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Panamericana adventure
  • Meike Grothe
  • Herbert E
Sep 2019 – May 2020

Panamericana adventure

A dream comes true!! Starting in Vancouver, our plan is to go South until we reach Tierra del Fuego - World's end. Our chosen way of transport: 2 fantastic travel bikes. Follow us on our adventurous trip with all the expected highs and lows 🚵‍♀️😀 Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 8, 2019
    Panamericana adventure

    The Plan

    August 19, 2019 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Only 20 days left - and our route is finally shaped out!

    Here's the facts:
    - 450 days
    - 25.000 km
    - 16 countries
    - >250.000 m of elevation
    - 2 bikes
    - 1 waterball globe for the storyline
    - 4 smiley valve caps for the spirit
    - 1 bear bell to frighten the grizzlies
    - and 2 crazy people ready to board their big adventure!

    Bring on 8th September!    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    2
    11

    Ready to go

    September 5, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today, we spent our day with preparations to get our bikes and equipment ready for the trip. In the end, everything we need for the next 15 months fits on the bikes, so I guess we are ready to go :)

    As a special farewell gift, we got stickers with our own logo. This means we even have some merchandising 😀😀    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    2

    Take off

    September 8, 2019 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Today we got up very excited After a last German breakfast, Meikes parents took us to Frankfurt Airport. Thanks to Meikes aunt and uncle for lending us the Bulli 🚐
    Luckily during check-in everything worked out well even one of our bikes was above the weight limit.
    We enjoyed a German beer before we took off for Vancouver ✈️    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure

    Tasting Vancouver

    September 9, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The first two nights in Vancouver we stayed with Maria and Oleg, a very nice Russian couple who live in the center of down town Vancouver. They welcomed us with a tasty dinner 😁
    As the weather was a bit rainy on the first day, we ended up enjoying big city food variety and finalizing our gear.
    In Vancouver, there are living lots of EV (electric vehicle) enthusiasts. Dear collegues: if we want a piece of this pie, we (you) have to hurry up 😉    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Totem poles in stanley park
    Horseshoe BayBowen IslandVancouver downtown and harbourTasting Canadian BeerView from our warm showers

    Vancouver: West and North

    September 10, 2019 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    On our first day on the bikes, we decided to take it easy and discover the Northern parts of Vancouver. We took a scenic road through Stanley Park and along the coastline to Horseshoe Bay and Whytecliff Park where we enjoyed the view to some nearby islands.
    Afterwards, we cycled to Deep Cove, a beautiful little village Northeast of downtown. Our warmshower host Jessica made a yummy lasagne, so we had dinner together with a first row view of the sound.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Ready for dinner?

    Vancouver to Mission

    September 11, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    On Wednesday, our way South actually started. We cycled through Vancouver suburbs, passed countless farms, and even followed some routes that looked similar to our German bike trails until we reached Mission after 96km, a little town North of the US border.
    In Mission, we were going to stay at a campground we had identified on our map. However, once we got there we realised that it was only a picnic area for day use. So Herbert went into a local gun shop (because hunters and fishers should definitely know about campgrounds, right?) and asked for alternatives close by. With the help of the shop assistant, all present clients and some phone calls, they found a campground just 3km outside of the city where we could stay the night. The owner even let us stay indoors on the couches of the recreation room as it was supposed to be raining during the night and she didn't want our tent to get wet 😊    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Us happy after border crossing
    1First mountains of the cascades1No way!!!Campsite looked nice until it started rainingDrying almost everything

