November 27, 2010
Big detour 2.
The lack of cover prompted me to pack my stuff as soon as I stirred in the morning. I then spent a half hour on breakfast of coffee and sweet fruit loaf sat in the gateway before leaving at seven, so to cars passing at that hour, it looking like I had just stopped for a rest and had not been camping.
It looked to be yet another warm day, the sky was cloudless and when I reached a service station at 8.20, the fans in the cafeteria weren't switched on so it felt like a sauna as I sat down to morning coffee. Furthermore, it was a bit pricey at 7.5 for coffee, 1.5 Euro, and later when I took a 1.5l bottle of Pepsi it was 10, where it's normally 7/8 pesos. But the place had one redeeming reason for lingering, namely wifi, or not as later in the day would prove. I lingered there while I should have been riding reading updates on this website till 9.30.
Cycling on I see a sign for the following places, SANTA CLARA, SALVADOR and CONCORDIA. Concordia! Sure isn't anywhere near where I want to go. I check the map and apparently I've missed a turn, but it was only a 100m back to the right road which wasn't too obvious as it began along the frontal area of the service station and I'd missed the sign looking in at the forecourt.
On the right road looking at the right sign, COLON 107km, COLON de URUGUAY 136km, the later is the full name of the former, I was beginning to think is there two Colon cities? I consult the Rutas Argentinas map which wasn't much help and in anycase is falling apart at the fold-lines and will soon be binned. I pull out my old Uruguay map which overlaps the extreme East of this province, Entre Rios, is already separated at the folds but is very detailed so it remains in my procession. Problem solved, at lease I surmise, CONCEPTION de URUGUAY is approximately 30km South of Colon which tallies with the 107 and 136 on the sign. The sign makers made a mistake the only plausible reason for the two Colons.
Next I past through a large town and stop at a supermercado to stock-up on food for the day, I include another 1.5l bottle of Pepsi, now with two rolled inside my sleeping mat I wasn't going to go a miss of a cold drink today. Though, the day was already changing. There were now white wisps of cloud and haze moving in on a brisk breeze making it cooler. After a stop around noon at a bus-shelter the wind picked up coming in gusts which would push on my side then swing round and hit me head on. The speed on the computer dropped from 20 to 15 then 12 eventually 9/10 as I struggled to ride forward. Coupled with the wear to the drive-train which meant the chain slipped if I tried to fight the wind so I had to settle for a slow steady pace.
It now looked questionable whether I would reach Colon today which is the usually frustration with the wind, it holds you prisoner on the road stopping you from reaching your desired destination for the day. I had to wait until I reached another bus-shelter before I could stop for a belated lunch at 3.30 and there still remained 58km to Colon. As I ate the wind howled out and the trees across the road swayed. "Oh no it's getting worse" I thought. However, I need not have worried too much as it began to settle by the time I decided to ride on.
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I now thought that if I kept pressing on I could reach Colon by dark or shortly thereafter. As rain clouds gathered I past through another town at six which looked like a nice place and it had crossed my mind to stop there, but two hours daylight remained so the 30km remaining was achievable. I kept going. The cloud cover was dark blue and cars drove with full beam headlights, soon it began to rain a little then stopped and held off another while.
There was a sign for a camping site but when I got that far it was 2km off the mainroad along a track and ahead I could see forestry plantations so why pay for something which can be got for free. Much of the plantation when I reached it was unfenced so access was easy. It was too good an offer to pass by. Later as I wrote my diary camped inside the perimeter fence by a forest of young pine-trees the rain could be heard consistently on the flysheet so it was a well made decision.
There followed a blowy overcast morning and the flysheet dried out fast. The inner-tent had got wet at the lower inner end as the rain had somehow gotten in. It needed drying and I reckoned there being little point in arriving in town early as most things would not open to near noon on a Sunday morning, so I lingered on with the tent and sleeping bag hung out to dry on the fence for the fresh breezy morning to do it's work, before pushing my bike back to the road at 10.30.
It was only a few kilometres from where I'd camped to the slip-road onto Route 14 which at the moment on this section is being converted into a Autopista style road, as such the additional carriageway being builded is near completion with a smooth concrete surface and I had it all to myself. Though, the construction work has obliterated all the road-signs. And I was looking for the Northern access road for Colon but which way, as I past a couple of off-slips without a sign showing to where. I investigated one going over the motorway via the bridge to find the road continued unpaved. So I kept riding South assured that I'd find the Southern access road which I had cycled off on when coming in the other direction almost three months ago so it should be familiar.
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Sure enough it was obvious and I did feel a sense of familiarity having been here at the beginning of September. The cloud cleared and it was a warm afternoon. The town was full of weekenders as it is a resort town with a beach on the right-bank of the Uruguay river. It is only a few weeks to the Summer holidays and places like Colon will be alot more busier from now on. I have a fond memory of it being much nicer in September without the holidaymakers.
Today's ride: 145 km (90 miles)
Total: 6,676 km (4,146 miles)
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