This beautiful drawing was sent to me one night at 5AM by Argentinian Enrique Demarchi (who I’ve never met) as a recognition for my solo female cycling. “Not everyone would get on a bicycle and pedal through South America, especially as a woman”, he said and added that it’s something remarkable. As I know I’m not the only one, I want to dedicate this drawing on to all solo female cyclists, especially those eight who have inspired and keep on inspiring me along my way. Here’s who they are!

Sometimes it seems extremely difficult for men to realize that even though you travel alone, you do not sell sex. To some men, a solo female cyclist seems to be the perfect example of someone in desperate need of money and physical pleasures. So much so, that these men take the initiative to stop by the road and offer their charitable employer services to female cyclists. But how can you know a woman does not sell sex? Read these easy guidelines to find out.

There are many people who inspire us in this journey called life. To me, such are usually either people who do what they love and love what they do, or people who so passionately help others, that they nearly forget themselves while at it. This woman is a combination of both! Anna Lev dances salsa, and while at it, does free YouTube tutorials to help us all with this art even at home.

I haven’t posted much lately, because I’m in Cali! I love dancing and so at the moment I’d rather concentrate on breathing in all the salsa I can get than staying online. However, I promise I’ll get back to writing again soon. As it’s Saturday and time for La Topa Tolondra again, I decided to create a short salsa playlist for you to get into the mood as well. Here you go!

Just in case there are any first time hitchhikers out there at the moment… This post has been dwelling as a draft of mine for quite a while now, but as I haven’t written anything in weeks and since the theme of this month’s seikkailijattaret.fi magazine is also on the road, I decided to finally publish this simple guide on successful hitchhiking with 10 easy steps.

People often ask me which bicycle I ride and if I like it or not. The simple answers are: Pelago Stavanger and “Hell yes!”, but after cycling for 16 months, I thought it’s high time to write a thorough review of the bicycle I have come to feel is my second skin by now. I’m still not a bicycle specialist, but this is what I see when I see my Pelago.

If there’s something I absolutely love it’s creating things with my hands and giving new purposes to old things. I’m the youngest of seven children, so you can take a wild guess on how much new stuff I used to receive as a child. The answer is slim to none and I’m grateful for it, because it has taught me to appreciate everything second-hand and recycled. When cycling long-distance, it’s quite heavy to carry handicraft supplies with you, so you often need to search for things to do with whatever is around. Here’s the DIY ideas I’ve come up with in Paraguay. Enjoy!

If there’s one South American city where cycling is a dream, it’s definitely Buenos Aires. The ciclovías (cycling lanes) span over 150kms, the mild, subtropical climate is great for pedaling all year round, there are no hills, the roads are in good conditions and most of them are one way. Some local cafeterias even contribute into make cycling more popular by offering free coffees and pastries to cyclists,