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Earn university credits while cycling


Machu Pichu. Photo by Dirk van Asselt

For the first time ever a bicycle tour will be used as a platform through which university credits may be earned - the Vuelta Sudamericana Bicycle Expedition which departs from Buenos Aires on September 25th and finishes in Lima on December 13th.

Students and leisure riders will cover more than 6,000km through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru while exploring South America’s cultural and natural wonders.

Along the route Professor Paul Porter of the University of Minnesota will host a course on South American culture, food, agriculture and agro-ecosystems. The goal of the Vuelta tour is not to travel the most efficient line between the opposite ends of a continent, but to explore it by bicycle, which allows riders to immerse themselves in a foreign culture.

Prof. Porter, of the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, will take his students on a journey through legendary landscapes such as Mount Aconcagua, the Atacama Desert, Lake Titicaca, Machu Picchu, and many more, in a search for knowledge.  Students that participate in the 2011 Vuelta tour, and sign up for the professor’s course, will be the first to take part in this groundbreaking concept of studying while on a bike tour.


Aconcagua. TdA Archives

In 2009 and 2010, Dr. Porter participated in the annual Tour d'Afrique bicycle expedition from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa.  While bicycling, he co-taught a course entitled, ‘Food and Agriculture from Cairo to Cape Town at 10mp’, to students on the Twin Cities campus. With the South America expedition, he will coordinate the educational experiences of students who participate in the ride, as well as co-teach a course back on the Twin Cities campus.

Meandering across the landscape and linking a variety of cultural and wilderness destinations, the Vuelta has been designed to follow the most favourable patterns of wind, heat, precipitation and daylight.


Atacama Desert. Photo by Tim Green

This expedition provides a complete range of cycling conditions: extreme temperatures, mountain passes over 4,200m, open desert crossings, and every conceivable road surface. From Darwin's exploration of the Galapagos to Che Guevara's ‘Motorcycle Diaries’, the wonders of South America have changed the lives of travelers throughout time.

Please click here for more information, and details on course fees, housing, meals and insurance, and if you are interested in participating as a student please contact Prof. Porter directly: pporter@umn.edu

You don’t have to be a student to participate in The Vuelta Sudamericana Bicycle Expedition itself. The tour is open to participants from all over world.  Visit Vuelta Sudamericana for all the details.



Buenos Aires. TdA Archives


Chile. Photo by Dirk van Asselt


Lake Titicaca. TdA Archives


Beach cycling. TdA Archives


Lima. TdA Archives







Posted July 27, 2011 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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Vuelta Sudamericana 2011



We are pleased to announce the dates, prices and route for our next expedition through South America in 2011. Please check them out.

Registration is now open.

Posted February 12, 2010 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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Arrival in Quito



We left Rio de Janeiro on July 26th and today 134 days later we have arrived in beautiful downtown Quito. And what a ride it has been. Day after day of visual and sensual stimulation and a sense of great satisfaction, the type one experiences when one uses extreme exertion. Today was another example of this. We started the day in a small place called Papallacta, at elevation of about 3,300 meters known for its hot springs and spas which many of the riders enjoyed yesterday, and then we had to climb the Papallacta Pass located at an elevation of 4,064 meter (oh, just another climb over 4,000m). Then it was turn for maddening descent (rather cold) and then another ascent of 600m before we found ourselves on the street of Quito enjoying the last few km on Avenues of Rio Amozonas one of the main streets closed to motorized traffic every Sunday.  (Toronto, the place I live, will you ever have such a street?)

And so the inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana has come to an end. Like our other Epic Tours this one has accomplished what its set up to do and that is to cross a continent on a bike, to experience a continent only the way a person can, while cycling and feeling every inch using his or hers own power, feeling the sun, the wind and the rain. And now that we have done it, we have a unique feeling for this continent, for the seven countries we have cycled through, for the pulse and the beat of these places. What joy, what a way to spend 134 days.

Posted December 07, 2009 by Henry Gold
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Habs Fan



Ryan Stotland has worn his Canadiens hockey jersey for almost the entire 12,000km Vuelta Sudamericana while raising money for two very important causes. Now that is a fan!

Watch his video here!

Check out his Website!

Posted November 27, 2009 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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Vuelta Sudamericana ready to roll



The inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana 134 day journey, 12,000km from Rio de Janeiro to Quito via Buenos Aires, Santiago, La Paz and Lima is ready to roll. The bikes are assembled, the support vehicles are packed and the support team is now heading for early bedtime in order to be ready for an early start.

