People: The Cyclists

Ushuaia, because of its generally accepted status as "Southernmost City in the World," attracts travelers with pretty amazing itineraries.  I have met two cyclists here whose trips blew my mind:

Daniel is about 40 years old, from the province of Buenos Aires, and works in the family business selling bicycle equipment.  He is going to bicycle all the way from Ushuaia to the Northern reaches of Alaska on a trip that will last more than one year, and has been ten years in the planning.  His budget is 25000 pesos, which comes to about 6,600 USD.  He also spent about 15000 pesos on his gear (about 4000 USD), which includes a bike, a trailer, and good camping gear.  In 2001 he cycled the whole of Argentina, from North to South, but his family thinks he is too old for this trip.  

Jaffie is 24 and from Nepal.  A UCLA graduate in Anthropology, he has spent the past 20 months cycling through the Americas.  He ran out of money in Ecuador, and has since earned money writing the occasional travel article, working odd jobs, or selling musical equipment he left back home.  A girl in Costa Rica pitied him after he was robbed and he ended up staying in her house for a month.  A police officer in Bolivia helped him cross the border illegally to avoid paying a visa fee.  

Having seen the mania that is the Central American highways, I asked them if they feared getting hit. Both downplayed the danger and have covered thousands and thousands of accident-free kilometers.  Daniel uses a small mirror to monitor oncoming traffic.  Jaffie pointed out that on long stretches of road in Latin America, most of the traffic is commercial trucks with professional drivers.