes.Today, they will still only fit a rear disc brake (and will
only do so with a "safety" rim brake too ... ) but never on the
front.
Bob Jackson's were just down the road where we lived, and (said they)
would do a full custom.
So we went to BJ and got ourselves measured up. The hardest, as they warned us,
was choosing the colour. I left that one to Karen.
Whilst waiting for the frame (it took a good 3 months), I got all the parts,
including the Rohloff. BJ weren't too keen on the Rohloff. For a start, they
wouldn't fit the OEM dropouts. Fair enough, I was happy with a frame that had
as many "standard" fittings as possible. But then, they didn't want
to order it for me either (getting hold of a Rohloff in 2003 in the UK was a pain in the ar*e) so I went through ?? (shop next door to the distributor!). They were actually
very useful. Today, St John St are probably the best to get
Rohloffs and spares from (although they do charge whatever they want sometimes,
so check prices elsewhere if you can).
Design wise, BJ insisted that we needed some "flex" for comfort. It's
not true. A tandem will never be too stiff. Because of the long wheelbase there
is a lot more flex than on a solo bike. Especially with a fully laden tandem,
you need a very stiff frame (same as a solo touring bike actually). The
geometry, position, tyres and saddles are the main factors for comfort, not the
frame. Knowing this, we would have probably chosen a "double
marathon" design instead of the standard marathon (single diagonal tube
vs. double). Now, if I were to get new tandem for the same expedition, I would
just ask for the strongest frame possible, without any compromise. Strongest tubes, strongest stays, strongest geometry,
strongest forks ... Our forks were actually the only perfect bit of the frame.
They were also a "second try" as the first ones they made (cross
style) were too weak. These are bombproof, giving responsive steering and
braking. If only the whole frame was like this! (Note
that these forks are straight, so some will say they are not comfortable ...
again, this is not true because of all the weight we carried)
The Rohloff
The Rohloff was a good idea, I think. On our
previous tandem, we had had bad experience with
standard transmissions. Flying with Ryanair, the
derailleur was broken and the derailleur hangout was bent. Once, mountain
biking, we stripped the cassette (that was a mess). Once, we cracked the
freewheel body. Many times, we snapped chains. And there was this issue of
having an unconventional 145mm rear dropout and 40 spoke wheels (both are
strong, but finding spares, even in the UK, is a hassle). So the Rohloff
seemed like a good idea.
Obviously, it did cause us lots of trouble too, starting with the frame snapping
because of the "speedbone" torque arm. This is easy to avoid by
fitting OEM dropouts. BJ now fit these as standard.
Also, there is the issue of the wheel lacing. The SpeedHub is so big that you
need short spokes (again, not good to have non-standard parts: I had to order
mine from Germany!) and a 2 cross lacing. However,
this makes the spokes pull on the hub far from tangentially (too much angle),
and this caused the body of the SpeedHub to crack at 3 holes where leading
spokes were attached. We were in Bolivia when this happened. Luckily we made
it to the capital (slowly and carefully, and I reatached the 3 spokes to the flange via the fastening screws) and contacted Rohloff by email. They sent a brand new one via
DHL in 3 days, no questions asked! It's been OK since.
However I was concerned of it happening again, so I tried a 3
cross lacing. This made the spokes pull tangentially on the hub, using
standard length spokes, but put a bit of an angle on the nipple (Rohloff
insisted not to do zis). We made it to Ecuador without breaking a single spoke
(these were straight gauge 2.3mm with 2mm thread).
I re-laced it with some double butted 2.3-1.8mm spokes ... total failure, the spokes were breaking at the nipple, one by one.
Then I used butted 2.3-2mm spokes and made sure I bent the spoke when lacing the
wheel, as to stress relieve it (some advice taken from Bike Friday who also
have a similar problem with angle at the nipple, because of their small
wheels). It worked. We broke the occasional spoke (always at the nipple) but
nothing too bad (2 in 13000km if I remember right).
Now, I'm looking for some rims drilled at an angle. Or I might just drill some
rims myself. Motorbike rims have this feature (all the holes have a specific
orientation), so why not bikes?
