November 8 Renaud:
  A long day might deserve, for once, a short report. We were a little bit late to go out from Buenos Aires yesterday and couldn't make it to Carlos Casares where things had been arranged for us: sorry. But we had to make it today to General Acha and we did. But that meant 67 km each on a flat but windy section. After seven months of biking, it's pretty hard to be motivated by 67 km in the same environment, three hours of having the feeling of seeing exactly the same thing, battling with the wind. But the end is close. With a few more days of biking (between five and seven), we'll leave our bikes, and it will be a pleasure for me. I'll bike again but on small hilly dirt paths where big trucks won't pass in front of me, and without anyone telling me to go faster, the others can wait. I actually waited for an hour, but was joined by Jose-Luis who is taking care of some of our Argentinean events and I could taste again some "mate": it's a sort of a bitter tea, with a full glass of herbs and a little bit of very hot water. I won't drink as much as a lot of the Argentineans do. I'm a bit lost with the fact that it's one of my last reports before the South Pole, and I have tons to say but nothing's ready: next time! Pura vida y hasta lluego! Renaud.

November 10 Dylan:
  Arrive Cipoletti
If I were to express in totality all the events of this day my words would wander on in reckless abandon with all I saw, felt, thought and am now reflecting on. Let me start simple. After an early start and 55km of biking each we arrived at the outskirts of Cipoletti. As we traveled that day we were sporadically followed and checked in with by a local radio man (Jose Luis) who seemed a little uptight about us arriving on time. What's the big deal, I thought as we stopped at the rio Colorado to enjoy a short swim and stare at the mosaic of phenomena occurring on and around a river at high water. As the eight of us began to cycle together the last 15km to Cipoletti, the groups of people gathered on roadside, farmside, and in vehicles began to tell me the story of why Jose Luis could have reason to be a little worried.

November 11 Devlin:
Today we had a mammoth day. While the others went for a check-up, I took the vehicles to get serviced and had the trailer's cracked axle replaced. At 9:00 we had our first presentation for 7th grade students. As we walked into the hall, the music was pumping and the kids were going wild. After the presentation, we were mobbed by the young autograph seekers. It was crazy and eventually we had to be cornered off to stop the crowds. For some of us it was a totally different experience and for Dyl, it took him out of his comfort zone. This was followed directly by a press conference where Mercedes did most of the talking. Yet another presentation followed at the local university and we haven't even had five minutes to ourselves. We had a quick lunch and were off again to another presentation for the secondary school. Yet again we arrived to a huge welcome and the kids were amazing. So much good vibes and so happy to have us here. We are getting a totally different perspective and feeling like rock stars. I feel sorry for them as it is extremely demanding. A few minutes break and we had to leave to go to the official opening of a rose garden in honor of the Rosauer family and the inauguration of Maipue Casa 2000, a restored historic house.

November 11 Mercedes:
  The surprise continues and this morning we started cycling towards a place called Isla Jordan followed by a herd of about 200 super excited kids, all on their bikes too. For two hours we picked up trash around El Rio Negro, The Black River. We finished up with some games that promoted environmental awareness. We then crossed the river and had a typical Argentinian BBQ, an asado. There were eight trees, for each one of us, that we planted at the center across the river. Next, we went to a nearby town called Allen where we had the chance to give a conference to the public and then the Aero Club invited us to fly over the whole valley. What a thrill!!! They also informed us that they had been meaning to create a dumpsite for quite a while but had neglected to do so. Upon hearing of Pole to Pole's arrival they took initiative to get it done and by the time we arrived, the dumpsite was created. That was quite an inspiration to us.

