From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

Since our detour through the Monterey Aquarium, a few things have happened! We’ve met some more people, biked with Adam and Kate (from Canada) and Uli and Eva (from Germany). We met Jim and his dog Elke who are biking across the US to support a cure for diabetes. We used the warmshowers.org network and stayed with Joel in San Luis Obispo and with Terry in Lompoc. A friend of Joel’s, Debbie, put us in contact with her brother and we were able to stay with him the night of the elections.

The further South we go, the more we feel that we are getting close to Mexico. The air is warmer and the flowers abundant: actually, Bougainvillea grow by the treeful here and are almost considered as pest in Southern California, but in France they are pretty much impossible to grow (and I know what I’m talking about). There are Mexican restaurants on every corner, and we’ve met lots of people originally from Mexico, happy and smiling.

Some points of interest:

• Sébastien’s legs have been hurting ever since we started biking again. He finally understands what it means to have sore muscles!
  
• We got a new free-standing tent, which means we don’t have to drive the tent pegs into the ground every night to pitch the tent. Hurray!
  
• On a gently descending faux plat I was attacked by a UFI (unidentified flying insect). It landed just on the corner of my mouth and before I could swat it away, it stung me! I stopped short, and Sébastien had to look everywhere for the tweezers. Just another day in the life of a cyclist, I guess, but an experience that I would really rather not repeat. My bottom lip was swollen for 3 days…!
  

And, of course, the elections. Everyone that we have met was supporting Obama, but nothing was for sure, even though the media was announcing an Obama victory before the votes were in. In the US, you can vote by mail, on the internet, and in a polling station up to two weeks before the actual election day. No excuse whatsoever for not voting!

We were lucky enough to experience the election first hand since we were staying with Doug (Debbie’s brother, who was a friend of Joel’s from San Luis Obispo) and his wife, Shirley. At 9:00 pm the victory cry went up: Obama is the new president! Even though at this point the official results aren’t in, and people are having a little trouble believing it (remember the 2004 election when Kerry was announced president-elect before California had finished voting – they’re 3 hours behind the East Coast – and Bush ended up winning), still, the 2008 elections have made history in the United States. An African-American leader heading up the most powerful nation in the world! We watched John McCain’s concession speech, and he graciously congratulated his opponent and set a re-match in four years’ time. Barak Obama spoke more about the challenges he will face, about working with the Republicans to unite the country and move forward. It was an eloquent speech, from the heart, one could say. Obama will take office at the end of January, and until then, both Republicans and Democrats have to share the White House!

Sara