Our TOP Tips for Cycling South America // Bike Touring in Colombia, Ecuador & Peru

[@louisaandtobi]

Please note, we have discontinued our "Top Tips" video series here on KZbin, but have replaced it with detailed country travel information on our website. Please check that out instead if you found this video useful: www.louisaandtobi.com/country-infos

[@soggybawsmoto]

Great guidance for all sorts of travellers, not just cyclists. Thanks for taking the time to produce this one.

[@louisaandtobi]

Glad it was helpful! 😊

[@apaul1305]

Danke für diesen so professionell und persönlich gemachten Film mit euren gesammelten Erfahrungen!

[@TesfayeAman]

Thank you for sharing this soul-nourishing travel story. My favorite one, Patagonia, was the first. I have craved a bicycle since I was a teenager, and that passion has continued to this day in my adulthood. A bike, for me, is fun, a vehicle that takes me to a world of outlandish happiness just by pedaling across terrains; it opens the door for curiosity and contemplation; maintaining balance on a two-wheel bike is defying the law of gravity, the health benefit is immeasurable as the saying goes "do not underestimate an old guy on a bicycle. I wish this channel gets more subscriptions in 100Ks or even in millions, for what is beneficial to the nourishment and revitalization of our development is embedded in our intimate relation and understanding of mother nature. Please try to rebrand and promote this excellent channel for the good of others.

[@Cliff0108]

Thanks guys for this informative video on South America. It is great to hear from you - you have become like old friends. I am so glad that your positive experiences outweigh some of the challenges that you have encountered. You are true adventurers and we will look forward to even more accounts as your travels progress!

[@louisaandtobi]

Thanks for watching! 😊

[@gersoncerceau5156]

I'm brazilian. I really enjoyed the detailed information on Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. They will be valuable for future trips. Travel insurance.

[@alanpage8911]

Acclimatize before cycling at 4-5,oo0 m - good advice!! Hardy souls.

[@dpierre]

Hello and thank you for this fascinating feedback! I admit that it is very impres-sive to imagine that you have made so much effort and often in extreme condi-tions. I would admit that even watching you suffer on muddy climbs from the house is tiring;) I like the slow travel bike but in Europe with all comfort. Even like that, we have to face the whims of the weather, the road traffic in places which remains the worst and most dangerous on a bike. I have a lot of admira-tion and I congratulate you for everything, philosophy, choices, the images & comments. Hey, I noticed a difference, with my V-breaks (I do a lot of mountain descents in Switzerland), I don't have to worry about maintenance and break-downs like with disc brakes. In addition, I use ‘BBB TriStop’ rubbers for rim brakes are very inexpensive and durable and effective (without squeaks) in all conditions including rain. Otherwise, I would admit that belt drives are a revolu-tion and it is impossible to go back with a chain that generates noise, wear, oil...Good continuation in your magnificent adventure ^^

[@randallrupp8925]

Great video, I like that you add the good and bad points. Many times travel videos overwhelm you with the awesome sights but you don't get a sense of what it is really like to travel through them.

[@louisaandtobi]

Thanks for watching! 😊

[@accbecky]

Nice vídeo , very helpful , you guys posting are really good ,life here is too short to spend on a 9 to 5 job!

[@dayanmayengbam6587]

Very informative video 📸 Watching from northeastern India

[@comberdale]

Vielen Dank fürs Teilen, Gute Reise euch!

[@pablomalo5388]

Yo soy ecuatoriano y me parece muy interesante su visión sobre su viaje en nuestros países andinos y además muy valiosos comentarios.

[@Rafael-vu2xn]

Great video thank you!

[@tchaware]

Thank you for sharing.... And showing the way 👍

[@donnahayes5086]

Thank you! I’ve been following your adventures. They’re awesome. You guys are awesome. I love the way you guys are always saying “it’s really crazy”. Makes me laugh. Enjoy!

