Total Stats
| Cycling (2008-17) | Hiking (Non-UK 2002-17) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of days | 642 | 488 |
| Distance | 39,925km | 7316km |
| 4,000m Passes | 178 | 100 |
| 5,000m Peaks | – | 38 |
Max/Min Stats from all our trips
Cycling
Longest day by distance : 152km – Near Porvenir to Argentinian San Sebastian, Tierra del Fuego. All ripio.
Longest day by time (all cycling) : 9h59 – La Florida to La Paz, Bolivia.
Longest day by time (cycling and hiking) : 12h12 – climb of Volcan Lanin (1,250m ascent, 2,700m descent – 8h56) followed by 66km cycle to Junin de los Andes (3h16), Argentina.
Maximum Altitude with loaded bikes (on a motorable road) : 5,550m – Uturuncu, Bolivia.
Maximum Altitude with unloaded bikes : 5,777m – Uturuncu, Bolivia (it’s motorable and cycleable to 5,760m).
Maximum Altitude with loaded bikes (on a trekking route) : 5,646m – Pushing over the flanks of Pissis, Catamarca, Argentina.
Most climbing in a day : 3,180m – La Florida (1,649m) to La Paz over La Cumbre (4,671m), Yungas, Bolivia.
Most climbing in a 4 day period : 8,610m – Inquisivi to La Paz, Yungas, Bolivia.
Most climbing in a 7 day period : 11,900m – Licapa to Sañayca, Ayacucho and Apurimac, Peru.
Most climbing in a 14 day period : 20,300m – Babanagar to Tanakpur, Himachal and Uttarakhand, India.
Most climbing in a 28 day period : 36,350m – Conococha to Santa Rosa, Peru.
Most descending in a day : 4,730m – Before Abra Viraco (4,940m) to Aplao (627m), Dpto de Arequipa, Peru.
Most ascent plus descent in a day : 5,350m – (620m up, 4,730m down) before Abra Viraco to Aplao, Peru. Next most: 5,200m (2,790m up, 2,410m down) – Askote to Lohaghat, India.
Steepest incline : 24% – Climbing to Abra Llamaorgo, Huancavelica, Peru.
Steepest daily gradient : 9.1% – 612m/6.71kms, pushing up Aucanquilcha, Chile. Steepest all cycled: 7.3% – 847m/11.53kms, climbing to Vallecitos, Cordon del Plata, Argentina.
Steepest kilometre climbed: >150m on the climb up from Pallayunga, Yungas, Bolivia.
Least amount climbed on a 100+km day: 32m (in 115kms) – Laguna del Monte, Cordoba to Ameghino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Maximum speeds : 81.3kph (H) – descending from Paso Chungara/Tambo Quemado, Oruro Province, Bolivia. 70.0kph (N) – down a 1% slope on the way to Paso Jama, Region II, Chile. Nice tailwind.
Highest daily average speed : 25.1kph – Cortadera Grande to Fiambala, Argentina.
Lowest daily moving average speed : 1.9kph – Pushing over Shingo La, Zanskar, India. Our total daily average speed that day was 0.9kph.
Lowest daily maximum speed : 5.9kph – The day before, pushing to Shingo La base.
Maximum temperature on the bikes : 40C – cycle-pushing to Colonia Pellegrini, Corrientes, Argentina.
Minimum temperature on the bikes : -11C – Leaving Polques just after dawn, Dpto de Potosi, Bolivia.
Minimum temperature camping : -20C – Camping in a llama corral, Laguna Colorada, Dpto de Potosi, Bolivia.
Longest stretch without precipitation : 101 days – Cuesta de Zapata, Argentina (rain) to Abra Huayllamarca, Bolivia (snow).
Longest distance we pushed the bikes in a day : 18km – Kangsar to Dorzong – bike-hiking in Zanskar, India.
Longest stretch without seeing tarmac : 1,085km – Hito Cajon, Region II, Chile to Tambo Quemado, Oruro, Bolivia.
Most consecutive nights of camping : 38 – Quetena, Bolivia to Fiambala, Argentina.
Most consecutive days of cycling : 15 – Conococha to Huancavelica, Peru; Boicucanga to Iguazu Falls, Brazil.
Most consecutive days of hiking : 15 – Cordon Ojos del Salado, Puna, Catamarca, Argentina.
Most consecutive days of combined biking & hiking : 16 – San Pedro de Atacama, Chile to Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, Argentina (via Llullaillaco and Antofalla volcanoes).
Longest stretch without a puncture : 6,885km (N) – Villa Dolores, Argentina; UK; India; Nepal. Puncture in Caraz, Peru.
Longest distance cycled without a stop: 68km – El Portezuelo (770m) to red light in Chepes (650m), La Rioja, Argentina.
Most water carried (each) on the bikes : 17 litres – Leaving Paso Socompa for Llullaillaco, Salta, Argentina.
Most food carried on the bikes : 18 days – Leaving for Pissis, Bonete and Veladero, Argentina.
Most restaurant meals eaten in a 24 hour period : 7 – Llica, Dpto de Potosi, Bolivia.
Longest time without a fresh fruit or vegetable : 17 days – hiking on the Puna, Catamarca, Argentina
Longest time without a shower : 21 days – Fiambala to Villa Union (though we went to termas in this time). Without a wash: 17 days – hiking on the Puna, Catamarca, Argentina.
Longest time without seeing another human being : 8 days – hiking on the Puna, Catamarca, Argentina (the first 7 days the only signs of life we were 2 insects and a small patch of lichen); cycling from Paso Socompa to Volcan Antofalla, via Llullaillaco; and cycling from Antofagasta de la Sierra to Paso San Francisco, via Condor.
Longest we were followed by a dog : 30km – Near Puyuhuapi, Carretera Austral, Chile.
Longest we were followed by a 3-legged dog : 26km – Leaving Rio de los Sauces, Cordoba, Argentina.
Hiking
Maximum Sleeping Altitude : 5,930m – high camps on Llullaillaco and Tres Cruces, Argentina.
Maximum Altitude Hiking : 6,892m – Ojos del Salado, Argentina.
Minimum temperature when staying in a tea house : -27C – Gokyo, Solu Khumbu, Nepal.
It’s amazing what you guys do! Very impressive! Good luck on the road!
Inspiring stuff. I’ve done a couple of rides in India, 1991 and last autumn (Darjeeling to KanyaKumari). I love the noise and the people and the frenzy of India but you have me interested in a totally different solitary adventure in the Andes: high, quiet and beautiful. I’ll have to wait a couple of years but I can start dreaming now… Do you see many other riders in S America? I saw two riders going in the opposite direction for a brief 20 minutes, the only non locals in ten weeks on the Eastern side of India. Saw a few more in ’91. Anyway, cheers, have fun and keep posting.
Hi Dave, cheers for the comment. If you stick to the main routes in the Andes you see a ton of other cyclists – it’s very popular to cycle the length of the range and in certain places (Carretera Austral, Argentine Lake district, Bolivian Lagunas, Huaraz for example) you bump into people all the time. But if you’re after solitude it’s not hard to get away from all forms of traffic (something we never managed in India, despite trying hard).
chow
Neil