Chile Road Trip--Day 7-9

Another day of Summer south of the Equator...........................way down south in San Martin!! Last night I chatted with Ernesto and Coco that I wanted to ride a bit more than the scheduled 50km so we agreed that I would break from the group and head in the opposite direction for a while before I turned around to meet the group for lunch at the end of the ride..............

Shortly after heading through San Martin I was side by side with some kid of about 12 on a Mtn Bike. He asked, in Spanish of course, why I had such skinny tires. He had to say it a few times while I translated in my head and finally understood. After my explanation he seemed satisfied and he went his way and I went mine.

Nahuel Huapi Lake

Cruising in the opposite direction really gave me the full reality of the volcano eruption from last year and even though the volcano is about 40 miles away from where I was riding the ash was everywhere and in places several feet deep. It was obvious the ash had a BIG impact on the local tourist economy as these towns would be packed this time of year.

That is not snow on those peaks

Ash Drift?

After leisurely heading back toward Chile for about 45 min I turned around and began moving back in to Patagonia on our route for the day. Along the way I ran in to Uta and Menk--a couple of swedes taking the summer to tour Chile and Patagonia by mountain bike. Like most euros they spoke English well and we chatted for a few minutes. They had been in Chile for about a month and had bought their bikes upon arrival. Needless to say they were doing the Chile on $15/day kind of thing and having a great time. 

Coming Around the Lake

After saying adios to the Swedes I continued on my journey and there are times when riding alone is more satisfying than I can explain. That is not to say that I don't like riding with others, which I do, but I do look forward to long rides when it is me, the bike, the road, and my thoughts. Today was one of those days. I was incredibly relaxed and awash in my thoughts and enjoying the scenery. I call this kind of ride a "solve the world's problems" kind of ride.

UNFORTUNATELY, my cycling joy was crushed about 20 minutes after I took the above photo. Apparently Jorge, one of our drivers, was told to come look for me and when we met he had this real worried look on his face and we chatted a bit and I asked if it was okay for me to keep riding to the lunch stop and the look on his face said he really wanted to get me in the van.

Well, I was pissed and cursed a bit and put my bike in the van and during the 20 min van ride to the lunch stop Jorge informed me that from his view I was holding everyone up. 

So......................when we got back the rest of the gang was "waiting" or so it seemed and as I took my bike out of the van the tension was palpable from my North American pals as I sensed anger and frustration that they had to wait for me. It did not matter that back in Pucon our tour directors gave us a 90 min grace for people to catch up and I was under this cut off. Apparently some of my travel mates were inconvenienced. Okay it was hot out but it was not miserable hot like Florida or Las Vegas in July but for reasons unknown to me my desire to ride longer was fine as long as it did not keep them from whatever they wanted. So I put my bike on the trailer and we loaded-up in to the vans. 

Much to my surprise when we got to our hotel about 30 min later the first thing most the gang did was pull out their phones and IPADs to see if they had a wireless signal. ARE YOU X$#%# me!! We are in Argentina, cycling, in awesome weather, likely will never be back, and they wanted to check their e-mails. NOW I was the one that is pissed. Sheesh......................back in the room I probed a bit with Trent to see if I was on the mark and he started to comment and then I waved him off and did not want to hear it.

Needless to say I talked to Ernesto and Coco a few hours later to clarify the rules and expressed my frustration with the welcome I received back at the lunch stop and that I did not like being pulled off the road by Jorge. We reached an understanding that it was not their intent to pull me off.

To cool off both physically and emotionally I swam in the lake and it was BUTT cold. I mean 60 degree cold and if it were not 90 degrees out I would have been hypothermic. The cold water was amazing on my legs though and it really helped them recover. In the end I swam about 500 yards or maybe 20 min and that was all I could handle. 


Back in the hotel room the shower was awesome to get my core temp back to the living!!

Prepping in the AM

After a walk around town and dinner at a swiss-style restaurant and more adult beverages I was down for the night........................but awoken at about 1am by some local having a party outside with singing and music..............why was I not invited??

Coco, Jason, Fernanda, Liza

The next day had us roll out toward the loop as it is called. The first part of the ride was a bit sketchy as it was on a crowded road but when we left town and made it to the park entrance the traffic eased and we entered an almost idyllic area with a golf course and one of those hotels that goes for about $500 a night. We did not go in for tea and scones! ;)

Island on the Loop

The ride around the loop was a blast. Great photos and chit chat and I know that I would ride back here later in the day as I was determined to get some miles in today.

After the loop we worked our way back to Bariloche and when we returned to town we headed up for a climb up to Cerro Cathedral where Ernesto told us we had a bit of an "up hill time trial" so when we made the turn me, Liza, and John were heading-up and working together. After about 10 min Liza dropped off and John and I continued to work our way up the climb to the ski resort. This was a great road and climbing up we could overlook the entire town, several lakes, and see the ski slopes off to our right.

After the climb we waited for the rest of the crew and then we headed down to Lago Gutierrez for lunch.

Chillin the Quads

 Lunch was awesome and Chino brought beers as I asked him if we could have some for those that made it to the top of Cathedral first!! I only had a sip or two as I had another 30 miles to put in that day.

Cortado with a view

After Lunch I headed back out to do the part of the Loop again and when I was at the overlook of the lake I stopped for a Cortado and had my picture snapped while doing so. Needless to say the coffee was great and gave me the boost I needed to get home. Another swim upon return and then time for some beverages--i earned them!


While sitting on the deck during Happy Hour and sipping a cerveza with Trent, and while waiting for Liza, is when Trent mentioned "Liza and I used to date" and I deadpanned "that is something else we have in common". We chuckled and then Liza arrived and it never came up again.....................

The Witches Coven for dinner

For dinner we went to this real cool pizza place that served the BEST BEER of the trip. Me, Trent, Alan, and Liza had some laughs, great conversation about things besides cycling to include our gun loving friends and listened to Los Piojos in the background.

Great Beer and average Pizza

 After dinner we chilled on the porch for some view and a nightcap or "LBF" per our Irish traveler Neil.

View of the Lake

JOCMO: The cortado of course. It was worth the climb back up the hill in 90 degree heat.