This is a long overdue post from my Chile Trip so I will try to keep it to the point! ;)
After those wonderful beers at the Witches Coven pizzeria we were up the next day and back in the vans to go back to La Angostura to begin the journey over the mountains and back to Chile.
We pulled in to a local grocery store to kit out and start heading west. The road we started on was the part of what I had ridden two days prior to add some miles and really pissed off my traveling partners but today it seemed like everyone was in pretty good spirits.
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| Ash on a lake near the Argentine Border |
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| Heading up--that is ash in the air |
The temps today were REALLY hot. In the low 90s, no clouds, and as we headed up Rt 215 toward Cardenal Pass the ash became more dense. It was breathable but it stuck to our skin, was on our clothes, and to some extent in our mouths from breathing it in. I was in no real hurry today after the long day before so was not trying to push the pace but rather enjoy the ride and chit chat.
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| Imagine 90 degrees and floating ash |
Prior to the trip we heard from Ecotours that the ash could impact part of our trip but to date it was a non-factor. There was certainly a lot of ash but the roads were clear and until today we had no issues breathing. Welllllllllllllllllll today was a bit different as the wends were up and we were close to the volcano.
For background the
Eruption occurred last Summer and crippled the lake region of Chile and caused substantial damage. Chile also suffered a bad Earthquake in 2011 that hit the central part of the country to include Santiago.
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| Cardenal Pass--crossing over in to Chile |
The climb up the Cardenal Pass on any other day would have been a breeze but today I was working. I opted to go with my old school wool
Ibex jersey and with the blazing sun the climbing was tough. I rode the last few miles to the top with Liza and she told me to keep drinking water given I was all in black and really sweating...................excellent advice.
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| Looks like snow drifts huh? |
At the Top Chino had lunch prepped but no shade!! So we huddled in the vans or in the shadow of the trailer to get out of the sun but we had cold drinks and ice! Yea baby!
The descent was spectacular. I can't remember how far it was but I think it was about 20km all the way down with sweeping turns. Now................I can be a bit of a chicken S#!% descender so I did not try to keep up with Ernesto, John, and Jason.
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| Lunch Break at the top |
After about an hour or so at Chilean customs at the bottom of the hill we got back on the bikes but then Chino told us to get in the vans as the ash was too heavy and we were behind schedule a bit.
In this instance I opted to ride in the Jeep towing the trailer with Chino to learn a bit more about him and maybe something more about the area. While at customs a local police officer asked Chino if we could take two tires to a police station on our way to Osorno. So, I had the opportunity to go with him for a more cultural journey to drop off the tires, go through a few small towns, and probe a bit about the local area. During the drive is when I learned the origin of Ulmo a wonderful raw honey that i had been eating for the previous 6 days at breakfast.
Chino and I drove back to Osorno where we stayed in a Sonesta with great A/C. After a great dinner we went to the basement of the hotel and ordered a lot of beer and bowled.....yes bowled. Some of our group had never seen the sport before but a great party nonetheless and we celebrated Liza B-Day.
Day 11
This day we headed out of town a few K and parked along the side of the road. This was a real flat stretch and immediately launched in to a paceline with a pretty good pace. After about 20 min the paceline whittled down to Jason, John, me, Fernanda and Ernesto of course. We kept pushing and taking our turn up front and hammered in to the town of Frutillar Bajo.
We regrouped and headed out of town up a tough climb that is part of the Vuelta de Chile. A steep but short climb that a good challenge and for the first time in a week the weather was overcast and cool.
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| Heading up from Frutillar |
Overall this was a shorter day of about 50km or so and after leaving Frutillar we rode for another 10km and had some short steep climbs to a great place for lunch overlooking a lake.
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| Just before lunch |
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| Chino prepping lunch |
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| Neil, John, Jason |
After lunch we descended in to town for a few km and then loaded in to the vans for a drive to Puerto Varas. The hotel was great and after arriving I walked to the beach to continue my trend of swimming in each lake we came upon. Much to my disappointment the prevailing winds pushed a lot of trash on to this beach and it was real shallow in the swimming area so I opted out and went back to the hotel for a sauna and a cortado.
Day 12
Today was our first day of Rain. We woke to a cool and wet day with our most daunting climb ahead of us. We loaded in to the vans to head out of town to do about a 50km ride but with the cold and rain no one was really jazzed. We took a vote and really wanted to do the Osorno Volcano climb so we drove to about 5km from the base of the climb. Not everyone was pumped but I had to do it....so about half of us kitted out and then we on our way. After about 15 min and before the climb the rain stopped and the sun came out and then the rest of the crew opted to ride a bit and give the climb a go.
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| Warming up |
Okay, for those that don't ride climbing is one of the great personal accomplishments to be able to keep going up and not give in to the gradient. So we had talked about this climb for most of the trip and Ernesto had challenged us that it is not for the meek.
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| 20% and slaloming |
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| Check out these switchbacks!! |
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| Jason and Trent Slaloming |
This climb in many respects was awesome. Tremendous terrain variation, switchbacks, just enough recovery sections to get you wind back, and some open spaces and protection from the wind
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| Liza being pushed to the curb |
The last few k were amazing. The winds were picking up and John, Me, and Ernesto were battling 40mph winds that were pushing us in to the ditch. I had to stop and click out twice just to keep from being knocked over. After a few minutes i figured out how to make it to the summit--just keep the bike pointed in to the wind................................got it....................John and I crossed the line a min after Ernesto.
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| Me and John at the Top and fighting the winds |
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| protecting our eyes from the winds |
After about 15 min at the top and waiting for a few other riders we had to head down. The winds were so severe that Chino and Coco were worried for our safety. Check out the video below of Liza, Neil, and Fernanda and what it was doing to them!
Thus..................my Top 5 climbs in no particular order
Mount Evans
Osorno Volcano
Honorable mention goes to Canton Avenue at 37%
Check out this wind with Liza, Neil, and Fernanda!
JOCMO: The climb and the winds. Worth every 1:40 of pain to make it to the top.
