Addressing the gnaw and fulfilling a means

 The brain fire came from the amount of deliberation I have sank into my next step. Neural sputtering set fire to the piles of dead cell husks. Several cups of coffee did nothing to extinguish it; only fanned the flames. In the end, this cleared the underbrush, letting in the sunlight. Allowing me some real thinking, scheming and speculating (not as painful as I previously thought it to be).

So, with kaleidoscopic images of a thousand ideas and my heart strings making quite a hedge for my brain to see over. I've made a decision to break up this world tour into chunks. South America being the first. I´m going to fly to California and get ready for Africa and Asia.

  There would need to be a page break here anyways, as I work as a means to finance this wheeled cabaret. The hedge I was referring to earlier is also watered by the unknown waters I went tip toeing out into. I have not been away from my family and friends for so many years in a row before (I was in New York a long time before I headed South). I had no idea how it was going to effect me. The FOMO (fear of missing out) is brutally strong. Fear that I'm missing out on the lives of the people I love. It has me questioning my judgement on being away for another 4,5,6 years. I am an adventurer and a groper of the unknown but I am not a drifting orphan. A cast away by choice, a tumbleweed who knows the way home. To ride the world on two wheels is my dream, but such a continuous stretch away from family seems a crime (most that I consider family have nothing to do with blood relation). I need a recharge and a regroup. The main thing I don't ever wanna do (again) is- miss out on true experiences cuz I'm rushing to get somewhere else. This applies in all directions and is one hell of a pickle.

 So by returning to California I break my continuous line. But being the person who calls the shots and is making this up as they go, I'm ok with that.

       This way:

• I can make make money quicker doing what I enjoy, working with people I enjoy working with.
• I can rebuild Davie who is seriously in need of some fresh parts.
• I can reup my gear that is rather worn out.
• I can tailor my set up for the African deserts  
• I can thoroughly research and prepare for Africa and Asia
• I can get my charity ride and volunteer work action together easier
• I can get this painful tooth fixed
• I can rip some single track with my pals and get in all sorts of over nighters and micro-adventures.
• I can have a damn good summer in an awesome place
• I can see the humans I love and feel better about being away in the future.

 I've got an amount in my head of what I wanna make. After the hoopla and culture shock shit storm of being back dies down. I'm gonna settle into stacking up the nickles. As much as I look to having a good time, riding bikes and cavorting with the clan... This is a business trip. We have a fat tire world tour to make happen!

 About the boat crossing?  I still would like to cross the Atlantic by sailboat. Im going to continue to look on-line from California. If everything seems right, and I have luck getting hired on as crew. Ill fly back to South America to where the ship is docked... Some snowballs might do just fine in hell, people get stuck by needles in hay stacks all the time and odds tend to go up from zero with a little thing know as: trying. One never knows...
  

Shacks, tracks and a bushwhack

I do love nachos but they do not compare to this end of the world route.

Grinning like a goofball. From Alaska to the bottom of South America... with a few detours

Monica and Robi. Some really awesome humans. They have been 10 years on the road and were great to meet and hang out with.

Sorry, these photos are a bit out of order. My guess is that you can deal with that?

Once again I found myself on a route blazed by Cass, Skyler and Panthea. I would have to say that this loop really made Tierra del Fuego for me. It was absolutely fabulous.  

Quiet and a little over grown.

A tad more over grown. Davie and I could not progress single file as easy as the cows.

A tree bridge. I chose not to balance Davie on my head across it.

Instead we crossed here.

I needed extra carrying capacity for my smile

And was glad no one was around to hear my giddy squeals

Ushuaia in the distance.

Like all good routes, you get some hiking with your biking

I'm gonna print out a series of photos like this. When people ask me what the fat tires are for? I'm just gonna grin, shrug  and hand them the stack of photos. Fat bike bliss.

Bikeshacking. I reached this stronghold just before dark. 

Sitting on the stoop- watching the end of a good day happen.

Yea. I should not have eaten all those gun powder nachos 

Another of the cozy little spots along the way.

Splendid two track action

Mylodon hide.

Be prepared to play peek a boo with the tootsies. Unless you are of coarse riding in hip boots.

The end of the day cast a mist and beautiful glow across everything.  The only thing missing was someone else to ping pong the awesomeness with.

Thundering past with a galloping awe

This one would be a real find in a monsoon.  If anyone else is to ride this route after us?  If you leave Ushuaia early (I left about 1pm) it would be pretty easy to push through to this cozier shack on the first day. 