Concerning the routine maintenance, I could order the bleed kit from St John
Street Cycle easily. The hub does leak oil when changing altitude or with big
temperature changes, but I never woried about it. I
knew the inside was still clean and lubricated. When we got to California, Thomas at Rohloff serviced it for me, changing the seals and the screws. We worked out that the hub was mainly leaking from the screws that
hold the torque plate and the EX box (left side). These normally have thread
lock and actually act as a seal. But because I'd re-built the wheel so many
times (each time I need to take the disc out and unscrew these TorqX screws), the thread lock had gone and the hub was
leaking through the threads.
I also found out that when bleeding the hub, you only need to put 12ml of new
oil (half a bottle). When new, you need to fill it with a whole bottle (25ml)
but then when changing the oil, there is always some residual oil that sticks
to the internal parts (ie you don't get all the oil
out). So if you fill it back up with the full 25ml bottle, it will actually
have too much oil and will leak a lot more, until it has the right amount.
Also, SJS told me that the small bleed grub screw needed replacing every time
(because of the thread lock). In fact, it can be used a couple more times.
The cables on the Rohloff didn't need replacing for the whole trip. The rubber
handle grip did wear out pretty bad (the gear numbers vanished after a couple
of months) and towards the end the shifter was a bit harder, I think it got a
bit dry and maybe rusty. Still worked fine though.
Bearings
The only
bearings that did not need changing during the trip were the main bearings of
the rear axle. That's pretty amazing considering it is the most heavily
stressed. What makes it so resistant is that it is actually in the oil bath
too, so it's kept clean and lubricated. Al the other bearings (headset, bottom
brackets, jockey wheels, front hub, pedals) got significant play and needed
changing at some point. In California, I stocked up on spare bearings so
as to change them before they get worn out. The pedals needed changing after
13000km and the second pair only just made it home, same fro the headset and
the jockey wheels. The bottom brackets would get dirty and one bearing would
start wearing out dramatically (we almost got stuck in Mexico because one
bearing had totally gone to dust and the ISIS bottom brackets were impossible
to find) so I would swap them front to back at 5000km and then change the
bearings after another 5000km. The front hub got 3 sets of new bearing during
the trip.
I wish I
hadn't used ISIS
bottom brackets. At the time, the bottom brackets with external bearing
didn't exist, but this would be my first choice today. They should be
much more durable. However, it would be wise to carry spare bearings for those
too, as they are even less standard as ISIS. If you're doing very long distance and
want a bottom bracket you can fix or replace on the way, then go for the
standard square taper. They are available everywhere, even spares, and will all
fit your cranks.
Rims
I thought we would be OK with the supposedly
bombproof Mavics 729 ... When we got to Panama, after
inspecting the bike, I noticed large cracks all around the rims, starting at
each spoke hole and spreading towards each other. None had actually met but
they weren't far. Also, there was even some cracks on the inside wall (these
have double eyelets), only on about 5 holes though.
The front rim had also suffered and about half the holes had cracks too
(smaller, about 5 mm max).
We changed the rear rim in Panama City for a Rigida,
the best rim we could find locally. We ordered some rims from St John Street
Cycles and got them sent to David, 500km ahead, thinking we should at least
make it there. This was when we also bought new local tyres, again the best we
could find, assuming they would at least do the 500km to David (we had ordered
new tyres from SJS too). 50km from David, in a downhill, the rear tyre burst,
causing the rim to collapse and throwing us on the tarmac at 35mph.
The rims we got from SJS were Vuelta
Excalibur DH (the yellow ones!). I had some of these at home and they had an
"anti-snakebite" feature that I though would maybe help against
premature side-wall wear. On the contrary, the edge is even sharper. The rims
have similar size and section to the Mavics 729, but
single eyelet. I wasn't sure about the double eyelets, and today I'm still not
convinced about eyelets all together. But the Vueltas
were appalling. After 1000km, they had started to crack. After 1500km, the
eyelets were also shreading to bits. We got to Guatemala with the rear wheel wobbling like a
drunken tramp and had to get the bus up the hill to Antigua as it would just not go any
further.
I searched for the strongest rim ever ... and found the Sun Doublewide.
