Stage 90, Puerto Ibanez to Perito Merino, 112 kms, climbing 1228 metres. What a cracker of a day.

To cut this story short as I only have 10 minutes to type it up as I have to be back for dinner at the camp. So this is it.

We left the camp at 8am to head down to the Chilean border post. After the trucks got through we had to then ride the 20 kms to the Argentinian border post. The road was up a huge mountain 10 kms long on shocking roads.  The only consolation was the view back down to the lake.

 The photo above is Hilde climbing one of the paved sections with the lake in the distance.

We had to ride 20 kms to reach the Argentinian border post which I think doesn't get much business at all.

 The photo above is of the Argentinian border post.  A small house and that's it.

From the lunch stop at 45 kms to the end of the day we had a huge wind pushing us along. We still had 60 kms to reach the town of Perito Merino and it on terrible roads, full of rocks and sand.

It took us 4 & 1/2 hours to ride 45 kms in the morning and it took 3 & 1/2 hours to do the 60 kms in the afternoon.

The photo above is looking back down onto the lake. The view was pretty nice all day.

We had a really tough day today on the bikes today due mainly to having thin tires on the dirt. We needed fat dirt tires which would have made the world of difference.  

We made it to camp at 3.30 pm and were glad to get off the bikes. Tomorrow we have another long hard day. I deal with that at 8am tomorrow.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Saturday 22nd November 2014. Stage 89. Coyhaique to Puerto Ibanez. 120 kms, 100% paved, climbing 1989 metres, summit 1420 metres. A long slog in the coldness of Chile.

One thing about sleeping in an apartment in Coyhaique is the bed. I love sleeping in a good bed instead of 'Tent Hilton'. I think it has something to do with the odour.

With breakfast completed we went out the front of the complex and waited for our taxi to take us back to the campsite to meet up with all the other cyclists. All we had to do was throw our bags on the truck, add some water to our bottles and get some snacks for the 62 km ride to lunch.

Today we hit the road at 9am and started the 120 km ride to the lakeside town/village of Puerto Ibanez. Barry and I rode off with the group, but like usual on the first climb the bunch split to pieces. It was my goal to sit on the back of the bunch and listen to music all day. I had purchased a set of ear plugs after breaking 2 set already. In total I think I rode about 110 kms on the front of the bunch all day.

The first part of the ride was on nice pavement with gentle undulating hills, full of cows and good looking pastoral fields. The snow capped mountains would continue with us all day, and I have no doubt as we get higher it's going to get seriously cold. I've got my cold weather jacket on, leg warmers and booties. I love having warm feet when on the bike. After 2 hours of riding we had climbed 600 metres. The wind off the snow was bitterly cold and some of the riders only had short gloves on, whilst I had my winter gloves on. My hands were as warm as toast.

 Those 2 cyclists are Barry and Jurg.

I was getting pretty tired as we got close to the lunch stop, and I don't know whether that had anything to do with a lack of sleep over the past 2 days. I know I should have gone to sleep earlier, but I'm on holidays and staying up late is part of the game.

 The photo above was taken by Jurg on the way to our lunch stop today. I never get bored at looking at these mountains, and when I ride I'm always glancing around and taking in the amazing scenery. I do pay attention to the holes in the road at the same time of course.

As we rolled into lunch it was very cold. We had dropped of rain all morning and I was not going to sit around talking when I should keep warm and get back on the bike.

After lunch we were joined by Diderick and we both sat on the front for the next 40 kms. We still had another 1300 metres of climbing before we started the descent down onto the lake. The climbs were much better in the afternoon, long drags, but not steep. The wind was now changing and I could feel it pushing into my back and making the climbs much easier.

Still the rain was coming down, but this time I was getting drenched. My clothing is pretty good for light showers, but when it pours, I get drenched. We turned east at the 93 km mark and now we could fly. The wind was blowing a gale and we had 30 kms to go over rolling green hills with very little traffic.

I wanted to get to camp before 3 pm so I could pull out my tent and try and dry it out. It was still wet when I rolled it up the other day. All my clothes had been washed in Coyhaique which I think was a waste of time and money. Give them 2 days and they will stink and look terrible. I'm going to throw most of my gear in the ocean at Ushuaia because that's all there good for.

We finally crested the last climb for the day and could see the twisted road before us. The photo below shows the road we roared down at crazy speeds trying to be the first to the bottom.

The photo below was taken from the top of the mountain looking down into the lake that surrounds Puerto Ibanez and also borders Argentina where we are going to tomorrow.

 Once at the bottom of the climb it was an easy ride in to the camping ground. I had a boiling hot shower to warm up and also took in some food. It was off to the centre of town to check out this place. I found a little cafe down on the lake with a couple of cyclists already inside having a beer. I went in for a nice cold drink and too the photo below looking down the shoreline to the boat that can take you across the lake and onto Argentina. We don't have the luxury of the boat tomorrow, we have to ride around the lake.

