ICE 2 ICELive Blog

We are in Ushuaia! I did it! The hardest fight of my life is won. I arrived today at the local time of 09:05 a.m. after more than 22,600 kilometers in 84 days, 11 hours, 50 minutes. A new world record! Furthermore I have beaten the old record by 15 days. It was extreme, so often incredibly grueling and I went to my limits and beyond. But now I stand here in Ushuaia and I am just overwhelmed. I had to do a last climb just before the finish line. The snowy pass demanded power from me, which

The last day of Ice2Ice is long – very, very long. Luckily we reached the last ferry directly after the border. Then we took a night stop before my non-stop stage until Ushuaia started. Without a real break, I cycle now for more than 20 hours. We had to cross one last border to Argentina. The first kilometers in Argentina reminded us of the Dalton Highway because the road was just a muddy track. After that, the streets were okay, but I am incredibly tired. In addition, unfortunately, the cold is almost unbearable and maked the extreme fight in the

What a strong day. We made another 352 kilometers today and are waiting for the ferry between the mainland and Tierra del Fuego. The day started with a climb, which was actually good for me. The cold in the morning is just bearable if I can warm up properly. Of course, it’s a little annoying that I immediately start to sweat and have to constantly change clothes to avoid getting a cold on these last kilometers. We would have hoped for the tailwind earlier. Meanwhile, I have to watch not only the street but also the lamas, who arbitrarily

Today there was a very strong side wind. If the wind turns a bit and I have a side/tail wind, I am forced to a very are low speed. If I had no accompanying car behind me, I would not dare to cycle on these roads. Since there is no emergency lane, I have to cycle on the normal lane. In this strong wind, however, a gust can easily blow me over the whole road. Even if there is little traffic, it would be far too dangerous on my own. In general, the drivers drive very carefully and stay behind

Unfortunately, the forecast was right. The wind in the south shows up with full force. I never fought such side- and tailwind forces until now. Even the cars are blow on the opposite lane sometimes. I am almost completely exhausted, but somehow I have to survive the last days. We arrived in the deep south. Here on the Atlantic coast there is only steppe and thus no mountains that keep the merciless wind away. Right now it is a bit warmer, but soon the temperature will fall below 0°C again. Since I am a bit sickish, I really hope that

It is really cold now! The temperature did not exceed -4°C during the night. Since the Toyota is not isolated, it’s as cold indoors as it is outside. If you need to use the nature bathroom outside during the night there is only one thought: I want to get back into the warm sleeping bag! Accordingly, it is difficult for me to get up in the morning, knowing that I have to get on the bike now. Unfortunately, I also have to take on the cold cycling clothes, which are sometimes even wet. An icy saddle makes the beginning

When the sun gets you out of your sleeping bag in the morning, it’s a lot easier to start the stage than in a snowstorm. Of course, I was pretty tired from the exhausting day yesterday, but at least the weather was good. Nevertheless, the cold takes hold. Once the sun is gone, the temperatures drop below 0°C. I don’t have much energy left and these temperatures makes cycling even harder. Viki and Viola finally got lucky today and were able to fill the gas bottle. Thanks to an adapter hose that my dad had constructed, it finally

The day started with a lot of snow. Due to the weather we had to wait until the worst snowfall was over. When the sun came out I start the today’s stage. However, the snow came back quickly, including graupel and forced us to make a break. The conditions are just terrible and especially the cold feels so bad. Fortunately, I have heat insoles from The Heat Company for my feet. On the way to Bariloche even the wind was against us. In combination with the graupel this was almost unbearable. The ice hurt so badly in my face

Today I cycled constantly through rain and snow. In the morning it was still quite warm and had 6°C. However, with our last crossing of the Andes the temperatures decreased with every meter gain in height. At the top of the pass, rain became snow, paired with icy cold weather. Cycling through rain and snow is never really pleasant, but when the temperature is -1°C, it is really exhausting. It feels like I had changed my clothes 17 times today. The whole team is struggling to get my clothes as dry as possible. At the pass, I took the time

It was wet, cold and damp today. The initial tailwind was getting stronger, but since we had to change our direction to the Argentine border to the east, the wind soon came from the side. This biting, wet cold is terrible. My underwear is completely sweaty, but I cannot change it constantly because, with every stop, I’m completely frozen again. After the rainy wind became too strong, we had to find a sleeping place after just 190 km. The North Continent was really just the warm-up program for the South. At first we only had grueling headwinds and now