Hasta January

Gracias y nos vemos pronto

Part 1 of this serialized book is over. After peppering your email inboxes like a highly trained guerilla fighter for the last 5 months, I’ve decided it’s time for a break.

Writing whilst traveling takes a fair amount of effort. I’ve spent more time than I’d care to admit typing away amidst the sweaty BO fog of South American Internet cafes most commonly frecuented by, I think it’s fair to say, non-armpit washing adolescents.

In real time, I’m far ahead of Bolivia. Five days ago I crossed the Ecuadorean border with Colombia and made my way into the sixth and final country of my trip. Given that these are the final three weeks of cycling before a pre-Christmas flight home, I decided to pause the Substack and focus entirely on the gloriously colorful nation of García Márquez, Shakira and Pablo Escobar. Where the literature is magical, the coffee is divine, and absolutely nobody’s hips lie.

I hope you have enjoyed this project, which has grown from 1 subscriber (thanks mum) to 247 across 26 countries as far distant as Finland, Japan and Namibia. All that in just 5 months.

Thank you so much for your support.

But I hope you realise, you’re not out of the woods just yet. Me and my band of inspiring guest writers will be back in early 2024 for another foray into the wondrous world of cycle touring as we argue convincingly and without rest that it is the antidote to lethargy, unhappiness, world hunger, the existential battle with AI and the continued existence of the British Conservative Party.

In January, we’ll launch ourselves from the Atacama to the Salt Flats and then on to Death Road, an encounter with a powerful medicinal plant, the world’s highest navigable lake, 1000 miles of the Great Peru Divide and various other deserts, glaciers, rainforest and lagunas. Not to mention the prospect of a finish line on the Caribbean coastline  with thousands of adoring fans watching on. Well maybe not thousands…

I shall spare you the emails over Christmas (and paid subscribers will have their payments paused), but if you’re in, I hope you’re in for the long term. The resistance needs you (and so do my misguided (?) aspirations to publish this book one day).

If you missed any of the story so far, the links to each of the chapters are below. Now’s your chance to catch up.

Wish me luck for the final 800km.

Until Jan, hasta luego!

Jack

P.S. You may be lucky and receive one more guest writer email before Christmas but that may depend on whether you have been good or not (being good = sharing 10,000km Arriba with your butcher, baker and candlestick maker and forcing them to subscribe).

247 is awfully close to 250, and wouldn’t that be a lovey Xmas present… You know what to do.

---

The story so far

Chapter 1 Baptism of Gravel - the astounding arrival in Patagonia

Chapter 2 Live forever in your dreams - the motives and inspirations for taking on this viaje

Chapter 3 Fjord Fantasy - criss-crossing the fjordlands of Chile’s western coast

Chapter 4 ¡Dale! ¡Dale! Argentina - flitting between the volcanoes and mountains of the lake district

Chapter 5 Vuelta de Chile - A speedy recorrido of todo el Chile, arriba y abajo

Chapter 6 Bipedal Therapy - dealing with difficult emotions whilst pedalling the red rock north argentino

Chapter 7 Flirting with the Atacama - an introduction to the deserts and altiplano of the high sierras

Instagram | Komoot

Odometer: 58 Tours. 291 hours. 4,875km. 49,160 climbing