Tuesday 7 March 2023 – 412Km
Well the bike didn’t magically get fixed overnight which means changing gear is a problem. So here is the decision I need to make, what gear am I going to select for the entire days ride? First is too low a gear, fourth is too high a gearing, that leaves second or third. I going to ride some of the Carretera Austral, a famous road running South through Chile, I know some of it is a bit technical so my choice has to be second gear.
Todays ride is going be 50/50 tarmac and gravel, the first part of the Carretera Austral was tarmac so the bike was revving quite hard to make progress at 90 to 100kph. This is when I realised I had a second problem for the day, the amount of fuel I was using, would I find sufficient fuel stations on the journey?
Just after the start of the Carretera Austral I see a fuel station and pull in, they won’t serve fuel as the delivery tanker is offloading, the increased fuel consumption of the bike means I must get fuel, I wait for an hour to fill up and get back on the road.
I was hearing rumours that storms over the last few days had damaged a lot of roads in the direction I was travelling and I could expect roadworks and delays. When I last rode the Carretera Austral it rained for the entire journey and I was disappointed that I couldn’t enjoy the scenery, this time the sun was shining and the views were stunning.
Riding in gravel with steep inclines and 180 degree bends in second gear was an interesting and challenging at times. Every year more of the road gets a tarmac surface, I could see the difference from my last visit in 2018, thankfully enough gravel remains for an interesting and challenging ride.
For the last 50Km of the ride to the hotel I opted for a gravel section, a good end to the days riding on some challenging sections of unpaved roads.
