Tuesday 28th October 2014. Stage 69b. Uspallata to Mendoza. Paved 62%, climbing 1270 metres, summit 3080 metres. Cyclists not happy with race being cancelled.

When you decide to have a crack at staying with the real mountain bike riders you better get a good nights sleep. I woke up at 2.30 am and couldn't get back to sleep till 4 am.

I finally was awoken by Rien pulling down his tent at 6.30 am, so I had to rush to get my act together. A quick dress and down with 'Tent Hilton', and it won't be going up again for 4 nights as Barry and I are staying in a hotel in Mendoza.

By the time breakfast was finished and the trucks were packed we rolled out of the campsite at 8am for the 107 km ride to Mendoza. The race was to the top of the mountain at 30 kms and that's where the fire engine would be waiting to feed us.

Like usual I was one of the last ones to leave camp so I had to chase for the first 3 kms to catch up with Rien, Alfred, Barry, Diderick and Jurg. The person I couldn't see in the group was James the leader of the tour. I'm not sure, but he must still be back at camp. Lately we've had issues with people starting at different times who are not racers and now it looks like the racers have left James behind, and that's not cool. One of the problems I see with people leaving at different times is that those who leave early do nothing to assist in packing the tent gear and daily luggage bags away. I don't pack luggage for other people who are already on the road.

So the racers didn't slow down and powered up the mountain and onto the dirt for the next 30 kms. I never really considered myself a candidate for victory as I'm riding on thin tires that give me hell in sand and rocks. I stayed with Rien, Diderick and Alfred for 5 kms then Barry and Jurg dropped off the back. I kept going as hard as I could with my bike going all over the place in the sand, but come hell or high water, I was going to stay.

The next to be dropped was Alfred which was a huge surprise to me as he's one of the hitters in the dirt. I kept as close as I could to Rien's back wheel for another 10 kms, but with 10 kms to go I was busted. If I was to try and stay any longer I probably would have cracked and walked up the hill.

Now I was on my own as Rien and Diderick powered into the distance. All I was concerned with was to stay ahead of Alfred. To me that would be a great result and keep my hopes up for the rest of the tour.

The road kept going up for 1000 metres along the sandy track till we reached the summit at 3080 metres. The lunch truck was around the corner and so was another spectacular view down into the valley below. I put my Gopro camera on after lunch for some amazing footage as we launched off the mountain. There's no better feeling than ripping down a dirt road at full speed hoping you don't career off the side and down into the abyss.

Firstly I congratulated Rien and Diderick for their strong efforts before taking a seat and getting my breath back. I was pretty tired after this effort and Alfred was still along way back behind me. I came in at 9.45 am and Barry and boys came in close to 10.30am.

When Rob the Boss arrived he was not happy with the fact people had started to race and left James behind. As a result Rob cancelled the race and people were not happy. Personally I couldn't care less about the race, I just wanted to push myself to the limit and see how far that is.

After a quick snack it was off down the mountain.  We stopped plenty of times for photos and to take some footage with the Gopro camera which I'll be putting together to put on the 'Bike Dreams' Facebook page and YouTube.

By the time we reached the valley floor we were 50 kms from Mendoza. It was here that Robert the Boss caught us and decided to fly pass like a man possessed. We caught him and sat on his wheel for the next 35 kms at speeds of 50 kph. I was close to being dropped on some of the climbs as my legs were still hurting from the morning's effort up the mountain.

Took the above photo this morning with Rien and Barry.  Rien is leaving the tour and heading back home. Rien will be coming to Australia next year to participate in the ride across Australia I'm planning. Had a fantastic time being beaten by him on a daily basis.

 The photo above is of Rob the Boss looking down into the valley.

The view from the top of the mountain today was just amazing. That's Rien and Rob above.

The photo above is of Barry, Ellen the Chef and myself at the end of today's ride. Ellen is leaving the tour and has been replaced by another Chef.

The incredible thing about the downhill today is that it had 365 switchbacks. Now that's a lot of braking and heaps of adrenalin pumping fun.

The above photo is of today's graph. We had a fantastic day in perfect weather conditions.

The 4 of us stayed together all the way into the outskirts of Mendoza, and then it was a case of dodging buses and taxis all the way to Camping Suizo. After a bowl of soup and some chips, we got a taxi to hotel Xumec in the heart of Mendoza. We got a nice room with WiFi, TV, air con, fridge and 3 beds for 600 pesos. Now that's a bargain.

Over the next 2 days we intend to do very little. I will go on the local tourist bus around the place, check out the main attractions, and not eat as much as I did on the last rest day.

Over the last 6 days we've ridden over 700 kms over some of the toughest roads in South America. I do need to rest as I'm going to be doing exactly the same starting Friday morning. Am I having fun? I think so.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.