I know, I know, logistics suck, I totally agree. But I figure if I’m going to do this travel blog thing I might as well start off by explaining why I think my life is interesting enough for a blog.

I’m going to be spending the next seven months in Chile and Argentina traveling, exploring, racing mountain bikes and studying at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Córdoba, Argentina.

Naturally, I’m making my journey to Córdoba as complicated as possible. This is where the logistics come in. I’ll be driving to Chicago from Athens, Ohio (8 hours), taking a train to Albuquerque, New Mexico (26 hours), then flying to Santiago, Chile (15 hours) and driving to the tip of South America and back (2 months). I assure you this all makes perfect sense in my head.

I’ll be joined in my travels by this kid, so nothing could possibly go wrong.

I’m hoping that along the way I will encounter things worth blogging about. If I don’t, I solemnly promise  I will not waste your time. I know you don’t care if I eat sandwiches for 52 meals in a row.

As for packing, well, packing for seven months, three seasons and climates spanning 20 degrees of latitude defies rationality. Just thinking about it makes my brain want to explode. No way will I ever have everything I need, so, screw it. As long as I have crocs and at least one pair of ridiculously short cut-off jean shorts it’ll be fine.

That said, I’m still doing the obsessive-compulsive list thing. So far it is three pages long. Iodine tablets, can opener and spare derailleur made the first page but I didn’t remember socks until page three. Alarming oversight.