Tag: cycle-tourist

Chile for January

It has not escaped my attention that 2026 will signify a decade since I started writing this blog, and so, I thought it would be a good opportunity to mark the occasion by ticking a fairly significant cycle-touring challenge off my list: namely, the Carretera Austral, or ‘Southern Highway’.

The Carretera Austral is an 800 mile sliver of tarmac and gravel, that cuts through a sparsely populated, and geographically complex, portion of Chile’s Patagonian Lake District. Begun by General Pinochet in 1976, the route was only fully realised in 2000, and links a series of tiny – previously isolated – coastal communities between Puerto Montt in the north, and Villa O’Higgins in the south.

As Villa O’Higgins is a long way from an airport that offers regular commercially-available flights, there is the added complication that I will need to push on farther south, via a combination of ferries and hike-a-bike, to reach a remote Argentinian border post near the popular trekking hub of El Chaltén, before continuing southwards and ultimately crossing back into Chile, ending the trip in Puerto Natales, which, conveniently, offers the dual purpose of providing a means to onward flights, and also acting as the perfect launchpad for visiting one of my longest-serving bucket list destinations, Torres Del Paine National Park.

It would be something of an understatement to say that I am extremely excited about having the opportunity to undertake this adventure, one that I had been contemplating for many years, before seriously considering it for last winter. Then, when I spotted that Pierre – who I cycled with in Vietnam in 2020 – was attempting the route, I was determined to get – not only – some advice about the challenges he had encountered, but also an endorsement that I should do it too…

Day 1: Copenhagen – Præstø

Distance: 52.97 miles

Time: 4:26

Average Speed: 11.9 mph

Elevation Gain: 860 feet

So is there a plan, you might be minded to ask, before I set off across Europe. Well, yes, maybe! I am headed towards the northern German cities of Hamburg and Bremen, and then on towards Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, before making for a ferry back to the UK, most likely from Rotterdam or the Hoek of Holland. In terms of time frame, I think I have plenty of time, but I have added a secondary factor, of wanting to do a Parkrun in Germany, this Saturday! Hamburg or Bremen are the available options – and Bremen sounds lovely – but I feel like Hamburg is perhaps the more achievable target.

After another restless night, and a few short rain showers during the morning, it was after 1 PM before I finally left the campsite, and as I pedalled along the silk-smooth cycle path, for those first few hundred metres, the feeling was amazing, excitement, anticipation, and the freedom of the road.

For ten miles or more, I savoured the wonder of the Copenhagen bike infrastructure, consistently implemented, consistently used, there were cycle lanes on both sides of every road I took. Bikes gave way to pedestrians, cars gave way to bikes, somehow I have a feeling it would never catch on back home…

After 13 miles, the sense of wonderment was over, I couldn’t help but notice that the cycle lanes were also very flat. And the one time that flat cycle lanes aren’t particularly enjoyable is when there’s a headwind. Sigh.

Reaching Mosede Fort, I was pleased of the sea views over the Køge Bugt, before being lured off the bike once more by the sight of delicious looking pastries, of no obvious national affiliation, at the Baker Street bakery.

While pedalling through Helfolge, at 29 miles, and just after 5 o’clock, the wind started to turn, and the sky clouded over, a sudden downpour stopping me in my tracks. I’d just past Ristorante da Pino, a very handily placed pizza place, so I turned back, and hastened inside.

Rain having abated, I was back on the road, at just after 6, and with the wind now behind me, I was feeling good. Soon after, at 32 miles, the cycle path suddenly disappeared and I was cast out into the countryside for the first time. The road starting to rise and fall, the first real gradients all day.

The miles were passing much more quickly now, and I started to deliberate my campsite options for the evening. Plan A was too far away, Plan B wouldn’t be reached until after 9, and as their website was solely in Danish I couldn’t find any information about their reception opening hours. That left Plan C.

So, leaving the main 151 road at Tappernoje, I meandered along some quiet country lanes until I reached the large body of water of Praesto Fjord, continuing on to the pretty little harbour town of Præstø, after 50 miles, and leaving me only 40 more miles of the island of Zealand – on which I’d been travelling – before taking the ferry to Germany.

UK 2021: Land’s End to John o’ Groats

So, what does your average globetrotting cycle-tourist do during a world pandemic I hear you ask? Unsurprisingly, look for the nearest suitable challenge not necessitating the use of an Aeroplane and get packing is the answer.

And here I am, packed. Packed off on the 9:08 train from Edinburgh Waverley and with over 12 hours to kill before I arrive in Penzance. My challenge is – of course – Land’s End to John o’ Groats. 1000 miles, from the south-western tip of the British mainland to the north-eastern one.

The route I am intending to follow is the one presented in the Cicerone LeJoG guidebook, and is described as the ‘optimal’ route by none other than the author himself. Optimal because it keeps to quiet roads without adding greatly to the overall mileage.

To this stage, my planning has been minimal. I booked a train – and accommodation for my first night in Penzance – and that’s about it! Hotels in England look expensive, so I’ve brought my tent and hope to camp most nights, but not having planned where I hope to reach each night, I’ll need to seek out my accommodation options as I go. Hopefully this isn’t complicated too much by the English school holidays or lingering Covid restrictions…