@cyclingabout

You will find me on my back wheel (a) when I need to show off to kids in the street 🦚 (b) when the hill is really really steep and I’m already 90% of my way to wheelieing anyway 📈 or (c) when I get to take all my bags off my bike and ride through the city like a hooligan! 📸 @gersantiago

Ruins always remind me that humans have been roaming on the same soil as me for thousands of years. 👣 I always think about what their life would have been like, how they lived, what they ate and what they might’ve thought about. 🌱 My favourite book in the world is called “Sapiens” by Yuval Harari. I’m actually reading it for the 3rd or 4th time right now. It’s a deep dive into the history of humanity, and it answers everything you could ever wonder about our ancestors. Plus, it gives really important context to modern life. Go on, add it to your book pile right now! 📚

After a few weeks on bumpy backroads, it’s always nice to hit a smooth stretch of tarmac and watch the miles roll by. How many miles? No idea! I haven’t logged my distances since I was a teenager. This is because I once caught myself deriving a sense of purpose from my numbers. Not just the distances, but things like the number of countries I’d visited too. But were numbers and ticked boxes really the best things for me to chase in life? I didn’t think they were, so I stopped counting things and immediately came up with a new strategy for navigating life. I ended up with something like this: do everything you can to maximise learning, understanding, sharing, adventure, unpredictability, freedom, time in nature and the range of experiences you’re exposed to. Now there’s nothing to measure. Nothing to compare. Nothing to try and beat. It’s just all the things I want my life to be about. 📸 @gersantiago

Imagine seeing this GIANT boulder hurtling towards you down the mountain! 😱 I’m pretty happy it found a flat bit of ground to lay on... as I’ve still got lots of countries to ride across before I get squashed by nature. 📸 @gersantiago

After two months of daily rainfall, I’m happy to report I have not seen a single drop for a whole week! 😁 Last week the rain was getting pretty obnoxious - it was pouring down on @gersantiago and I late in the day when we needed to camp - so I’m very happy I can now hunt down epic campsites in comfort. 🙏🏼

I’ve been beating the crap out of this KOGA WorldTraveller for about 15 months now, and I still haven’t trued a wheel, replaced a spoke, bled a brake or even tightened a bolt! 😍 How much maintenance have I done on it then? 🤔 There have been 3-4 brake pad changes, one oil change for the rear gearbox hub, a few puncture repairs and the belt sometimes needs a few drops of silicone to stay silent on the dusty roads. It’s very minimal! 🤘🏼 I’m still in love with the Madagascar Orange colour - it’s perfect for a perpetually dirty touring bike! 🧡

Gerardo brought a hammock on our bike trip, but the poor guy has only been able to use it a few times so far! 🌲 There have been surprisingly few places for a hammock that appear at the right time and place - that’s at sunset, hidden from people, away from barking dogs, with a flat place nearby for the tent... and not too cold outside - it’s chilly at 3000m! 🏕 @gersantiago doesn’t regret bringing it though, as he is using the hammock ropes (heaviest part) to keep his $40 panniers firmly in place. 🤘🏼

Swipe to see the same river crossing, but nine months apart! ⚡️ Yesterday, the river was five times as wide, more than one metre deep, murky green and had a strong flow. 💦 The wet and dry seasons offer very different landscapes in Mexico, depending on the month you cycle through - check out how green the southern bank is after a few months of rain! 🌱

Where are you going??? 🌎 This is the universal opening line by locals everywhere I’ve ever cycled. It is the ice breaker that often results in bags full of fruit, a tour of the town, morning alcohol shots or a warm place to stay. 🏠 After finding out that we sleep in the forests ( question: Where do you stay?), our new friends looked at @gersantiago and I with severe concern. Were they worried we would be attacked by a puma in our sleep? Robbed for everything we own? Nope. Their major concern were the ghosts and spirits of the forests. 🌫 Mexicans can be very superstitious people. Some believe witches can turn into owls and curse them in their houses (there is horrific video footage of people torturing barn owls demanding they turn into humans again 😭). “Chupacabras” which translates to goat-suckers in English, are said to drink the blood of livestock in the night. “Chaneque” are spirit-like creatures that are the keepers of the forests, and if you aren’t careful, they can steal your soul in the night. We have actually seen fresh animal sacrifices hanging from trees dozens of kilometres from the nearest houses... it’s super creepy! 😱

Ever wondered how such a fine specimen could still be single after half a decade? 💅🏻 I have a feeling the lack of shame might have something to do with it! 😂 Who else is sitting half-naked on a narrow mountain road, cooking breakfast and forcing drivers to go around THEM??? 🤦🏻‍♂️ You’re basically looking at an audacious homeless guy who sleeps in a tent, hides under bridges from the rain, washes his clothes in rivers and rides his bike into the deep unknown corners of the world. 🌎 Who in their right mind would actually get a thrill out of this ratbag lifestyle?! …cos I need to meet them 😍💍🤘🏼

Teamwork makes the dream work! 💪🏼 We’ve had to carry our bikes across some very gnarly landslide areas over the last few days. It would’ve been very difficult to negotiate this slushy, rocky mud alone, so I was very grateful to have a helping hand in @gersantiago! 💋 Oh, and thanks to the locals for providing all the motivation we needed to do this! All they had to say: “the route is impossible”. 😂

True or false❓ I prefer to take beginner cyclists on super muddy bikepacking routes because they have a higher chance of falling. 😁