Seven thousand miles, a milestone earned on three different continents. So here are the facts and figures for these 1000 miles.

Cycling

• Continents: 3 (Oceania, Europe, South America)
• Countries: 4 (Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Uruguay)
• Nations: 3 (New South Wales, Scotland, Italy, Uruguay)
• Cycled distance so far: 7000 miles (11265 Km)
• Climbing so far: 274,320 feet (83,613 m)
• Cycling Days: 20
• Rest days: 23 (this is a bit of an extrapolation as there were many more days in between, like when I was riding the motorbike, but these are the rest days while on cycling expeditions)
• Longest day: 90.60 miles (145.80 Km)
• Average per day: 50 miles (80.46 Km)
• Punctures: 0
• Blow ups: 0

I finished Australia and enjoyed a bit of a rest in Sydney and it was August before I got back on the push bike. This time it was a new one, custom made with a concept in mind.

I put the concept to the test in August cycling half the length of Italy in what were extraordinarily warm conditions. Apart from a broken tyre that gave me no loss of cycling time, all went well.

After Italy on the push bike I took a sideway move and got myself a motorbike which I used for a long trip around Europe only to return on the push bike in Uruguay where I will stay until the new year before really putting the Brompton to the test in the harsh terrain of Patagonia.

Accommodation

• 1 Hotel/B&B
• 9 Friends/Family
• 19 Hostel
• 14 Camping

Camping was challenging in the Australian late autumn, equally difficult it was in the Italian summer for the opposite reason. Uruguay is proving perfect for camping.

Food

• Average spent: £7.00 per day
• Most expensive day: £30.00 (Sydney, great steak)

Food in Australia is a bit expensive, not so in Italy and definitely not in Uruguay. In Italy I found that food was a saving grace as all else I encountered I was disappointed by. So far in South America food has been great as I am an unashamed carnivore and this is the place to be for the people with my condition.

Other things

• South of Sydney is probably the cooler biking bit of Australia I cycled
• Cycling in Italy was a bit of an anticlimax, very dirty and on the whole unfriendly.
• The Brompton is faring well, early days.
• I’m carrying less technology but the real test of endurance will be Patagonia.

Commentary

These 1000 miles were a bit spread around and intermixed with a lot of other things so it’s difficult to make much sense of them. Finishing what I sait I would have done in Australia was good, Italy was ok and South America so far is meeting the expectations.

All things being equal I have in front of me more than 1000 miles of Patagonia so there should be another milestone before I leave this part of the world. To then.