The Chilean border control point is 2 kms from our campsite and then we have to ride another 20 kms to reach the Argentinian border control. Although we have the hassle of crossing borders tomorrow, these posts have very few tourists passing, so we should get through straight away.

It will be an early night tonight in 'Tent Hilton', and an early rise tomorrow, 7am breakfast, 8am departure. I'm now nice and warm back in my tent and looking forward to day 2 of 9 on the road to
El Calafate.

On a side note I received an email from my good friend Mr Geoffrey Hunter of the mighty GONG. Geoff had organised the TRN company to sponsor eXsight Tandems of the Illawarra. They made a significant donation to the charity that goes a long way in paying for the maintenance of the bikes and many other ares of business.

The photo above shows Mr Geoff Stratton presenting a representative of TRN with the framed jersey in appreciation of their support of eXsight Tandems Illawarra. Geoff is wearing the eXsight jersey in the photo and president of eXsight. I look forward to getting back on the tandem in 2015 and going on my Tuesday rides again.

Time to turn off the light and sleep.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Lago las Torres to Coyhaique, Stage 88. 137 kms, paved 100%, climbing 1380 metres, summit 710 metres. 5th victory on Tour.

As the yesterday evening came to a close the clouds were still hovering overhead and and I was hoping the sun would be out come 7am when I had to open the flap of 'Tent Hilton'. Well, I managed to drag myself out of a coma and greet a morning full of chill, mist, and all clouds.

Today I decided to race with the big boys and see how I fared against big Joost. This guy is one big powerhouse when he open up the engine and drives that bike along. Everyone rolled out of camp at 8am on the bell, we rolled off slowly and had to wait for James to catch us before the race could start.

Once James joined us, Joost took off like he had a man possessed. It took Alfred and myself a good km to catch him. I had to finally bridge the gap to Joost and we started working together. We went past everyone at 50 kph. James couldn't stick with us and was dropped right from the start. Although James is very strong, it's his top end speed which is the problem. I still have to take my hat off to the chap as he is still leading the tour.

As we pushed along I would lead the bunch up the climbs. On the first climb Alfred went off the back by about 10 metres. I slowed down for him to regain contact with myself and Joost. Another 2 kms, we hit another climb and led the bunch up the mountain.  By the time I got to the top Alfred was about 100 metres behind. I turned and asked Joost if he wanted me to slow down and wait for Alfred, but he said, 'keep going, it's our day today'.

I drove on harder over the crest and down the other side into a valley of beautiful purple, yellow and grey flowers. A valley with mountains covered in cloud, but surely also covered in snow. The temperature was perfect for racing, and even though I had my leg and arm warmers on, and a vest, I was nice and war in these conditions.

For the next 40 kms we took turns into a headwind with Joost doing the hard work on the flats and myself doing all the work on the climbs. He had me struggling on the flats, but I had him dangling on the climbs. We pushed each other as hard as we could over every kms till lunch. The lunch stop was at 65 kms and that's where the race ends for the day.

With 5 kms to go the road tended to go flat and I couldn't see any big hills on my Garmin. If I wanted to drop Joost and come in on my own it would have to be over a significant hill. What was my greatest fear was if Joost decided to hit the power button, he could put me into a bit of bother.

With 2 kms to go I could see the fire engine in distance. As I was on the front I did not want to see Joost attack from the rear and leave me stranded. I pulled up and said to him, 'well done, we did it, there's the lunch truck'. On a downhill run there would be no way I could out sprint him, he's just too powerful for me. If it was an uphill sprint I would have challenged him.

We ended up rolling in together and were both awarded the victory. He was pretty happy and later told me I had hurt him on the climbs at the end. Now it was time to sit down and eat. We covered the 65 kms in 1 hr 58 minutes, and climbed over 800 metres.

I waited for Barry to arrive as we wanted to get to camp together, get our gear and head into town and find a hotel for the next 2 nights. I had pushed myself nearly to the limit and still had another 75 kms to go to finish the day. My legs will be stuffed by tonight.

After an hour of freezing at the lunch stop, we headed off with Max, Jurg, Brian, Deb and Buck. Buck told us to go ahead as he wanted to take it easy this afternoon. We kept a good pace and with a strong tailwind we made it to Coyhaique by 2pm. We first had some soup and snacks and got our gear ready. A cab was called and we were in the centre of town in no time. We eventually found the Hotel San Rafael which is pretty good for 75 US a twin room. The room is excellent, with TV, fridge, WiFi, and breakfast. I won't be getting out of bed early tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our rest day and I intend to do some walking to try and stretch my legs.

