Prologue

Last year, as I was crossing Uruguay on my motorcycle, I realized I was going too fast to see anything. Anybody else would have slowed down and enjoyed the view, but I can't. When I am on a motorcycle, I have to go fast enough that I am in front of everyone else. I hate to follow anyone, and can't go slow. "Go fast, see nothing," is how my friend Pete described my travel style after a ride we did from San Diego to Guadalajara and back.

As I rode across Uruguay at about 80 mph, and came to the realization that I was not seeing anything, and will ride until I am exhausted, check into a hotel and drink beer until I relax enough to go to sleep, it hit me that the way to see the country is to do it on a bicycle. I haven't ridden one in 20 years, am fat and out of shape, and will have to go slow.

When I got back to Ohio, I started looking on the internet and found recumbent bicycles. I found a deal on Craigslist for a late model BikeE CT, and bought it.

I started to ride every day, and noticed that when I went up hills, the front wheel would rise up off the ground. Back on the internet, and I realized I am too heavy for the bike. So I found a XL frame BikeE CT on ebay, and that's what I'm riding now. My friend Marcia, from Santiago, Chile, will be riding with me on the standard frame CT.

I have been riding in Santiago two to four times a week since the bikes arrived in early November 2006. I am up to 20 miles at a time, in an urban environment. Marcia has ridden three times, and fell once. This should be interesting.