November 12 Heidi:
  The busy-ness of our days is extremely exhausting, we have been literally escorted around, introduced to people, all with a smile and a laugh along with some chit-chat before being shoveled off somewhere else. While the enthusiasm and excitement with which we are greeted is motivating, the constant activities soon begin to take their toll, evident in the fact that we all fall asleep when we have a minute in the car. After being up until past 3 AM, we were up by 8 to head over to Cinco Saltos, a nearby town. The people had expected us on bicycles which we weren't aware of so we drove next to the cyclists who were meant to be accompanying us and walked the last little bit to the school. We had a pseudo-conference where we presented and were asked questions before planting some trees and roses in the schoolyard. The children then took us to a dump site that was made just for batteries so that they would not contaminate the regular dumpsite. We ceremoniously put the batteries they had collected into the site before bidding them goodbye and taking our first break in what seems like a long long time. At Pelligrini Lake we had a group meeting. The results from the doctor's check-up we had had proved that we have been worn thin the past few months. The constant traveling, biking, moving, and just living on the road has led to some slight anemia and dehydration as well as a few other things. The doctor recommended a good rest before going to the South Pole so we could be in top form. Added with the slight problem with the airline flying us to Antarctica, we decided to postpone our departure from Nov. 20 to Dec. 3. Almost the entire team agreed that it would be the wise choice even though we are looking forward to our solitary time on the ice, once again. The rest of the day was spent thinking of what we could do in the next few weeks to really enjoy southern Argentina, and resting.... doctor's orders ;-)

November 13 Jessica:
  I lazily opened one eye and glanced out the window to see the sun rising over the trees in the backyard of Mercedes' home. *sigh.* I was in that world between being awake and asleep trying to decide whether I should wake up or not. *nah*...so I turned over, covered myself even more, curled up in a ball, and went back to sleep. What bliss. By noon, I could not sleep any more and woke up to have breakfast. :-) Most of the team had already woken up and we were all dispersed around Cipolletti taking advantage of the real free day...something that comes along once in a great great while. I personally just wanted to stay home and hang out with Merce's family. They are such wonderful, caring people and I felt like I was home with my own family. They have gone out of their way tremendously to make us all feel welcome in Argentina and I feel honored that I had the chance to stay with them for a while, even if it was only a short while.

November 14 Jay:
  We started to pack for our Antarctic journey and clean up everything in our vehicles. I got the pig to clean up this morning. 'Pig' is a big, fat motor home, with all of our stuff inside. I started to pull everything out of the Pig. You can imagine little sizes of hills... Anyways, to explain every single little thing - there's not enough pages for it. For example, there were small socks in one deep corner, and some underwear in another ... It took me an hour and a half just to put it out. It was a big undertaking. However, in the evening I had a pretty good time. One Korean family was in town and invited me and Sang Soo (the camera man) to dinner, and served us some nice Korean food. Actually food in America is so different from Korea, so that's one of the hardest challenges for me. So we ate as much as possible just before we blew up like a bomb. It was a great time for us. Today was our last day in Cipolletti; we're gonna start to move tomorrow. It was a really great time to be here. Very comfortable to be in Mercedes' home, great people...I won't forget these days in Cipolleti :)

November 15 Dylan:
  Travel from Neuquem to Paso Cordoba.

After dealing with a few logistical necessities (visas), we were on our way into the awaiting open space of the Patagonian steppes. We made a short relay in the morning so as to allow us to stop in El Chocon (a small town set beside the Rio Limay (and lake ), small but with a lot to be proud of. The scene was one that beckoned to my prehistoric nature: red rocks, cliffs, palisades shining rusty red in contrast to the azure blue of the lake; a scene which would have brought little surprise if a T-Rex had dauntingly traipsed out of a small arroyo to seek its prey. We soon learned this was a common occurrence millions of years ago as this place and a lot of Patagonia is home to many remnants of the age of dinosaurs; El Chocon especially, as it is home of the Gigantasaurous (now considered the king of dinosaur predators), outranking and outweighing the closely-related T-Rex. The bones of the Gigantasaurous were discovered near El Chocon by an amateur fossil hunter. He spoke as we arrived, sharing that many people question: why study creatures nothing like us which died millions of years ago? His response is that the dinosaurs lived for maybe 150 million years. How long have we been on earth? Not quite that long. Perhaps by studying them we can understand more about the potential of our own future; or lack thereof? After a very hospitable welcome and tour we finished by visiting the "oldest tracks on earth"(?): the tracks of a dinosaur petrified in the soil near the lake. If my tracker friends could see this I thought as I gazed dreamily at the surreal yet astoundingly obvious prints frozen and etched not only in the land and time but I'm sure in the minds of all who travel back millions of years through these ancient signatures.

