Herman Paredes coasts up to the restaurant to meet us for breakfast. His bike, “BiciBurra” carries a tent and a few packs. Like a sailboat, it is trim and organized. It has everything that is needed for an epic voyage.
Herman is pedaling from the top of Alaska all the way to the Southern tip of Argentina. German took some time out from his journey while passing through Rocky Point to talk with RockyPoint.com.
“There are thousands of Angels along the highway.”
Born in Huatabampo Mexico, German lives and works in Indio, California. He was not a cycling fanatic before setting off. A bike trip was the idea settled on to mark his 50th birthday. And maybe lose a little weight. As the idea became a reality, the desire to do something beyond the ordinary grew stronger. Ultimately, Herman decided that nothing less than going all the way from Alaska to Argentina would do.
The cyclist actually completed the southernmost part of this trip first. This was done to align with the most forgiving weather across the continent. This past May, Herman resumed his voyage at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. This final portion of the trip will end in Ecuador.
“This trip has changed my life. Wherever I went, people wanted to help me. There are thousands of angels on the highway. In Alaska, Herman found himself facing an 800 KM stretch of near wilderness. Ready to set off, he could not find any place to buy groceries! “Everyone who lived there relied on food that was flown, in or that they hunted. But before long people had brought me everything that I needed to continue.”
Though going it solo, a lot of the time Herman was accompanied by other cyclists also on their own long bike trips. Cyclists from around the world. Two German women told of their experience with ‘guardian angels while cycling through Veracruz, Mexico.”
“I asked them if they were afraid of the reports of insecurity in the country”, said Herman. “They told me that they came to a road block on a remote highway. It was obviously not the police or military. When they told the one in charge that they were traveling the country, he made sure that his people escorted us, and made sure that nothing bad happened to us while in Veracruz.” They were told that their escort were the notorious Zetas.
German says that he rarely felt that he was in danger from other people. At his wife’s insistence, he added a GPS tracker to his phone so that loved ones could check his progress, and be sure that he was on track. (There is a link on his Facebook page to show you his current location).
Riding in all kinds of weather, the deserts north and west of Peñasco were a particular challenge, because of the heat. Much if his riding was done before and after sundown.
After breakfast, we asked German to meet us over by the Peñasco letters for a photo. We felt a little guilty asking him go even a little bit out of his way! Photos taken, we wished him luck on the rest of his trip. Although he told us that he and his wife have planned a future trip together, apparently they could not wait. She will join him for part of his journey through Mexico.
Follow along with German Paredes on his Facebook page De Alaska A Argentina en Bicicleta. There are lots of photos from his travels there.