Where do you train for Antarctica? A Desert of course

When Kate Leeming trains for an expedition, it is as tough as the final adventure.

“This year, in the lead up to my Antarctica crossing, I have planned to do a preparatory expedition on every continent. These 2-4 week expeditions, either polar, sand or altitude are also integral with the global education program that I am creating with a few partners. I chose the Baja Peninsula because it was going to be a challenging mix of mountains and sand and I felt that it would be a perfect way to get up to speed.

No matter how much (or little) training I do while working and setting the expeditions up, nothing can substitute for the mental and physical toughness built up on an expedition. So I believe pushing through these expeditions, and then recovering and keeping to a program in between the challenges will be the ultimate way to physically and mentally prepare for Antarctica.”

Kate Leeming and her co-adventurer Chris Pennington set off from San Diego following a series of rugged backroad trails winding between the Pacific ocean and the Sea of Cortez through the spectacular mountains, desert landscapes and beaches. This is not a simple ride for these two avid cyclists, it will mostly be off road, with some serious climbs and they’ve planned to complete the trip in 24 days, the recommendation for this particular route is 35-40 days.

It sounds like you had a hectic time just before your trip to Mexico planning everything, did you need more time?

“Before this expedition was particularly hectic because I was preparing for two completely different expeditions (both Baja and Iceland) I had to work full-time in January as a tennis professional, I was thrown several curve balls just beforehand, particularly regarding the education program (a key person was away for a month, a key partner made it impossible for us to get one of the activities running in time and much more), the website was being developed right up until I left, several sponsors despite organising these things months in advance only came good with days to spare.

I was exhausted and had virtually no opportunity to train.”

The road is pockmarked with potholes, jagged stones line the path and brittle cacti lay in wait to spear the travellers’ tires.

This rugged terrain means they cannot carry heavy weights, so instead of carrying pannier bags they are stripping down their gear and carrying all essentials in bags strapped to the frames of their bikes.

“Bike-packing has recently become more popular to get through rough terrain and away from the main roads.

One of my sponsors, Revelate was extremely generous and provided most of the carrying system – a ‘Sweet Roll’ for the handlebars, a couple of different smaller bags to attach to that to hold my more valuable items (iPad, money, passport, BGAN, etc.), a frame bag, two smaller bags for tools and cameras, a seat bag. Then on the front forks I attached two ‘Anything Cages’ which enables me to strap dry bags with up to 3kg of gear. We had to have the capacity to carry enough food and water for two or three days at a time.”

You are riding through Cactus fields, what happens if you puncture a tire?

“We use tubeless tyres with loads of sealant, so any puncture was immediately blocked. If we had been using tubes, we would have constantly been repairing punctures. The sealant worked a treat.”

Throughout their trip they had to constantly adjust their bags, after shopping for food the bike was weighed differently, front heavy makes it more difficult to climb hills and back heavy meant the bag would rub against the back tire.

Progress was slow, Kate and Chris were still warming into their training and they had underestimated the climb on the path to Ojos Negro. They took on the task in stages, reaching the summit at 1421 meters, but the ride was hotter than they imagined and they were getting very low on water. Even though it is the middle of winter the sun was fiercely burning down upon them both.

“We had to know where the next supply of water was coming from. The Baja Divide has a special bike-packing route with information about where to get supplies. We used this when we were on it, and then, as I’d usually do when I’m cycling anywhere, ask locals and check the map for reliable water and food supplies. Chris and I had the capacity to carry up to 8 litres in water bottles and bags.”

A couple of passing drivers gave them a litre of water each, enough to get them to the next town, this was not the last time that the local Mexicans showed their hospitality to the cyclists.

This whole trip so far the BGAN satellite device they had been carrying hadn’t been working and it was difficult to contact the company while they were on the road. It was a catch 22, they needed internet to contact the company that supplied their internet.

The device was dead weight, useless to carry if it wasn’t working.

On the way to Ejido Erendira the route became very rough, after a gradual climb from farmland to cactus plants they reached a summit of 1042 metres and then faced the most dangerous descent either of them had ever done.

Lots of gully erosion, often filled with large stones and exceptionally steep. After a few startling falls they decided to walk their bikes down.

“Always better to walk and be safe rather then risk an injury and with it, the success of the expedition.”

Progress had been slow due to three tricky descents, and as the sun set spectacularly behind the mountains, there was a sting in the tail, they still had to cycle an hour in the darkness to reach the next town.

In the morning before leaving Ejido Erendira, Chris was shopping for supplies and Kate was watching the bikes – one of them always watched the bikes in these situations. She had an animated conversation with a local from the town, who gave her a large home grown lemon.

“Not exactly what we needed, but a kind gesture. So not to offend, I kept as we set off, but as there is no room on our bikes for unneeded items, I soon gave it away.”

