Stanfords is sponsoring a cyclist and music enthusiast on a solo bicycle expedition covering over 6,000 miles. On his way from the southern tip of South America to the Caribbean Sea, Peter Hubbard will be making audio recordings of the vibrant musical culture the continent is renowned for and will travel through mountains, deserts and rainforest.
The expedition, Rhythm Cycle, starts in November and will be a low budget trip. Peter, aged 27, will carry all he needs on his bicycle; he will sleep in a small tent and cook on a stove and he says there will be no support team, high-tech communications equipment or GPS. His journey begins in Buenos Aires, the home of Tango. Next stop, Ushuaia, the most southerly city on earth. Heading north, he will tackle the notoriously gruelling Careterra Austral in Chile – the remote gravel road through rugged glaciated mountains constructed at the request of Pinochet in the 1970s.
Peter’s journey will continue along the Pan-American Highway and will include a crossing of the Andes. In north-western Argentina he hopes to seek out traditional folk music and native Andean styles. Pedalling on into Bolivia, he will cross the world’s largest salt flat – Salar de Uyuni (at over 4,000 sq miles). He will then head to Lake Titicaca and cross into Peru. In the tropical heat he will cycle across the equator in Ecuador and continue through the northern hemisphere to finally reach the Caribbean Sea at Venezuela.
Peter hopes to promote and encourage cycling. “Why do so many people shield themselves away in an air-conditioned car?” he asks. “Bikes are cheap to run, have minimal environmental impact and keep you fit.”
Peter plans to write a book about his adventures upon his return and produce an accompanying CD with a mixture of the sounds and music he has captured.
Follow his progress on peterhubbard.blogspot.com