Gear loadout

Bags on bike:

x 2 Front panniers by Roadrunner Bags
x 2 Sea to Summit compression bags on rear rack
x 1 Revelate designs gas tank

Racks:

x1 Tubus Tara front rack with fork eyelet adapters
x1 Nashbar rear rack (my wallet is happy)

Bad picture, I know

Sleeping stuff:

x 1 Thermarest Z-lite sleeping pad
x 1 Big Agness lone spring 1 tent
x 1 REI brand footprint
x 1 REI Lumen 27F sleeping bag


Bike tools/spares:

x 1 Schwalbe marathon supreme tire
x 2 tubes
x 12 Lezyne glueless patches
x 2   Lezyne boot patch
x 1 Park tool spoke wrench
x 2 chain missing links
x 1 Topeak multitool (hex, chain tool, tire levers)
x 1 Shimano cleat pair
x 4 spokes
x 1 Topeak master blaster


Food/heating/Water:

x 1 Mini trangia alcohol stove
x 1 Aluminum spork
x 2 Water bottles
x 1 2L camelbak bladder
x 1 lighter


Lights:

x 1 Petzl Tikka +
x 1 Luxos front bike light
x 1 Rear bike light

Cleanliness:

x 1 travel toothbrush/paste
x 1 shaving blade/5 spare blades

Electronics:

DYNAMO USB CHARGING FOOL!
x 1 Nexus 5
x 1 Fujifilm camera (will update specs)

Misc:

x 1 notebook (stone paper)
x 1 Pilot Razor II pen
x 1 ductape
x 2 heavy bungee cords
x 1 REI brand dry sack
x 1 Suunto compass
x 1 Coleman First aid kit
x 4 spare batteries
x 1 Sunscreen

Stuff

Clothing:

x 3 DeFeet woolie boolie socks (pairs)
x 1 DeFeet wool knee warmers
x 1 Arcteryx light beanie
x 1 Pearl Izumi arm warmers
x 2 Target brand baselayers
x 1 Smartwool shirt (So hard to justify their prices)
x 1 Garneau shiny plasticy shell
x 1 long sleeve cycling jersey (doesn't look like one)
x 1 Swrve shorts, I had two but one had sewing issues
x 1 Nike running shorts
x 2 Cycling bibs
x 1 Giro button up riding shirt
x 1 Noth Face fleece
x 2 full finger gloves (one for riding, one for sleeping)
x 1 Performance bike vest
x 1 Canari high vis jacket
x 1 UnderArmor baselayer with fuzzy stuff
x 1 New Balance minimus sneakers for exploring
x 1 Shimano SH-M089 shoes
x 1 Levi's 511 jeans
x 3 UnderArmor briefs
x 1 Oakley sunglasses
x 1 Giro Savant helmet

more stuff

I think that's all.

PANIC TIME

The 29th is getting close and I still feel like I need a ton of gear but I'm pretty confident I'll get it all within the day before I leave, story of my life.

As if school loans blowing up my phone, still unprepared gear wise, having to sell my car and other misc.stuff wasn't enough. Life decided to throw me some rancid lemons, A LOST GODDAMN, MOTHER**CKING PASSPORT.

Expediting via USPS is 2+ weeks to get a new on, that won't work. So I had to make an appointment with the US Passport Agency in West L.A to get one ASAP. That's not stressful enough though, so life thought making the most readily available appointment the 23rd, holy sh*t, can it be any closer to my departure date? But wait, there's more! They require you to bring the last expired Passport or Birth Certificate, well, those are in Colombia at my parent's place.

I still have a few days to find the lost one, it has to be somewhere in my place or girlfriends, It's fair game until I report it

All in all, I will get this done no matter what.


EDIT: I HAVE A NEW PASSPORT!!!!!!!! After $195 and two trips to West L.A. Got it in 24hrs.

The route or lack of...

My initial idea was to start in Los Angeles and ride down to Cartagena, Colombia but after a few e-mail exchanges with my uncle, I was dissuaded. I rather not be hacked to cubes with a blunt and rusty machete which was previously used to cut some coconuts.

I did a little research (an hour on Google) and I found that the gang violence in Central America was pretty bad and some people had issues going through even in a car.

After about a day I decided I was going to Start in Pasto, Colombia and ride all the way down to Ushuaia, Argentina, the tip of South America, around 4000mi, then I'll drink some beers with the Penguins. I'm planning to finish in around 3 months, I really wish I had more time to explore and take it all in, unfortunately I owe an astronomical amount in student loans so I have to get a job as soon as I get back. The pedaling begins on Jan. 20th.

I won't be taking a GPS because I'm broke mostly so I'm just gonna rely on locals and oldschool maps. It's also worth mentioning I'm going solo.

Adventure time

The bike

The bike i'm using is a 90's Specialized Stumpjumper. They are cheap on craigslist these days, got mine for $80 buckaroos. Why a 26" MTB? Because wheel strength and because 26" spares are much easier to find in South America. MTB geometry is also more favorable for touring, I don't need aero, bro. 

Pictured is the Stumpjumper in some deep sparkly purple with pink decals, 90's color schemes were beautiful. In the pic is also my roommate, master of bicycles.




After some money spent on a few Shimano XT bits, wheels, bar end shifters, drop bar conversion, mistakes and hard work (mostly done by master of bicycles) this is how the bike is currently looking:

Still missing rack adapters, panniers and a bunch of other stuff. Overall it's pretty badass and I can't wait to start logging long miles on it.

Dynamo hub.

26.8 seatpost in 26.6 seat tube...F*ck me, right? I also tore off the quick release clamp thinking it wasn't part of the frame, well, it was. Also, this saddle turned out to be really bad for my bottom.

Raging.

"The hand of God", this light is awesome.