Ryan Kodak Brown

04/04/2026

With a fresh stamp in our passports and big smiles, we cycle into country number 12!

Leaving El Salvador was not an easy thing to do, as we were received with open arms by Jinver and her lovely family. Invited to camp in their back yard, they even made us breakfast and lunch the following day. Jinver proudly gave us a tour on her lands, packed with tropical nance, banana and mango trees. Together with her sister, mother and daughter, we celebrated the beginning of Semana Santa, or Holy Week, a very significant time of year for the locals.

What an incredible experience, one that will stick with us for sure. We feel very inspired and grateful for their hospitality and willingness to share food, company and laughter with total strangers. ♥️

At the border, we meet a fellow bike packer - say what!? We haven't seen anyone on the road for at least a month, so meeting Yoann from France was a delight. Not only is he very athletic, but his bike is packed pretty light. Soon, we’re sweating to keep up with the speedy bird! Our bikes are still pretty heavily loaded with winter gear and electronics... plus, we ourselves are well-fed with tacos and burritos 🙂

Yoann has been on the road for 3 months, and is making his way up to the U.S. and Canada soon. His plan is to explore Montréal and the French-speaking part of Canada - ben oui! 😉

The sun still rises at 6am and sets at 6pm, just like in the other Central American countries. But the terrain feels more mountainous, and a strong breeze blows us forward towards Antigua and Lake Atitlán, two highlights that cannot be missed in Guatemala...

In the meantime, we're enjoying the Mexican culinary influence that cannot longer be denied - we're getting so close now! And as always, we can count on farmers and firefighters for a safe place to set up camp.

01/04/2026

We want to wish you guys a beautiful — belated — Spring Equinox 💐

As we grow older, we increasingly develop a greater appreciation and better understanding of the seasons. One of our dear friends introduced us to Ostara, the Pagan Goddess of Spring, representing rebirth and a new dawn.
This speaks to us more than ever, as we just crossed the halfway point of our travels and find ourselves cycling the busy highways of Central America.

The past few weeks, we've cycled across Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. Central America is quite literally a cluster of smaller countries, especially compared to South America.

We've been mostly following the Panamamerican Highway with some fun detours here and there. Some areas are quite densely populated, we deal with a lot of stressful traffic and wild camping has been challenging to say the least!

Instead of losing ourselves in a wild and remote landscape, we try to focus more on the smaller things: A fun conversation with the locals, singing Kate Bush out loud on the bicycles to drown out the traffic noise, enjoying the incredible street food and drinking fresh coconut water.

Central America might be the least spectacular and most busy part of this journey, yet we try to find beauty in every corner. And if we don't find it on some days, then that's okay too…

We're working hard on a couple of new videos - hope to share them with you soon.

Wishing you lots of renewed energy and new beginnings,

Ryan and Ilse

31/03/2026

Who said wild camping was easy?

It’s not. It takes a bit of work and common sense. Camping is nothing to be scared of, but since you’re pretty exposed to the elements, there are a few things to keep in mind. Eventually though, your efforts will be well worth it.

Wild camping is a small act of resistance, a great feeling of independence, and a deeply grounding experience on its own. Not only do you sleep close to the earth, but you also rely on your own instincts to secure a safe spot to rest your head on this wild earth that belongs to us all. Camping is an important right… when enacted appropriately.

This is our ode to camping in the wild. Ilse and I hope you enjoy it!

In this video, we explain why wild camping has always played an important role in our relationship. From the Pacific Crest Trail in 2021 to living in a van a...

01/02/2026

We cycled across Ecuador! The Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route (TEMBR) was a welcome change from the cold and choas of Peru and the Great Divide. We had a LOT of rain but at least it was warm! Now on our YouTube is the full film. See the link in bio!

Now, we prepare for the end of South America and the transition to a new continent. I can barely believe that we’ve cycled the length of South America and that an entire year has passed…. It’s been a journey!

Cheers my friends. Hope you’re doing well and off to a solid start of 2026.

05/12/2025

Hi everyone,

2025 is coming to an end… and so is the first year of our trip! That's right, we're back home to spend precious time with family and friends during the holidays. 🎄

In our case, "home" spans two different continents. This week, we'll be spending time with Ryan's family in Pittsburgh. We were really looking forward to this, as we don’t get to see his family as often as we would like. And finally, after months of just phone calls, we're beyond grateful to spend some time with Ryan's dad— albeit masked up and from a healthy distance. With the two of us having traveled on buses and planes, we can't take the risk of exposing him to any viruses or infections.

