Bikepacking Chile | Episode 17 | Alaska to Argentina

Cycle touring through Chile was everything I hoped it would be. Gone were the endless, open stretches of sun, sand, and scrub. While some days were hot, there was always some amount of shade to take cover in. And the best part? Water. Water everywhere. Everything from liny creeks burbling through rocks, giant regional rivers, massive lakes, and the ocean itself can be found in Chile.
I started off with a quick, three day visit to the coast, which was full of vacationing Chileans enjoying the cool sea breeze almost as much as I was. Much of the coast is developed, but there were enough deserted spots for me to wild camp on.
After leaving the coast, I headed inland to ride the Monkey Puzzle Trail. Up in the mountains I rode by many remote roads through forests and around volcanos. The Monkey Puzzle is a type of tree unique to Chile with strange, thick, pointy leaves.
After leaving the Monkey Puzzle Trail, I finished out the episode with a tour of Chile's lakes, from Villarrica to Llanquihue. I hit as many as I could and enjoyed the chill cruisy back roads in between.
At the end I met my dad for the final time who joined me to accompany me on the Carretera Austral, next episode.
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About the Ride:
My name is Alex van Gelder. I'm from Seattle and I'm just starting my first intercontinental bicycle tour. The goal is to ride from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina in one go.
I also want to ride some bikepacking routes including the Great Divide Route through the Rocky Mountains and the Peru and Ecuador Divides through the Andes.
For this trip I built my own bike using a custom frame in order to be able to withstand rough mountain roads as well as power through long distances on pavement. (I had never built a bike before so we'll see if it holds up.)(lol)
If you want to learn more about my bike build, I go over it in this video: • My Alaska to Argentina...
I go over my gear in this video:
• My Alaska to Argentina...
If you have any other questions you can check out my FAQs video: • Alaska to Argentina | ...
Or leave a comment and I'll get to it as soon as I can.
I'm editing these videos on the road, so releases my be infrequent as I try to find a quiet place to edit.
Theme song created by True.
soundcloud.com/teacher-true