Jelle Veyt is finally back on dry land after a few boat journeys to get from Europe to Panama. On January 21, Veyt announced that he had been reunited with his bike.

The bike’s journey to Panama was almost as complex as Veyt’s! Veyt could not take it on the small sailboats and shipping it proved complicated and expensive. Fortunately, two friends who planned to travel through Central America volunteered to start their trip in Panama and fly the bike out with them. In turn, they stored it with a local Belgian couple who had the bike transported to the port for Veyt’s arrival. All he needed to do was unpack it and put it back together.

Back on the bike, Veyt faced an undulating ride through the jungle hills of Panama, crossing into Costa Rica on January 26. “What a ride…the lack of training on the sailboat makes my ass and legs hurt like hell,” Veyt wrote.

Veyt rode quickly to Cerro de la Muerte, where he was meeting up with his partner Marie Heyvaert. Heyvaert will be cycling with him through Central America. Together, they continued north, seeing plenty of wildlife and trying to stick to the back roads.