D-Day

"The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great, that I thought I was in a dream" - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

I had written an epic first post about how and I why I decided to do this, since so many of you have asked, but after re-reading it it just sounded a long and round-about away of saying "It seemed a good idea at the time". Instead I have just drawn up a list of frequently asked questions, which I hope will answer most of your other queries. Truth be told I'm not sure I know myself why I'm doing it, so there's probably not much point in trying to explain.

There's not much else I think I can say prior to getting on the road, other than that I can't believe it's less than a day away now. Even though it's only been five months it seems so long ago now since the fateful day I typed "Cycle South America" into Google. When I think of all the time spent painstakingly deliberating over, say, panniers, it seems like it has been years in the planning.

Without wanting to sound too far up my own arse, I can't begin to explain how I am feeling right now, but to put it in some sort of context it's probably somewhere between Springsteen's Thunder Road and when Red gets the bus to Mexico at the end of The Shawshank Redemption.

Anyway, hope the below answer your queries and, more importantly, I hope you enjoy the blog. Don't worry, it won't all be serious stuff like this, there will be funny saddle-sore and food-poisoning anecdotes, which is why you're all here, I know.

Take care and please keep in touch

Roddy

PS: No, I haven't forgotten about the challenges, will deal with that in due course...

Frequently Asked Questions:

Have you done lots of training?

- Probably not enough to merit a Rocky-style montage, but there has been a fair bit. I don't have a geographical limit or goal, so I can take it easy to begin with.

How long are you doing it for?

- Hopefully six months or thereabouts.

Where are you going to start?

Puerto Montt, or to be more precise, Puerto Varas, which is just down the road.

Why there?

It's as far south as you can get in Chile without being in Patagonia, which is windy, very sparsely populated and the roads aren't great, so not ideal for cycling...

Isn't that a bit of a cop-out?

No

When do you start cycling proper?

Probably Tuesday, I still have a couple of things to buy and get ready in Chile.

You're doing it alone, won't you get bored?

- I won't be taking a vow of silence, and I'm sure I'll meet other travellers or cyclists on the way. You'll also be shocked to hear that my life thus far hasn't been that exciting that I would find cycling through a continent mundane.

As above, but with mugged/ murdered/ raped etc instead of "bored"?

- I love this question, it's like asking an expectant mother whether she's not scared that her son will be ugly as sin. I hope not.

Where will the trip end?

- I simply don't know.

Why aren't you doing it for charity?

- It never entered my mind, selfishly enough. But to be honest, it was so hastily planned that it probably would have made things all the more complicated. And put on extra pressure. Certainly if the trip inspires you to make a donation don't let me stop you!

Will you be camping every night?

Nope, probably only when I have no other choice. My common ground with Ray Mears begins and ends in a first name that begins with a letter R.

How much stuff will you be carrying and how will you be carrying it?

My panniers, (saddlebags that hang either side of the wheels) have a total capacity of 65 litres (average for a rucksack is around 80), 20 of which will be the tent and sleeping bag alone, so pretty much the bare minimum. I guesstimate 20-25 kilos, but add daily water and food to that and it will probably be more like 30 (the weight of a large labrador, give or take)

What's with the cheesy title?

It's from a song by Jeffrey Foucault, and I liked the sound of it. It was either that or the oh-so-original "The Bicycle Diaries", which is seemingly the name of the blog of anyone who has ridden a bike in South America. Ever.