February 7, 2011
The meeting.
A few days ago my attention was drawn to a forum on this site: titled, Argentinian Route 3 South of Comodora Rividavia. Today I met the author of this Forum on the road; but more in a moment.
After a week of rising late, it's sometimes not so easy going back to waking at dawn and setting-off before seven. Last-night: I had the lulling sound of the stream and the occasional leap of a trout, but I just lay there not feeling sleepy: eventually I did and looking at the watch when I awoke it had gone 6.30 which is normally the time I'm ready to set-off such is my anxiety to cycle far enough before the wind rises. Today however it would remain warm and windless all day, so in the end the late start didn't matter.
My road continued along the Rio Tecka to the village of that name which I reached at 10.30. I stopped at the YPF service-station to buy drinks and use the wifi. By the time I had done all I'd wanted to do, bought sandwiches and filled up on water, time had flown: it had gone 12.00 on checking the watch. The day had started slow and now I had 86km to ride to the next village, Gobernador Costa, which I planned on reaching by evening.
The road onwards was a chance of scenery, from the curvy line of willow-tree enclosed riverbank, with lush pasture and dry arid hills on either side of the valley, to a long gradual climb up more dry hills ahead. The road-builders though had done a good job as the gradient was ever so gentle that I could ride in the third sprocket out from the spokes and I didn't sweat much more than hitherto, but it went on and on. I thought eventually I had come to the last bend only to see on turning it another long uphill straight till another bend beyond which the road continued on a ledge across a hillside.
Since leaving Tecka, the traffic had thinned out as much of the cars had turned-off, taking lateral Route 25 East. There were trucks; most of which had Chilean plates as this is the only overland route to the far South of Chile. Shortly after cresting the hill, I saw something ahead on the gravel shoulder by a crash barrier. I thought first it was a car, but it was too small for a car and besides it was a strange colour, yellow and some other colours: maybe a quad-bike. No. As I got closer, I could see it was at lease two bicycles clad with panniers, and on drawing level saw a tandem with bob-trailer, and two other bikes, one with a second Bob-trailer. They had an awful weight with large dry-bags on top of the supplied bob-trailer-bags as well as four panniers on each bike. I thought here are people that are well stocked up. I as yet had not seen anybody. Bikes and I were on a bridge so the owners were no doubt below. I was excited as this was the first cycle-tourers I'd seen in a very long time.
I walked down the embankment to where I expected to find them in the hole underneath the road: there it was a large square tunnel; good place to camp at night or shelter from the wind or sun during the day. The four cyclists were laid-out having a nap. The woman that remained awake introduce herself. Nancy, her husband that was now awake and two teenage boys which are the couples sons.
"We're cycling down route 3 to Ushaia" Nancy says "we woulda loved to be riding 40 the whole way South, but some motorbikers that we met that have ridden it say it's in awful condition, so we figured Route 3 was the way to go. Am fed-up. We've been on the road for three years. I just wanta get to Ushaia and be finished" They are from Seattle and have ridden from Alaska. The extraordinary thing about this cycling family is that the youngest of the boys aged 13 will go in the Guinness Book of records as the youngest to ride from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Quite an achievement for a thirteen year old. I had to laugh when talking to Nancy about the bike, I say "mudguard" and the son buts in "whaa-sa mudguard mom". "Fender" replied I.
This evening as I write, I have not made it to my goal for the day Gobernader Costa, because the road crossed a long bridge 14km beforehand and the river below had such nice grassy banks and tree-cover, so nice that I decided to stop and camp.
Today's ride: 111 km (69 miles)
Total: 10,073 km (6,255 miles)
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