    Crossing the US border

    September 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    The next day we crossed the US border and entered the 2nd country on our trip. The officer at the border was quite strict and interrogated us for about 30min. In the end, we could convince him that we are no illegal immigrants and he let us pass with the 90 days permit in our passports 😉
    The North of Washington State is how you picture it: regional US farm houses with the American flag in front, many little churches I have never heard of before and private property signs everywhere.
    In Sedro Woolley, we bought a local SIM to get around easier. However, we found out that in order to activate it, you actually need a working local phone... - weird! We are so thankful that the shop assistant spent 1 hour (!) with us to get our SIM working, even let us use her private phone.
    With those interruptions, we arrived pretty late and very tired at Rasar State Park campground after 120km with 611m of elevation. However, no time for relaxing. We had to hurry setting up the tent as it already started to rain. It actually ended up pouring all night, so Herbert could shower in the rain. Unluckily, this also meant that most of our stuff got wet or at least damp, so the night was uncomfy and the next morning started with drying at least some of the stuff... Not the best end of a long day on the bike 😞    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Skagit River
    Entering Cascades National ParkView from our campgroundBearbox -> things stay dry during rain 😁Cosy campsiteDinner time

    Entering North Cascades National Park

    September 13, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Once we could finally leave with semi-dry equipment, we rode West in Skagit River Valley towards North Cascades National Park. The views are beautiful: rivers and creeks, mountains around, little waterfalls, huge green trees. The weather was a little unstable and we had to take on and off our rain jackets and pants.
    In Newhalem, we stopped for lunch and everyone in that tiny community wanted to know where we were heading to and looked quite astonished when we answered with "Argentina". One guy who had just come from a 5-day trail work assignment in the mountains offered us his leftover food: 2 packages of ready-to-eat smoked salmon, mashed totatoes and hot chocolate powder. Great guy, we need it! 😉
    In general, this was an easy day of cycling with 83km and 750m of climbing, and we ended it with a stunning dinner location at Colonial Creek Camp.

    PS: Campgrounds here in the NP are a little different to European ones. You have plenty of space, usually hidden in the trees (a little too dark and wet we think) and a lockable box to put gear and food ("anythink that smells"), so that bears are not attracted to your tent.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Skagit River Valley
    1Rainy LakeWashington PassCompletely different landscape on the other side of Washington PassCarolyn, Tom and their dog Rudy -> an awesome team

    Washington Pass challenge

    September 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After another rainy night we startet our climb to Washington Pass. On the way to the top we had a short stop at rainy lake, were luckily it wasn't raining. It took us 5h30min and around 1800m of climbing to reach the pass.
    After another 2h downhill riding we reached Winthrop were we found a were nice warm showers. The couple (Carolyn and Tom) who we stayed with was absolutely amazing, prepared a tasty dinner for us and let us wash our clothes. You can imagine how the clothes smelled after 5 days of bike riding with lots of rain and a humidity of nearly 100 % 🙄
    Winthrop spreads a bit of cowboy feeling since there are lots of western town buildings. So we might change our bicycles into horses. 🐎    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Hiding from the sun
    Burned trees on the hillsTypical farm houseMethow river valleyCampspot at Alta Lake

    Recovering day

    September 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    After the exhausting tour across Washington Pass, we needed a more quiet day. We took it slowly, had a good breakfast and left Whintrop by almost noon for an easy 70km mainly downhill ride to Alta Lake State Park.
    We left in the rain but, luckily, it stopped after a couple of hours. The locals are actually happy about the rain as fires are not uncommon during summers as you can see in the photos (signs of last year's fire). So we just ignored the wet weather and enjoyed the views of Methow River, uncountable pear and apple orchards, farm houses and soft hills until we got to our beautiful campspot at Alta Lake.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Breakfast at Alta Lake
    Mouse nibbled our towelEntait Lake ValleyReceiving mail from germany

    Ride along the Highway

    September 16, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we got up quite tired since the whole night something was rustling around our tent. While packing our gear we noticed some little holes in the ground sheet of our tent and in our towel. A little bastard mouse had fun nibble our gear 😬
    The ride to Wenatchee was a long ride along a very busy highway although we already took the quiet alternativ route.
    Arriving in Wenatchee we went to the post office were we received a letter from Meike's parents. As I forgot the National Park entry pass back in germany, which was a gift from Tobi, Meike's parents sent it to the US post office.
    Peg and Rod, our warm showers hosts for this night, served a very delicious dinner (spareribs with a very tasty rice salat) so we could refill our calorie storage to be prepared for the next pass. I ate at least 5000kcal 😁    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Sunnies on for the first time
    Rolling down canyon roadHeavy rain just aheadLunch in Naches with the British guySunset at our river campspot

