What exactly is the plan?

This is the plan

It all started on a cycling trip in Tibet some years ago.  Four weeks in, me (Rob) and my buddy Brian Cutts were feeling pretty good about our efforts on the Tibetan Plateau.  The trip was Lhasa, Tibet to Katmandu, Nepal -- an incredible experience and worthy mission to be sure.    About three days outside Katmandu, we ran into and then pedalled alongside a Danish couple who were also heading towards Kat as their final trip destination.  As we shared our stories, as travellers do, there was a moment of silence when they casually mentioned this was the end of a one-year mission that started in Italy.  Wow, I thought....makes what we're doing look like a day hike.  And so it was born.  My dream to launch a cycling trip so long, that there really is no end in sight.  Long enough to take trips inside the trip.  And long enough to become so normal, that the trip stops being a trip and just becomes your life. Luckily Amy and I share the same passion for travelling and specifically, cycling touring.  On previous cycling trips (looking back, warm ups for this one), we both agreed that the worst part of them was going home, and that we could easily keep travelling indefinitely.  So here we are. With our bikes packed and one-way tickets to Cartagena Colombia in hand, we are anxiously tapping our feet waiting for the plane to take off.

The actual plan is pretty simple on paper.  Start in Cartagena, and go south focusing on the Pacific Cordillera, otherwise known as the Andes.  Well, actually, first a little decompression stop at a beach northeast of Cartagena – the trip inside the trip thing.  Why South America?  We both fell in love with Latin America on a previous trip through Central America – the people, the culture, la salsa, la cerveca – our first together, and thus far, the best.  So much so, it seemed fitting to cycle through and get married in Cuba a few years later, which we did, and loved it.  So, it just seemed natural to set our sights on the ultimate Latin America mission.  Besides, cycling a continent seems like a worthy objective for a year or more of cycling.  As someone once said, "you haven't travelled until you’ve been to South America".  The idea is to have no specific destination, no schedule, no fixed plans, and no return ticket.  We’ll see how far we get.  In the perfect movie-world scenario, we'll just keep going until we ride off the edge of the universe hand in hand, but alas, the draws of our old lives will no doubt suck us back.  Or maybe not?  Hopefully that decision is a long way off. 

OK, that’s the background.  We fly on 1 August.  One-way to Cartagena.  We’ll keep you posted....



Sleep well my beauties.  When you awake, you will be in Colombia!