Dave and his Bike

Days 173 to 176.

Day 173.

Day off in Los Andes. Primarily to recharge myself and get a bit of rest before the impending 3000m ascent.

I slept reasonably well. However when switching the light off last night something clicked in my rib cage and it’s now worse than it was. I’ve contemplated going to a doctor or hospital, but I haven’t seen much point until now as they would probably advise rest, which I would struggle with. I’ve already got some anti-inflammatories so I was hoping that would do for now.

Breakfast was good. Better than dinner. I then weighed up my options. If I’m going to get medical advice it may as well be when I’m on a rest day in a town where there’s a hospital. So off I trudged. Slowly.

After a couple of worthwhile hours in A&E, an X-ray and some phone translations, the upshot is that nothing is broken, which is a relief. The advice stays the same (rest but keep moving gently), but with stronger medication. I now have some tramadol which I’m supposed to take three times a day. I won’t. It’s horrible stuff. I’ll take one at night for a few days to help me sleep I think. Basically I need to suck it up, deal with the pain and keep on riding – so that is the plan. Other benefits from the hospital check-up are that I now know that my resting heart rate, blood pressure and sats are all good.

I found some lunch in the pretty and very busy little town centre, sitting in the parkland square to eat my sandwich having collected my prescription. A stroll back to the hotel via a supermarket for some water and other snacky stuff for riding was followed by some route research, an e-mail conversation with Zoe (www.roadtoframe.com) about her and Stew’s route over the Andes, then a very gentle dip in the pool, being careful not to hurt my ribs any more. Basically a cool off in the pool. No swimming involved.

Despite my reservations about the hotel restaurant, through sheer laziness I ate there again. The burger was better than the pizza. Just. The laziness continued for the remainder of the evening, under the guise of rest and recovery. A big couple of days ahead.

Day 174.

Slightly more comfortable sleep, but still wakeful due to the pain. Earlier breakfast so that I could get underway, then finished my packing and on the road for 0930hrs.

The alternative route out of town added a few kilometres, but was worth it for the quiet roads and therefore more ability to look at the scenery. The main road from here is the only one for miles (north or south) that crosses the Andes into Argentina, so has the potential to be really busy with heavy goods traffic.

Once I joined it (after about 13km) I was pleasantly surprised. Enough traffic but not ridiculous, and a wide enough shoulder for me to feel safe. I’d already been steadily climbing, and this continued for the rest of the morning as I watched the altitude gain on my Garmin. I could feel the air getting ‘fresher’ as I rode, but the temperature still hovered around 28°C, which I find amazing at over 1000m.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. I stopped several times to take photos as every time I went around a corner a new view appeared.

I aimed to stop for the night in a small village called Río Blanco. That would mean an altitude gain of over 700m – up to 1400m above sea level. The top of the pass is around 3100m, and there’s nowhere else to stay before you get there. Even though it’s only another 30km on the road I’d rather do it over two days and try to enjoy it. I’ve never been a great climber so I know I’m going to struggle anyway, especially with panniers and a really painful rib cage.

I got to Río Blanco at lunchtime. The refuge I had messaged had replied saying that they were full, so I tried several other places that were shown on the map, even asking in a couple of cafés. All to no avail. I tried the refuge on the off chance that something had changed. It hadn’t, but the lady who runs it rang someone in the village who has offered me a bed for the night. Result. I’ve got to wait a few hours until she gets home from work, but I’m happy with that.

After sitting around for hours, I began to question my logic. I could have carried on; my legs felt good and I was enjoying the ride. However by the time I felt guilty enough to continue it was too late, so I resigned myself to whatever was going to happen. Eventually I knocked on the door again and asked if the lady who had a room was going to collect me. It turns out she was there all the time, cleaning, tidying and watering the garden. I had even spoken with her. Bloody typical.

She (Maria) took me straight round to a small house a couple of hundred metres away that is under renovation, and barely habitable. It does have a bed, but I will be using my sleeping bag. Dinner was a hotdog from a van – you pay the local shop, then take a ticket to the van. It’s a bit convoluted, but I suppose it means there’s never any cash in the van to steal. One of the massively overriding things in Chile seems to be a lack of trust, and security from theft. Every house, business, shop, plot of land has big security fences and gates. All windows have grills. It doesn’t make you feel that you’re in a safe and friendly environment. Sad really, because everyone I’ve spoken to has been kind and helpful.

Argentina tomorrow, so I’ll be able to make a comparison.

Distance cycled so far: 8705.1km

Day 175.

Today is the one day that I have been stressing about more than any other since before I left home. Could I actually cycle over the Andes.