The bike takes me away, as it always does, but my mind brings me back as the camera crew (from Japan here to film Naoki), truck along a few feet in front of me in a pickup. What are their thoughts of PtoP, of eight young people traveling from one peculiar location, event, extreme to another? Finally I decide who cares..... And as I rip along on my bike with all of nature's splendor traveling past me (or I should say me traveling past it!), I hope that after this journey in my focus to accomplish this goal I have remembered how to enjoy each moment and each step I take on my path. Momentarily in awe of the prowl of a lonely harrier hawk dancing on a Patagonian gust of wind, I remember it's my choice to open my eyes to what's around me. If I close my eyes, I see that dinosaur which walked along the lake to make those tracks... walking as always until perhaps in a moment it and its tracks were frozen forever by some cataclysmic event. If that is to be my destiny I hope I will be discovered petrified in a position of rapture for the landscape around me. And those studying me would ask: what was he looking at?

November 16 Renaud:
  At last we woke up in the mountains again! I'm actually very happy that allowing some rest to the tired team we are, we decided to fly to Antarctica on the 3rd of December and not the 20th of November. We can use all those days with less intense time and a better route, the eastern side of the Andes and not the Atlantic coast. Yesterday we crossed the last part of the Pampa to reach the road that took us today to San Martin de Los Andes: a dirt road following rivers and lakes, going over passes and through the forest - hard life! Leaving a junction to the nearby ski resort, we came in sight of the lake that fills up the valley and comes to caress the village's feet. A few of us came down on bikes for fun, I drove and enjoyed the scenery, waiting for them. Other than that, I feel the "I like / I don't like" team cohesion exercise we did in Buenos Aires, combined with the end coming closer, and an easier planning are taking off weight on the team's mood nowadays and it's pretty relaxing too: more laughs and jokes; less small angers and silences. We are going up the wave. Will that be the last one, without "going down" any more, the last stretch of the cyclic mood? Time will tell. For me, time will also tell what I will do afterwards. I should fly out of South America after visiting a friend in Brazil around the 24th of January, heading to Quebec where much of my stuff is, and from there I'll just see what are the propositions or answers I will have received and go from there! The world is big. I have too many ideas. Let's see where the next wind is coming from!

November 17 Dylan:
 (San Martin de los Andes) Our events today consisted of starting with a small press conference at the municipality then heading off to a local secondaria for a presentation. We were well received and the teachers commented after that the students were unusually well behaved. I laugh at the luxury we have to arrive for a half or maybe at most a full hour to present who we are and what we are about. Sometimes I've gotten caught in a tangle within myself (a lot, actually all the time!) over whether we have made an impact or not through our presentations. It's refreshing to have positive feedback but also humbling at the same time as I realize that often it is much easier (us being strangers from the outside) for us to talk to students and hold their attention than their own teachers. As presentations are soon winding to an end, I can't help but feel my sentiments arising for all the time we've got to spend with such a diverse manner of youth. I sit in front of a classroom gazing at these young faces; curious, happy, sometimes angry, and sometimes reflecting a sadness and pain which is inevitable for us all. They look up here at me and listen because I'm supposed to have something to say. Sometimes when I sit in the position of front stage I'll scan the faces in the crowd and raise some silent questions to these young people: What will you say to the world? What do you want to say to the world? No matter how large or small their worlds are, I can sense there is a place within them that longs to be heard.... if only I could listen better I know I would hear their voices working silently beneath the surface of our verbal communication. I recall a speech delivered by our deputy Prime Minister in Canada where he recited the over-used "the youth are the future" line. Of which, in all respect, I believe there is a lot of truth to, but after this trip I believe there is a big gap in that cliche. I do not see the youth having any opportunity to be the future unless they are given the opportunity to express their true selves, to share their hearts, share their troubles and share their vision for the future. How exactly they are given that opportunity I cannot say but I believe we all need to work for that opportunity to be given, as others have worked for it to be given to me.

