Whike Atacama — Dave Cornthwaite

1000 MILES IN THE DRIEST HOT DESERT ON THE PLANET

Dave Cornthwaite introduces the Whike Atacama expedition, an attempt to travel at least 1000 miles from Santiago in Chile right up to the heart of the Atacama Desert. Travelling by Whike (a tricycle with a sail) with his friends and teammates Jamie Fulbrook and Ned Aufenast, this will be the 9th leg of Dave's Expedition1000 project, a series of 25 non-motorised journeys, each over 1000 miles. Stay tuned via www.facebook.com/expedition1000 and www.davecornthwaite.com

In April 2014 I was joined by my friends Jamie Fulbrook and Ned Aufenast on an epic, 1009 mile journey north from Chile's capital of Santiago, right into the heart of the Atacama Desert.

We were riding Whikes, an innovative combination of pedal powered recumbent tricycle, and a sail. We spent 19 days on the road, taking on Chile's turbulent topography, which meant that in total we ascended over 18,000 metres of hills, that is more than two times the height of Everest.

And someone once said that Whikes weren't made to go uphill!

From the challenges of carrying enough supplies across the world's driest hot desert to sleeping in freezing conditions. Dealing with earthquakes (there were 14 in Chile during our journey) and the aforementioned mountain ranges, this was a tough physical challenge with the occassional wind-assisted reward.

An amazing challenge on a superbly fun mode of transport and a truly successful 9th campaign for Expedition1000.

PHOTO GALLERY

ROUTE MAP

AN INTRO FILM

An introductory film for the 9th journey of Expedition1000, across the Atacama Desert by Whike, made by Jamie Fulbrook.

TEAM

TRANSPORT: WHIKE

The Whike is a three wheeled recumbent pedal trike with a sail, developed by a small dutch team who love sailing and cycling.

Whike's aim is to promote the use of wind power for long-distance touring and adventuring, and with this journey we proved that the Whike is capable of tackling hills as well as flat plains.