Cycling South

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Antigua and Guatemala City

Guatemala City Palace

Outside the Church in Antigua

Playing Puppies, Antigua, Guatemala

At Asistur, the Tourist Police free campground

Road leaving Antigua

Chicken Buses, Guatemala City

Monday, February 14, 2011

Photos from Semuc Champey, Entre Rios, Raxruja, Alta Verapaz

Guy from Entre Rios, Peten, Guatemala tries out my Surly Big Dummy fully loaded.

I gave a 5 km ride to this Kekchi Mayan lady and her two daughters on the road from Sayaxche to Raxruja, Peten, Guatemala

Tire blew on a very hilly, rough section of dirt road between Sebol and Campur, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Took a 5 km ride to Campur to obtain replacement tire and tube.

One of the spectacular views obtained after climbing massive meters of mountainous terrain. Near El Pajal, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

Group of us from El Retiro Lodge who went on the Cave and Semuc Champey tour.

View of Semuc Champey from above. My face has the orangencoloring from the seeds of a local Mayan plant used for face-painting and perhaps dying textiles.

Chilling at Semuc Champey, one of my favorite places in the world. Sweet swimming, sliding, jumping and diving.

Semuc Champey river swing, Guide Elvis backflips!

Monday, February 07, 2011

Cowboys driving calves down the road, near Santo Tomas, Peten, Guatemala

In Raxruja, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Went to Cuevas de Candelaria yesterday. Thinking of going to Lanquin and Semuc Champey today and tomorrow. Been away from internet access for some days until now. The internet service is very poor; hence my post is very short.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Sayaxche, Guatemala Surly Big Dummy 5 kids around park

This was last night.
I don't care what Lonely Planet and everybody else says about Sayaxche; I love it! The vibe; it is right on the river, lots of people and activity. People are very accessible, approachable easy to talk to. I already made friends with the professional, division 2 soccer team; the folks at the pousada I am staying at are very warm and talkative, and the place is beautiful (Hotel Yaxkin).
So yesterday I biked from Flores to Sayaxche, 65km. Today I shall bike to Entre Rios, where the Belgian cyclists are now. The town, I just found out, was set up as sort of a refuge and rebuilding place for folks who were displaced in the civil war. The ride should be about 70km.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

My plan is to ride again today! South from Flores to a small village called Entre Rios La Renita, near El Ceibal and Sayaxche. Relatively short distance-wise, I think 50km/30mi max, though on mostly dirt roads. The motivation is to meet up with some fellow cycle tourists I met in Flores; they are from Belgium and started in Mexico City, destination Argentina. Unfortunately, they were relieved of their bikes shortly after starting their trip near Cuernavaca. I have suggested that they obtain replacement bikes at MayaPedal, near Antigua, Guatemala; the shop uses donated bikes and bike parts (and some new parts) to create refurbished bikes for sale as well as "bicimaquinas", which are pedal-powered machines to do any number of tasks including pump water from a well, blend ingredients to make soaps and shampoos, produce electricity, mill and grind grains, etc. They had planned to buy replacement bikes in Costa Rica; I believe they can obtain a better, more eco-friendly product, pay less, and support a great organization by going through MayaPedal. We plan to meet up there in the next couple weeks. Today, I would like to see the small village where they have been doing community service.

Isla de Flores, Peten, Guatemala. One-legged, one-handed local dives off dock into Lake Peten. The dock is the gathering place every evening on the island.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Photos from Flores, Guatemala

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Just got word that the glasses should be here within three days. That opens the window to continue cycling by this weekend!

