December 18, 1999
Day 58 Estancia La Angostura
We are up early. There is a pattern to the wind, calmer early mornings. Then builds stronger as the day progresses.
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Today we have a tailwind!! We ride 50kms in 2 hours to the junction across Rio Chico and then the road turns Southwest. We are able to cycle a little way further until the road. turns. ever. so. slightly. again. Going even further Southwest. Again, we are in a "stronger than I am" crosswind and must walk.
Patrick chooses to walk matching Rachel's pace. Otherwise, if he would ride on, only to wait in a cool strong wind for Rachel to catch up. We discuss taking a ride if the opportunity arises. So far only a motorcycle has passed us today.
We keep walking.
We see behind us in the distance a black spot in the road. Is it the German cyclist? We pass over a cattleguard with a culvert with a reflector sign and a message "Special bikers picnic area" arrow pointing down. We keep going. The landscape is much the same grassland. We spook an armadillo from the middle of the road.
The black spot is closer now, it is the German and he is cycling!, though not in a straight line, but with a mountain bike it's possible to go out of the tire tracks over the mound of gravel. For us, we would start in a car track, be pushed over the mound into another car track and eventually on the opposite side of the road, stopping before being pushed into the ditch. Walking took less energy.
We stop for a break. We have seen the Estancia and know we are close to our destination. The German catches up and we visit for awhile, 4:30pm. It's been a long day since 9:30 when we were at the junction. Two hours for the first 50kms and 6 hours for the next 20.
The wind has eased a bit so we can ride the last few km. Estancia La Angostura is 4km from the road, down from the steppe and in the river basin protected from the wind.
We are greeted by an English speaking woman who shows us where to camp. Later, she comes over and says, "The lady of the house invites you in for a cup of tea." We had our cook stove out and about to make a tea. What a welcome invitation, we have tea and homemade cookies.
We have a hot shower in a side building that houses four beds and a nice bathroom. Tonight, we are the only guests here. After getting cleaned up we cook rice with vegetable soup mix, ham and cheese from a sandwich.
Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 2,520 km (1,565 miles)
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