I've taken some photos of some nice people on tour to add to today's story.

The supreme elderly athletes are L-R.  Jan Willem, JR, Dr Carroll, Lupcho, myself and Barry.

The photo above is the guy I speak about quite often in this blog, Rob the Boss.

The photo above is of my good friend Jurg.

The photo above is of Brian and famous 'Buck Benson'.

The photo above is of Barry and a couple of kids we came across one day in Peru.

Another photo of Barry and some kids in Bolivia.

I found the above kids in a very small village we stopped at in the mountains of Bolivia.

The above lady was my dancing partner at a local festival the day before we entered Bolivia. We had such a blast dancing with the locals. 

The photo above is of a gorgeous young lady I met in Peru.

My rest day was non eventful other than eating and resting.

Tomorrow we start the first of nine cycling days in the Andean Mountains before our next rest day. Over 800 kms of dirt, mud, back into Argentina and sleeping in 'Tent Hilton'.  But I'm still having fun.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

This is what I do on my holidays.

Monday 17^th November 2014. Stage 85. Futaleufu to Villa Vanguardia. 107 kms, paved 0%, climbing 1208 metres, summit 495 metres. Another day of playing in the dirt.

Last night we had salmon, mashed potatoes and salad for dinner at the hotel we are staying at. Since we were suppose to bushcamp last night and instead were provided with a nice hotel, we were then required to look after ourselves for dinner. Rob the boss had organised a special meal provided by the hotel at a reasonable price and I think all the cyclists took up the option. It was a super meal, with desert and coffee thrown in.

After dinner I went down to the plaza with Carmen to see if I could get on the net. In so many towns in South America the local plaza has free WiFi. I managed to get on to finish my blog, but there was no way I could upload photos. They will have to wait till we get a strong signal or the rest day in 3 days time. I got back to the hotel around 9.30pm and crashed out. I was pretty tired after a long day yesterday.

We had the usual for breakfast provided by the hotel. Fresh bread rolls, cheese and processed ham. Now I never eat processed ham or meats at home, but here, you have to eat what you can, and burn it off out on the road.

We all rolled out of Futaleufu at 9am. Yep, sleep in today, 8am breakfast.

The pavement in the town lasted for about 500 metres and then we were back on the dirt again. Today our ride was similar to many others, but still the scenery is never boring. When I'm riding I always love to glance up at the mountains and admire the snow caps, and wander whether those birds flying high above the peaks might be my first sighting of a 'Condor'.

Both Barry and I decided not to take arm, leg warmers or jacket. We started in beautiful sunny conditions and I thought it would continue all the way to Villa Vanguardia. Slightly wrong on that one.

Our road would take us up and down small climbs all morning, some steep to climb and some steep to fly down like a mad man. I managed to get a spare bottle off Kristin after losing 2 yesterday. I'll pick up another one at the next rest day. As we rolled along in a small group, dodging rocks and deep sand, we were now coming across more traffic. Some times as the cars, trucks and buses passed, I couldn't see up the road because of all the dust. I was caked in dust in every cavity of my body (that was exposed) and I could taste it in my mouth. I think that shower yesterday was a complete waste of time, I'm dirty and my clean cycling outfit is filthy.

We hug the side of the mountain for many kms this morning on a road that overlooked Lake Yelcho. This lake was like yesterday with snow capped peaks running down into the water, casting a silhouette of it's features right across the lake. It's moments like these I wish I brought my super duper camera to capture these images in style and not on an Iphone.

On one occasion I was going way too fast down a mountain and when I was near the bottom I realised it took a sharp left hand turn. On the gravel and large rocks on the bend I had to take my left foot out of the pedal and brake hard and slide my bike around the corner. I was waiting for the back of the bike to slide completely out and for me to go for a roll on the dirt. It was pretty stupid the speed I was going, but without road signs I will have to slow down a bit or my holiday will end sooner rather than later.

I made it around the corner and down over the bridge to see a raging river below. There were 2 rafting groups just putting their gear away after playing around in the rapids. Man, that water must have been freezing cold for those rafters.

The river below us was the Futaleufu River which is fed by the lakes in the Los Alerces National Park in  Chubut Province, crossing the Andes Mountains into Chile and opening into the Yelcho Lake. The river is known for its deep blue waters created by glacier till deposited in the river, and for its white water currents., which attreact rafters and kayakers from all around the world. The Chilean government has recently proposed creating a hydroelectric dam, which may jeopardise the free flow of the river in the near future. Today we got to see so many rivers of glacier ice running down the mountain into the fast flowing Futaleufu River.

I should mention that one of the new riders, Tim, had his bike on the roof of the truck which struck power lines on the way into town last night. Result, one shattered seat stem, broken forks and a bike that needs urgent and costly repairs. Tim is riding the spare bike today left by Herman who crashed on the first day of the tour and had to go home because of his injuries.