Perfect. With the double wall featuring all around the profile, it also had a
very soft edge for the tyre to hook on, which meant that the side wall doesn't
wear out as fast. The profile is such that the middle part is stronger and
would not crack. The only downside was that they were huge and we just couldn't
fit anything smaller than 1.95. We now had proper "pimp
my ride" racer boy style wheels. I changed them again in California (with new spokes too, still using 3
cross), just for peace of mind, so that we could set off with brand new wheels
in China. They lasted all the way back to Britain (13000km) with only 2 broken spokes
and 3 broken eyelets. However, the broken eyelets were not a problem as I would
just flip it inside-out and use it again. It works! I much prefer having broken
eyelets than cracked rims.
I heard that some cyclos ride 2.3mm plain gauge spokes. This includes a 2.3mm
thread, but the nipple still has the same Outside Diameter (it has to fit in
the rim!). This results in a much weaker nipple. We met some French tourers who
had broken half of their nipples after riding across the wet Salar of Uyuni (mind you, that's a pretty stupid idea in the first
place!). They had to replace all the spokes as they couldn't find 2.3mm nipples
... so they ended up with cheap spokes too ... Before they left France, they asked their shop (Rando Cycles in Paris, France) for some spare spokes. The owner
refused to give them any spare spokes, on the grounds that their spokes were
bombproof and would never break ...
The conclusion to this is that you can have a strong hub, a strong rim, and
strong spokes ... the wheel will only be as strong as its weakest component!
Tyres
We started off with very good (and relatively
cheap) Michelin Transworld 1.75 (rigid). We rode them
for about 4000km (on road) and they showed very little wear. We even rode them
a bit off road when our semi-slick burst before Potosi. They were very good for road, but
not very reassuring for off-road. Probably perfect for lighter-faster touring.
There is also a 1.5 version which would be perfect for non loaded road
tandeming (does any one do that, or is it just plain boring?)
In Salta, we got some folding Michelin Wildgripper semi-slicks 1.95 ... definitely too light.
These are cross-country mountain biking tyres, not
touring. We had used them successfully on our mtb
tandem back at home, but we never rode more than 200km with them. They were
good (Karen was actually amazed about the control you get with semi-slicks on
gravel roads) and we did our most extreme part of the journey (across the Andes from Argentina to Chile) on them. But they only lasted just
over 500km, bursting just before Potosi in Bolivia. The front one got damaged against
a rock too ...
In La Paz, John and Caroline from New Zealand sorted us out with a Specialized
Hemisphere 1.95 and a Continental Travel Contact 1.75. They both lasted all the
way to Guayaquil, Ecuador (4000km) but only just. The
Hemisphere felt great on road though and Karen really liked it.
In Panama, with our new rims from SJS, we got some Vredestein
Snake 1.95. They were all right. I really liked it at the front, both on and
off road, because of the large knobs on the side and the very flat tread in the
middle. But at the back, it felt very unstable when turning at high speed in
descents. It felt that the knobs were slipping and the tyre was not gripping.
The walls weren't very strong either and the rear one only lasted 2000km. I
kept the front one for 4000km.
In Mexico, we found a Michelin Jet S folding tubeless. I
thought I had finally found the solution to the weak side walls. And it is true, the sidewalls on the tubeless are very strong and
perfect for tandems. But as the Wlidgripper, this is
an XC tyre and it's not the thickest ... we wore the tread out in a bout
1000km, getting loads of punctures too. It would have been ideal for gravel
roads and off road in Bolivia. But just no good
on road. I'll probably use it on our MTB tandem at home though because
it's so strong.
In California, we got some new Specialised
Hemispheres, Karen's favourites. The front one lasted all the way to Phuket (8000km?!) and was still in pretty good condition!
The rear one burst in China after about 4000km. Fair enough.
So then, we had to try out our spare tyres, the folding ones at the bottom of
our bags, which we had been carrying all this time. The
famous Schwalbe Marathon. We fitted it to the rear, only to get to Laos (500km further!) with a
"buckled" tyre ... the internal structure had burst. Great ... so we
fitted the last spare, hoping it would last to Phuket.
We didn't want to have to buy local tyre again! It did last, but we were happy
to change it for the newer version (Marathon Plus Travelguard HS359), same size 1.95 and similar pattern. Ed
and Myrtha (sponsored by Schwalbe!) told us that the
new version was much better. And it was! These lasted all the way back to Britain (over 5000km, including off road)
and showed no sign of wear what so ever.
That's quite a long story for such simple result ...