Six years ago the team from Tour d’Afrique initiated a bicycle race and expedition across Africa, an event never attempted before. Two years later it was a bicycle tour from Paris to Istanbul. Two years ago we successfully crossed the Silk Route from Istanbul to Beijing and now with only a few hours to go we will attempt the longest and certainly from the physical endurance required, the toughest bicycle expedition ever attempted.

I hope that all of you will join us on our website and follow our trials and tribulations as we cycle (at about 120 km a day – not including rest days) from the beaches of Rio to Quito the capital of Ecuador.

Posted July 26, 2009 by Henry Gold
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San Pedro de Atacama

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From the original scout there have been several minor revisions to the route.  San Pedro de Atacama is a new addition and certainly a new highlight of the tour.  The scenery here is as hallucinogenic as the cover of a Yes album cover.  Whether you are an astronomer, archaeologist, geologist, adrenalin junkie or just enjoy sipping the finest cappuccino in a shady adobe café, this desert oasis will make for a fantastic rest stop. Smoldering volcanoes tower over this tourism mecca.  The dusty cobbled streets are lined with restaurants and cafes that prepare a variety of local and international delicacies.  Looking down the alleyways reveals a myriad of colour as the local artisans pawn their handicrafts and alpaca garments, yet the main plaza is cooled by the shade of mature trees.  Bordering the plaza is a post card perfect quaint little church.  Local tour operators host a range of day trips including sand boarding, climbing an active volcano, visiting the steaming geysers, soaking the buoyant waters of a salt pan lake, or touring through the incredible sedimentary and aeolian formations of the Valle de Luna.  The climatic conditions here provide for some of the best star gazing in the world.  What a crazy place! Historically this town was just a pit stop on the trading route between the highlands and the coast.  It became established when it was visited by Pedro de Valdivia in 1540.  A complex irrigation system sourced from ground water supports local agriculture and some farmers today are still using terraces that are over 1000 years old.  Tourism is the main economic input these days.  In fact when I arrived I had to ask five different people for directions because the first four were all tourists.  This will be our first exposure to life on the Altiplano, not a bad start.   

Posted May 26, 2009 by Randy Pielsticker
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Biking in Quito

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Sunday May 3rd, marked the sixth anniversary of the Ciclopaseo.  Originally it would take place on the last Sunday of each month, but at the anniversary celebration last week the Mayor, Andres Vallejo, announced it will now happen every Sunday. The event was originally designed to promote the use of the bicycle as a means of public transport in the city of Quito, where the main avenue, Rio Amazonas, is closed to motorized traffic between the airport and the plaza in the Old Town, almost 30km of road.  But the effect has been that the road has been given back to the people.  It’s not just cyclists; rollerbladers, baby carriages, skateboarders, joggers, pedestrians, vendors, street performers and even marching bands are participating in the enjoyment of a car free zone in the heart of the city centre. The event has been coordinated by Diego Puente, founder of Ciclopolis, a politically active organization for cycle advocacy and environmental protection.  Their other projects include an “earn a bike program” for underprivileged children, women specific cycling classes, rental bikes, cultural bike tours and installation of bike racks throughout the city.  The Ciclopaseo is extremely well organized with hundreds of police and volunteers at each intersection directing traffic, there are water stations and bike repair stations every few kilometers.  Recreation improves the health of the people, eliminating fossil fuel emissions reduces urban smog, but most importantly it’s a lot of fun. Every city in the world could benefit from the model they have created here. On Sunday Dec 6th, after cycling nearly 13,000km, from Rio de Janeiro, the inaugural expedition of the Vuelta Sudamericana will roll into Quito.  The finish line for this 134 day cycling adventure will be at the Arc in El Ejido Park.  After exploring the South American continent by bike, these intrepid cyclists will be welcomed and congratulated by all the non motorized enthusiasts at the Ciclopaseo.  

Posted May 12, 2009 by Randy Pielsticker
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South America here we come!

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Corcovado Rio
Nightlife of Buenos Aires
Fiestas de Quito
Siloli Desert
Asado in the Pampa
Curitiba - the future is here
The wines of Chile
The driest place on Earth
Machu Picchu
Foz do Iguazu   and on, and on, and on.

One week shorter

After reviewing the scouting reports, we are excited to let you know, that the tour is now scheduled to arrive in Quito on December 6. That means we will be able to arrive right in time for Quito’s biggest annual festival – Fiestas de Quito.

