Hi! I'm Alex Gauthier, an avid traveler from the province of Quebec, Canada. After a solo trip through Mexico in 2012, I developed a passion for Latin America, its cultures and its landscapes. I learned Spanish and Portuguese, and wandered around the region over multiple trips. As a young adult in the city of Montreal, I biked a lot, but more as a necessity than a hobby.

The COVID pandemic pushed me to explore closer to home. So I took my old commuter bike and embarked on my first bike trip: 5,000 km around the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, through Quebec, Labarador, Newfoundland and the Maritimes. I fell in love with the simplicity and freedom of this type of travel. I was powered only by my own muscles, and I could camp almost anywhere. I mostly followed paved roads initially, which caused unnecessary stress. Over the next years, I did multiple others trips in Quebec and the Northeast United States, trying to stay on unpaved surfaces and closer to nature. This made bike touring even more enjoyable and motivated me to work on a more ambitious project.

I had been dreaming for a while of going back to Brazil and cycling through the Southeast of the country, where I had hiked before. After learning about the existence of the Caminho da Mata Atlântica, I mapped a 2600-km bike route inspired by it. I rode the full route from Rio de Janeiro to Rio Grande do Sul in 2024. It exceeded all expectations, and I thought it would be worth sharing it online. I created this website to document the route and help other people who might be interested in biking in the region. I kept the domain name vague and cheesy, so I can share other routes or musings in the future.

For questions about the route or other queries, feel free to reach out on Instagram.