Monday, January 24, 2011

So, life in Flores continues. Los Amigos Hostel. Lots of travelers from all over the world come through here, but those from Australia, Germany, Finland, and the US stand out. The island is quite small and comfortable. It is surrounded by Lake Peten, which is pleasant to swim in. The docks on the West side attract swimmers each afternoon and evening. The sunset is nice to watch from lakeside each day.
As I wait for the package to come in the mail, I am studying Spanish and Portuguese, and I applied for an online tutoring position in Math, English and Elementary Science; eventually, I will add Chemistry, Physics, and Biology--I just have to take and pass the tests. The application process will include a mock tutoring session and a test about using the application interface they company uses. If I get this job, it will be a nice way to earn a bit of income on the road. I will have to make sure I arrive at a location with internet access in time for my tutoring appointments; this should not be an issue as long as I stay near civilization, sticking near at least small-sized cities.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

I met some other touring cyclists here. One Anna of Melbourne, Australia who has been traveling and touring on bicycle for the last year and a half. Her blog, full of great photos and commentary, is wishfish.org. Another couple of travelers, Vinko and Colette, are exploring eco-lodges, and their blog is: roundthbendproject.org.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

I am in Flores, Guatemala; I am here to wait for a package to come in the mail--a new pair of sports glasses, prescription, so I can play soccer along the way during my trip without worrying about them getting smashed. I can use them while cycling, too, and they protect against sand, dust and wind. The glasses should arrive in the next few days, hopefully. In the meantime, I am staying at Los Amigos Hostel, which costs 35 quetzales, or $4.50/night.
I visited Tikal a few days ago; the ride to it is pretty hilly. Mostly uphill there, downhill back.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Belize City to Succotz

Biked more than 80 miles in a trip from Belize City to Succotz, Belize. Terrain is getting hilly. I am exhausted so I will have to make a more full post tomorrow morning.

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"Bike to Brazil" Intro

I'm from Mt. Rainier, MD, on the Northeastern border of Washington, DC. I first went to Brazil in 1999, when I was 18, with non-profit Amigos de las Americas. I stayed for eight weeks with a host family in the rural Northeast, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, near Natal. I enjoyed the culture, especially the warmth, creativity and beauty of the people, as well as aspects such as soccer, forró (a genre of music and partner dance), Portuguese, capoeira, and the beach. I returned to Brazil in 2004 to tour the country by bus and to visit the friends I had made. I was convinced I wanted to spend more time there, to absorb more culture, especially the aspects I listed, and perhaps live there indefinitely.

After that second visit, I returned to Oberlin College, where I was pursuing a 3-2 dual-degree engineering B.S./B.A. program. I then switched tracks to pursue just a B.A., in Environmental Studies, to wrap up my studies quickly with minimal debt so I could make my way to Brazil to continue my life there. (I now want to complete a degree in energy (mechanical) engineering at a university in Brazil or the US.) Transition to Brazil would not happen so fast. After I finished my degree, I started the Mt. Rainier Bike Co-op, and I picked up a job at a Brazilian restaurant in Washington, DC to save up some money and practice Portuguese. I envisioned that my life would be partly in Brazil and partly in the U.S., but because of my environmental commitment, I did not want to make flying back and forth to become my lifestyle due to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with current airplanes. Meanwhile, a friend of mine had encouraged me to bike the 6 miles back and forth to work; I tried it, and I was inspired by that experience. At some point in the spring of 2006, I had the brilliant inspiration that instead of flying, I could--and here is where it started-- "Bike to Brazil!" In addition to being green, such a trip would bring together many of my skills: Spanish, Portuguese, my experience in Latin America with Amigos de las Americas, cycling, and bicycle repair. Also, I would get to see parts of the world that lie between my home and my destination, places like Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, the origins of so many of the Spanish-speaking immigrants with whom I played soccer, attended D.C. United soccer games, and practiced Spanish.

