I've recently returned from The Big One.

I'd never managed to get away for more than a fortnight at a time before, but have now completed my ride from the Northernmost to the Southernmost points (accessible by "road") of the Americas continent, over five-and-a-half months.

I had estimated the total distance to be about 23,000 miles, which became 28,445 miles due to a lot of detours!  I reckon 3500-4000 miles of this was on unpaved roads of variable quality—some such as the Dalton Highway in Alaska being beautifully graded and passable at 80mph, others such as the "road" through the Andes between Uyuni (Bolivia) and San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) being 1st/2nd gear jobs. The length of my journey was in fact 50% greater than a "Round The World" trip, or "The Long Way Round" both of which are about 19,000 miles. The trip also took longer than I'd thought (I'd originally estimated 3½-4 months), so I guess my forecast of the overall pace wasn't too far off.

I started uploading some Reports and Google Earth Files (containing Route, Photos, and Notes) as I went, but got a bit behind after Panama.

Here are the files:

I'd highly recommend trying this Google Route Map, and Flickr if you haven't before! The map is zoomable (from GPS tracklogs) and as a result may take a few seconds to open, but it's worth waiting for.

I've only recently (Christmas '07) uploaded stuff to Flickr, and can't believe how much it can do! Attached to the Flickr pictures will be the same text as the Google Earth files. The Google Maps are identical to the Google Earth Files, except they don't need Google Earth to be installed on your machine, and they're better for viewing info over a map rather than satellite images. I haven't yet added Titles and Descriptions to the South American half - please check back!

Reports From The Road are essentially bulk emails I sent out. You may also wish to read these instructions if you have any Google Earth problems.

If the Google Maps say something like Server Error, try hitting Refresh (f5), possibly a couple of times. The Google server seems to struggle sometimes with larger files.
 

Should you spot any errors I'd much appreciate it if you would let me know and I'll correct them. I can be contacted here.

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