For the tubes ... The best were Michelin, especially the reinforced ones (no
punctures at all). The Schwalbe (also reinforced) were a true disappointment as
it got a puncture caused by nothing. The rubber just split open! As for all the
other tubes (mostly Taiwanese) they do the job but aren't the most reliable. We
used them quite a bit in South/Central America and got more punctures than anywhere else.
By the way, we were also using Kevlar reinforcement strips between the tubes
and the tyres. I even doubled them up to get a wider protection.
Brakes
We loved the Hope Ti6 ... we only changed the
pads twice (every 10000km!) and never had to bleed them. They do get hot in
long downhills (they start to squeak) but they don't loose any braking power. if the noise really annoys you, just cool them down with
water from your drinking bottle (it works). I totally recommend disc brakes.
Contrary to what people say, they are very reliable. I heard about bent rotors
and melting hydraulic hose ... but were they just made
up? OK, we had Goodridge braided hose and they are
great (the plastic ones to get damaged easily, especially when you put the bike
on the bus, train or plane, or if you crash). And the front rotor got totally
glazed in New Zealand (that's after 24000km!) so I had to
rough it up with some sand paper to stop the constant squeaking. Apparently
Hope have changed their heat-treatment process and they should last longer ...
So if you do get a constant squeak, best solution is to rough both the pads and
the rotor up with sand paper to get rid of the glaze. If it
comes back quickly, then change the rotor.
When we swapped the pads, I used some sintered pads (the gold ones) which are
supposed to last longer. I don't think they were that good. To be fair, there
wasn't much difference ...
Racks and Luggage
I made our racks myself. The main reason was
that I couldn't find what I wanted. So the front one was a low rider with a top
platform (I could only find some alloy ones like this) and the rear one is
combined to a Halford platform that clamps to the
seat-post and has groves to slide in the plastic "top Case". The rear
rack is very strong and quite low too. These racks lasted the whole trip. The
rear one got slightly bent when we crashed, and the front one broke a the lower support when we were doing some rough off-road
(nothing bad though, fixed it with some innertube!).
The front Ortlieb bags were very good. Maybe a bit small (I think you can
actually fit the big ones at the front too) and one of them started leaking in China. I like the way they pop out when
you crash or when they are forced up. This means you will rarely break the
clips.
The rear Carradice seemed much tougher. Not as waterproof (we were keeping
everything inside them in liners) but more durable, I think. We re-proofed them
in California with some more cotton-wax, but
wasn't really worth it.
The Top Case was great! It's nice to have something solid where food doesn't
get crushed. Also, in Baja California, we insulated it with some
polystyrene and turned it into a cool box! It worked great and we could keep
ice and cold drink all day in the 50 degree heat.
We both had a camelback with 3L of water each. I guess it's like a helmet.
People who haven't tried it hate it, and people who have will feel naked
without it. It also has much better insulation than water bottles, so water
will keep cold longer, and also when it's very cold outside you won't be drink
freezing water. Fair enough, it does make you sweat ... but don't you sweat on
a bike anyway?
Don't forget to put a sock around your bottles to wet them when it's hot. It
works really well, especially in dry weather and when you ride your bike (it's
called latent heat, the same way you feel cold when your skin is wet in the
wind). In 15 minutes, a hot bottle of water will cool down enough to be
drinkable and maybe even refreshing!
Some problems can be avoided by using a trailer. We decided against, but it's a
personal choice. We were happy with the amount of gear we could carry on the
tandem, but anything more (ie a bigger tent /
sleeping bags / mattresses, more food, more books, bigger camera, etc.) would
have been too much. We really managed in a minimalist way. We saw tandems and
even solos with a trailer, they loved it! But you will have to pull another 6
to 10kg just for the trailer. And then, you will be carrying a lot more stuff
too! Definitely worth it for off-roading (without panniers!).
Bob now make a version with suspension too. With a Bob, you still carry half the
weight on your rear wheel. Some trailers with two wheels have the weight
balanced on the trailers only, but then you need extra care to locate the
wheels on the road (difficult when you're on the side of the road, trying to
keep as close to the edge and away from the traffic). A single wheeled trailer
will follow your bike so you can forget it's there.
