2 huge days with wind and more wind. 1 more day until the rest day.

Monday 3^rd November 2014. Stage 73. Malargue to Bushcamp Buta Billon. 115 kms, paved 80%, climbing 1012 metres, summit 2004 metres. Fierce headwinds make a short day very long.

After dinner I retired to the tent for some serious sleep. My legs were tired and I needed a good rest. During the night when I tossed and turned my legs felt like they were full of lactic acid. It was such a strange feeling in my thighs the whole night. It didn't affect my sleep, but I have no doubt it will affect my riding today.

The first thing I realised that it was 6.40 am was Carmen rattling my tent. She said she called me at 6.20 , and since I never moved she thought I should sleep a little longer, It's a big rush when your tent is a mess and you have to get dressed, pull the house down and be seated for breakfast in 20 minutes. I'll leave the tent till after breakfast. Temperature 4 degrees at 7 am.

Today's ride will take us from our nice campsite at Malargue to a bushcamp at Buta Billon, a distance of 115 kms. My legs were heavy and I looked like I needed another 12 hours sleep. It's amazing what you hide behind dark sun glasses at the breakfast table.

We rolled out of town right on 8 am. We turned at the statue of Jesus in the centre of town and continued along the famous Route 40 to the rest of the day. After we rode 10 kms, the road veered to the right and then we were hit by ferocious winds. We don't enter the windy area of Patagonia for another 100 kms, but it seems we are in for some rough times ahead.

I rode at the back of the bunch for the first part of the ride behind Hilde and Kristin. I didn't want to do too much today, other than listen to music and take in the amazing views of the snow capped mountains all around us. Everyone had all their cold weather clothing on this morning, and it stayed on until lunch. About 2 kms into the day Kristin called it quits as she was not feeling well.

The ride into the wind at a maximum speed of 15 kph. I rode with Michelle and Buck for a while and we were all over the road. It was quite dangerous at times not to be blown completely across the road. Julia called it day before lunch as she was not coping with the high winds and also a sore knee from the previous day. Many people were not going to make it to the end of the day on the bike because of the tough conditions. Me personally, I'd have to break a leg not to continue riding.

By the time we covered 30 kms, it was already 10.15 am. At this rate it will be dark by the time I get in. I pulled off the road and headed to a small cafe, whilst Buck and Michelle continued on. I found Barry, Rob the Boss and Max having coffee, so I decided it was a perfect time to get out of the wind and take time out.

After our little break it was time to get back on the bike and tackle the 10 km climb up to 2000 metres and into more wind with a chill factor of minus 2. The wind that was coming off the snow was brutal. We kept climbing and climbing

be pushed all over the road and at times I got hit so hard by the wind it stopped me dead in my tracks. I found it hard to move forward. I rode with Rob the Boss up the climb and got some nice photos of the mountains around us. I still had my leg warmers on, thermal jacket, winter gloves and my beanie to keep me warm. I should have had a balaclava to keep my face warm because it was freezing. My nose was running all morning because of the cold, and the more you wiped it, the sorer it got. I just couldn't win this morning, no matter what I did.

After reaching the summit it was downhill till lunch at the 70 km mark. Going down the other side of the mountain we had to pedal every inch of the way. The wind was roaring out of the valley and up the mountain right into our face. It's not often you have to pedal down a hill, but this is going to be common for the next 6 weeks to Ushuaia.

I left Rob as he was taking photos and pressed onto lunch riding gravel road for the last 5 kms. At least the wind wasn't too bad now. I rolled over the bridge and found the red fire engine ready to serve me my lunch. I do love my lunch stops, a couple of rolls, a drink, piece of fruit and some biscuits. That will fill the belly and get me the additional 45 kms to the end of the day.

After lunch I headed off with Barry and Diderick. We passed Michelle and Hilde shortly after lunch, but decided to ride our own pace and not theirs. We had the famous Rio Grande river following us for the next 30 kms along the flat plains of Chalahuan. The winds were now changing direction from being in our face to now being at our side. Barry and Diderick did most of the work as I was still tired from yesterday's effort. That 153 km sole ride really took it out of me.

In this part of Argentina there are a lot of road works going along, so we were constantly going from detours to new road and back to detours time and time again. I rode over some new pavement and ended up with tar over my leg warmers and ankle. Now I'm going to have to chuck them at the end of the holiday. They were my favourite pair of leg warmers.

Even though we had 70 kms of tough riding till lunch and parts of the afternoon ride with head winds, I still had a great day. It was beautiful clear blue sky all day, with not a cloud in the sky, so I was wrapped knowing I wasn't going to get a wet ass again.

We continued on with the River Grande meandering alongside us all the way to the end of day. I was glad to see the end of day flag on the side of the road, as I had enough for one day.

Once again, put up 'Tent Hilton', have some soup, have a wash, get warm, and relax. Barry, Buck and I went for a walk up the road to a small Kiosk. The boys had a beer and I had some water. I'm really over the coke thing. I got to meet the lady who owns the kiosk and adjoining house, and she allowed us to sit in the back yard to have a drink. I took some nice photos of her and her grand daughter who is a real cutey. It wasn't long before Julia and Alec found us and joined us in a drink. I had to be back at camp by 6pm as I was on kitchen duties.