In addition, I could make my trip into a political-environmental statement, raising awareness and support around a cause I care about--finding solutions to climate change. I thought about what I thought most needed to be done to address the climate issue, and I came up with the answer of national, federal legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions. I did some research as to whether any proposals existed, and sure enough, a cap-and-trade bill called the Climate Stewardship Act had been proposed in Congress, and there was a campaign led by Environmental Defense to rally support. They had organized an online petition that had accumuted 620,000 signatures at the time I found it. I decided to support this campaign during my bike trip. I raised money for Environmental Defense, I collected signatures, and I directed people to the online petition. The petition I later found out had stagnated at 620,000, and it jumped up to about 650,000 within a few months of when I started promoting it.

My orientation to climate change and its solutions has evolved since the last trip; I now focus primarily on the development of breakthrough energy generation technologies. My first trip, however, thrust me into a world that has inherent value and interest: bicycle travel/touring. It is so exciting, fun, and empowering; the fact that it is emissions-free is secondary.

On my first trip, which spanned September 2006 to April 2007, I biked from Washington, DC to Chiapas (Southern Mexico, 4,500 miles) before suspending it due to the following series of events:

-losing my debit card, my only access to cash, in the Northern city of Cd. Victoria, and then waiting until I had an address I would send the new card to, where I could pick it up or wait for it

-later being robbed of $100 cash (1000 pesos), almost all of what I had left, by a host in the small town of Lerdo de Tejada, in the state of Veracruz

-returning to my friends' hotel in the city of Veracruz where I had a secure and supportive place to wait for the replacement card in the mail, instead of having the card sent to a place down the road and attempting to bike there with no cash

-it took six weeks for the replacement card to arrive by Mexican mail (lesson: use Fedex in Mexico if you need speed), and meanwhile the hot summer approached

Other factors that led to cutting it short:

-tires were wearing thin and I could not find the replacement tire I wanted; my handlebar stem was not long enough and I could not find the one I needed; the bicycle did not fit my riding style (this was a Koga Miyata World Traveller)

-I desired to visit Mexican friends I made on the road at their homes in Puebla and Mexico City

-I desired to attend my sister's wedding

After my card finally arrived in the mail, I biked to Chiapas, knowing that would be my stopping point, and from where I would bus to Puebla, visit a friend I had met in Veracruz, bus to Mexico City, visit some friends I also met in Veracruz, and then fly back home with my bike to attend my sister's wedding, work on the bike or get a different one, and regroup.

Since that trip, I have biked to New York CIty from Washington, DC and back (500 miles), and I have biked the 320 miles to Pittsburgh from DC along the C&O Canal and Great Allegheny Passage trails. From January 2008 to September 2010 I worked at REI in College Park, MD, where I was able to teach others about how to do bicycle travel and commuting, and sell them the needed equipment. And I have retooled my own equipment for another long journey; the most significant equipment change has been the customization of a different bicycle, built around the Surly Big Dummy frameset.

In September of 2010, I felt completely prepared to break free and take another long journey. So I quit my job at REI, and headed South, taking the bike on Amtrak and Greyhound to Texas, where I intended to take care of remaining business and feel things out before crossing into Mexico. I took some time in Austin and Houston to renew my passport, obtain my Brazilian visa, and make some final changes to the bike. In early November, 2010 I biked 600 miles from Austin to Brownsville, TX, across the border from Matamoros, Mexico. I spent some days there with locals who straddled the border, with roots in Mexico and the US, and who attended the University of Texas at Brownsville. I decided to take a bus from Matamoros to the city of Veracruz. A contact in Brownsville shuttled me across the border to the bus station, and I was off. In Veracruz, I of course stayed with my friends at their hotel, where I had stayed at for two months when I was waiting for my replacement debit card to come in the mail.

After four days there, I continued by bus to Cancun, where I attended a few of the events related to the UN Climate Conference, and had many a good discussion with conference attendees who were staying at my hostel, expressing my ideas related to breakthrough technology. After the conference, some tours of the nearby ruins, and some partying, I finally loaded up the bike and rode South three hours, 41 miles (70 km) to Playa del Carmen. In Playa, I stayed with a friend who I had met in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz on the first trip, who now works at a hotel near Playa. As I write this, I have am enjoying all that Playa has to offer including beaches, soccer, cycling, and nightlife. I will celebrate the start of the new year here.

