Emmanuel Gentinetta on biking the Pan-American Highway

It was already simple to relate to Emmanuel Gentinetta when I met him—he has an easy way about him. But after learning about the 8.5-month, 15,234-mile biking expedition down the Pan-American Highway that he finished in 2000, I knew he also had the travel bug—and bad. The story of his journey from Alaska to Argentina—logged in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest and fastest person to mountain bike the entire length of the route—is already documented at www.bikeitsolo.com and soon will be in a book. Here he pauses from working on his book to answer some of my questions.

How long had you been considering this trip? Why the west coast/the length of the two continents/biking?
I came up with the idea 10 months prior to setting out, while visiting my friend who was studying abroad in Argentina. He was excited about traveling, so we decided to do a trip after high school. We considered traveling by bike, motorcycle, car, hitchhiking, train, bus, then decided on bikes because we could go slow, really see places and meet people. I only had a BMX at this point. I hadn’t really been a cyclist. When thinking of options of where to go—Europe, or a loop around Australia—I remembered that my dad had many times told me that the Pan-American Highway is the longest road in the world. So I told my friend “Hey, why don’t we do the longest road in the world?” Just like that, the idea rose. We were both 17 at the time.

I’m assuming that you didn’t know anybody who had done that route before. How did you gather your information to prepare?
Once we thought of the idea, we saw there was a record for the trip in the Guinness Book. We realized we could become the youngest ever to cycle the route. We later came across some info from people who were doing or had done the trip—one was a couple posting articles to a magazine; the other was an interview on the news of a guy from Argentina who was heading north. But we did not research specifics on the trip, other than heading to the Rand McNally store in San Francisco and buying one map per country. We then highlighted what looked like a good option for the route, basically staying on the Pacific coast.

Did you run into logistical problems along the route?
I had some fun stories from different borders, but not anything major. I failed to get my Mexican tourist visa, for example. Once you get 15 miles from the border, you are responsible for getting one. I never realized this, and when I did not have my visa upon exit they told me I had to go back to Tijuana. I told them it was 6 weeks away by bike; they told me I could buy one for 150 pesos; I told them I had 90; they said no; they talked to a guy; they didn’t stamp my exit; and then they let me go.

In Nicaragua they asked me for my bike papers! I laughed but then realized they were serious. I had to register it as a vehicle. I paid $10 dollars or so, showed a letter that my dad’s friend had written on some Tuolumne County government letterhead showing our bike models and serial numbers, and got in ok.

I ran into another logistical problem flying into Colombia from Panama to bypass the Darién Gap, because Colombia requires you show your return flight. (No road connection exists between Central and South Americas. The official way to bypass the Darién Gap is to fly from Panama City to Cartagena, Columbia, where the Pan-American Highway continues.) After some calls that my dad made from the USA, he was able to talk to the correct agent at the Cartagena airport to explain that I was exiting the country by bike.

I was traveling with a USA passport. There was no work to be done prior to the trip—I got visas as I went along. Sometimes they would give me “transit visas,” which are cheaper and less paperwork. They would give me maybe four days, or ten, or two weeks to get through a country. These worked well in Central America.

And what came as the biggest surprise during the ride?
Strangely, as I rode nothing really seemed like a surprise to me. It was all just part of the trip, which for sure would be unpredictable. Even my friend deciding to leave on the morning of day three was not a huge surprise. I had a feeling he would bail early. What I did not imagine was that it would be so early on in the trip. But knowing he may not do the whole thing, I was prepared for that even from the start. Perhaps the biggest surprise, and the one that changed the trip the most, was when 4.5 months into the trip, after people continued to tell me that I had a very good average (and I denied it), I realized that I did, in fact, have a very good average, and that I was making good progress, and that I could break the time record that so many people on route encouraged me to break. That day, November 8, 1999, after some calculations on a napkin while eating yet another plate of spaghetti, I decided to go after the time record.

What advice would you share to others embarking on a big trip like this?
Keep a clear mind on your original goal and stick with it! So many things that other people offer on the way will seem so enticing, like hopping on a ferry in Alaska, or taking a bus across the desert, or a train to avoid mountains, or a flight to avoid Colombia. But you must not lose sight of your original goal and why you wanted to do it, no matter where it is your travel goals are taking you. Even if the reason why you wanted to do it was simply for the joy of traveling. There is a satisfaction that comes from achieving a goal in the way you intended to do it that can only be understood when you achieve it. I could offer much advice about what to take as far as gear, how to find places to stay, etc, but the main thing is to get your travel or life goal into your head and to stick to it, no matter how many people tell you that you are crazy or that it cannot be done. After all, you are the one doing it, not the person giving you the advice. I came across a sign in the middle of the Peruvian desert: “If I don’t do it, who will do it for me? And if not now, when?” This last point is huge, and was best put by my friend Pablo from Ecuador, who made the trip from south to north, when he said, “The perfect time to do something never comes. The perfect time is when you actually do it.” And I agree with that 100%. If I had waited to have just the right bike, just the correct equipment, all the finances, the right training, etc, I would still be in the “planning” stages of the trip.

When can we expect to see your book?
Writing the book has proven to be just as much of a challenge as the trip itself! But I want to have it done before my 10-year high school reunion. I would feel ashamed to show my face and not have my book complete. My reunion is in 2009. I hope to publish the book (both Spanish and English versions) in Argentina in 2008.

Any similar long-term routes on the horizon?
Nothing that I am voicing at the moment, though I do have some travel ideas. I do think it would be fun to not only be the youngest, but also the oldest to cycle the route…Of course, that is a ways down the road!

For updates on Emmanuel’s book, visit www.bikeitsolo.com.