Forty years ago, three young friends from Scotland set off on a daring adventure that would shape the rest of their lives. In 1985, fresh out of Aberdeen University and with little cycling experience, Sophie Trafford, Rona Hulbert, and Craig Swan embarked on an unsupported, 17,000-mile mountain bike odyssey from Punta Arenas in Chile to Anchorage, Alaska. The journey was as audacious as it was grueling, and for all their courage, it was ultimately incomplete. A remote stretch of Patagonia in southern Chile, then impassable by bike, forced them to take a ferry—leaving an 800-mile gap in their epic route. Now, four decades on, the trio has finally returned to finish what they started, closing the chapter on a challenge that’s been lingering for most of their adult lives.
This November, at the age of 62 rather than 22, Sophie, Rona, and Craig reunited to tackle the missing link: the Carretera Austral, a rugged road built since their first adventure that now snakes through the once-inaccessible wilds of southern Chile. According to BBC News, the friends cycled south along the full length of this road, ending their journey in the small town of Villa O'Higgins. The final leg took 26 days—just under a month—during which they were accompanied by a support team, a marked difference from their original, unsupported trek.
“Forty years is a long time to complete a journey,” Craig Swan reflected, summing up the emotional weight of finishing what they began as young adults. Swan, who went on to become a lawyer and later a BBC journalist, described the experience as a “deeply moving privilege.” He told PA Media, “It has been physically hard but there is an enormous sense of fulfilment in completing something we began so long ago. The drive for this has come from Sophie and Rona’s personal stories of loss and difficulty, but the support we have had from so many people has lifted us all when spirits were flagging.”
Their adventure wasn’t just about personal achievement. The trio used their ride to raise money for Maggie’s cancer centre in Forth Valley and the Epilepsy Research Institute, two causes that have touched their lives deeply. Sophie Trafford, who worked in corporate finance and now lives in Balfron near Stirling, dedicated the journey to her son Hector, who died suddenly at age 13 from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). “There are two big things that have defined my life, the initial ACE (American Cycling Expedition) cycling trip and the loss of my son Hector,” she said. “For me the physical challenge in this journey has been enormous, there were many times when I thought it was beyond me. Fundraising for, and raising awareness about, epilepsy has given me the drive and determination knowing that I have been doing something for Hector. This journey and challenge has brought these two strands of my life together.”
For Trafford, Patagonia’s haunting beauty made the ride especially poignant. “There can be no more spiritual place to do this journey than Patagonia,” she told BBC News. “The mountains, the glacial rivers, the vast expanse of unspoiled remote landscape are places that Hector would have loved and coming here has made him feel very close as we have travelled through this amazing, inspiring place.”
Rona Hulbert, from Newmills in Fife, faced her own formidable challenges. On their original journey in 1985, the friends raised money for breast cancer research. Years later, Hulbert herself was diagnosed with breast cancer—a battle that left her confidence shaken. “Having cancer changes you,” she said. “I lost all my confidence after my diagnosis and treatment, so to bring the three of us together again to complete the missing link in our journey has been such a healing process. Physically I have been pushed to my limits and reaching the end of this road in my life has been very emotional for me.”
Hulbert’s words echo the transformations all three friends have undergone. “We started our journey 40 years ago young and full of hope and confidence,” she mused. “Now we are all older, not the same people we were all those years ago. But in these past weeks we have found the same spirit that we had in our young selves and together I hope we have raised awareness, and money, for these causes that are so close to our hearts.”
The original expedition was an adventure born not just of wanderlust but also of circumstance. In 1985, the region’s isolation was compounded by geopolitical tensions: the recent Falklands War meant the friends couldn’t divert through Argentina, forcing them onto a ferry around the impassable Patagonian wilderness. Since then, about 800 miles of the Carretera Austral—a rudimentary but vital road—have been constructed, finally opening the missing link to travelers and adventurers alike.
For Craig Swan, the journey’s completion was not just about conquering the miles, but about honoring the bonds of friendship and the resilience of the human spirit. “For me, to join my oldest friends to complete this chapter in our lives has been a deeply moving privilege,” he told BBC News. “We are all feeling tired, exhilarated and proud. But there is a poignancy too with the completion of the challenge we set ourselves, knowing that this is the end of something that has shaped all our lives.”
In the years since their first ride, the trio went their separate ways, building careers and families, facing heartbreak and adversity. Yet the unfinished business of their youthful adventure lingered, a reminder of what they had dared together. When they learned that the Carretera Austral now traversed the once-impassable region, all three felt the tug of unfinished business. It was now or never.
The friends’ return to Patagonia was marked by both nostalgia and a sense of renewal. The landscape, still wild and untamed, provided a fitting backdrop for reflection and healing. As they cycled through the mountains and along glacial rivers, the trio found themselves reconnecting not just with each other, but with their younger selves—the idealistic students who once believed anything was possible.
Their story has resonated far beyond their own circle. By raising funds for cancer and epilepsy research, they have helped bring attention to causes that affect millions worldwide. Their journey, chronicled by outlets like BBC News and PA Media, stands as a testament to the enduring power of friendship, resilience, and hope.
As the sun set over Villa O’Higgins, the three friends stood side by side, their bikes laden with memories and meaning. They had finally closed the loop on a journey that spanned continents and decades. The missing link, both literal and metaphorical, was now complete.