I made it back to camp, help handing out the food, ate my meal, helped washed the dishes and went to bed. I wasn't in the mood to sitting around in this wind and coldness talking. I do that tomorrow on the bike.

Tomorrow is another 100 kms and more unpaved roads. We hit the Patagonia region at the 95 km mark.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Tuesday 4^th November 2014. Stage 74, Bushcamp Buta Billon to Barrancas. 101 kms, paved 50%, climbing 1208 metres, summit 1780. Climbing on a rocky, sandy road is hard stuff.

We had a vote last night to sleep in because it has been terribly cold in the mornings. The end result was that we eat breakfast at 8am and leave at 9am.

The first part of the ride was following the Rio Grande for 10 kms on paved road, then the gravel road started. To try and explain how hard it is to ride in gravel, trying running on wet sand on your local beach. It's hard work and we have to do it today for 50 kms, uphill. The road was full of lose sand, deep gravel and large rocks. To soften the pain of the constant bumps and sliding in the sand, the view of the Rio Grande was pretty spectacular. Once again the mountains surrounded us but now there is little snow on the peaks. I think it has something to do with the fact we are riding around the 1000 metre altitude mark.

 I took the above photo as Rob the Boss was riding away from during the morning climb. We get to see these snow capped mountains all day everyday for the next week or two.

 I met this lovely lady and her gran daughter after arriving at our bush camp 2 days ago. She sold beer and coke, so we were all happy.

The above photo depicts one of the many shrines dedicated to a love one who has passed away on these remote roads in the Andes.

I rode on my own all morning taking photos and taking in the magnificent views. The sun was out and it wasn't cold at all. I didn't need my vest, arm or leg warmers on this morning, and it stayed that way all day.

I had fully recovered from my race day and my legs felt strong all day. As I climbed the mountain, I noticed some huge birds circling overhead, at first I thought it might be my first sighting of a condor, but Jan Willem later told me they were nothing special. I might just google a photo of a condor and post it. Seems a lot easier to achieve.

I kept pushing at a steady pace up the rocky road all the way to the 52 km mark where the lunch truck was found. I pulled in and got some food and waited for Barry and Buck to arrive. I must have stayed at lunch today for about 45 minutes today soaking up the sun and beautiful scenery. I was in no rush and the weather was perfect to enjoy out in the wilderness of the Andes and not in a dust bowl campsite.

The photo above was taken prior to entering the region of Patagonia.

 Whilst going for my afternoon walk I noticed the horses tied up to the pole. They use to do that in Australia 50 years ago.

I took the above photo last night at camp of my good friend Knut. 

We left lunch together and had to climb another 8 kms till we reached the pavement at the summit of the mountain. I set the pace with Buck and Barry closely behind. As we reached the pavement Barry just kept riding away from us and never looked back. I stayed with Buck for the rest of the afternoon stopping plenty of times for photos and just chatting away side by side. When you race, you take no photos and take in nothing of your amazing surroundings. I only race once a week, and I choose my day carefully.

We rode on and were later caught by Hilde and Kristin who joined us for the final climb of the day. As we roared down the mountain we crossed a bridge that took us into the famous Patagonia Region of Argentina. Of course we took the usual photos to mark this significant moment on tour. Now we had 4 kms to reach Barrancas and the job was done for the day.

My trusty Garmin led us directly to the campsite which was already full of cyclists and tents. I got my bags and found a bit of dirt and dropped my gear down. The tent can wait, first some soup and take it easy.

After eating, building my home and having a shower, I went for a walk up to the plaza. I like my afternoon walks to see what these little towns have to offer. This one had 2 horses tied up outside a shop, a large plaza with about 5 people sitting around, and a shop close by. I went and splurged on an ice cream before dinner and sat in the park for ½ an hour on my own, contemplating whether I take the paved or unpaved road tomorrow.

I slowly made my way back to the campsite and tucked into a nice meal of meat, rice and cabbage. Rob the Boss handed out the instruction sheets for tomorrow which gave us the options. If I take the unpaved section I have 98 kms of terrible roads with a 45 km climb over 1200 metres. Then it should mostly be downhill till the end of the day. If I take the paved road that will be 128 kms, but with the same amount of climbing. If the westerly winds blow, the final 40 kms will be a nightmare. I know how long it took me to ride 45 kms the other day into a ferocious headwind, too long, so I'll have to sleep on it. Barry is also undecided on what road to take. If I take the dirt road it is supported by the lunch truck, so I'm leaning to playing in the sand and dirt tomorrow.

It's now 9pm and I'm ready for bed. The Garmin and Iphone are fully charged, so I'll know where to go and can sing along whilst going there.

I was just told that the temperature was zero last night.

The temperature has been good all day and we expect another beautiful sunny day with light winds. I know it will be a hard day but we have a rest day the following day to recharge the batteries.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.