If you did this as an out and back. You would not have to ride the same track twice.

Hey Falon. Run, jump and swim out to that buoy?

You pass this no passing easiest by going under the fence to the left. (coming from Ushuaia)

Debris of yesteryear

Go LEFT... No, your other Left

Stayed with me for a while and was instantly named White fang

Bikeshacking doesn't get much better.

There is a little place just down the road...  With an old tin box in the corner for pieces of your heart.

Prince Williams in the distance. And some cool kids hanging out after school.

This is as close to the historic Harberton Ranch as I got. It was locked up like fort Knox for the winter

Lunch, had it been later it would be camp.

Winter closes the Tierra del Fuego door behind me.

I had this camp ground to myself.

Davie's kind of breakfast

Not a bad place to sip the morning coffee

And then this happened when I found myself back at the Panaderia Union

Photo Mulligan of some splendid galloping (updated)

We have had one of these before. These photos are a splattering of happs. The happs have been good!

Davie and I have trounced about, passing land beneath us.

 We've swished and glissaded into some spectacular cycling times.

 The wind has howled and rain has sheeted. The collars been turned up and the chamois wrung out.

 Gravel has crunched, tracks have been left. The sun has shone and smiles have prevailed.

We have land falled the end of the western earth. If there is such a thing?

Here are some images that validate the occasion:

Compared to the size of my hand. Thats one beautiful sight after a long day in the saddle. Hell, that would be one beautiful sight if I just woke up. Thats why I got two.

I've been drinking more tea latley. Thanx roadside ditch.

Crunchy and flat.

Morning camp visitor.

Bus stops are a welcome refuge for cyclist all year long down here.

Oh quit being so dramatic

A fixer upper

The boat yard of Puerto Natales

Tas Kafe! Exported from Guatamala and Imported from Beacon, NY. All the coffee you can find in Argentina or Chile has sugar added and is just crap in general. Gettin some real coffee in the post was just amazing. Thanx Arron, I owe ya one, buddy.
 This box changed several hands before it finally got to me. Thank you: Kyle, Arron H, Arron C, Ra, and Piero. 

If Falon was here, we would prolly dare each other to swim out to that rock. I have no doubt he would take that dare.

I've been doing well latley with finding my way into free beds. Its most often to windy to set up the tent. My Thermarest has once again seperated in the center, making a big basketball size buldge at one end. So finding free roofs and comfortable beds has been a fun challenge.

Like this one at Morro Chico

The road to Rio Verde

Beautiful old Estancias are all over in Patagonia.

A ferry I didn't need to catch.

My cozy clam digger shack

Sunrises last a really long time this time of year. No complaints

Same clam digger shack in the day light

 Cass and Myles also crashed here. Skyler and Panthea plowed the route and give it a sniff. Anna, I think also came through on her way to good beach riding times.

I love me a good shack

Why am I drawn to them so much?  Ma, was I born in a shack?

Stupid good!

I would call that fat tire friendly. 

There were some easy gates to pass. The locked ones were a different story. Good thing Davie went on a diet.

I'm to late in the year for Penguins. This is as close as I got.

Shack vision.

Gas is faster than wood

Have you been hopping locked gates? No. That identical red paint has always been there.

I think I know which way the wind normally blows around here

Refugios come in all shapes and tire counts.

A choke that chokes no more.

Punta Arenas in the distance

Early morning ferry across the Str8 of  Magellan.

Penguin cousins

Room for rent. Cheap

The party starts when the blue lights come on

El Porvenir

The Onaisin junction Refugio. 

Another place of South America cyclist lore. The accomadtion at Panadaria Union.

Every Northbound cyclist I passed through out Chile and Argentina told me of this Panaderia. Free place to stay and tasty empanads.

Can I have another cookie?

pppppplease?

A sign sighned by Andre in 2012.

Fall Falling.

I hot footed it into Ushuaia on the highway. I plan to ride dirt road and trail back out .

Views from the highway were not so bad...

I was caught scoping a shack on his property. Without much consideration after hearing my explanation, I was invited in for a warm night stay and cookies.

Ushuaia. The city at the bottom of South America.

Know as the end of the world

Some cool old boats in the Beagle Channel

Looking back North to the city. A direction I'll now be looking for quite some time.  

Davie and I have been in Ushuaia a few days. We're now turning around to ride back across Tierra del Fuego. It's a new chapter. Spread out over several years, I've ridden the length of the Americas. Our attention now is getting to South Africa to prepare for the ride to Mongolia.