Swoop Patagonia: Why Kate Rawles Cycled Across Patagonia on a Bamboo Bike

In August 2024, the Patagonia adventure-travel blog Swoop Patagonia ran a first-person piece by writer and cyclist Kate Rawles, "Why I cycled across Patagonia on a bamboo bike." It's a great account of one of the most memorable journeys ever made on a Bamboo Bicycle Club frame.

Kate built her bike — Woody — herself, on a Bamboo Bicycle Club course in London. The frame was made from bamboo grown at the Eden Project in Cornwall, a genuinely British-grown bamboo bicycle. She then rode it the length of South America: roughly 8,288 miles from Colombia down the spine of the Andes to Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Patagonia, finishing in February 2018 after just over a year on the road.

The expedition wasn't only an adventure. Kate set out to raise awareness of biodiversity loss — travelling in a low-carbon way while telling a story the world needs to hear.

In her own words, on finding purpose in the journey:

"If you can find the place where something you love doing intersects with something the world needs, that sweet-spot will be not only where you are at your happiest, but also your most effective."
— Kate Rawles, Swoop Patagonia, 12 August 2024

And on the bike itself — the question everyone asked, would bamboo really survive South America?

"Woody made it with virtually no mechanical issues at all."
— Kate Rawles, Swoop Patagonia, 12 August 2024

Woody turned out to be the most reliable bike Kate had ever owned.

Read Kate's full piece on the Swoop Patagonia blog: Why I cycled across Patagonia on a bamboo bike.