Queens of the world (part 1)
Is it possible for a woman to travel alone by bicycle? "Off course it is!", answered me in chorus of inspiring cyclotravelers who decided to let their hair float to the wind.
This article first appeared in the excellent magazine Vélo Mag, September-October 2019 edition.
Laura Pedebas: Open to nature and others
Laura Pedebas hesitated for a long time before going on an adventure alone. His first cycling expedition took place with a traveling companion he met on a specialized site. She later left with a spouse. And despite a romantic breakup in the middle of a journey through North America, the native Frenchwoman who now lives in Quebec has the bite. She decides to continue cycling alone, in Argentinian Patagonia from Ushuaia, the southernmost city in South America. His return home will then be followed by another trip: 5000 km to Mexico, to meet the famous monarch butterflies.
Laura's preference for cycling is explained by the autonomy and versatility of this means of transport. "The absence of bodywork around you allows you to open up more to nature and to others," she explains.
The traveler admits to me having driven faster a few times, chased by some voracious dogs in the southern United States. Or wondering what to eat when his stove died out in the middle of the Patagonian steppes. Despite this, his most beautiful moments of travel were achieved alone. “Experiencing my first wilderness camping, overcoming mechanical challenges… These situations allowed me to have more confidence in myself. "
A useful confidence, and which certainly gives good anecdotes. “Once, a bicycle traveler came 'to my rescue' while I was doing mechanics on my bicycle. He believed me in danger and felt it was his duty to help a woman in distress. In a few minutes, it was me who was giving him lessons in mechanics! "
Laura sliding down the road in Oregon.
“The routine, needs and challenges are the same for both genders. But there is some social pressure to suggest that women cannot travel this way, let alone travel alone, she continues. In return, we women get more help and encouragement than men on the road. "
Laura's 30 km across a few continents have changed her. “I know myself better, I am more independent. As of this writing, the 000-year-old cyclonomade is not planning any further solo trips, however. She is on the eve of giving birth to her first little cyclist, but intends to start riding as a family as soon as possible.
Laura is holding a blog in which, among other things, she provides information to women cyclists.
Lenka Mrackova: Complete freedom
I met Lenka on a ferry in Chile. The young Czech was about to embark on her very first cycling trip on her own. Traveling with her backpack for several months in South America and seeing many cycle tourists passing by, she wanted to get a two-wheeler and try this mode of transport. "If they do, why not me?" she naturally said to herself.
It must be said that Lenka left her native country at just 20 years old, heading for England ... without speaking a word of English! A few years and several European countries later, the adventurer set sail for South America, where she obviously learned Spanish. And by bike.
There, she finds a frame, quite used, and a few saddlebags. What was initially to be an adventure of a few weeks on the Chilean Carretera Austral was rather a revelation for her. After several months, the European is still riding, in addition to being now accompanied by Sofia, a stray dog adopted along the way. The animal alternates between racing and a comfortable place in a child trailer, which has been added to the cyclist's luggage.
The latter told me that after having known the bicycle, she could not see her thumb again, her old means of locomotion. “I like this complete freedom too much. I can decide where to go, ride as much as I want and choose where to set up camp. I can also decide to talk to people or not, unlike hitchhiking where you always have to make conversation. She also enjoys knowing exactly where she is. "As I move slowly, I look at the map a lot more, and I can better remember the places visited, the details of the landscape, the smells of nature."
Lenka also points out that she is often asked if she needs anything, a thinly veiled hint that other cyclo-travelers have heard too. More often than a man, she believes. She says she relies on her instincts to assess situations.
The one who has spent most of the last six years traveling still has no idea where her journey will end. But she knows he will continue for a long time on the bike. Continuing towards the north of Chile, direction Peru and Ecuador, then where the wind will blow her, her and her Sofia on all fours!
Stéphanie Vincent: Trust your instincts
In 2012, at age 22, Stéphanie Vincent decided to drive from Vancouver to Tierra del Fuego, at the end of South America. Only that. Accompanied by a friend to Costa Rica, she then continues her solo journey. Its odometer stopped at just over 23 km. Since then, she has driven in the Maritimes, Alaska, the Yukon, British Columbia ...
Stéphanie in front of the Cotopaxi volcano, in Ecuador.
According to her, there is a difference in traveling as a woman. “When camping in the wild, I never sleep completely on my two ears. However, she adds, philosopher: "But it is not because we are afraid that it is dangerous."
Unlike many cyclists, Stéphanie seems to be more aware of the dangers. Maybe that makes her stronger. To the many women who have asked her questions over the years, she always told them to trust their instincts.
"Everything is risky in life: crossing the street, driving your car, being sedentary ... So you might as well pedal the Americas!"
Stéphanie told about her cycling adventures in his blog.
Vélo Passion, the pleasure of the peloton