By Amanda Barnes for The Mendoza SunMost people like a good bike ride on a sunny afternoon, a couple hours in the countryside, a gentle bit of exercise. But I am quite confident you would be hard stretched to find anyone up for a 22,000 hour (30 month) bike ride, across all of America, facing scorching sun, headwinds strong enough to knock you off your bike and your derrier permanently glued to a saddle. Let alone with a wife and two twin 12-year-olds in tow!
But that is just what John and his family Nancy, Davy and Daryl have done on an amazing bike ride which (for all of their friends and family at least, if not the world) has beggared belief! The young family from Idaho have pedaled their way through 15 countries and well over 20,000 miles; they have also faced pneumonia, ingrown toenails, a couple bike crashes and dreaded writing homework in the evenings. But spending three years together on the road as a family for them has been the experience of a lifetime and, as you can imagine, they have withheld some amazing sights, experiences and people along the way.
Starting out in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on 10 June 2008, the Vogal family endeavoured on a 34 month bike ride from the top of America down to the bottom passing through North America, Central America and finally South America, finishing up at Ushuaia in March next year. They have stayed in hotels, homes, camped under the stars, spent nights at schools, military base camps and even a Mexican migrant workers camp. They have funded their trip through savings, their retirement fund and renting out their house back at home. This may seem like an extraordinary leap of faith to you or I, but the family are no strangers to adventure having already completed a year’s bike tour of Mexico and the US in 2006. After a taste for the adventure, they all came back for more.
As they cycled their way into Mendoza this week, The Mendoza Sun caught up with them to give them a well-deserved handshake, and ask them how they can still sit down after so long on a bicycle seat...
You are both seasoned travellers, but where did you get the idea to go travelling on a mammoth cycle tour with your children?
Nancy: I honestly don’t know how this came about – there was no clear moment. John and I met each other biking and we both really liked travelling, so we never questioned bicycles as our mode of transport, but it was sort of a pipe dream we never thought we would do. But one day in 2006, John had had a bad day in the classroom (they are both teachers) and he said “I really just want to go – I want to get a bicycle and go with the kids!” I thought he would stop in a day or two but he kept going on. As parents, you live in one place – its just what you do, you know? But then he told my mother that we were both thinking about cycling together for a year – and then I knew he was serious! So we went for a year cycling around the US and Mexico. We met others cycling the Americas on our way.
John: When we got to Mexico after a year, we just wanted to keep on going! But I knew that being on a triple tandem was not the machine for the Andes... (on their first year long tour of Mexico and the US John peddled the boys on a triple, this time Davy is peddling for himself)
Nancy: So we went back home, but when we got there we knew that (Alaska to Ushuaia) was what we wanted to do! We left the next year.
What kind of reactions do you get from people you meet along the way, and what do you friends and family think?
John: Some people think we are crazy and shouldn’t be doing this, and others agree with us wholeheartedly and are inspired to do the same! We get a real range of reactions from strangers! Our family doesn’t always understand that we like to travel but they do accept it.
How has it been on the road with two young boys? How is homeschooling going?
John: We first went on our one year trip when the boys were eight years old – that was a great age to start.
Nancy: They are still so flexible – they aren’t entrenched into anything. Our philosophy is that they learn so much from our journey. The collective knowledge of an area seems to seep through osmosis! Our journey becomes their teacher. We were in the Galapagos islands learning about Darwin.... the boys have visited the Aztec and Mayan pyramids and make comparisons of the different civilisations... When we do our classes in the evenings we are always so amazed at what they have learnt without being taught!
John: Mathematics is the only thing that we don’t get from our journeys, so we have to study that together. But Daryl is already three years above where he should be – he is going to start trigonometry soon!
What has been your favourite part of the trip?
John: The most surprising place was Belize. We had heard so many bad things about it, but we met some wonderful people who showed us what a great place it was. Meeting interesting people is one of the most wonderful things on the trip. And it’s such a new adventure every day – that’s also what we really like.
Nancy: And the time with the kids. Right now is the only chance to spend with our kids. When they are teenagers I am sure they won’t want to be cycling around with their parents!
So, for you boys – what has been the most amazing experience on your adventures?
Davy: I really liked Canada with all the animals, we saw a herd of buffalo. One buffalo even followed us for a while! And sand boarding in Peru was really fun.
Daryl: My favourite place was sandsurfing. And we did a river hike in Belize which was great.
And the most difficult? Is there a certain physical strain?
Nancy: The biggest problem we have had has been Davy’s toenails. He has had ingrown toenails which have required five operations! And after each operation he can’t cycle for two weeks. And I got pneumonia in El Calafate. We had been cycling in the Andes and I couldn’t breath, but I thought that was normal for the Andes. But when I still had troubles breathing in lower land I had to hitch a ride to the hospital where I stayed for 5 days, and then needed a few weeks to recover. But apart from that we have had very few problems!
That is pretty good going, considering it has been 30 months! Tell us your secret though, don’t you get a very sore bottom from riding all the time?
John: We have remarkably comfortable saddles! It took me only 350 miles to break it in, and from then on it has molded to the perfect shape!
Nancy: It hasn’t quite been the same for me. I haven’t enjoyed the saddle too much!
Is there anything that you can’t live without on the road? What would you like to take with you everywhere you go?
Nancy: Alfajors! We really like the alfajors! But you can’t really carry them with you as the chocolate melts. We have a much higher fat diet on the road! In Bolivia the nuts were great, we took them everywhere!
John: We are actually really looking forward to eating healthily when we get back though!
So you are finally in Argentina, and alfajors aside - how has your Argentinean leg of the journey been?
Nancy: It has been a real challenge. There has been so much headwind, which never really stops. And we are so close now but still so far, that it has been a real mental challenge. And it doesn’t help that here in Argentina there are all these kilometer signs pointing out how far away you still are!
And for you boys, what do you think of Argentina?
Daryl: I don’t like siestas!
Nancy: (laughing) When we arrive in a town it is a pain when it is a siesta – you can’t find a hotel! No shops are open! Not our favourite time!
You are here in Mendoza for over a week, what are you looking forward to doing?
Nancy: Everything! We are going rafting, on ziplines, to spas and, of course, some wine tours!
And with only a couple months left, what will you do when you get to Ushuaia? Are you going home?
Nancy: We are going to go back to the States and then will decide from there. We are going to rent a place for six months and decide if we want to settle back down again or keep on travelling!
And, talking of heading home after such a long travel, what are you most looking forward to?
Nancy: We are looking forward to a few little things – like having a fridge, having a grocery store which has granola bars, knowing where the grocery store is! But I am sure we will miss it once we are back...
On the last leg of their journey, the Vogel family are quite an inspiration for modern parenting and adventuresome spirits. As the family head to Ushuaia the boys will not only be heading towards their teens but also a Guinness record as the youngest to do this journey on only bicycle. A serious achievement for all of them. But as the saying goes – it is the journey that counts!
To follow their blog and website www.familyonbikes.org
Amanda Barnes is a freelance writer currently living in Mendoza.
For more information, visit www.amandabarnes.co.uk or click here to see her profile.