    Canyon Roads

    September 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We had a good start into the day with bacon&eggs and sun. It was the first day we put the sunnies on.
    The way through the canyons was really amazing as we had brightful colors during the day.
    Luckily the heavy rain passed just in front of us, so we stayed dry all day long.
    Around noon we met again a British guy, we had met two days ago already and who joint us to our beautiful campspot tonight.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1Tieton River Valley
    Crossing White PassBeginning of Mt Rainier National ParkCold showersOhanapecosh River

    White Pass

    September 19, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We start to realize that our route in the US is pretty hilly as today, we already had to climb the next pass. So we left our camp at around 8.30am and climbed up to 1350m in about 3.5 hours. Our little cyclist group grew to 4 for a while when an American joined us for some miles.
    Going down was easy and fast and we ended up on a camground in Mt Rainier National Park where we had a "shower" in the ice cold river.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    2Mt Rainier
    Bear having breakfast next to our trailView from our campsite - Tower rock: nice rock to be climbed1

    Hike at Mt Rainier

    September 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Today was a exciting day. We took half day off to give our legs a bit time to relax. So we hitchhiked to the main entrance of Mt. Rainier National Park to do a short walk along the skyline trail. As it was very cloudy we could see the shape of Mt Rainier only for a few seconds.
    On the way back to the main entrance we saw a mother bear with two cubs playing in the grass. They didn't really care about us, as they were about 200m away.
    5 min later we saw another bear eating in the bushes. As it was very close to our path, we kept going on very slowly. At a distance of 40m we waited for the bear to notice us. So we made some noise and hoped that the bear would run away (that is what the schoolbook says) . But he glanced only shortly at us and kept on having his breakfast in the bush. A few minutes later it was finished with the bush and looked around. It seemed to be interested in us, so it walked down on the trail and came towards us. So now I had to decide whether to keep going on doing pictures of the bear or unlock the bear spray just to be prepared for an attack. I decided for the second option since now the bear was only 10m far from us and my pulse rate got a bit higher.
    We slowly moved backwards and tried to keep a distance of 10m to the bear but it speeded up a bit. Luckily some of the grasses at the trail seemed to be very tasty so he changed his route and got off the trail. We waited 5 min behind a corner and then kept going as we couldn't see the bear any more. Back at the visitor center we got ourselves a hot latte to calm down a bit 😉 and hitchhiked back to our camp with a nice American lady celebrating her 62nd birthday today.
    At the camp, we packed our stuff and rode about 45km to Randle. We wanted to stay at a camp side, but it was members only. So we rode another 8km to a campspot shown on Google. It looked a bit empty, but generally fine with an office sign, running water and toilets, so we pitched our tent and were ready to cook dinner. Unfortunately, a guy (with cowboy hat and bull horns on the hood of his car) came to tell us that the campground was actually abandoned and the owner wants us to get off his private land. So we had to pack up again and cycle to the next camp which was another 17km away. By now it was already getting dark. However, we found Tower Rock U Fish, a nice campground a guy we met at the supermarket had recommended.

