KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
—
Read this story in Spanish here.
Three Argentine cyclists have spent the last nine months biking more than 10,000 miles through 17 countries — all to watch their national team play in Kansas City.
Vicente Conculini, 29, Miguel Silio, 56, and Yamundu Martínez, 49, left their hometown of Gualeguaychu, Argentina, in August. They are now in Oklahoma, with Kansas City nearly in sight.
"You have to be a little crazy to go on this kind of adventure," Conculini said.
To make the trip possible, they quit their jobs and have been living off their savings. Along the way, strangers have helped keep them going.
"Sometimes people invite you to sleep in their homes, sometimes they give you water on the road, give you food, ask how you're doing, and honestly that's something really beautiful about this trip," Conculini said.
The journey has not been without its challenges. The group says they climbed to more than 15,700 feet in elevation at one point.
"The body suffers — you really feel it," Silio said.
"We already knew about the physical suffering, the problems that could come up, whether bike breakdowns or harsh weather conditions — rain, cold and headwinds," Martínez said.
But for the trio, the hardships are part of the point.
"The journey is the road itself. The final destination is only the finish line, but along the way you live, look around, enjoy and discover the places you travel through — that's what it's all about," Silio said.
The three combined their shared passions for cycling, soccer and travel to plan the ride.
"We brought together those three passions we have and decided to cross all of the Americas — 17 countries, more than 10,500 miles — to reach Kansas City, where Argentina is based," Conculini said.
Martínez said the motivation was simple.
"For the Argentine national team, for football, to get to know countries, to meet people," Martínez said.
Now that the finish line is close, the emotions are mixed.
"There's a kind of stress in knowing that you're arriving, and the anxiety that creates. And on the other hand, you start to feel a small emptiness of finishing this trip. It's a mix of feelings and emotions," Silio said.
There are also personal deadlines to meet. Conculini noted that Miguel's wife set a firm limit on the trip.
"Miguel's wife only gave him one year to be away from home — he can't go beyond that," Conculini said.
The group plans to arrive in Kansas City as the Argentine national team arrives and intends to follow the team throughout the competition.
For Conculini, the greatest reward of the journey has been the people they met along the way.
"I think the most important thing is the people and how you connect with them," Conculini said.
The group is also making a public call for cyclists in Kansas City to join them for the final hour of their ride into the city.
"We want to make a public call to everyone who has a bicycle to join us for the final hour of our 10-month journey across the continent," Silio said.
"We would love for people at the finish line to also be part of this, and to give us that small gesture of affection, which would mean so much to us," Silio continued.
Details on the final route and meeting point are still being worked out.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