Then the journey on bicycle will continue South to Belize, and is projected to go to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama (Colón); boat to Cartagena, Colombia; bike to and through Venezuela and to Manaus, Brazil; then boat down the Amazon to Belém; then bike to Natal, Brazil. There, I will stay at least awhile, and then maybe bike on South to Recife, Salvador, Rio, São Paulo, Florionopolis, and maybe into Argentina and down to Tierra del Fuego! Lots of potential here. I am commited to at least make it to Brazil, much of that by bike, some by boat, and perhaps some by bus.

As far as my environmental perspective, I am following mostly the train of thought promoted by the think tank The Breakthrough Institute, and leaders such as Bill Gates and Google, Inc. who are investing in breakthrough energy technologies. I am working on an article that I will post soon that explains my perspective.

Stats and Data From the First Trip

Estimate of Signatures Collected: 7,000
Money contributed to Environmental Defense: at least $400
Odometer: 5,300 miles/ 8,548 kilometers
Date left house in Mt. Rainier: 17-Sept-06
Date entered Mexico: 22-Dec-06
Flats: 6
Longest distance in a day: 105 miles/169 kilometers from Forked Island, LA to Johnson's Bayou, LA
Bicycle: Koga Miyata World Traveller
Panniers: Ortleib front and back rollers
Tools: Chain tool, spoke wrench, tire levers, patch kit, allen key, wrench for headset, wrench for Brooks saddle

Places I have been in a reverse chronological list

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania
Confluence, Pennsylvania
Cumberland, Maryland
Hancock, Maryland
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Manhattan, New York City, New York
Hamilton Heights, New York City
Hoboken, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wilmington, Delaware
Newark, Delaware
Elkton, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Mount Rainier, Maryland, United States
Mexico, Districto Federal, Mexico
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Chiapa del Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico
Raudales del Malpaso, Chiapas, Mexico
Las Choapas, Veracruz, Mexico
Minatitlan, Veracruz, Mexico
Cosaleacaque, Veracruz, Mexico
Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico
Monte Pio, Veracruz, Mexico
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico
Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico
San Andrez, Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico
Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico
Lerdo de Tejada, Veracruz, Mexico
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico
Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico
Medellin, Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
Cempoala, Veracruz, Mexico
Quiahuitzlan, Veracruz, Mexico
Palma Sola, Veracruz, Mexico
Tecolutla, Veracruz, Mexico
Gutierrez Zamora, Veracruz, Mexico
El Tajin, Veracruz, Mexico
Papantla, Veracruz, Mexico
Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Alta Mira, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Tres Marias, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Gonzalez, Tamaulipas, Mexico
El Nacimiento, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Santander Jimenez, Tamaulipas, Mexico
San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Brownsville, TX
San Sebastian, TX
Raymondville, TX
Rivera,TX
Kingsville, TX
Alice, TX
Calliham, TX
San Antonio, TX
San Marcos, TX
Austin, TX
Brenham, TX
Sealy, TX
Houston, TX
Pearland, TX
Galveston, TX
Winnie, TX
Port Arthur, TX
Johnson's Bayou, LA
Forked Island, LA
Lafayette, LA
Baton Rouge, LA
New Orleans, LA
Pass Christian, MS
Biloxi, MS
D'Iberville, MS
Ocean Springs, MS
Mobile, AL
Uriah, AL
Monroeville, AL
Montgomery, AL
Franklin, GA
Atlanta, GA
Athens, GA
Calhoun Falls, SC
Newberry, SC
Great Falls, SC
Laurinburg, NC
Whispering Pines, NC
Apex, NC
Garner, NC
Raleigh, NC
Richmond, VA
Fredericksburg, VA
Alexandria, VA
Washington, DC
Mount Rainier, MD