Things got worse for Tim today as he fell off twice before lunch and Deb also fell in front of me around a steep rocky bend. It's pretty easy to lose the front wheel from underneath you on this rough surface. I made it to lunch in one piece with Barry, Jurg and Buck and took up my position at the table and loaded the plate full of good food. A couple of sandwiches, fruit and a drink, and I feeling pretty good, although cold. I should have brought some arm warmers at least with me, because the wind was picking up and I could feel the chill off the snow biting into me. I told Barry that I couldn't sit around any longer and had to get on the bike to try and warm up.

I headed off with Jurg at a steady pace running alongside the deep blue lake taking it easy until Barry caught up to us. We climbed some steep hills in the afternoon and estimated the final 55 kms to camp would take us about 4 hours on these roads. Some of the climbs were 18% gradient and required the 'Granny Gear' to get up. That's an old bike riding term for the easiest gear on the bike.

As the afternoon progressed the traffic picked up and so did the dust. I was covered from head to toe in deep brown dust, and since tonight is a bushcamp, it's going to be pretty hard to get it all off. Especially with a face cloth and some water in 'Tent Hilton'.

We kept pushing along, feeling a couple of rain drops every now and then, hoping the rain would hold off at least till we pitch our tents. With 30 kms to go the road turned west and we hit brand new pavement. I got the chance to put the foot down and really get some pace going. I was sitting on 52 kph with Barry and Jurg behind. I had a slight tailwind and the road was silky smooth to push us along. After 15 kms of speed we came across some road works which slowed us down as we had to climb another one of those 18% gradient climbs. The road workers all look at us like we're idiots. When you think about it, who would pay nearly 10,000 Euro to put themselves through this kind of stuff each day for 4 & ½ months. I would, this is fantastic fun.

That little house in the field is suppose to be the house where 'Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid' once lived.

That tent is the famous 'Tent Hilton'. Notice I put it right next to the caravan so I wouldn't be blown away in the middle of the night. That was the worst wind my tent has gone through.

The photo above was looking out from my tent the other day. Although it was really cold at night, the noise of the river slowly passing bye helped me go to sleep straight away.

Back to the pavement after a short stretch of dirt and back up to full speed. I ended up covering the last 30 kms in 47 minutes. This took us to the campsite in a town that has 5 timber homes and nothing else. The timber home that sells the beer is not open today, so we've got some disgruntled riders who won't get their daily fix of 'Cerveza' (beer).

I quickly put up the tent as the rain started to fall. I've got this tent erection technique down to a fine art. I can get it up in about 3 minutes now, whereas at the start of the holiday I fumbled around for 10 minutes and didn't achieve much at all.

With a quick wash and putting on warm clothes,it was time for soup, coffee and a chat with the other cyclists. Michelle had 5 punctures today and managed to ride the entire day. Buck had 2 punctures and got the truck to the finish.

I'm spending the afternoon in my tent typing and reading. I'm on kitchen duty tonight and I'm wearing warm clothes this time. There's a story in that, but I'll leave it till the end of the trip. All my toys are being recharged and I'm taking my Gopro out tomorrow to play in the dirt and hopefully get some great footage.

After I finish washing up tonight, I'm off to bed to crash. I've just finished Day 4 of 7, and need to sleep.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Tuesday 18^th November 2014. Stage 86. Villa Vanguardia to Camping Glaciar Collante. 109 kms, paved 0%, climbing 1259 metres, summit 210 metres. From dust to mud.

From the time we arrived at camp yesterday till the time we left this morning, it rained and rained. We managed to have dinner and breakfast in a small hut which was perfect and kept us all dry. Packing up a dripping wet tent was not in the travel brochure, and that means I've got a wet tent to put up when I get into camp later on in the day.

Many people got drenched in their tents last night, including Barry, Diderick, and a couple of others . Barry and Diderick decided to catch the express fire engine today so they could get into camp and get their stuff dried out.

That's Hilde and Barry riding on the muddy road. Everyone had their wet weather gear on today.

With breakfast done, and all my wet weather gear on, we hit the road at 8am for the long wet ride to Glaciar Collante. That's a National Park with the famous 'Hanging Glaciar' that people travel from all around the world to see. We only have to ride 109 kms to see it, along muddy roads, soaked to the bone.

So off we went for a ride that would take us along a muddy, rocky road running alongside the Palena River. Ever now and then we would caught up at a road block because of a landslide. At times we had to wait for 30 minutes, which was really adding time to what was already going to be a very long day out in the rain. It kept pouring all day and never let up. It doesn't matter how good your wet weather gear is, you still get wet eventually.

