Fin Del Mundo - The End of the world

18.1.-1.2.2024

The bicycle journey has successfully begun from Ushuaia, the southernmost city in Argentina. One cannot easily get any closer to the South Pole by bike. 

Ushuaia is a classic destination for cyclists, either as a starting or ending point, if riding from one end of the Americas to the other. 

I am currently writing this text after the first night in the tent, still sitting inside it. The summer sun shines on the flower meadow, and I listen to the singing of birds and the buzzing of bees. It feels strange that in January, I went from the winter of Finland (-16°C temperature) to the middle of summer. Apparently, temperatures here don't often rise above +15 degrees Celsius, but yesterday the sun still shined intensely. 

Necesito estudiar español 

The last 1.5 months were a busy time with departure preparations, gathering the necessary equipment, and finalizing plans. I planned and made a lot of equipment and clothing myself. It took a tremendous amount of time, so I didn't have enough time to study Spanish adequately, so I mostly outsourced it for the journey. 

A mix of foolishness and self-confidence 

I couldn't find a tent that suited me on the European market, so I made one myself. I didn't have time to test the tent outdoors at all before the journey. Based on the first night in the tent, it seems quite good. I have previously made two very different tents and two tarps, so I kind of knew what I was doing. 

Some issues already arose with the bike and bags at the beginning of the journey. The small equipment bag in front of the handlebar occasionally hit the front wheel, and the adjustment of the rear fork's wheel slid by itself, turning the rear wheel. I think I fixed them in the evening. Fortunately, I have pretty good repair tools with me and some kind of a engineer's mindset. 

During the journey, I will introduce the tent and possibly its secret feature, as well as other equipment and the bike!