Friday 10 March 2023 – 322 KM
The day didn’t start well, I have 120Km of challenging gravel ahead of me and I can’t even get the bike out of the gate from last nights accommodation. I missed my footing as I stopped to shut the gate and lay the bike down. No damage dome to me or the bike, just a small dent in my pride.
I rode this particular road 4 years ago and I was hopeful it had improved in that time, I was pretty sure that wouldn’t be the case, I was right. The road is a short cut connecting 2 sections of the famous Ruta 40 that offers some fantastic views over an isolated ladscape.
Ruta 40 is a 5000+Km road in Argentina that runs parallel to the Andes Mountains. I rode with caution, perhaps too cautiously, a little more speed may have been helpful and given me greater stability. When you are in such an isolated area and so far from help perhaps caution is the right approach! Towards the end of the gravel the famous Patagonian wind speed had risen to the point that I had to lean the bike into the wind to keep it in a straight line. A gust of wind would easily push the bike into the deepest gravel away from the narrow wheeling I was focused on. That evening, talking over a beer to some of my fellow riders we all felt the very last few metres of gravel, when we could see the tarmac of Ruta 40 and the predictability it offered was the most difficult part of the road, falling off the bike at this point would have been a ironic. I was please to see the end of this particular road although I and the other riders felt a sense of achievement that we had conquered these challenging riding conditions.
The first fuel station after leaving the Estancia is a journey of160Km, from the last fuel we filled up at yesterday, this gave a total distance of 350Km, a stretch for the fuel range of many bikes particularly riding in strong winds. The Estancia had a fuel bowser and topped up all our tanks, not the cheapest fuel in Argentina, nevertheless still much cheaper than the UK. Anyway expensive fuel is better that no fuel and we were all grateful for the fill up.
The destination for tonight is Al Calafate, this town is on the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, visitors come here to see the massive Perito Moreno Glacier. The rest of the ride to Al Calafate was straightforward, although the Patagonian wind continued to increase in strength as the day wore on.
No bike riding tomorrow, a chance to relax and catch up with the rest of the world.