Electronics and Travel
Paraphernalia
We had a
hand held computer (HP2210) which was very useful. We used it to type the
journals (with a small folding keyboard), keep track of our spending and
budget, our addresses, lots of travelling info (I downloaded loads of web pages
from the internet, whole websites on countries, cyclo-touring, etc) and our
music (1GB of MP3!). We also used it with our GPS with scanned colour maps (I
scanned a whole atlas before we left, using Ozie
Explorer to calibrate them and use them on the palmtop), and because it used
the same Compact Flash memory card as our digital camera, we could transfer
files with the photos. We would only use internet connection from
cybercafés (we didn't have a mobile!?) where we could easily plug our
camera and upload our files to the website. It would take me about 3 to 4 hours
to update the website and make a new index page with 50 photos. I would also
use this time to listen to French or English radio online!
We had a multi wave radio but never really used it. We managed to tune in to
BBC world once, only to be bored to death by a program about fish. Listening to
our MP3 music with the headphones was very unpractical and selfish, so in Mexico we decided to get some small
speakers but, instead, found an FM transmitter: we could tune in to the palmtop
via our little radio. Perfect!
In Thailand, 2 days before Christmas, the Palmtop crashed
and never recovered. That was the end of our technological adventure. We hoped
to hear some good music on the radio in Australia but were very disappointed ...
Also, Karen continued to write her journal on a manuscript but we haven’t
typed anything since Chengdu, China.
The GPS was a bit of a waste of time. We used it in the Andes a bit, mostly to correct our
altitude. We were using an altimeter on our cycle computer but it would need
calibrating from time to time. This computer (from cyclo sport) was actually
very good, and it was very useful to have an idea of how high we were and how
steep the hills were. Karen also had a computer (not altimeter), hers showing distance in miles,
mine in kilometres.
Our camera (Fuji M603) was OK. It was compact, could take small videos with sound,
and had a big screen. However, as Karen got better at photography she started
to get frustrated with the limited amount of settings (we were happy to use it
on "automatic" until Ozie Flint showed us
all the features on his SLR in Laos!). Then, in New Zealand, one month before our return, it
gave up on the basis of a wedged focal mechanism. So we finished the trip on
disposable cameras which we got developed on CDs.
We had rechargeable batteries for our lights, and had a multi-use charger
(originally combined with solar panel, which was useless) which could be used
as a 5-12V power supply to charge the camera or the palmtop too. We would
normally charge the palmtop and camera once a week, straight from the plug (our
charger was 110-240V).
Camping
We went for
light and minimalist. Our 2kg tent from Decathlon (80 Euros ... 50 quid!)
lasted all the way with no problems. I improved slightly by adding a string
inside to hang our smelly socks, and also added a few tent pegs to tighten it a
bit more. It was extremely waterproof and because it was so small, it would
resist the strongest winds and keep us very warm in freezing temperatures. It
would actually be too warm when it was hot, so we found a way of putting it up
without the outside flysheet. Even so, I sometimes slept outside in Baja California when the temperature at night would
not drop below 35 degC. So it was small, yes, and we
had to be imaginative to cook under the rain. But it was nice and cosy too!
Still going for smallest and lightest, we had thin 3/4 Thermarests,
so sometimes we would have to put bags and jackets under our feet when they
were cold. But overall, we were happy with short mattresses as we spent more
time in warm places. They both had to be replaced. Karen's was left in the sun in Mexico, mine just gave up in New Zealand. The new versions (the orange ones)
seem stronger though.
We only had 3 seasons sleeping bags so when we were in
the Andes we bought an extra sleeping bag (a
square one which we used as cover). We also had silk liner which were useful
when it was hot (Karen liked it when we stayed in dirty hotels) and added a bit
a warmth for cold nights.
The Primus omni fuel was a very good investment. It wasn't so good with diesel
(very hard to light up) but perfect with unleaded. The only trouble was that we
got the fuel bottle (empty, of course) and the pump confiscated at Auckland airport because it smelt of petrol
(but then they are happy to have gallons of duty free spirits on board).
We carried a minimalist steel cooking set which was very durable and easy to
clean (not the case for aluminium), and also later invested in and a cheap and
small Teflon coated frying pan (with the handle removed). We'd forgotten our
thermos at home so got a crap one in Bolivia, along with a very useful electric
resistance (you could call it a kettle) which lasted all the way to Thailand. We also had a cloth type filter to
enjoy the delights of fresh coffee in Central America.