They were also gifted 1kg of organic, export quality strawberries, but 1kg is a lot to pack on their bike frames, so they ate what they could and gave the rest away.

Their path led through a wild garden of cactus and curios trees, but to add to the danger of their spines the ground had turned to mud. The stones jammed the wheels, and bogged both cyclists down. Chris made a bit of headway due to his bigger frame, but eventually the clay dragged him down too.

“It is a bit frustrating that we have lost another day and a half with our path being blocked by the conditions, but we will endeavour to catch up on the tarmac.”

It no longer looked to be possible to complete the trip in 24 days. So, after careful deliberation they decided to take the MEX1 to catch up on time. They had 15 more days and 1200km to get to La Paz.

Their leaden legs carried them to Catavina. When they looked at the plan, written months ago in Melbourne, it said that the town was a lunch break.

“However, I have been feeling pretty exhausted and not recovering after each day’s ride. We are not quite making the distances we need to get to La Paz in time. I can feel myself getting run down, so I made the decision to take a day off here, rather than push myself over the edge – then it might take more than a day to recover. In the past I have always factored in days off to enable recovery and to develop my fitness, but with only 24 days to do this expedition, we have been going nonstop.”

The day was spent catching up on emails and relaxing in the hotel.

“Taking a day off at Catavina enabled my body to catch up enough and we were able to make up the distance we were doing in three days in two.

This is all good practice for Antarctica, when I will have to cycle almost every day. Except for if there is a blizzard. I will still plan to take easier days there and have to listen to my body.”

They entered a high plain, a very different and geologically interesting landscape; mountain ranges in the distance, volcanic peaks, mesas. Delicate cactus of different colours and forms lined the roadside and adjacent slopes.
The whole day was a treat – more high plains, a garden of cactus and curios trees filled the plains.

They made their destination as planned and eventually found a disused Trailer Park in Parado Punta Prieta to spend the night.

“The road south of Guerrero Negro was flat and completely straight over the coastal plain. The mountains to the east and west were merely faint silhouettes in the distance. The immediate landscape was featureless, making it more difficult to divert my mind from the discomfort of sitting in one position.
At 70km, we decided to call it a day and free camp an hour early. We wanted to make use of the late afternoon light so that Chris could take promotional shots for some of our equipment sponsors.
I wheeled my bike and Chris rode his weaving through the spiky obstacles until we found a spot amongst a natural amphitheatre of Cardon cacti, well out of sight of the road. I was worried about puncturing my tyres for good reason. The ground was covered with thorny balls that duly embedded into our tyres. This is where we are thankful to have tubeless tyres with a generous amount of sealant. As we extracted the thorns, a small amount of sealant would spurt out of the hole under tyre pressure and then solidify to block the puncture.”

By this stage their trip wound through the beautiful towns of San Ignacio – centered around an oasis, San Juanico – a beachside town which was stained red by an algae bloom that season, and Insurgentes – with it’s vibrant restaurant scene.

“The campsite we have chosen for our last night of this tour is beside some ruins of a farmhouse, adjacent to a dry creek bed. Sheltering from the wind, I can just hear the waves crashing on the shoreline.

Tomorrow we will continue along this rocky, stony track, perhaps for about 6km, before rejoining a graded road for about 40km, and then finally back on to MEX1 and into La Paz.”

When did you realise that you had worn out both brakes?

“I had worn out my front brake (or it may have been tainted) about a week before the finish. The back brake was slowly going and may have got some oil on it during the wet on the third last day, but I kept adjusting it to get the most out of it. Finally, when we diverted to do a rough, sandy track on the penultimate day, I really had to pump the brakes to get any response. Before heading down into busy LaPaz, I had to change the rear brake pad.”

But the spares she had brought were for the fat bike, and she had cycled the Baja on her Ibis Tranny 29er. The brake shoe where the pads attached to the unit was a different shape. They were about to cycle through La Paz’s relentless traffic without working brakes.

Chris rummaged through his gear and found his spare brake pads, they were a near fit. Chris filed them down with his Leatherman until they were the right shape.

“Nothing like a touch of bush mechanics on the last day”

There was a sting in the tail, it was exciting for them both to arrive in La Paz, but that meant that their adventure was over. Chris would head back to Melbourne, and Kate onward to Iceland.

They were both quietly ecstatic about their successful adventure.

But for Kate this is only the start of this year’s intense training regime that will see her cycle through Iceland, Namibia, Australia, Bolivia and India in the lead up to her expedition in Antarctica in the end of 2018.

While she has raised the funding for much of her preparatory expeditions but she still needs to raise $25 000 to enable the final two expeditions to happen, and she is still searching for a major sponsor for her Breaking the Cycle Antarctica adventure.

We at the Explorers Club are avidly following Kate’s adventure on her website http://www.breakingthecycle.education/ and her dispatches on http://www.expenews.com/en/expeditions

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