On April 6, 2019, I set out to break the world record for the longest distance ever skated. My plan was to skateboard from the Arctic to the Antarctic and the Guinness Book of World Records was on board (pun intended) with my very ambitious pursuit. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that traveling via an electric skateboard was not as reliable as I hoped it would be. After a very short time, the electric skateboard broke and achieving my record-breaking pursuit seemed highly unlikely.... until I found Juiced Bikes.
I started my trip from Svalbard, the Arctic islands close to the North Pole – 79 degrees North to be exact. After reaching Norway, I had significant troubles with my skateboard and my dream of breaking the world record was more or less shattered in just a few weeks. When it was time to continue to Denmark, and through the rest of Europe, I adjusted by mode of transport, switching to an electric scooter.
After crossing the Atlantic by boat, with my new e-scooter, I made it to New York and was ready to make the trek across the United States. Around midnight, in the outskirts of Philadelphia, the e-scooter broke down. At this point, I realized the only way I could continue this journey was with an electric bike. I tried, without sustained success, an electric skateboard and an electric scooter, and then began to search for a suitable e-bike to take me all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina, (or even Antarctica). After a great deal of research on the best electric bike, I discovered Juiced and their RipCurrent S fat-tire e-bike. In July, I picked up the RipCurrent S from the company's headquarters and re-started my adventure.
I spent over six (very) long months traveling throughout Mexico and South America on my Juiced e-bike. Being on the road for such a long time, you form an actual relationship with your bike. And, as with every good relationship, there is one critical component to realize success - TRUST. After both the e-skateboard and the scooter broke down, I had some serious insecurities about electric transportation. When I switched to a Juiced Bike, however, all of those fears vanished. The RipCurrent S performed every single time I rode it. We powered through the desert and beaches of Mexico, the jungle in Costa Rica. We crossed from Panama to Colombia on a sailboat, and continued in the mountains of Colombia together.
A normal day of riding included between 40-60 miles before I started looking for a place to eat lunch and charge. With the amazing quick charger, I just charged while I ate, relaxed a bit and had coffee. I continued on with full battery and if there was still daylight, I’d charge once more before riding for another few hours. This would be unthinkable with a normal bike, carrying a full travel set up with tent, sleeping bag and my belongings. I knew how much I could push the battery before it needed to charge, and it made it a lot easier for me to plan my daily distance.
I added a few accessories to my e-bike that made my trip even more successful: A horn/alarm and sealant inside my tires. Both were invaluable for me on this trip. The horn/alarm was amazing when it came to safety. I’d sometimes camp overnight in a tent with the bike outside and the alarm gave me peace of mind. The horn helped me signal in crazy traffic making me feel secure when I drove into bigger cities. The sealant added to my tires was amazing. It prevented so many holes since I was riding over rough terrain and streets. Amazingly, I only got two tiny holes the entire trip. Other bikers I spoke to were amazed as they had up to 7x more punctures. This all came down to trust and I trusted my Juiced Bike to take me to the end of the world.
One of the places I looked forward to the most on this trip was Patagonia. This amazingly beautiful, large piece of land that spreads out between the south of Chile and Argentina. It had been a dream of mine to visit this part of the world for many years and finally I was there. I took the ferry from Puerto Montt in Chile over to Puerto Chacabuco where I started the last two weeks of my trip. The first few days were everything I dreamt about – beautiful landscape with green and lush forests, with waterfalls and rivers flowing freely. The mountain passes were just child’s play on the electric bike, and there were plenty of small villages to eat, charge and sleep along the way. Then came the pampas.
I followed “Ruta 40” through all of Patagonia and as the days grew longer, the route became more and more desolate. It was still a bit early in the season and almost all of the businesses were closed. There was one tremendous factor that determined the distance I wanted to cover each day – the wind. It seemed to always come straight at me, with a top speed of about 75mph. If I wasn’t on an electric bike, I wouldn’t have been able to move at all. With the Juiced e-bike, I ended up biking over 100 miles on some very challenging days. Most importantly, the RipCurrent S e-bike kept my dream alive of reaching Ushuaia and getting home to my family before the Christmas holiday.
For two weeks, I rode roughly 100-120 miles every single day, through the crazy winds, mountain passes covered in snow and the desolate plains of pampas on my beloved Juiced Bike. On December 19, 2019, 257 days after starting my journey, I made it to the town of Ushuaia. The end of the road, at the end of the world. It’s the most southern city on the planet. The feeling was bittersweet, after finishing such an epic journey, from the northernmost town in the world to the southernmost city, I was of course very happy. But, I also started wondering – what do I do now? I felt so lucky to give the Juiced Bike a real test, and I can say with great enthusiasm and sincerity that it's absolutely the best bike I’ve ever ridden. I'm still marveling over how well it held up through all of the different roads, insane weather and unthinkable tasks I put it through.
Thankfully, I even managed to get the e-bike home to Norway in one piece so I can continue to use it every day, in the snowy winters of Norway, or just cruising on a sunny summer day. After such a long and challenging journey, I can't imagine riding anywhere without my beloved RipCurrent S.
By Andy Warstad, a loyal Juiced Bikes Rider & Adventurer