Our Katadyn mini filter was great too. We had to
change the cartridge half way, and in China we added a carbon filter too
because of the high levels of chemical polution in
the water. The filter needs regular cleaning, but it's good to know it's clean.
Elise and Brieg were using the more heavy duty
version with the heavy aluminium body and the bigger cartridge, which
supposedly doesn't need any cleaning. When they eventually cleaned it
after 4 months of continuous use through Asia, they found some live organisms outside the
cartridge! Yuk.
We never ran out of water. The driest we got was in Baja California. We would only afford a 1/2 litre
shower each everyday (this is after a whole day cycling in 50 degree heat) and
we had to steal some water from the empty holiday homes. We wouldn't even do
the "wet sock" trick because water was so scarce. The maximum we
carried was 20 litres, when we were crossing the Andes. All the streams then had hot salty
volcanic water!
As for food, we would carry 2 or 3 days of emergency rations (at the bottom of
the bags, with the spare tyres!) on top of our usual 2 or 3 days of fresh food
supplies.
Health
We're
probably the wrong people to ask. We had no trouble at all! The occasional
diarrhoeas, probably due to the heat and exhaustion rather than the food
itself, but that was it! I think we were very lucky. We were careful too, but
not obsessed (remember Ben's French so hygiene isn't priority). We did carry
all the necessary first aid, including neeldes,
scalpels blades, stitching kit ...
Aspirin is good for altitude as it thins the blood (lemon juice does too). Coca
leaf does work too, but then I think it's more addictive than effective so
don't rely on it!
Conclusion
Preparation
is important, and make sure you do it all before you set off so that you don't
have to think about it again. Especially with all the medical stuff, get it
done beforehand so you can leave it out of the way and let space for enjoyment
rather than paranoia.
Our trip was great and the technical problems were nothing compared to what we
experienced. You do occasionally hear very grumpy cyclists who seem to be
living their worst nightmare just because of a puncture or a broken spoke.
Maybe we were lucky never to have a "serious" problem. But after all,
what can be worst that snapping a frame in the middle of nowhere and crashing
down a hill at 35mph because of a burst tyre? Be prepared, know your bike and
keep a positive and open minded attitude, that's the best advice!
Links
Our website might start to get a bit boring for
those who have been following us during the trip. So here are some links to
some travellers that we met on the bike and who might still be on the road.
Elise et
Brieg
Our French mates from Brittany. We met them in china and cycled a
week together through the mountains of the Yi minorities. We then split up near
Kunming as they were heading for Vietnam and we were going to Laos. A few months later, we met up
again in New Zealand and crossed Arthur's Pass together
(from Fox glacier to Christchurch). From New Zealand, they flew to Peru via Easter Island and Tahiti (lucky buggers). Their plan was to
cycle to Cusco, then Uyuni,
and then take a bus to Argentina. Not sure which way they will go
after that, but they hope to fly from South America to Senegal and cycle back to France via Morocco and Spain. Their return home is scheduled for
March 2007, 2 years exactly after they left.
Seb
Rambour
We met Seb and Virginie in Argentina. They were the first cyclos we
encountered (well, almost) and we spent a couple of hours chatting. Virginie continued on her own to Bolivia and Peru, and the
latest news was that she flew to Texas for some cycling / horse riding in a
ranch ... Seb cycled a bit more in Argentina with
some friends he met on the road (mostly Tierra del Fuego),
but then had to fly back to France for a while. He started travelling again, last we heard he did a trip to Morocco.
Ed and Myrte
The pros of cyclo-touring! We were amazed at their experience and their
previous tours. They seemed the luckiest people, being able to take a few
months off works every year. We met them on their first day in China (so I guess for them, we were the
pros!) as they cycled from Chengdu to Malaysia. Their site is in English/Dutch and their
photos are great.
David Munusamy
David was our best local encounter of the trip. He and his family live in Malaysia, and after spending a few months
cycling around South East Asia, he developed an obsession for cyclo-tourists. I guess we could call
him a cyclo-spotter! He has spies on the road who make sure he doesn't miss a
single foreigner cycling through his country. He will track you down and force
you to stay at his "free cycling guesthouse"! We had a great time
with him. He showed us around his town, took us to a fishing village, a rice
factory, a "hash run", introduced us to all his mates, and his wife
cooks delicious food. His children are the most adorable too and always need a
bit of help with their English homework! David is planning a trip to Europe soon,
we'll let you know when he's around!
