Panamericana

As a person becomes embedded into the culture of cycling, people on the outside looking in will tell you that you're crazy when you tell them you did a 50 mile gravel-road ride, or a 70 mile mountain bike race. You, the person on the inside, know that this isn't really crazy; it just takes the desire to do it, and a little bit of training. However, there are people out there in the world that are doing things on bicycles that are truly amazing and deserving of great respect and admiration.


To my surprise, one of these people is from Lincoln and was featured in a Journal Star article and video (the video is better than the article) last week. Matt Baumeister took a journey that began in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (on the Arctic Ocean) and finished in Ushuaia, Argentina (the claimed southernmost city in the world). The trip began in June 2007 and finished in February of 2009, covering 14,328 miles on bicycle. He kept a pretty detailed account of his travels on his blog, Pan Am Bike Ride. It's cool to read about each country and the differences in terrain, climate and culture as experienced on two wheels.

Particularly interesting to me was Matt's account of his time in Huanaco, Peru and the following trip from Huanaco to Lima Peru. In August of 2007, my wife and I were in Huanaco helping some missionaries from our church build a house. The trip from Huanaco to Lima took 9 hours on a bus and tops out at 16,000 feet elevation. I can't comprehend doing that on a bicycle, especially after being over 10,000 miles into the journey.

Me, taking a break on a roof in Huanaco. Pretty sweet terrain...

Here's another interesting post about searching for the headwater's of the Amazon River near Arequipa, Peru.

It's well worth the time it takes to read the whole story. Check it out here. Be inspired, even for the "little" adventures in your own life.