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,

In a previous post called “10 things not to ask a long-distance cyclist“, I listed down the things I get asked more frequently when on the road. After having heard the same questions over and over again, I started thinking to myself what kind of questions would I love to answer? As I stay with locals nearly every night, I sometimes wish we could just jump through the basic questions and speak about other things instead. 

This is the second part of the blog post series Finns on Bicycles – encounters on the road. This time let me introduce to you: Antti Aittola, a 23-year-old man from Porvoo, Finland. Antti left his hometown together with his friend Lauri Ketonen in March 2014, and after spending 27 months cycling through Asia, Australia, South America and the East Coast of USA, he finally returned to Finland in July 2016.

What to pack on a long-distance cycling trip? This is the one thing that kept banging in my head before leaving for South America. And after talking to other cyclists, I’ve noticed this seems to have been the main concern of many. Believe me, most things won’t seem that important anymore, as soon lay your feet on your pedals (meaning: if someone steels your things it’s won’t be the end of the world). However, before you go, it feels good to know what to take with you. So, here’s what it is.

This is the first part of my new series of posts called Finns on Bicycles, encounters on the road by other Finnish long-distance cyclists. As I’m definitely not the only one who is continuously meeting wonderful and helpful strangers on the move, I’ve decided it’s high time to share the adventures of other cyclists and strengthen my claim that the whole world is filled with amazing people. So, I’ve asked a few of my countrymen (and women) to share with you five people related stories about what I would call the good-heartedness of the human species. Please, let me introduce to you my first guest writer: Kaisa Leka!

First of all, this is not a date add and I DON’T accept random friend requests on Facebook, so spare your time. Secondly, I’M NOT looking for company, and even less so on the internet. Thirdly, I DON’T travel alone because I don’t have a man (this is a misconception I’ve encountered numerous times), but because I ENJOY traveling alone. Having said this, here’s something I want to remind you about: the risks of sexually transmitted diseases when traveling (or back home).

In my last post, I stated that people are just way too afraid of each others. Lovely, friendly people often warn you about bad people. “The world is full of weirdos”, they say. Yet, most people in this world are just as lovely and friendly as those people warning you about the bad guys. To show what I mean, here are the people I stayed with in Northern Argentina – cycling through the provinces of Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán. This is what I call 1000 kilometers of hospitality!