An Adventure a Day: Bikepacking From Oregon to Patagonia
On November 12, 2022, Silvan Yang set out from Milwaukie, OR, on a Salsa Fargo laden with camping gear, clothes, and an assortment of tools and replacement parts. His goal: ride from Oregon to Patagonia on the southern tip of South America. Read on to learn about the gear he chose, how he planned the trip, where he's at in his journey, and the unexpected challenges (and blessings) he’s come across.
No Time Like the Present
At the time of this blog’s publication, Silvan has traversed roughly 10,000 miles and ascended around 700,000 feet, traveling through Oregon, Nevada, California, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. The trip has been mostly contiguous, with a couple of lengthier breaks, including one in Mexico City, when Silvan rented a room for a month while volunteering at a local bike shop. So far he’s averaged about two rest days per week, though he admits that schedule is very inconsistent.
When asked about his inspiration for the trip, Silvan said, “It just sounded like a cool thing to do. After my first cross-country bike trip in 2018, a friend and I started scheming about a longer, international journey.” As the world began to return to a sense of normalcy after being gripped by the pandemic, Silvan realized he wanted to set out as soon as possible rather than waiting for the perfect time to start his journey.
Before leaving, Silvan spent two years studying chemical engineering at Oregon State University and two years working full-time at Peak to save up funds for his epic bikepacking adventure.
By Any Means Necessary
Surprisingly, when asked about his biggest success on the trip so far, Silvan shared an experience of kayaking – not cycling. When confronted with the challenge of bypassing the Darién Gap – a region connecting Panama to Colombia that lacks a developed network of roadways – Silvan purchased a second-hand kayak that he used to travel for 10 days along the coast of Panama and Colombia. After arranging transport of his bike, Silvan journeyed through coastal waters, including at least one deserted island where he spent the night, and ended that portion of his journey with a 4 AM, 22-mile open-water crossing of shark-infested waters into Necoclí, Colombia.
While he’s certainly found success on his trip so far, it hasn’t been without its challenges. After initially setting out with a friend, the trip turned into a solo venture just nine days in due to medical complications. “When he left, I didn't know if I would continue at all,” Silvan said. “That was a difficult moment.”
Powered by Kudos
On such a long trip, gear is certainly an important consideration. Silvan’s current rig is based on a Salsa Fargo frame with wide, flared Salsa Cowchipper drop bars, Microshift friction shifting, flat pedals, rear and front racks, and Avid mechanical disc brakes. He prefers riding cross-country or wide touring tires, but admits he’ll use whatever he can get due to limited availability and exorbitant shipping charges required to ship gear to Latin America. For navigation, Silvan uses a Wahoo Element Bolt.
“It's incredibly useful because I'm riding in unfamiliar places 99% of the time and it saves me from stopping to check my phone every five minutes,” Silvan said. “It also makes it easy to upload to Strava, which is very important. I need those Kudos.”
What to Keep, What to Leave
Outside of his cycling gear, Silvan has relied on an MSR Whisperlite International camp stove, which has proved a reliable way to save money by providing a convenient way to cook his own food. It helps that the stove can be supplied with gasoline, which offers an easy-to-acquire fuel source. His tent – well loved after over a year of nearly nightly use – is an MSR Hubba Hubba two-person.
“I had all the zippers replaced by a repair shop in Mexico City,” Silvan said. “The rain fly is duct-taped together, and the aluminum poles were damaged by saltwater during my kayak crossing from Panama. One pole broke a few weeks ago, so I shoved a tent stake inside as a splint. The floor has delaminated, so I use an additional plastic sheet for waterproofing. Considering it's seen 400+ nights of use, I think it's doing okay. No gear lasts forever.”
When deciding on what gear to take along, he considers several factors:
What's the weight and volume?
If I don't bring it, could I buy it on the road or find a workaround?
How bad would it be if I didn't have it?
What are the chances I'll use it?
A Little Foam Goes a Long Way
Some standout examples of choices he’s made using this system include a recorder (as in the musical instrument) as well as small and difficult-to-source headset bearings. Some things he’s decided to avoid include a bottom-bracket tool and crank puller, sleeping bag liner, and a well-seasoned 10-inch cast iron Griswold skillet, which he says he’s taken on bikepacking trips in the past but decided to leave behind for this particular venture.
Of all his specialized gear, tools, and replacement parts, he’s been most surprised by his foam sleeping pad. “I keep this unpoppable, waterproof, washable pad easily accessible at all times,” he said. “It deploys instantly and can improve off-bike comfort in almost any context.” On this trip alone, it’s served as a prep table for cooking, a work area for bike repair, and a replacement seat for his kayak – oh, and he’s used it as a sleeping pad, too.
Asked about gear he’s deemed unnecessary along the way, Silvan said he no longer carries a third spare inner tube. Having a tubeless set-up, he’s only had to install a tube on two occasions, so the extra weight and space of an extra tube simply aren’t worth it.