    We also finished our first 1000km on today's leg. Here is some random stats:
    9800m of climb
    60h30min on the bike
    2 countries
    3 passes
    4 bears seen
    3 dead snakes on the rode
    0 flat tires
    Many many nice people who gave us advice, food, warm showers and accommodation    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Climbing a steep gravel road1Babyshoe passView of Mt. Adam2"pass beer" right on top of babyshoe pass4Bday Burger

    Herbert's bday route

    September 21, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Today, we had a late start as Herbert wanted to sleep in for his birthday. So we got up at 7, had breakfast and left the campground by about 10. The weather was beautiful, and so was the route! We took a forest route along Cispus River with few traffic and stunning views of Mt Adam. However, we had to climb again: 1300m up to Babyshoe Pass. Especially the last 500m were tough as the nicely paved road changed to gravel. But we made it, had our lunch and "summit" beer at the top and had fun on the downhill ride to Trout Lake where we camped again. Luckily, there was also a diner, so Herbert could have his birthday burger :)Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1

    Trout Lake to Hood River

    September 22, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    The trip from Trout Lake to Hood River was fast, basically 40km just rolling downhill. After the downhill part, we got to the bridge crossing the wide river from White Salmon, Washington, to Hood River, Oregon, our second state in the US. It's an old steel bridge and neither cyclist nor pedestrians are allowed to cross. So we had to catch a ride. Luckily, a guy stopped to give us a lift. He had seen us standing in the rain (it rained again all day), with our bicycles and luggage, so he had gone home to his 2 kayaks, he had on his pickup, came back and picked us up. There's really some amazing people here!!
    We liked Hood River in general. It has so many outdoor sports opportunities like kite surfing, mountain biking, skiing plus people were relaxed. As it was still raining, we had a long coffee break to warm up again first. Afterwards, we did extended grocery shopping as we needed to fill up and then went to our warmshowers hosts Sarah and Jon. Both were great company, so we shared some stories before going to sleep comfortably in their guestroom in the shed.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1Mt Adams far away
    Mt Adam a bit closerOne of the four passes1Outdoor kitchen

    4 passes day

    September 23, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Today was quite exhausting. We took off from Hood River and cycled almost all day uphill (1789m in total) with nasty side and head winds. In the end, we made 4 passes (not that far apart though): Bennett Pass, Barlow Pass, Wapinitia Pass, and Blue Box Pass.
    Then, daily routine started: once it's about 4, we start looking for a campspot. Once found (ideally next to a river, creek or lake), we pitch the tent, wash ourselves, do some stretching for the legs, cook dinner, do the dishes, get ready for bed when it's dark at around 7:30pm and write our footprint for the (of course)!). Today, we found a good spot early, so we are in bed at 7 already ;)    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Rainy uphill climbing
    Sunny uphill climbingDetroit Lake doesn't have much water at this time of the year

    From rain to sun

    September 25, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today we cycled great forest roads - pretty hilly and exhausting, but not much traffic. It rained all morning which didn't make it any easier. Luckily, it cleared up so we could take off our rain clothes for the climb in the afternoon. We passed Detroit, OR, a nice little town next to a beautiful lake before searching for a campspot again. As many campgrounds close by end of September, it's getting more and more difficult to find a nice place for the night.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Fall is coming
    Burnt trees near Santiam PassDrying our gear in a park in Sisters1Well deserved!

    Ride to Bend

    September 25, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Again we woke up and everything was wet due to the cold and humidity at night. However, the sky looked promising, so we started our trip towards Bend. The route led along stunning Volcanic landscape and - of course - across a pass again: Santiam Pass.
    In a little cute village called Sisters, we used our lunch break to dry our tent and cloths in the sun. Then we cycled as fast as we could along the highway to our destination for the day, where we got ourselves a treat in one of the many breweries of the city.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    The wave of Bend1

    In and around Bend

    September 26, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    In the morning, we had a tough decision to take. As the weather forecast predicted snow for the weekend and we had planned to camp at about 2000m, we decided to rest in Bend for a few days and wait for a good weather window at the beginning of the week to continue our way South.