The numbers…

 134 days, including 24 rest days. That leaves 110 days of cycling with an average daily distance of around 110 km. This daily distance is a little less than our other tours, but takes into account the higher altitudes and more climbing.

Rest days

We will have double rest days in Foz do Iguazu, and Buenos Aires, and three in Cusco, giving us time to not only catch up on our washing and bike maintenance but to explore these exciting spots.

Lots of dirt and lots of climbing...

A couple passes over 4000 m. Approx 30% of the route from Rio to Quito will be on unpaved roads.

Discount period extended...

For those of you thinking about payment we have decided to extend the discounted payment period until March 1 to give you a little more time to take advantage of it.

Posted January 26, 2009 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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Scouting Fun on the Altiplano

There are some big problems in Bolivia. We had been following a 500km stretch of brutal roads that skirt the southern boundary of the Salar - a 350km wide salt pan, a vast iodized landscape. There are no real roads once you enter the area – mainly you just navigate by compass. When we asked for directions, we received various renditions of, “from here, you just following the rail line, then head north”.  The trail along the rail tracks turned out to be decent; corrugated at times, sometimes braided, but there were no turns to the north. We were worried about crossing the flats before dark! Then we ran into pits of “chusca”, knee deep dust that blanketed the underlying rocks and potholes. The railway was now off in the distance but we managed to over-take the silhouette of a lumbering freight on the horizon. Each time we plunged into a depression, the chusca erupted, temporarily blocking out the sun. The truck bottomed out several times. Once again the road turned up and over the tracks. WHAM! Dead stop. The engine was instantly louder. I put it in reverse, the wheels spinning. I put it first gear, the wheels spinning. I looked to the horizon to see the headlight of the approaching freight train, superimposed beside the red, setting sun. We were completely T-boned on the tracks, all four wheels in the air. And the train kept coming. We weighted the back end, pulled up on the front bumper and managed to get a bit of traction in reverse. Wham! Dead stop. The headlight was getting closer, like some bad Hollywood movie. Finally, we got the truck off just in time but I burnt my hand in the process. I had to get the exhaust welded back together in the next town, Uyuni. No real damage and a cheap fix. We made it to La Paz, which is a fabulous city and continued on to Peru, back on schedule. More problems! The border was closed and there were tons of people protesting and throwing rocks at any vehicle travelling to the border town of Desaguadero. It seems to be a volatile area - last week a bunch of locals broke into a jail in a village near Copacabana and burned 11 prisoners alive. We made a big U-turn and headed back to Arica, Chile and crossed into Peru from there.

Posted November 27, 2008 by Randy Pielsticker
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Scouting Fun on the Altiplano

There are some big problems in Bolivia. We had been following a 500km stretch of brutal roads that skirt the southern boundary of the Salar - a 350km wide salt pan, a vast iodized landscape. There are no real roads once you enter the area – mainly you just navigate by compass. When we asked for directions, we received various renditions of, “from here, you just following the rail line, then head north”.  The trail along the rail tracks turned out to be decent; corrugated at times, sometimes braided, but there were no turns to the north. We were worried about crossing the flats before dark! Then we ran into pits of “chusca”, knee deep dust that blanketed the underlying rocks and potholes. The railway was now off in the distance but we managed to over-take the silhouette of a lumbering freight on the horizon. Each time we plunged into a depression, the chusca erupted, temporarily blocking out the sun. The truck bottomed out several times. Once again the road turned up and over the tracks. WHAM! Dead stop. The engine was instantly louder. I put it in reverse, the wheels spinning. I put it first gear, the wheels spinning. I looked to the horizon to see the headlight of the approaching freight train, superimposed beside the red, setting sun. We were completely T-boned on the tracks, all four wheels in the air. And the train kept coming. We weighted the back end, pulled up on the front bumper and managed to get a bit of traction in reverse. Wham! Dead stop. The headlight was getting closer, like some bad Hollywood movie. Finally, we got the truck off just in time but I burnt my hand in the process. I had to get the exhaust welded back together in the next town, Uyuni. No real damage and a cheap fix. We made it to La Paz, which is a fabulous city and continued on to Peru, back on schedule. More problems! The border was closed and there were tons of people protesting and throwing rocks at any vehicle travelling to the border town of Desaguadero. It seems to be a volatile area - last week a bunch of locals broke into a jail in a village near Copacabana and burned 11 prisoners alive. We made a big U-turn and headed back to Arica, Chile and crossed into Peru from there. - Randy  Pielsticker

Posted November 27, 2008 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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