September 15, 2024
Day 28: To Del Norte
Last night we figured would be our coldest night, camping at 3000 m. It was cold. I wore 2 pairs of socks, long underwear and pants, 3 merino shirts, and added my toque and puffy coat in the early morning. Fortunately, that was enough to sleep comfortably and it appears I’ll get through this trip with my summer sleeping bag. There’s nothing like staying awake due to cold.
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We were up and packed up quickly and leaving camp at 7:30. We knew we were in for descent right away which is good and bad. It’s good because sometimes it’s hard to get the legs moving first thing in the morning. It’s bad because it means a lot of wind and cold digits. It ended up being fine on both accounts and we were at the bottom (600 m down) in no time and making great progress distance wise.
Peter said we’d have to pay for the descent and it wasn’t long before we were climbing straight back up again to a similar elevation. The road grade was good as was the surface and we made great progress climbing, hitting the top by 10:30. That completed the majority of our climbing for the day. We didn’t stop at the top because it was still forested and there wasn’t much of a view so we headed straight back down. This time we didn’t need many layer la because the temperature was a comfortable 18-20 C.
The riding on the flat area was very nice with interesting rock formations. We decided to pull off for an early lunch at 11:30. We polished off more of the white bread and peanut butter and got started moving again by noon. We had 40 km left to Del Norte which was our goal for resupply. We will likely be out of cell service for 3 days. We may get lucky and have some service near the 2 gas station convenience stores but it’s 300 km to the next grocery store.
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The rest of the ride was nice. The wind was howling for a 5 km stretch but we got tucked around some bigger hills and that meant much lighter winds. The last 8 km if riding was in double track and it was fun because it had all different slopes and it was mostly downhill.
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We arrived in Del Norte at 2:45 which was our best average speed of the trip with the 2 descents and good road conditions. We headed straight for groceries. Our resupply for 3 days was huge we are pressed for space. We may carry a backpack for the morning until we eat a lunch to lighten the load. Our plan is to camp in the local park that’s allowed by the city. Currently we are sitting under a picnic cover and charging all our electronics.
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Tomorrow morning we will go for a big breakfast and then take on a 1200 m climb pretty much straight away. That will wake us up!
Since we are getting closer to the end of our trip we are also starting to look into flights and logistics. It’s tricky because we don’t want to book too early and then feel the pressure. And we also don’t want to leave it too late and end up with a 24 hour travel plan.
Highlights:
-two great descents
-great weather and views
-making great time and having a bit of break in Del Norte
Distance - 105 km / 976 m elevation gain
Today's ride: 105 km (65 miles)
Total: 3,194 km (1,983 miles)
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