© Chris Murray
Inspired by the Schleck brothers, Ewan McGregor, and his mother, Chris Murray completed an 80-day, 12,000-kilometre cycling journey across six South American countries.
RTL Today sat down with Chris Murray, a Luxembourg resident, who embarked on the mammoth adventure of cycling the length of South America.
Inspirations and the start
When asked about his inspirations for this adventure, Chris mentioned three key influences: the Schleck brothers, Ewan McGregor, and his mother – quite an eclectic bunch! Growing up during the era when the Schleck brothers dominated world cycling, Chris was inspired by their feats to challenge himself with larger cycling endeavours.
A surprising influence was Ewan McGregor. In 2002, McGregor's motorbiking series, where he crossed the entire world, fuelled Chris' innate sense of adventure from a young age. However, perhaps the most significant influence was his mother. Initially hesitant to join Chris on his trips to Africa (he works in renewable energy and visits frequently) due to safety concerns, she eventually accompanied him on a safari.
This experience made Chris reflect on his fears about South America. He realised, “I always had this fear of South America – people would always say it’s dangerous, kidnappings and all of that. But I was telling my mum that Africa is fine, but if you look for bad news, you will find it. So I thought maybe I need get out of my comfort zone, and see the good in countries and people.”
Chris began his journey in Ushuaia, the southernmost point of South America, after celebrating New Year's in Buenos Aires with friends. The first few weeks were among the most challenging, he says. His body had to adjust to the physical strain of cycling, averaging 145 kilometres a day, typically just over seven hours. The elements, particularly the wind, posed additional challenges. This led him to alter his initial plan of cycling the length of Argentina.
He frequently crossed back and forth between Argentina and Chile, seeking slightly more favourable conditions. Despite sustaining an injury to his left knee and developing tendonitis in his Achilles, Chris impressively continued to push forward and said that after around two weeks of cycling his body had adapted to this new life on the road.
Cycling through the extremes of South America
Despite the early injuries he sustained, his main concern was not the physical pain, but the elements. Traversing an entire continent means encountering a diverse landscape and, in turn, all types of weather. In the early part of the trip, the wind was a significant challenge, with Chris once covering a mere 15 kilometres in three hours. He also woke up to frost in his tent, making appropriate attire crucial for the success of the trip.
At other times, it was the heat, where he once faced temperatures of 50°C with high humidity in Colombia. “You’re drinking hot water the whole day, you can’t properly quench your thirst. It’s a bit like cycling into a hot hair dryer”, he explained. The evenings offered no relief as the temperature did not drop, leaving him with the dilemma of either opening his tent to let mosquitoes in or being “cooked alive”.
A further factor that people may not consider is the extreme altitudes Chris had to drag himself through, especially in Bolivia where he reached heights of over 4500m and had headaches due to a lack of oxygen. Luckily, a local delicacy, namely Coca leaves, ensured there was some form of relief, but eating and drinking on the bike were no longer possible as he had to stop each time due to the conditions.
"On a trip like this, sometimes the universe will look out for you. Just when you are really wishing that someone will stop and ask if you’re okay, not too long after someone would."
This was the case, when he had his fourth puncture within 24 hours, stranded on the side of the road, mentally struggling with the challenge at hand. A complete stranger stopped at the side of the road and drove him to the nearest town to fix his bike. They put tyre sealant in his tyres and for the remainder of the trip he did not have a single puncture.
A moment like that encapsulates the true essence of what bikepacking is all about, meeting people and seeing amazing places. Another instance that would have given him a pleasant reminder of home was when “a hotel owner in Quito (Ecuador), who had a Luxembourgish wife, had been following my journey and reached out to go stay at his hotel”. And there were wholesome meetings aplenty, in fact too many to recount in a single article.
He described tales of breathtaking scenery all along the journey, having crossed iconic mountain ranges in Patagonia and the Andes, as well as traversing the second most biodiverse country in the world in Colombia, where he described idyllic descents through the jungle and says “you’re never far from volcanoes or other natural beauty”.
He also had time to go and visit places like the salt plains of Bolivia and undertook a hike into the jungle to see Machu Picchu. Eventually ending his trip in Punto Gallinas in Colombia, the most northern point of South America.
When questioned on how he managed to complete such a daunting challenge, he stated having a positive mindset is key: “You just need to accept that things are not always going to go your way, but you will survive and you will be able to keep moving somehow, as soon you start to get negative, you will start to gravitate toward the ‘not-being-able-to-do-this tunnel’ and then things can derail. The mental side is probably more important than the physical side.”
A truly remarkable and inspiring accomplishment by the 33-year-old. From overcoming physical challenges and adapting to extreme climates, to embracing local cultures and venturing outside of his comfort zone. Chris Murray is a hero and his adventure stands as a testament to the human spirit's capacity for resilience and discovery.
