How 6 Friends Planned and Executed a South American Bike Tour
Planning a group bike tour through multiple South American countries sounds logistically impossible. Different fitness levels, varying vacation time, language barriers, visa requirements, and the challenge of keeping six people aligned across months of planning. We did it anyway—7,500 kilometers from Cartagena to Buenos Aires over three months. Here’s how the planning worked and what we’d do differently.
The Group Composition Challenge
Six riders with different backgrounds, abilities, and expectations. Making this work required honest assessment from the start.
Fitness spectrum: Two riders averaged 100+ miles weekly; two rarely rode more than 50. The gap would matter on mountain passes. We addressed it by planning rest days into the schedule and accepting that some days would split the group.
Time constraints: Three riders had three months available; three had only six weeks. We designed the route with logical exit points where shorter-trip riders could fly home without derailing the full route.
Experience levels: Two had prior multi-week touring experience; four had never toured longer than a week. Pre-trip training rides and gear shakedowns helped narrow the experience gap before departure.
Financial reality: Budgets ranged from “backpacker” to “comfortable.” We established budget norms early—accommodation styles, meal expectations, activity spending. Disagreements about money end friendships faster than mountain passes end legs.
Route Design Process
The route evolved through months of collaborative planning with clear decision rules.
Must-sees first: Everyone submitted three non-negotiable destinations. Colombia’s coffee region, Peru’s Sacred Valley, and Patagonia’s Carretera Austral made every list. These anchor points defined the route skeleton.
Connecting the dots: Between anchor points, we chose routes based on road conditions (paved preferred for group riding), scenery, and services availability. Not every connection was the most direct—some detours were worth the extra days.
Seasonal considerations: South America’s geography spans hemispheres. Timing through Colombia and Ecuador had to precede Patagonia’s brief summer window. The calendar constrained route order as much as geography.
Altitude acclimatization: The route through the Andes required gradual altitude gain. Jumping directly to 4,000 meters would sideline riders with altitude sickness. We designed altitude steps with rest days at each new elevation band.
Logistics Architecture
Bike shipping: Flying with bikes is expensive and risky. We shipped bikes to Cartagena via freight—cheaper but required two-week lead time and customs broker coordination. Worth the hassle to avoid airline damage lottery.
Visa coordination: Different nationalities required different visas for different countries. We created a spreadsheet mapping each rider’s requirements against the route. Some borders required more documentation than others.
Accommodation strategy: We pre-booked first and last nights in each country to ensure smooth transitions. Between bookings were flexible—Warmshowers hosts, roadside hospedajes, and occasional wild camping.
Support vehicle: No support vehicle. This was a self-supported tour—everything we needed we carried. This simplified logistics but limited daily mileage and required careful attention to resupply points.
Communication and Decision-Making
The planning phase: Weekly video calls for three months before departure. Shared documents for route planning, gear lists, and budget tracking. Clear meeting agendas prevented calls from becoming unproductive chat sessions.
On-route decisions: Designated a daily “route captain” rotation. That person made real-time decisions about pace, stops, and route variations. Rotating leadership prevented frustration with always following or always leading.
Group communication: WhatsApp group for real-time coordination. Morning messages established daily plan; evening check-ins confirmed everyone arrived safely. Simple but effective.
Gear Standardization
Interchangeable parts: Everyone used the same tire size (700x35c) and brake pad type. Carrying spare parts for one system beats carrying spares for six different systems.
Shared tools: One comprehensive tool kit rotated between riders rather than six duplicate sets. We split specialty tools—chain tool with one rider, spoke wrench with another.
Cooking setup: Two stoves for six people. Larger pots than solo touring would require. Fuel canisters shared and rotated.
Tent configurations: Two three-person tents rather than six solo setups. Reduced weight per person and simplified campsite logistics.
Daily Rhythm
Morning routine: Early starts avoided midday heat. Breakfast at 6:00, rolling by 7:00. Morning riding when energy was highest.
Midday break: Extended lunch stops (90-120 minutes) during hottest hours. Siesta culture exists in South America for good reason.
Afternoon finish: Stop by 4:00 PM to set up camp with daylight. Evening routines of cooking, maintenance, and recovery.
Rest days: Scheduled every 4-5 riding days regardless of how people felt. Rest days prevented cumulative fatigue from becoming injury or illness.
What Worked Well
Pre-trip training together: Weekend rides before departure surfaced gear issues, pace mismatches, and communication patterns before they mattered. Knowing each other’s riding style prevented on-tour surprises.
Flexible exit points: Designing the route with logical departure cities meant shorter-trip riders could leave without awkwardness. They flew home from Lima after six weeks; four of us continued to Buenos Aires.
Budget buffers: We each contributed to a group emergency fund. This covered unexpected expenses—border fees, mechanical repairs, weather delays—without negotiating who pays for what in the moment.
Solo days permitted: Despite traveling together, some days someone wanted to ride alone. We normalized this—no pressure to always move as a pack. GPS trackers provided safety without constant togetherness.
What We’d Change
More climbing training: The Andes are relentless. Even prepared riders underestimated the cumulative effect of day after day of climbing. More specific hill training would have helped the less-fit riders.
Language distribution: Two riders spoke Spanish fluently; four spoke nothing. We became dependent on translators for everything. More Spanish study before departure would have distributed the communication burden better.
Fewer ambitions: We tried to see everything. Some sections would have been better experienced slowly rather than rushing to the next destination. Quality over quantity for future routes.
Better health kit: Our first-aid supplies handled minor issues but not the stomach problems that hit everyone at some point. More robust medications and electrolyte supplies would have reduced suffering.
Budget Reality
Total cost per person: Approximately $8,000-12,000 for three months including flights, depending on accommodation choices and spending patterns.
Daily spend: $50-80/day covered accommodation, food, and incidentals in most countries. Patagonia was significantly more expensive; Ecuador and Colombia were cheaper.
Big expenses: Flights ($1,500-2,000), bike shipping ($400), visas ($200), and gear replacement ($300-500 depending on starting equipment quality).
The Group Dynamic Evolution
Three months of constant togetherness transforms relationships. We started as good friends and emerged as something more—people who had suffered and celebrated together through an intense shared experience.
There were hard moments. Day 47 involved a shouting match about pace that cleared air that needed clearing. Day 72 included crying after a brutal mountain pass. Day 89 featured quiet gratitude that words couldn’t capture.
The trip worked because we chose each other carefully, planned obsessively, and remained flexible when plans failed. We’d all do it again—maybe not for three months, maybe not through the same Andean passes, but definitely together.