[@louisaandtobi]

Haha! 😅

[@chrisholt2474]

Thank you for a great film and sharing your experiences. Hope you are both keeping well and you both appear to be enjoying your journey. Take care and thank you for the update, I look forward to the next episode. Regards, Chris 👍👍👍

[@louisaandtobi]

Thanks for watching! :) We're doing well, thanks :)

[@Biking360]

Very useful and comprehensive.

[@sbring00able]

Super helpful - thanks a ton!

[@accbecky]

Not long at all ,I appreciated your effort and honesty , thank you and God bless!

[@colmclaurin9452]

Yes Louisa it may be a long video but worth every minute of it mate. In reality you covered a very long distance in such period of time and covered many subjects in pure fact. Never worry about a video being too long when exposing this sort of valuable information. All greatly appreciated. Um how adding some of your bike touring cooking into your videos. 🙏🙏🙏

[@louisaandtobi]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@BelloBelvedere]

Louisa so colorful today , wish you fun and happy.. 😅

[@arcoulant87]

Great video ,good format these longer videos for summing up countries

[@louisaandtobi]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@Kenyanyoutuber1]

JUST DISCOVERED THIS CHANNEL. I LOVE IT

[@omarjohnsonbaptista52]

I really enjoyed your video and I follow you all the time thanks

[@lemonandlime422]

I love what you are doing! ❤

[@omare_biketonature]

Thank you for all the tips and information 🙏🏻 did cycle Colombia last year and planning to come back to cycle Ecuador and Perú.

[@louisaandtobi]

Glad it was helpful! 😊

[@davideldor2980]

Thanks a lot for sharing this information. Much appreciated.

[@rezadiy5805]

I wanna to travel around the world with my wife very soon

[@travelspot06]

Thank you for the tips! I am getting some great ideas from you guys about where I want to go next!

[@tonydownunder5703]

Thank you 👍👍

[@dominicmarks2205]

I am from India! I totally love both of you!! Your videos are so motivational and inspiring for me!! I take a bow!!! Someday I hope to cycle like u both! Hope u visit India someday!!

[@louisaandtobi]

Great to hear that! 😊 We will actually be coming to India in November 😊

[@thornesonthego6554]

Cool thanks for the advice

[@spektrumB]

Amazing amazing amazing. Wish I could do it one day.

[@Sailing_JP]

Amazing journey guys. Very interesting videos and lot of fun watching them. Are you guys going through Chile next ? Are you finishing at Patagonia ? Keep going 😅. JP

[@louisaandtobi]

Yea, Chile next, down to Patagonia. After that probably Australia and Southeast Asia 😊

[@ClaudeCyclingVagabong]

Thanks for this informative video. I have watched it until the end with the highest interest. I agree that local farmers markets anywhere in the world are good starting points for touristy activities that allow you to rapidly connect with genuine local experience. Did you have to do anything special or extra to accommodate to high altitudes or just going through your journey did prepared you?

[@louisaandtobi]

After spending a few days at higher altitudes (4000+ m) we got acclimatized pretty well and didn’t have to do anything special. 😊

[@ianSimpson-f4i]

Thankyou so much for this video. We are planning a bike packing trip to South America in 2024 so this was so useful. Can I ask what you do for travel insurance?

[@louisaandtobi]

Glad it helped! If you need some more infos you should check out our website: www.louisaandtobi.com/country-infos We have travel insurance from PROTRIP / Dr Walter (health, liability and accident insurance). We initially got them because they were the most competitively priced, but are now actually partnered with them as we liked their service so much. So if you should decide to go with them, it would be awesome if you could use our affiliate link 😅 Thanks! www.protrip-world.com/de/?vkn=86265

[@freedomriding2558]

Bro the roads after popayan are beatiful even the main roads they are new and well engineered curves wise.

[@campconquest7246]

Fantastic! I’ve enjoyed following your journey. I do have a question . Have you ever considered pulling a trailer? If so, what were your conclusions ?

