On the road again …
After a brief hometown reprieve from the road, Hood River native Alex Titus and fiancée Maggie McDonell are again on two wheels and headed south with the geese, continuing their 18-month, 17,000 mile bicycling journey from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina.
The two – Titus a 2007 Hood River Valley High School graduate and McDonell a Colorado native – started their journey in mid-June from Prudhoe Bay in Northern Alaska. With little experience in distance cycling, they were initiated by the vast and unforgiving expanse of the Arctic tundra, with the goal of making it south to Hood River in time for Titus’s 25th birthday on Sept. 15.
Three months and nearly 3,000 miles later, they accomplished that goal and were lakeside at Kingsley Reservoir with close friends and cold beer for a celebratory homecoming of sorts.
“We’re actually pretty restless to get back on the road,” Titus said at the end of their two-week break, before departing for the California boarder via the Oregon coast and Highway 101. “We’ve certainly had our ups and downs, so it was really nice to get off the bikes and rest and feel like we really want it again.”
From Alaska to Oregon – about a quarter of the total journey – the ups and downs, Titus said, came both literally and figuratively. “The first 500 miles of Alaska were in the middle of nowhere, and we started in what happened to be the wettest June in the history of the state. We rode through torrential downpours for days at a time.”
The first weeks of riding were cold and wet, mosquito-ridden, desolate and often required climbing ominous and disheartening hills that seemed to have no end. But at the crest of every climb awaited the reward of unforgettable views of pristine wilderness, an invigorating downhill coast to the valleys below and a sense of accomplishment they had never quite felt before.
“Those first miles were definitely a culture shock for our bodies,” Titus said. “But after that, we feel like we can handle anything the elements can throw at us. That’s probably the biggest challenge we’ve had so far. Being so exposed all the time, anything can happen. The best night’s sleep we’ve had so far was early on, when we found a bridge that we could camp under. It was loud and rocky and trucks were roaring over us, but we were finally dry after six straight days of riding in the rain.”
After making their way down the coastline through Oregon and California, the two plan to head through Mexico via Hwy. 1 down the Baja peninsula, then ferry across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan, then continue down the Pacific Ocean coastline through Central and South America all the way to southern Argentina, hopefully following the change of seasons and good weather as they go.
“That’s actually one of the things we’re excited about the most,” Titus said about the cultural challenges they’ll encounter as they pass through Central and South America. “Our goal was to not only challenge ourselves physically and mentally, but also culturally.”
Titus said the two have a good base of Spanish to start with, and they’re looking forward to the intimate cultural experience they’ll get from seeing different countries from their unique perspective.
“We know we can handle anything we’ve already experienced; what we’re most concerned about at this point is traffic and unpredictable drivers,” Titus said.
Titus says the two will probably stay in hostels and homestays in much of the South American section and will utilize online communities that connect travelers with hosts in foreign countries.
“We really hope to be able to utilize this community, as it would allow us to stink much less and meet awesome people,” Titus said in their blog (www.2w2c.com). “Once we get to Central America, we are hoping to use hostels and cheap hotels. Our budget should be adequate for this through Central America, but we expect it to become a bit more challenging in South America. We will probably continue to carry all of our camping gear until we get a feel for bike travel in foreign countries and the type of amenities we will have available on a regular basis.”
Reevaluating amenities, Titus says, has been a theme throughout their trip.
“It has very much opened our minds to how much stuff we had that we didn’t really need,” he said. “Overall, we’ve had more fun in the last few months than we ever did when we were working every day and surrounded by all of our luxuries. This trip has certainly redefined the way we’re looking at our lives and how we’re going to live when we are done.”
The following are a few excerpts from Alex and Maggie’s blog (www.2w2c.com) that give a glimps into their experience and the lessons they’re leaning along the way.
July 30:
The gals in the office told us of Jack’s Pub where we could get burgers and beer, the elementary school that the government had turned into a marijuana dispensary, and the campground where the meth parties are held. All very helpful information. We decided to splurge on the pub and pass on the rest. It was definitely a small pub in the middle of nowhere; once we finally got our food, we gobbled it down and rode out of town faster than you can say “mullet party.” Lets just say the people watching was better than the food.
Maybe it was the mediocre food or the fact that we got a little buzzed off of one cheap beer, but after dinner we rode like mad and made another 26 miles without even trying. Once it started to get dark, we jumped into the forest and set up our tent in a rather tight, lumpy spot.
Aug. 15: Despite the crazy heat and the 6000+ ft of elevation climbing, it was a phenomenal ride. The BC back country is some of the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen and I would recommend anyone who is looking for amazing scenery to look here.
Sept. 24, from: Throughout our trip, Maggie and I have been constantly amazed by the generosity we have met on the road. From John Bennet bringing us doughnuts on the Dalton to strangers inviting us to stay in their home before they get off work, we have been humbled every day thus far. More than once we have been told that our trip is an inspiration and that people are so impressed by us, but I would argue that we are the ones finding inspiration in the people we meet.
Sept. 30: A 76 mile day into Bandon where we slept in the bushes about 10 feet off of Highway 101 with a billion spiders. Off again bright and early to trudge along in the headwind and rain. We had heard that we would have a tailwind the entire way along the coast, but instead we encountered a hurricane-like wind straight in the face. With rain. Nothing like low light, skinny shoulder, trucks, and wind blowing in all directions to make you feel nice and safe on the bicycle.
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