Once again we had streams of water running down the rock walls and splashing onto the road as we passed. There was no use trying to avoid the water as it poured down from the sky or down the rock face. We hadn't reached at the lunch stop and we were all drenched. Lunch was in a park in the small town of La Junta. I didn't bother to take off my helmet, I quickly had a roll and got back on the bike.

After lunch it was more of the same, mud, rocks, roadworks, landslides, a couple of crazy dogs and pouring rain. Soon Michelle and Joost joined me and we rode along the gravel road at a good pace. Even though it was still pouring rain, I was nice and warm. We crossed into the Reserve Nacional Rosselot and it was here that the road turned diabolical. Now we had to ride in 6 inch deep mud. I just had my bike cleaned by Lupcho and now it's a mess.

 I don't get the chance to put my face on the blog, so here it is as I enter Chile.

The photo above was taken during a lunch break looking out over one of the amazing lunch stop locations on tour.

There are those that stop riding in these conditions and there are others that will ride in any condition, I'm one of those. I don't care how wet, or muddy, or rocky, I'm come to ride my bike and that's what I do.

As we approached the small village of Puyuhuapi, we decided to stop for a coffee and some food. It was nice restaurant right on the edge of the water. What was more interesting was a Tsunami warning sign on the side of the road as we entered town. Now I reckon we would have to be a good 25 kms from the real coastline of Chile, so why have Tsunami warning sign here? Certainly got all our attention.

A very interesting road sign so far away from the actual coast line of Chile.

We went inside and brought with us our muddy shoes and wet clothing and ordered coffee and apple crumble with cream. I had 2 cups of coffee and the cake for the princely sum of about $10 US dollars. I thought that was rather expensive for a small village in central Chile. I suppose they added a fee for the view.

With 25 kms to go I knew it was going to be a long hard slog into the headwind and driving rain. We were now running along the so called Pacific Ocean shoreline until we reached the Queulat National Park. We turned off the main road and took a dirt track for 2 kms until we entered the National Park and came upon our campsite for the evening. Since the start of this trip we had some amazing campsites. Some have been horrendous, whilst others have been pretty good.

Once at the campsite I did what had to be done. After the tent finally dried out, I went for a walk to the viewing platform to check out the 'Hanging Glaciar'. But first I'll give you the story on Queulat National Park.

The park is a national park of Chile located in the Aisen Region. The park is bordered by the Cisnes River on the south side and is neighbour to Lago Rosselot National Reserve. It contains 1,541 square kms of glacier-capped mountains and virgin evergreen forests.

I took the board walk up to the viewing platform and got a tremendous view of the 'Hanging Glaciar'. (That's how they spell glacier in this part of the world). It pretty huge and you can take a 1 & ½ hour walk to the base of the glacier, but I couldn't be bothered, I could see it clear enough and I had to make sure it didn't rain as I had all my clothes strewn over a tree trying to dry out.

The rest of the afternoon was spent inside talking to Barry and the rest of the crew whilst dinner was being prepared. After dinner I'm off to bed to find an incredible book which I'll talk about tomorrow. As far as the riding is concerned for tomorrow, it should be a perfect day, sun out, birds singing and a strong wind blowing in my back. Yeh, right.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Wednesday 19^th November 2014. Stage 87. Camping Glaciar Collante to Camping Lago Las Torres. 78 kms, paved 60%, climbing 1350 metres, summit 697 metres. Rain and mud sucks.

Sleeping in the National Park with the glacier a stone throw away was a spectacular way to go to sleep. I had 'Tent Hilton' facing the glacier so I could peer out to until darkness had covered my part of the world. I slept well, but each time I woke I could hear the rain on my tent. I was hoping by the time I got out of bed the sun would be shining and the birds would be singing. Today we got to sleep in as breakfast is at 9am and departure is 10am.

Today we have a short stage, so Rob the boss allowed us some extra time in bed. Damn that was hard to take. NOT.

The time for me to rise was 8.15am, that gave me 11 hours sleep last night. Today is day 6 of 7 on our run into our rest day. After eating and packing away a wet tent I was on the road at 10am. We left the national park and got back onto the main road which was full or rocks, mud and water.

After riding about 10 kms we come to the first of many roadblocks for the day. They were building the new highway which was originally a mud track. We were stuck for 30 minutes as the explosions went off the mountain side come roaring down. It was so loud the explosions and we were a good km away. Once the mountain came down they then had to clear the roadway for us and our trucks to get through. I could see today being one of those days I should have got on the truck. It was raining from the time I got out of bed till the time I arrived in camp. How could that ever had up to a great day on the bike?

I didn't need to be held up in the pouring rain whilst they worked as fast as snails on this project.