[@louisaandtobi]

We’ve thought about it, but our current main reason against it is the performance off-road, on sand, etc. We imagine it must be a nightmare 😅

[@expatexpat6531]

Very interesting. QN: What was the longest period you went without internet access, e.g .up in the mountains? You wouldn't have access to maps, general info, etc. during that time.

[@louisaandtobi]

It was probably about 2-3 days. We always have all our maps available offline.

[@outtatrex]

This video was great for planning my bike trip to South America next year. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to your experience cycling the salt lake of Uyuni, that will be spectacular!

[@louisaandtobi]

We just cycled it a few days ago, was really cool! 😊

[@Cycle-Tourer]

That was great review. But I have a big concern about cycling in Colombia. My big wish is to explore Colombia intensively several months. I read a lot about the risks for tourists in this country. There is one American who lives there 10 years. He has a good website about Colombia, and he speaks about the big caution you have to take as a tourist: Like to stay only in touristic areas. But as a cyclist is even worse. Because I don't have any interest in such places like these. So I am completely exposed to risks like robbery or even kidnap.

[@louisaandtobi]

We were in many “non-touristic” places in Colombia and always felt very safe. 😊

[@Cycle-Tourer]

The American who lives there more than 10 years who own the website, also was rubbed by some criminals. And he is like locals, and speaks fluent Spanish. (And not a cyclist) So don't underestimate. It's a serious issue.

[@vannialatto]

What about robbers?

[@louisaandtobi]

Never had a problem.

[@leondemontana7680]

Español

[@CanadianSledDog]

It's not true at all that dogs don't like bikers. Watch Iohan Gueorguiev. I'm a bikepacker who rides with dogs. Dogs don't like people who are afraid of them. If you stop and talk to the dogs with authority they will respect you. You are more likely to be hurt by a human, especially in their cars. The most common misconception is that dogs who bark at you are being aggressive, but this is not true, it's just what untrained dogs and farm dogs do when they see something new to them. Please never flee from a dog, they can sprint over 50 kph and fleeing activates their prey hunting instinct.

[@louisaandtobi]

The simple fact is that when dogs come chasing us (and all bikers we know), 10-15 times a day in certain regions, it doesn’t really matter what their intentions are, if they’re being aggressive or not, we are going to defend ourselves and try to get rid of them as quick as possible. And since this has been pretty much the same, sometimes better, sometimes worse, in the almost 20 countries we’ve now cycled, you might understand why we say dogs don’t like cyclists. We too have met some very friendly dogs on the road, and are sure some of the “aggressive” seeming dogs would also be fine if we’d spend the time to talk to them. But like we said, when this happens many times a day, we just can’t be bothered anymore. In the last months only in Peru, we personally know of three cyclists that have been bitten by dogs… and none that have had any other form of injury…

[@CanadianSledDog]

@@louisaandtobi the simple fact is that what you are doing during these encounters is likely to get you bitten by dogs. Not to mention that you are the visitor in these countries and you have no right to "defend yourself" "whether they are aggressive or not" - it's an extremely disrespectful attitude.

[@louisaandtobi]

@@CanadianSledDog So we’re allowed to defend ourselves against dogs in our home country but not abroad…? what a logic! 😅

[@CanadianSledDog]

@@louisaandtobi where did you get that idea? You said you would defend yourself whether they are aggressive or not. That actually makes you the aggressor. You misunderstand why dogs bark and you approach them with fear and aggression in your mind. That's disrespectful anywhere you go, and that's why the dogs don't like you.

[@louisaandtobi]

@@CanadianSledDog If you actually read what we wrote carefully, we said “if dogs come chasing us”, we would defend ourselves…

[@Massaliotis]

Hello and thank you for your tips! One question though... Have you ever in your trip, considered more drastically measures against dogs? Example, bear spray?

[@louisaandtobi]

We have once or twice, but always thought it was unnecessary in the end. We used to carry pepper spray but never actually used it.

[@Massaliotis]

@@louisaandtobi thank you!