Camping Hotel La Leona to El Calafate. 107 kms, paved 100%, climbing 820 metres, summit 726 metres. Day 9 of 9 completed on the road to El Calafate.

Today is the day we make our way to El Calafate on Lake Argentina. The wind was howling all night and the trees rustling in the wind could be heard for miles. With my ear plugs firmly jammed in I had a great night's sleep and wished it went on longer when I heard my neighbour rustling his tent at 6am. Time for me to start getting dressed and pulling down the tent. I will be glad to reach El Calafate and take a much needed rest.

This week I've had to contend with coming off into a guard rail, being blown across the road 10 times, catching the flu, burning lungs and legs, but shit I'm having the time of my life.

Now for today's ride.

My goal today was to get Barry up to the front and stay there all day, or at least to the lunch truck at the 70 km mark. The wind from roaring from the west which meant we would be fighting cross winds all morning and headwind in the afternoon. The afternoon didn't worry me because we probably would have a group to ride the last 40 kms to the end of the day.

It was a fast pace with Joost, Alfred, James, Reinhardt, Diderick, Barry and myself in the front group. I had decided to ride the entire day with Barry regardless of whether he stayed or not with the group.

To cut this story short and to protect all riders privacy, 1 rider collapsed on the bike and hit the deck. All dazed and not responsive, the rider was taken to the lunch truck by a passing motorist and then later conveyed to hospital for a CAT scan. The rider was cleared to leave after several tests and will be taking it easy during his rest day.

That is all I'm prepared to say on today at this stage.

We made it into El Calafate after fighting bloody hard headwinds around 2pm. We ended up at our hotel for the next 2 nights, made a mess of the room as boys know how too, and headed off into town to check out this place.

I've booked the Perito Merino Glacier mini trek for tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to. I'm going with Carmen and Julia and Barry's hanging around town, shopping for me. We get picked up at 8.30am for the trek and should be back 9 hours later.

Thank God it's a rest day.

Now I've posted some photos covering the past 5 days of no internet access. I hope you enjoy.
 The photo above shows the riders all rugged up ready for the long day ahead.

 The photo above was the starting point for the 2 person team time trial about 3 days ago. We set a new record.

 The photo above shows my team mate Joost shortly after winning the time trial. He's s slightly taller than me.

 The photo above is Barry in the middle and 2 ladies who I hang with on the trip. Carmen on the left from Italy. That's the one who can talk under water with a mouth full of marbles. Julia is on the right of course and lives in Brisbane.

 The photo above is of my Garmin showing the record achieved during the time trial.

 I took the above photo whilst walking around one of the properties we were camping at 2 nights ago.

 The photo above is what we've been riding in along the Pampa region of Argentina.

 During our tour of South America everyone gets the chance do help with kitchen duties. I always do the wiping up as I hate getting my hands wet.

 The above gentlemen is wearing the typical clothing of men in the Tres Lagos region. He remembered the tour coming through his home town 2 years ago and wanted to come down to our campsite and say hello.

 These 2 young boys were my English students for the afternoon. It's moments like these that remind me that it's not about the bike, it's about meeting beautiful people.

The photo above is the camping ground and our vehicles from last night. Those trees were blowing crazy all night.

Tomorrow is a big day and I need to get to sleep. It's now 9.30 pm and still light in this part of the world. 

Until tomorrow, safe riding.