Once allowed to enter the danger zone we had to negotiate boulders they were too lazy to clean up. With the huge rocks and mud everywhere the group was moving pretty slowly. The road was getting muddier as we got close to the bottom of the first real climb for the day. I had my leg warmers on, wet weather jacket, booties, gloves and pretty warm as I started the climb.

The climb was 10 kms long and a rise of 600 metres. We climbed through a jungle all the way to the top. With trees on every side of the road, and mist covering the snow capped mountains above us, I was started to heat up. I had to stop half way up the mountain to take my jacket off even though it was 12 degrees C. There was no wind on the mountain during the climb, but once I got to the top, the wind picked up and blew freezing cold snow air right in my face. I quickly put my jacket on to keep me warm and also the rain was now pelting down. Once at the summit it was a quick 2 km drop to the lunch truck. There was no way I was going to sit down and have a 3 course lunch, I quickly got a sandwich and drink and headed off again.

There were 4 riders in front of me and I quickly caught up to them on the run down the muddy mountain. At times I had the front wheel move from underneath me which made me think I was going go hit the deck, but managed to keep the bike upright. As I passed Brian, Deb and the 2 new Belgium guys, I kept going to try and warm up and to make use of the speed I could get on the pavement which I just got to.

We were told that we might have stop at the 62 km mark to stay at a better campsite for the evening or could end up at the 78 km campsite right on the lake. Personally I wanted to go to the 78 km mark so I didn't have to do the extra 16 kms tomorrow.

Before the 62 km mark I had 1 more mountain to climb. This climb was about 4 kms and went up 340 metres, but still I couldn't get a good view of the valley below because of the rain and mist. I forget how many days now we've ridden in the rain, but all my clothes stink and are wet.

I flew down the mountain and into the small town of Villa Amengual and didn't see any sight of the 'Bike Dreams' sign. I kept going and within no time I could see the fire engine parked on the side of lake Carmen. I was the first rider into camp but today was not a race. I just wanted to get into camp and try and dry all my gear out. There was no problem with the tent drying out quickly, and I put up a clothes line to dry out my clothing. One thing I hate is putting on wet gear to go riding.

I started a fire in a drum and put my socks and shoes near by to try and dry them. It dried the shoes well, but an ash landed on one of my socks and burnt a hole in it. How stupid was that?

Eventually my clothes dried, but are still filthy dirty. I can live with that.

There were 2 celebrations today, Tim the Aussie and Hilde the Norwegian had their birthdays. I'm ready for tomorrow which is going to be wet and windy, and long.

 That's Hilde above enjoying her birthday present. 47 balloons jammed into her tent.

 The photo above is of Aussie Tim enjoying his birthday in Chile, and eating dinner with me of course.

And that's Tim's birthday cake. 

Not a bad view whilst eating lunch today. This is what we get to see all the way to the end of the world. 

Tomorrow I decided to race the last day of the week. A full report will be posted tomorrow night.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

El Bolson to Futaleufu. Riding the National Park. Today we enter Chile.

Saturday 15^th November 2014. Stage 83. El Bolson to NP Los Alerces. 106 kms, paved 65%, climbing 1233 metres, summit 800 metres. A nice easy recovery ride.

Like usual I was the last to leave the campsite and everyone was already up the road. I just chugged along and eventually caught up to Barry. Joost, Alfred and James were already up the road so there was no use chasing them down, even though the race today was only to lunch. I wanted to ride with Barry as we don't ride together that much lately.

The length of today's stage has been changed from 106 kms to 88 kms because Rob the Boss has been unable to get in contact with the people at the camping ground at NP Los Alerces. That means that 18 kms will be tact on to tomorrow's 125 kms which also involves the border crossing into Chile. Tomorrow looks like a long tough day in the saddle.

Back to the ride.

Barry and I rolled along all morning on a nice road which at times had tailwind, crosswind and headwinds to deal with. We had a couple of long climbs but none to difficult as the road was not all that steep. The scenery was now changing as the snow capped mountains were further away from the road and the valleys were now catering for sheep and cattle. Huge pastoral areas were now popping up everywhere, but still no towns to stop for a coffee and cake stop. Today it's all about doing the kms and getting the day over with.

At the 68 km mark we could see the red fire engine parked on the side of the road next to a famous old shack. It is said that it was at one time the hideout for 'Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid'. Damn I loved that movie. After looking at it, I'm not sure whether it was the right shack or not, as there were no signs anywhere and no one was around the place.

After lunch we got a peleton together and rode for about 10 kms before we hit the dirt. The dirt road is the one we will take for the next 250 kms or so. This road was not that bad, some rocks, lose gravel, sand, and a couple of small climbs. The weather all day was perfect, the sun was out, and we were in cruise mode enjoying the day.