November 18 - Devlin:
  Yesterday we took out our new powerkites that we will be using for our ski out from the Pole. This morning Dyl and I went down to the lake in a howling wind to fly our new toy. We rigged up and put on the harness and we launched. Next thing I knew the kite was flying me and I was skiing across the beach, literally. The kite was so powerful it pulled me 30 meters in 10 seconds before I managed to gain some kind of control. I was now lying on my back laughing my head off, shouting to Dyl to hold me down. By now our kite had nestled in a tree but I managed to fly it out. However, just then a gust caught me and the kite was back in the trees, and firmly twisted, 35 meters up in a huge tree. No problem, we can just climb the tree and cut down the branch that it is stuck on. We fetch our saw and I begin to climb but as I get higher, the wind is blowing so strong that it threatens to blow me out of the tree, so much so that I cannot risk going any higher. We decide to leave it and come back later when the wind dies down. We left with bruised egos.

The rest of our day was a free day and people disapeared in different directions. I went into town to send and receive e-mails and then came back to fiddle around with different pieces of equipment that needed checking. We have to be sure that our stuff is in good condition for the polar trip. In the early afternoon some friends of Merce's came over for an "asado", an Argentinian barbeque. Later Merce's parents arrived and we socialized for the rest of the day. Our kite was returned to us by Merce's friend in a tangled mess and it took a few hours to untangle all the lines. No harm done though. Luckly there are no trees in Antartica!

November 19 - Merce:
  We had an early start, packing and putting all the equipment, food and baggage in the vehicle. With all the stuff for the South Pole it is incredible that we still have room for us!! Another very emotional day for me, I said goodbye to my family, friends and the community. We left San Martin de los Andes at 10 in the morning with an incredible view of the mountains with their white peaks reflecting over the Lacar lake. San Martin is a pretty touristy village with an important ski resort, Chapelco, and amazing surroundings to practice all kinds of outdoor adventures. Fishing, hunting, climbing, kayaking and hiking ... whatever you feel passionate about! I have a special feeling for that place, it's where I was living before Pole to Pole, and even now after so much times, I face this landscape and I still take a gasp for this scenery. On our way to El Bolson we crossed Bariloche, an important touristic city for Patagonia, and with strong winds from behind we arrived to El Bolson with light, to enjoy the entry with tons of flowers in the height of the spring season. Yellow flowers and lupines everywhere you look. Once in El Bolson we were lucky when people (that knew about the expedition) let us see the traditional JINETEADA; it is like a rodeo show. There are many activities that show the ability of the riders. Our day finished with an excellent and very tasty traditional dinner at Jauja restaurant. Thanks to Melchor and the people of the Lincoln Ranch for giving us such a great welcome.

November 20 - Heidi:
  We left our beautiful little cabin this morning, after a sumptuous sleep in a warm comfy bed, to head to Juaja for breakfast. Yummy! We then went straight to a school where we gave a presentation to a group of excited secondary students. It was our first presentation outside and I really enjoyed the energy of it. Before cycling the day's distance, people had to go into town for some odds and ends. Jess and I got separated from the group, we sat and talked, one of those real talks where we shared our fears of our return to Brown University. It is funny that at this moment, I am more scared of going back to college than I am of the South Pole - talk about a paradigm shift! After a nice little tailwind to help us on our way, we got to Esquel where we found a campsite and an Internet cafe to ease some of the team members' cyber cravings.

