Tad was flying from Panama City to Quito, Ecuador. Flying? Isn't he riding a bike? Yes. But to get to South America he went by airplane. He took his bike apart and put it in a bike box. He put his tent, stove, and clothes in his bike bags. Then everything went on the plane.

But when it was time to land in Quito, the airplane suddenly shot back up in the air. The pilot said it was too foggy to land. Many people were upset, but Tad said he would rather be late than have the plane in chunks. They landed in another city and took an old bus to a very fancy five-star hotel, for free.

Tad wrote: "I bounced around on my two beds, took a shower, and...walked around in my Hilton bathrobe pretending to be an executive hootey-tootey, and then hit the sack."