After 88 kms we reached the 'Bike Dreams' flag and turned off to our campsite. I have no idea where this place is, other than to say 18 kms away from where we're suppose to be. You know what I do when I get into camp each day, and that's exactly what I did.

Arriving in a desolate campsite at 1.30pm and having done everything by 2.30pm leaves a long time to sit around do nothing. As we have 3 huge days in the dirt coming up I'll need all the rest I can get.

I'm currently sitting in 'Tent Hilton' hiding beside an old caravan trying to get out of this howling wind. Seriously the wind is blowing gale force and tents out in the open are copping a beating. I think I found the best place to set up camp for the evening.

Well, it's getting close to 8pm and past my bedtime.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Sunday 16^th November 2014. Stage 84. NP Los Alerces to Futaleufu. 143 kms, paved 30%, climbing 1387 metres, summit 780 metres. What a great day riding through the Los Alerces National Park.

Because we ended our day 18 kms short yesterday, that means we are now doing 143 kms. A big day and we have to cross the Chilean border.

The wind blew for quite some time last night and at stages I couldn't see the other tents because of the dust and leaves that were blowing up through the valley. At times I was afraid 'Tent Hilton' would be just a memory and then I would have to find another person to camp with. I don't think Bazz would be happy with that idea.

Today was breakfast at 7am and departure at 8am. I prefer this time even though it makes me get out of bed far too early in the morning. There was no racing today, so the agenda was to cruise, take photos and enjoy the National Park.

The first 60 kms was unpaved on a pretty good surface. We entered the National Park and soon found ourselves in a land full of huge trees overhanging the road all morning and a massive blue lake that would follow us to lunch time. The mountains are still covered with snow, but they are slowly melting away into the river and lakes in this part of Argentina. The ride was just superb, beautiful scenery looking out across the lake and up into the mountains all morning, made riding such a pleasure. I was taking it easy and for once riding with people I don't usually ride with. I must remember to do this more often.

Just before lunch I was roaring down a hill hitting bump after bump and then my water bottle cage broke in 2. My bottle went down the road, and when I picked it up I realised the lid had broke as well. Now I had the shits. I rode onto lunch taking time out to take photos of the lake and mountains, and enjoying the cool breeze that was now coming off the lake.

I could see the lunch truck parked on the side of the lake and it looked like one of those lunch stops you could stay at for hours. I pulled in and got my lunch ready and took up a seat next to my good mate, the famous Buck Benson. Looking out over the lake on a beautiful sunny day with the snow capped mountain in the distance was pretty tough, but I accepted it with open arms. I just couldn't imagine this day getting any better.

With lunch now tucked away in my belly, it was time to hit the dirt for about 5 kms and on with the pavement. The nice slick pavement was exactly what I was hanging for. Like usual I got to sit on the front for the next 10 kms then Barry and Buck took their turn. Within no time, we were rolling down into the town of Trevelin. We covered the 31 kms after lunch in just over 1 hour.

With 50kms still to go for the day, we decided to stop at a nice restaurant for coffee, ice cream and a coke. It was going to be a long day with the border crossing so adding another 30 minutes to the day wasn't going to cause the slightest of problems. We sat back on the pavement watching the world go bye and never saw one cyclist go past. These coffee stops are so refreshing and a good way to break up the afternoon's ride.

Now it was time to remount and get to the border. The Argentinian and Chilean border post was another 40 kms away and all on dirt, rock and sand. They say there are no easy days on the Andes Trail and today is looking like being another one of them. 

We hit the dirt and everyone rode their own tempo. Walter had stopped the fire engine about 30 kms from the finish, which was 10 kms from the border, for a refill stop. I topped up my bottle and put it in the remainder of the back rack and headed off. After about 30 minutes of riding I put my hand at the back of bike expecting to grab my bottle and low and behold, 1 more bottle was missing. I now had the shit even more. I looked around and couldn't see a thing. No option other than to press on.

I made the border post at 4.30 pm and it was a quick stamp and I was on my way to Chile. Of course I got the mandatory photo of entering Chile and then went and got a entry stamp into the country. The next 10kms to Futaleufu was on pavement through a valley with high mountains surrounding us and cattle all over the place.

We entered town and went straight to the hotel Rio Grande where we're staying for the night. We have good room and our own shower, WiFi is a bit hit and miss, but I'll go down to the plaza after dinner to try and get on.

Tomorrow is another day of playing in the dirt, rocks and sand. More climbing, but as long as the sun shines I'm happy.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Friday 14th November 2014. Stage 82b, 123 kms, San Carlos de Bariloche to El Bolson. Victory No.4 on Tour. More controversy leads to Alec leaving Tour.

I had a great dinner last night and a fantastic sleep. I decided that today was going to be the day that I go for broke and give it everything. Either you win or die trying.

