A World Of Change – Experiencing South America’s Dynamic Environments On Two Wheels

Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 South American Epic Cycling Expedition. 

Cycling across South America for five and a half months, from the Amazon rainforest to the icy peaks of Patagonia, is bound to bring with it a remarkable variety of experiences. Even with the grand expectations set for the South American Epic (one of TDA Global Cycling’s four epics trips that traverse entire continents – the others being Tour d’Afrique, Silk Route & North American Epic), a journey that spans six countries from Cartagena, Colombia to Ushuaia, Argentina—participants have found themselves continually surprised by the dramatic changes they encounter, not only on a large scale, country to country, but also on a more granular level as well, during a single day. This adventure, designed to showcase some of the continent’s most breathtaking and remote locations, often feels like it is traveling through entirely different countries within a single day. The immense variety of environments, cultures, and challenges keeps riders on their toes and adds an unpredictable, yet exhilarating dimension to the adventure.

Broad country to country shifts are what we expected and as the trip developed, they became quite apparent. Beginning in the Colombian Caribbean, it was hot and humid. Seriously hot and humid. “Cycling in the tropical heat, the oppressive humidity always lying upon you… was part of what I signed up for, but also difficult,” John Benoit proclaimed as we chatted in Medellin, Colombia during the first weeks of the trip. There were a few nights at the beginning where when simply lying in your tent, you would drip sweat (as Shanny described earlier in his blog). Quite the juxtaposition to sleeping at 4000 meters in Ecuador where lying in your tent, you could not breath through your nose because you would not take in enough oxygen. Both places are stunning and both offer immensely different challenges. We knew these macroscopic changes would take place. Yet, we may not have known just how grand they would be.

On the other hand, we had less of an idea of how our experiences would change on a granular scale, within a day. Talking to our tour leader Carolina in Cartagena, Colombia, she warned me that one of the most difficult aspects of this trip was going to be the change in climate and environment within a short period of time. “I feel like the biggest challenge for the riders will be to deal with the variation of weather, especially during the same day when they will have all sorts of climates and temperatures,” said Carolina, a day before the tour kicked off. Throughout the entirety of the trip this has proved to be true. “Often we are in 4 very different places in one day. By starting at a low elevation in a big city, then going through little towns on rough back roads and into national parks, the geography changes, the climate changes, the vegetation changes…” exclaimed Mike Mossing, one of our Cartagena to Ushuaia riders.

These changes present challenges that your typical cycling tour does not. Jim Fowler told me that he and a lot of the other riders carry a wide range of gear on their bikes because of the wide range of climates potentially faced during a single ride. “We carry a couple layers for warmth and of course the ability to not wear them to keep cool… That is really the only way to do it. It means you carry a bit more weight but it’s part of an epic adventure.” The diversity of landscape on this trip does not solely present itself as a challenge to the riders. It also makes for some of the most incredible scenery you can imagine. “It is stunning, within just a few kilometres we’ve gone from a country side where you’re seeing rice paddies to totally aridity and then the next day, after climbing just a few kilometres you’re back to green lush vegetation,” noted Jim.

Everyone knew that they signed up to see the dunes in Peru, the kingdom of the Amazon in Ecuador, and the Colombian Andes. The scope, scenery, and variety of landscape have indeed lived up to promise that it would be epic and at times otherworldly. However, what many of us did not anticipate was the sheer diversity of ecosystems, ways of life, and cycling terrain that we would encounter in short periods of time.

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South American Epic

This challenging expedition offers you the best opportunity to explore the vastness and diversity of South America by bike. In keeping with the TDA...