Wednesday 8 March 2023 – 263Km
The bike was fixed overnight so I now have all 6 gears to play with. The ride today sees more miles on the gravel of the Carretera Austral, there was some magnificent scenery to stop and admire on the way.
One of the guys I was riding with managed to hit a pot hole that bent the front wheel rim. A quick look at your instrument panel or GPS is enough for you to miss a deep pothole coming up, once you are on it, its too late to take avoiding action. This pothole must have been particularly deep because it bent the rim. The bike he was riding has tubeless tyres so fitting a tube in these remote areas is the only way to get mobile again.
Todays ride is 70% gravel, as I arrive at the fist section of gravel it is loose and freshly graded, after 30 miles or so I catch up with the graders and overtake them. The overtaking manoeuvre can be a bit of a challenge as I have to cross a ridge of gravel in the middle of the road. Pluck up the courage, tell myself it’s not very wide and plough through it as near to a right angle as I can. The bike makes an uncomfortable wobble and I am through, made it, get ready to cross it again as I move back to the right side of the road.
After I pass the graders the road is full of potholes, an uncomfortable ride follows.
The Mallin Colorado Ecolodge is an isolated set of lodges overlooking General Carrera Lake. Once I settled into the lodge I am allocated which is at the furthest end of the park, I walk back to the main lodge and restaurant to access the WiFi. The elderly owners are sat having afternoon tea and offer me sandwiches and cake which I gratefully accept. Very nice people who tell be they built the lodges so other people could enjoy the views from their home and property.