It All Adds Up
After food, bike parts are Silvan’s second largest expense. “I try to wear out tires until there is no tread left because they are expensive, and I'm usually not cornering hard or demanding a lot of their grippiness,” he said. “For my drivetrain, I'm willing to accept poor shifting performance, so I don't replace drivetrain parts very frequently.”
Over the course of his journey, he’s replaced two cassettes, a set of chainrings, four chains, and six tires. He’s also experienced failed bearings in two dynamo hubs as well as a cracked rear rim. And his rear rack? He's had it welded in three places and pop-riveted back together once.
40 Hours of Prep, A Lifetime of Memories
Planning for a trip of this magnitude might feel like an overwhelming prospect for someone who likes to have clearly defined goals for each portion of their adventure. For Silvan, the most important step was determining a start date. The day itself wasn’t important, he said. It was making the commitment to start, which for Silvan included quitting his job, taking a hiatus from school, and ending his rental lease. Additional important considerations were vaccinations and travel visas.
“I've learned that the Americas are a great place to travel for US passport holders because you can visit most countries visa-free,” Silvan said. “Because I don't need any visas, big-picture route planning wasn't very important.”
For vaccinations, Silvan visited a travel clinic in Portland for a consultation. Additional considerations included deciding what bike parts and gear to use, where to get cash abroad, and what water purification technologies to bring.
“I probably spent about 40 hours total doing actual research for the trip,” Silvan said. “There are so many unknowns that you'll never prepare for everything that could go wrong. In fact, most of the things that go wrong will surprise you. Otherwise, you probably would have avoided them! Luckily, surprises can be good, too.”
When Adventure Becomes the Day-to-Day
Silvan didn’t depart on such a lengthy adventure as a bikepacking novice. In just the few years before he set out for Latin America, he’d ridden across the United States twice and taken multiple shorter trips through portions of the Pacific Northwest, including one trip that included a pair of cross-country skis strapped to his bike.
Asked about advice for someone looking to attempt their first bikepacking trip, Silvan recommended a minimalist approach: “Just go with whatever gear you have. Or at least, don't let the gear be an excuse not to go.”
When it comes to undertaking a lengthier adventure, Silvan said the priorities shift in a way where “bike traveling itself becomes your day-to-day life after a while.” Rather than a break from day-to-day life, the journey itself begins to include the everyday ups and downs, second-guessing, and relationship troubles found in our normal lives. “A long bike trip involves doing your taxes, getting sick, going to the doctor, staying in touch with some friends, falling out of touch with others. Expect it.”
Friends Along the Way
Latin American culture has surprised Silvan with its generosity. Along his journey, he’s been invited to a wedding in Tlaxcala, Mexico; fed octopus, lentils, rice, and plantains by a member of the Guna Yala tribe in Panama; offered shelter in Guatemala; and had his favorite dishes prepared for him on-the-spot by a welcoming Colombian family.
Despite the friends Silvan has made along the way, including generous locals, he still finds challenges in bikepacking solo. “I've traveled alone about 85-90% of this trip. I just haven't found the right long-term travel partner yet. This is the hardest part of the trip for me, because I meet a lot of people (mostly locals) but we usually part ways after a few days. It gets lonely. That said, I'm probably more outgoing and willing to take risks while traveling alone. While alone, everything is faster, and I don't need to plan or communicate with someone.”
As of December 2023, Silvan is wrapping up a short holiday break in Ecuador, but he still has every intention of continuing: "I would like to at least reach Patagonia, the southern region of South America. That should take about a year more. From there, I might end my trip, or perhaps fly to South Africa, Europe, or Alaska."
A New Perspective
Traveling through Latin America has offered Silvan a unique perspective on the day-to-day differences that exist between the US and the countries he's visited.
"The biggest thing is recognizing how financially privileged the USA is," Silvan said.
Witnessing that financial disparity serves as a constant reminder that, ultimately, Silvan is an outsider, despite the generous treatment he receives from friends he makes along the way. "I feel painfully aware of how lucky I am to have been born in the US. Often, I'm discussing these topics with the very people who have invited me into their home and fed me dinner. That's an amazing thing, but I can't help feeling a little sad. Despite this, people seem to lead fulfilling lives. I see strong community networks, multi-generational households, and strikingly, almost no homeless people. But I don't really know what it's like -- I'll be a gringo tourist as long as I have the option to return to the USA."
Silvan admits that these challenges, and more, are difficult for him to articulate as he hasn't yet fully processed them.
"I'm back on the road now, so internet is spotty," Silvan said as a way of signing off from his latest e-mail. For now, he's back on the road after a short holiday break, continuing on two wheels through Ecuador with his sights on the horizon and a finish line still thousands of miles away.
Want to learn more?
To keep up-to-date on the rest of Silvan’s journey, visit his blog at silvanyang.blogspot.com, follow him on Strava, or keep track of his progress using this interactive map.