And this is where my website update would have ended a few months ago, with a perfectly pleasant picture of Pole to Pole. But it's not always as perfect. Too often we try to present the ideal life, our lessons, triumphs and goals, when it is in fact the hard and painful moments that have the greater potential for teaching and shaping us. In truth, today was perhaps the most painful day I've had in Pole to Pole. While driving to my drop-off point, a team-mate that I had previously considered one of my better friends in the group, told me that from now on, he wasn't going to speak to me unless it had to do with Pole to Pole because I was always negative to him and I "wasn't as cool as he had thought." How does one respond to that? In my moment of weakness, I stayed silent, too shocked to say anything. As that silence grew, it became harder and harder to say anything at all. By the end of the day, we had not exchanged a single word more. I spent a lot of the afternoon criticizing myself on what I had done to cause the situation. I guess that for me a friend is someone who doesn't have to sugar-coat things, someone who can tell you the negative as well as positive things and who provides support as well as constructive criticism. And I think I must have over-stepped an invisible line. I have realized that what happens now is what matters, how I deal with it inside myself and hence with the outside world. To not let sadness, anger and self-criticism consume me is my challenge for the day, perhaps even for the coming weeks.

November 21 - Jess:
  We can all feel Pole to Pole coming to an end. The end of the beginning I guess I should say. We had a team meeting today after Naoki returned from his filming in Calafate. I notice that lately, since Martyn joined us and since our amazing welcome in Argentina, we've had a surge of energy, a new-found spirit with which to finish off the journey. The other night we all sat at a table poking fun and pushing each others buttons while laughing and having an awesome time, something that I really don't think we had all done before, together, as a team. Tonight we sat around a table debating and discussing issues concerning the next Pole to Pole: selection methods, money, leaders, qualifications, etc....We laid our cards out on the table and were quite frank with one another. We are the guinea pigs of something that will one day be huge. I know it. Despite the technicalities, despite the intricate planning still needed to make future dreams become a reality there is a strong force behind the spirit of Pole to Pole that pushes it, pushes us, forward one step everyday, one step closer to our goal. Was it successful? We set out to inspire as many people as possible, with our experiences, with our heartfelt stories, with our struggles and with our passions. With the cards we were dealt, I think we were definitely a success. Sure, we had, we have our downfalls, but to learn from them and to grow from them is what makes us strong, what keeps us going.

November 22 - Jay:
  Today my part of the cycle was a dirt road with hard wind on my face. I knew what it was gonna be like, so I was pretty much ready for it in my mind. But as soon as I started, everything I prepared for was being blown away. Patagonia...has such a hard wind! If I left my bike alone it would blow away. I could stand 70 degrees on the ground, facing the wind. It's really, really hard to bike when you have this wind on your face. And even on a dirtroad which wasn't paved. So....I had a hard day today. It was around 25 kilometers, which should take us about two hours, but in fact, it took me five hours. Way slower...

Hmmm...Now we have four more travel days with our bicycles. And it's gonna be pretty much the same as today. It's mostly paved road although there's still wind. It's getting colder as well. To be in these situations reminds me of the Demspter Highway, the very beginning of our cycle journey. It's getting closer to the end, just like we started. And after that, we'll be in Antarctica, skiing, just like we did at the North Pole. Now 'Pole 2 Pole' is close to succeeding. We'll give our last energy for the rest of our journey. Oops, talking about all this future stuff, I forgot a little bit of today. We ended up camping near a river close to a bridge: nothing extremely beautiful but a 30 meters bridge. The kid in Dyl, fortunately always not too far, found out it was a good idea to put a few ropes from there, and we finally (nearly all of us) went and rapelled down from that bridge. The first time was not too difficult for Heidi, a little bit more hesitant for Sang-Soo who landed saying "easy and funny"; our adventure cameraman has learnt a new skill... Cool!