Now there is one thing I want to discuss before I get into today's ride. About 4 nights ago Alec was assaulted by another rider in the tour. The evidence which is not challenged indicates he was talking to a friend when this cyclist walked up and punched him in the mouth. We call this at home a 'coward punch' or a 'king hit'. Alex gave the company an ultimatum, either the perpetrator leaves or he will. Without going further into all the discussions and emails, an apology was offered by the perpetrator and the company which was not accepted by Alec. As a result I said a fond farewell to Alec today before I rode out of town.

I can not find an angry bone in Alec's body and no one deserves to be king hit for doing nothing. In New South Wales if you do this you will go to gaol.

I found this interesting figure the other day in the town of Villa de Angostura.

The photo above was taken this morning with Alec and myself before the race. We had such a good time together and he had a smile that would light up your day. I look forward to catching up with Alec when I get home.

We rolled out of the hotel at 9am to ride the 123 kms to El Bolson. I didn't tell anyone other than Barry what I intended to do. We headed out through the centre of town and took a sharp right and then we started a steep climb of 2 kms at 18% gradient. I just followed James's wheel, and Alfred was right behind me. By the time we reached the summit we had about a 100 metres gap on the chasing bunch. I just kept going and soon James was off the back and chasing myself and Alfred.

Currently Alfred is about 5 hours behind James in the race to the end of the world, and today he his goal was to take 30 minutes out of James's lead.

The race today was on the major highway south called Route 40. Alfred and I continued to do equal work whilst I did the majority of the work on the climbs. The terrain was mainly rolling hills with about 3 long climbs before lunch at the 60km mark. The mountains are still covered with snow, but that didn't stop us from riding in beautiful conditions with the sun blazing down upon us. It was the first time in quite a while that I got a good sweat up. Haven't done that since Salta.

With pine forests as far as the eyes could see, and spectacular mountains all around we crested a climb and started to roar down into yet another valley. As we were hitting around 70kph, Alfred noticed the red fire engine parked off on the side of the road. I actually would have missed it if it wasn't for Alfred. We quickly stopped, filled up our bottles and took a couple of bananas and got back to the race.

I felt so strong in the morning and at times I thought about riding away from Alfred, but I knew we had to stay together if he were to achieve the 30 minute goal.

After lunch the road had a couple of good descents and 3 major climbs. Once again I got on the front and did all the work up the climb. I just tapped away and kept the same pace making sure Alfred was right on my wheel. At one time I noticed he had dropped back and was finding it hard to hang on up the climb. It was at this stage I thought I might have a chance to come in on my own and not as a group. When I was racing I always loved coming in on my own, it gave me a sense that I had completely done the job.

 The world map above will give you an idea of where we are in relation to your part of the planet.

This has to be one of the nicest parts of the world to ride in. Everyday I get to live the dream on this tour.

With 20 kms to go and with the road now going down into the valley, I got on the front and did a hard turn for the next 10kms. I then checked my Garmin a couple of times as I decided to attack Alfred with 5 kms to go. As we entered the town of El Bolson I came around Alfred and pushed as hard and fast as I could to try and create a cap. There is one thing I learnt throughout my racing career, and that is you never look back when you decide to go, and you leave nothing in the tank. It's all or nothing.

After about 1 km I looked behind and Alfred was a good 200 metres behind. I kept pushing through the town and out to where we are camping for the night. I can tell you it's a good feeling to see the 'Bike Dreams' flag and know you have won the stage. That now takes my total to 4 wins. For the next 6 days I intend to ride with the peleton, stop for coffee and cake, and enjoy myself and the marvelous scenery.

I got my photo taken after the win, but unfortunately no podium girls. Have to work on that next time.

Tomorrow is 106 kms and plenty of dirt and climbing. Personally I don't give a shit, I'm on holidays.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Rest Day in Bariloche.

Usually I have a lot to say about everything, but this time I have little.

My rest day was spent walking the streets of Bariloche with Barry. We went to the Cathedral, looked at shops and some more shops. Went to Macca's for a cup of coffee, looked at some more shops, and then went for lunch.

After lunch went back to the hotel and rested the afternoon away.

I went for dinner with Barry and JR at a ritzy restaurant and had pasta, so I'm ready for tomorrow's race over 120 kms.

After dinner we went and had an ice cream.

This holiday is not only about the bike, it's about meeting amazing people and seeing incredible sights. I thought the photo of the VW above was worthy to enter the best car competition on tour.

I took the above photo inside the Cathedral. To be honest it wasn't that impressive.

So that is what we did on our rest day.

And that's me above as proud as punch with another ice cream. Must diet when I get home.

Now it's finally getting dark in Bariloche at 9pm. Tomorrow we leave at 9am which will now give me about 10 hours sleep.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.