BC 2020 – 5th Olympic Expedition

March 2 – July 24, 2020

Brasil – Paraguay – Bolivia – Argentina – Chile – the United States (Hawaii) – Japan

route day by day | conditions of participation | maps: South America, Hawaii, Japan
(you can click each day map or click under the list “show all on map” to see the whole route)

under the honorary patronage the Polish Olympic Committee

Keeping the BaltiCCycle Olympic tradition alive we invite you again to connect by bicycle wheels the two Olympic capitals: Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. The ride will last 145 days; we finish on the day of opening the Olympic Games.

After visiting the Rio Olympic Stadium, we will start cycling on bicycle lanes along a legendary Copacabana Beach. Heading south, three weeks our route will wind along the Costa Verde (“Green Coast”) often called the Brazil’s most spectacular coastal route. Mountains covered by tropical forests, turquoise ocean and sky, and white sand beaches, the charm of colonial towns and remote fishermen villages offering fresh seafood, as well as rich resorts will delight our days and nights. We will make a de tour to Ilha Grande, a romantic island of unspoiled nature, and cross the wilderness of Ilha do Cardoso and Ilha de Superagui. After visiting the Paraná State capital Curitiba, known as one of the greenest cities in the world with numerous settlers from Germany, Poland and others, we will turn inland to enjoy mountainous interior and agricultural lands of State of Santa Catarina. We will cycle through the regions famous by German beer-brewing and Italian winery traditions while finally reach the destination of astounding natural wander – Iguazu Falls surrounded by the National Parks both of Brazil and Argentina.

After Iguazu Falls we will enter Paraguay, and cycling the rolling terrain of Paranena region will arrive in four days to the capital city of Asunción. From here we will take a two-day trip on a cargo boat up the Paraguay River – “big mirror of waters” in the native Guaraní language. It will bring us to the sparsely populated plains of Chaco. Cycling here we will have an opportunity to meet people of Mennonites colonies and indigenous communities. After crossing Chaco, we will find ourselves in the pleasant streets of Bolivian town Villamontes at the Andean foothills. Going south we will reach Salta, the northwest province of Argentina, surrounded by mountains, valleys and vineyards, and its beautiful colonial town called Salta la Linda (“Salta the Pretty”) with imprint of Spanish and Andean cultures.

The next part of our route through South America will go parallel to the Andes joining the longest National Route of Argentina – Ruta 40, stretching from Bolivian border in the North to Patagonia in the South. Spectacular valleys, stunning gorges, impressive colours of rock walls will rejoice us all the way. We will have a chance to see the highest peak of South America – Aconcagua 6962 m – before crossing the Andes at the Paso Internacional Los Libertadores and cycling down to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. We will finish the continental part of Olympic ride at the Jewel of Pacific – Valparaiso – the Seaport and the World Heritage city.

If you look at the map of Pacific you will see that the Hawaii Archipelago is on the line connecting South America with the Japanese Archipelago. Hawaii is the most remote island chain in the world, and we decided to visit it on our route to Japan, anyway no direct flight from Santiago to Japan, we must make a stopover. Among six major islands we have chosen the Big Island of Hawaii with the highest and most active volcanoes, and will circle around it enjoying gorgeous beaches and tropical climate. We will have a chance to cycle up to the summit of Mauna Kea volcano at 4200 m, which is one of the most challenging cycling climbs. We will stay two days at the Volcanoes National Park exploring top attractions on lava fields and crater rim trails.

From Hawaii we will fly to Hokkaido, the second largest island of Japan. In 2012 Olympic expedition we have cycled to Tokyo from the South, this time our route will join the north end of Japan with Tokyo. Hokkaido is called the cycling heaven of Japan. Rolling green hills and farmlands, winding seaside roads, unspoiled national parks with mysterious lakes, volcanoes, and natural hot springs (onsens). We will start cycling from the northernmost city of Japan – Wakkanai and will head at first to the easternmost Nemuro City. Cycling through the Shiretoko Pass and the Cape Nosapu we will take a close look to the southern Kuril Islands – Northern Territory to Japan, occupied by Russia. Further our route will go west crossing the island and visiting the Olympic town of Sapporo. The route in Hokkaido will end at the charming port city of Hakodate from where we will take a ferry across Tsugaru Strait to the largest island of Japan – Honshu.

The route in Honshu we mostly prepared following the recommendations of the Japan Cycling Navigator. We will cycle through scenic Tohoku region from North to South while entering Tokyo area. This region suffered by the earthquake and tsunami causing Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11, 2011. We will complete the ride in Tokyo on the eve of opening Olympic Games cycling from Rio de Janeiro over 9000 km. We are working on details of the route trying to include most interesting sights. The draft route you will find in Program section which is to be updated regularly. You will find the UNESCO World Heritage Sites on our route – here.

You can start searching for flights! You find our recomemendation how to join or leave the group – here.

Join us for a month, a week, a day or for a whole route! See you on the road!

Ride coordinators:
Sigitas Kučas (Lithuania), bc2020@bicycle.lt, +370 686 59 375
Maryla Zielińska (Poland), bc2020@bicycle.pl, +48 663 266 553