November 24 - Renaud:
  D-3! After today's ride, it'll be only two days to reach Punta Arenas, which is finally the end of our riding adventure and finishing around 31,000 km of cycling in 6.5 months, around 4,000 Kms each. All those figures say it was long, not extreme if you look at the figures per day, but adding the presentations, events and exceptional days of rest we had a pretty well charged schedule. And we are finishing through Patagonia. And you know what this place is famous for? Wind! It gave me yesterday my lowest speed of 7.5 Km/h on a pretty flat section with a lovely head wind, three hours for 30 km. If you want to hate cycling just come in Patagonia in the spring time, or maybe your philosophy is "the harder the better" and you'll love it more. Anyway, I'm enjoying those last days because I feel like changing the activity, skiing with my sled in minus 20 or so will be a pleasure compared to this cycling. I think I'll wait until next summer (north hemisphere one) to go back on a bike but on small path in forests with no hurry and no trucks cutting you off. Biking is long and sometimes painful, but it has been a great way to admire and enjoy all those countries, meeting some people without the barrier of a windshield. Martyn has joined us in Buenos Aires too, giving us the opportunity to talk about what worked and didn't work. That way the next Pole to Pole team will have an even better experience (Is that possible? Probably, yes). Oh, you didn't know? Well, next year a new team will start south to go north through Africa and Europe. And you can actually find an application form on the web site (join section), go for it!

November 25 - Dylan:
  Today our second to last day of cycling, and I cannot help but feel the sadness creep out of the corners of my consciousness. It really is winding down, it really will end one day soon and these moments that are mine right now will look back upon and contemplate how I lived them. A flat tire on "The Pig" finished our day early, and we stopped at a roadside "gomeria" to have it dealt with. A lonely shack on a lonely plain whose only break from the wind was the stacked up tin protruding from its sides, as well an old water tanker which we strategically placed our pig in the lee of so we would not know the full brunt of the Patagonian wind. Greeted by numerous curious cats, and a couple of shy children we settled in for the night. I took a walk up on the heights overlooking our camp site. Catching a stiff breeze from the west, I jogged along as if carried in its breath. Crunching sedges, a lone gull and the endless treeless plain which beckons me through its spirit, seems a fitting place for us to finish this leg of the journey. As I run freely I think about who I was before PtoP and who I am now, and if I can carry this feeling with me as PtoP winds down. And I let all thoughts be carried away, the whirling and sucking of the breeze the only orchestra carried in my conscious.

November 26 - Devlin:
  Today is the end of life as we have known it for the last seven months. We finally reached Punta Arenas after having covered the staggering distance of 30,000 kilometers across North, Central and South America. It has been one of the most diverse experiences that a person can have. We have had an incredible learning experience that has enriched our lives and will make us stronger people, better equipped for life and all its tests. Right now we are feeling like we can face anything and personally, that great feeling of being unbeatable is strong inside. It hasn't been an easy road though and today was no exception. The Patagonian winds were not going to let us finish on an easy note. We had an incredible headwind like no other I have ever experienced. Simply walking was difficult. I set out to do my 20 km segment and was literally stopped in my tracks on several occasions. Well at least its not raining, right? WRONG! Although the rain clouds were 5 kms away, it was raining where I was. This and the wind off the South Atlantic combined to make it more than a little chilly. Two days ago with a tail wind I did 75 km's in two hours. Today the 20 km's took me 1 hour 50 minutes. We finally arrived in Punta Arenas and we rode all the way down to the ocean and celebrated by jumping into the sea. This was closely followed by jumping back out again! Unfortunately, with all feats of this magnitude, after the elation comes a kind of somber introspective period of reflection. It is hard to understand that what we know so well is over and we must now apply our minds to the next task at hand. The Antarctic trip will be no walk in the park and we have to be fully prepared to be able to succeed and survive. Antarctica offers no second chance, but this is why I am here. It is to fulfill the endless drive to prove to myself that I can succeed and that I am the best. I want to be better than myself!

OTHER PICTURES & REPORTS:

Machu Picchu to Buenos Aires
Guayaquil to Machu Picchu
Panama to Guayaquil
Nandaime to Panama
Puerto Escondidas to Nandaime
Los Angeles to Puerto Escondidas
Washington to Los Angeles
Ottawa to Washington
Thunder Bay to Ottawa
Vancouver to Thunder Bay
100 Mile House to Vancouver
Inuvik to 100 Mile House
North Pole to Resolute Bay
Training Camp