Dirk
Dirk (from Denmark) was at the Guatemala border when we crossed from El Salvador. Despite having a bad crash in Mexico (on a hidden "tope"), he
still wouldn't wear a helmet ... His website is in Dutch only.
Anne et Ricardo
We were pushing the bike through thick Costa Rican jungle and admiring howler
monkeys when two strangers wearing tight swimming suits approached us with French and Spanish accents ...
They had been riding from Alaska (or Canada?) and were on their way to Ushuaia.
Nice chaps, and still on the road as we speak.
Sebastian and Carla
The first tandem! They were cycling New Zealand and Australia. They had a custom tandem built by Vittoria (excellent Dutch expedition bikes) and
were using a two wheel trailer too.
Ludovic
Hubler
Ludovic is hitch-hiking around the world. He even
gets lifts on boats to cross continents. I think he tried it for planes but it
didn't work ... We met him at a petrol station in Mexico. He was in a rush because he'd just
got a lift!
Dave and Jo Whitney
The second tandem! They were on a trip through New Zealand. Very nice people, and they were
from Yorkshire< too (Ben thinks he's a Yorkshirman since someone told him he thought he was from Sheffield!). They have loads of trips under
their saddle, their webpage is very good (and our tandem is on there somewhere
too!).
Reiner Theisen
(Click
here for his Baja California page)
Reiner was travelling from the US to South America, on a very flexible itinerary. We
met him in Baja California (he'd just cycled 200km that day!) and he
continued through Mexico and he's now in Central America.
Mila and Markus
We felt very naughty having the tandem on the train from Calama
to Uyuni. We were really ashamed when we saw 2 cyclists
at the border, in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, they told us they'd just
caught a lift here and were waiting for a lorry to take them to Calama. Pffew. They Cycled from Vancouver to Santiago and are now back home in Germany. Markus is working on some very
interesting pedal powered transportation (can we call them bikes?) at the
moment.
Nat et Xav
They were chilling out comfortably in a posh guesthouse in Ayutaya
... for the past 2 weeks! They have been on the road for some time now (is it 2
years?), having cycled in North Africa, South
America
and New Zealand. They continued through South East Asia but I think they are planning a
return to France very shortly. They have very nice
photos on their website.
Caroline Parguez
Caroline was backpacking around the world when we met her at Machu Pichu. She then had to go
back home to earn some money, but then continued travelling to Chile, Artantica
and New Zealand. We caught up with her in Auckland, and she is currently working in New Zealand.
Matthieu
Jost
Matthieu was at Uni with
Ben and left his job in France to go backpacking in South America. He was particularly interested in
the issue with water and worked for several local Non Government Organisations.
He is now in Indonesia, doing the same thing. He came to
meet us in Mazatlan before our boat to Baja California.
Marcel Hendrickx
Marcel organises cycling tours in South East Asia. He's been doing that all his life!
He spend about 6 years touring the world in his
younger times, and then settled in Changmai, Thailand and started his holiday business there. When we met
him in Laos, he was on a "reconnaissance" tour
with a friend, looking for new itineraries in northern Laos.
Planned tours for next year include 24 days in Laos in January 2007, and 15 days in Northern Thailand in November 2007.
Utsunomiya Tomoko & Kazunari
We never actually met ... but we've been trying and trying, only to miss each
other by a few (hundred) miles. They have been cycling on their tandem for over
6 years now ... Their website is in Japanese ...
Ian
Ian is walking around the world! We never met either, only on the net.
Yvan et Keit
They are friends from Uni and toured around Africa in a Pinz
6x6 (yes, that's six wheel drive). They have beautiful photos and quite
an amazing set of wheels.
Pauline et Jacques
They were a good inspiration when we were planning our trip. I followed them
religiously during their tandem adventure!
Maya Pedal
This is the Non Government Organisation in Guatemala where we worked for a few days.
They make pedal-powered machines for villages which don't have electricity.
They get help from MIT, Bikes Not Bombs (Canada and US) and other volunteers like Gwyn Jones (former Merlin titanium man) to get their
projects going. Maybe you can help them too?
www.karennben.com