    It's actually not a bad area for some rest days, as it offers countless outdoor activities. So first of all we went hiking along Deschutes River with Jen, our host, and her dog Luke. We also got some nice views of the nearby volcanoes (Sisters, Broken Top, Mt Bachelor).
    In the afternoon, we explored Bend with its Breweries and parks.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Lava Butte
    3Lava fields around the vulcanoLave caveBday dinner with our hosts Jen and Fred130's Bday carrot cake

    Meikes Bday

    September 27, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    On Meikes' bday, we had sunny weather again. We helped Fred harvesting his garden as it's going to snow tomorrow.
    Afterwards, we cycled to Lava Butte, a lava cone closeby, where we had an awesome view of the landscape around Bend. A vulcano eruption formed a huge cave, so we had a 1 mile walk into the underground as well.
    Luckily, Meike could again celebrate her 30's bday with a huge dinner and a carrot cake.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Senior boys race about to start
    Snow in the morningOur stop for the night

    Heading further South

    September 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

    After a relaxing Saturday that we spent watching a cross country race and having a family dinner, the weather was good enough to head further South. So we packed up our stuff and left Bend. It was actually pretty cold (between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius), had snowed during the night and didn't get any warmer all day. The landscape was still nice and we cycled for about 100km before pitching our tent for the night, cooking dinner and crawling into our sleeping bags to warm up again.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Cycling in snowy landscape
    3Yummy Crater Lake Burger1Snowy campsiteHow to make tea

    Freezing...

    September 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Another cold day: 0°C... We put on almost all the clothes we have and continued our route South along snowy trees. We also had to go 30km on a highway today. Luckily, we had tail winds and it went slightly downhill, so we managed to cycle that part in just over an hour. And just before heading into a smaller road again, we stopped at a restaurant to warm up and regain some energy again. Herbert was definitely happy with his burger 😉
    In the end, we set up our camp next to the Pacific Crest Trail at an altitude of about 1800m. As water is scarce in this area, we had to melt snow for our afternoon tea. The sun came out for about an hour which was great to warm up before going to bed.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Cycling through Pumice Desert
    Closed road to Crater Lake but not for bicycles5Crater LakeAfter a hot coffee at Crater Lake LodgeRogue River GorgeEnjoying warm evening at Lost Creek Lake

    Crater Lake - we made it!

    October 1, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    What a day...! The tortures of camping in below 0°C were totally worth it!
    So we woke up this morning, - 4°C, cloudy, tent frozen... Difficult to make breakfast as our hands were freezing cold... Luckily, we had to start with a climb of 500m which warmed us up a little. The North entrance road up to Crater Lake was closed, but we could pass anyways with our bicycles. This was actually pretty cool as we were all alone - no cars or people! - on the way up. And it started clearing up, so we rode through a winter wonderland 😀
    By the time we reached the top, the sun was out and we could enjoy stunning views of Crater Lake, surrounded by snowy cliffs of the crater. Absolutely amazing!!
    We met some National Park officers and expected some trouble. However, they didn't seem to care that we cycled on a closed road, waved and wished us a great day. So we continued our exclusive semi-circle around the lake and stopped at every viewpoint.
    Once we got to the historical Crater Lake Lodge, we got a coffee to warm up. We must have looked completely frozen as the waiter wouldn't let us pay for it. Nice guy!!
    We then rolled downhill towards Prospect with great views of some nearby volcanoes, Rogue River Gorge, rivers and lakes. Kind of crazy that it took us about 1.5 hours to lose all the metres we had climbed during the 3 days before... But we are actually happy to be in lower altitude again. At Lost Creek Lake where we camp it's about 13°C and sunny 🌞    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1Marihuana fieldCity center of Ashland2Homemade dinner made by Geoff

    Cycling to Ashland

    October 2, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    When we got up it, was again pretty cold (5°C) but luckily the sun came out fast.
    We cycled through a calm and beautiful valley along some typical American farms. As marihuana is legal in Oregon, we passed lots of marihuana fields. On all fruit orchards we've seen before the pickers were from Mexico or some other Latin American country. Not so on the weed fields. All pickers were white skinned and more or less kind of surfer guys 🤔
    We arrived in Ashland early afternoon. After a short stop in the city center, which is really pretty, we continued our trip to our warmshowers host Geoff. He made a very delicious pasta dish and told us about his boat trip around the Eastern part of the US.    Read more

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