In about a week, we'll travel onwards to Belgium to spend the holidays with Ilse's parents. We'll be staying at a friend's house, for heaps of rest, catching up with friends, and editing our gigantic backlog of videos 😊

And for the latter, we need your help! After nearly 1 year of cycling South America, we thought it would be fun to answer some of your questions in a video format. Truth be told, we do our best to read all the comments and private messages on YouTube, Patreon, Instagram, Facebook, etc… but we seriously suck at it! 😬 We both feel easily overwhelmed by the amount of social media platforms, even though that’s just the part of the world we live in today.

That’s why we figured it'd be interesting to bundle up your questions and respond to them in a dedicated Q&A video!

So, any questions you have about our trip —whether it's finances, gear-related, personal, or just plain crazy— feel free to leave them in a private message or in the comments below! And we promise to answer them in a dedicated video, soon to be published on Patreon and later on Youtube. 🎬

Thanks to all of you for your continued support, caring words and well wishes! ♥️

We wish you a peaceful December, surrounded by wonderful people and fond memories of the past year.

With love,
Ilse and Ryan

29/11/2025

A few scenes from one of my favorite days on the Peru Divide Route.

15/11/2025

I’m in disbelief. After eleven months on the road, we have nearly ridden the entire length of South America crossing into Ecuador two weeks ago. Columbia is not far away.

Equador is quickly becoming one of our favorite countries. The people are warm and friendly, the food diverse and delicious, and the landscapes lush with towering volcanoes.

It’s raining A LOT! And we’re not wild-camping as much now. We stayed with firefighters, at a “finca” or small ranch, and in the visitor center of Volcan Chimborazo. We’re still camping, just more stealthy here in Ecuador with a few more rooms to dry out!

News: We’re flying home for the winter! We’ll be in Pittsburgh in early December and then in Belgium for Christmas and New Years. Let me know if you want to meetup!
Cheers!

28/07/2025

Ilse and I have safely landed in country nr. 3: Bolivia! 🇧🇴

We decided to take the hard way — duh! — and from the Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama, we cycled towards Paso Hito Cajon (4.600m) and entered the magnificent, but desolate altiplano of Bolivia. We followed the rugged “Lagunas Route” together with our friend Andrea from Andorra and even met some other cyclists along the way!

27/07/2025

What do we eat while cycling from South to North America?

Well… it’s not always imaginative, but we make do with what we find in little countryside stores and what we can carry on our bicycles. Our camp kitchen is altogether not that different from our backpacking days, but we do allow ourselves a little more luxury … 😏

Curious to see what we eat and drink when being on the road for months? In this video, we talk about our daily cooking routines and budget-friendly meals tha...

27/07/2025

Celebrating 39 years on this planet in the beautiful and benevolent Bolivia … Cheers! 🎂

28/06/2025

Hey everyone,

Hope you’re all in good health and high spirits, enjoying summertime! ☀️

Ilse and I have been enjoying some sunny days too, during our final weeks here in Argentina. The desert in winter is such a magical place, full of colourful sunsets and cold, quiet nights. Unfortunately, wind storms are part of the deal…

Hope you enjoy our 5th video of the journey! We’re currently working on episode 6 in the snowy Atacama desert in Chile — yes, it’s snowing in the driest place on earth… Kinda amazing to be here for this historical moment! 😂🌨️

Lots of love,
Ryan and Ilse

Thanks for watching episode 5 of our Pat’Alaska series! In May 2025, Ilse and I followed Argentina’s scenic highway, the Ruta 40, all the way up north— with ...

18/06/2025

Oh, Argentina… 🇦🇷 When we started cycling
in January, we really didn’t have a clue what you had in store for us.

Sure, we watched some Youtube documentaries and read several library books about Peronism, sky-high inflations and gaucho culture. But nothing could have prepared us for the generosity and ferocity of your people. You have proven to be an incredible country—rather expensive, especially Patagonia, but worth every penny.

Dozens of nights, we camped in your spiky deserts and forests, ate dozens of empanadas shared with new friends and hosts, and cherish dozens of precious memories. We have had our ups and downs on this trip so far, both emotional and logistical, but you picked us up every time we fell off our bikes— literally 🙂

After five months in this wild but warmhearted country, it's time to explore other corners of South America. We’re preparing ourselves for the Atacama Desert and the high plateaus of Bolivia (think: visum appointments, warm woolen clothes and lots of food). See you there 🫶