I slept reasonably well, in spite of the accommodation. I was up and away from the remains of the house just after 0800hrs, and went straight to a little restaurant on the main road for a sandwich and a coffee. The downside of stopping halfway up a 70km climb is that the next morning you are straight back on it – no gentle warm up, just uphill from the word go. So I was treated to a bit of 10% just to remind me of that, before it eased off a bit and maintained a slightly easier incline which I got into a rhythm with.

It was nicely cool – around 18°C – which was a pleasant start to the day’s ride. The higher I got, the sun’s warmth was balanced out by the cooler air at altitude meaning I didn’t really overheat much but still used sun block as the chance of burning was increased. Along the valley there were a couple of stretches of galleried tunnels. Fortunately they had tracks running alongside them meaning I didn’t have to ride in them – they are too narrow and not lit. It was 16km to the point where the hairpin bends started – and continued for 10km.

It didn’t particularly get steeper there – just a steady 7 to 8% – except on the bends and an occasional little ramp. I got to bend 14 before I stopped. Even then I will use the excuse of wanting to take photographs.

Once I thought I had reached the top of the bends, there was a straighter section. Leading to the next set of hairpins. They seemed harder, which I’m sure was just fatigue setting in. The ski village of Portillo was abandoned. No snow, no cafés or restaurants, absolutely nowt. Shame really, I could have done with a coffee. I could then see a long galleried tunnel approaching, again with a (really badly surfaced) road alongside it, which I took. It seemed to disappear over a brow and I couldn’t see anything beyond it. Basically I had reached the top of the climb before I realised.

At this point there is a choice. You either go through the 3km Tunel Christo Redentor, or turn right and go up a gravel road, negotiate 52 more hairpin bends, and climb another 647m to the statue / monument of the same name. Earlier in the day I was feeling good, spinning happily along, thinking that I might give the gravel road a try. By the time I got to the junction it was no longer an option. I know my limits. 3185m will do. I broke two personal records today anyway; the highest I’ve ever been on my bike; the slowest 30km I’ve ever ridden (over 3hrs 30mins). I would love to have done it, but have no regrets about not doing.

Fairly obviously you aren’t allowed to cycle through the tunnel. There is a sign directing you to an office, where I was met by a friendly bloke who immediately asked if I wanted to go through. He then proceeded to put my bike on the back of his truck and drive me into Argentina, stopping just the other side of the tunnel. No fee, they just take pedestrians and cyclists as a matter of course. Perfect.

At a kiosk in the road (which I thought was customs) I was handed a slip of paper and told to take it to the customs office. 18km further down the road. I stopped for a coffee and empanada to celebrate my (almost) border crossing, and reaching the high point of my trip.

I then started to descend. Easy kilometres (especially after this morning), but sadly the road surface isn’t good, so I had to slow down a lot or risk wrecking my bike (or me). The road was the same on the climb, but doesn’t really matter at 7kph. Hopefully it’ll be better lower down the mountain.

Part way down there was a valley to my left where you should be able to see Aconcagua. There’s a viewpoint marking the spot, so I stopped for a look. Sadly the biggest mountain in South America (6960m) was obscured by clouds. Not surprising really.

I overshot the customs offices – you actually have to turn off the road to find them. Once I’d climbed back up to them (I didn’t need that), I was waved past the long queue of waiting cars, and was dealt with in about 20 minutes. The cars must take hours. Unfortunately Argentina is another country where they don’t stamp your passport. Oh well.

A speedy 500 metres further down the hill is a little place called Puente del Inca. Hotels shown. None exist. Again. I asked at a trinket shop and was directed to the army barracks opposite. Weirdly, they have a ‘hotel’. My accommodation tonight is therefore a six bunk room with no windows, all to myself. No food or WiFi, but cheap. I did have to change some Chilean pesos into Argentinian pesos to pay for it. There are quite a few others staying here too – walkers and mountain bikers.

I had a stroll back to the village, primarily for food. The bridge referred to in the village name is used for coating items (almost anything) in calcium deposits as the flow from the mountains is mineral rich. A slightly strange concept, but makes for an interesting landscape. Whilst there I met two Colombian cyclists on a grand tour of South America. They are heading in the opposite direction to me and funding it by selling bracelets which they make. I bought one. We swapped Instagram details. Nice guys. Very small.

I had a toasted sandwich for dinner. Not the best nourishment but it’ll do for tonight. I’ll be in a bigger town tomorrow so can eat properly then.

Overall an incredible day. I feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure that this is actually happening. It is surpassing all of my expectations.

On another note, happy birthday to Liz (my sister) and Katie (Jane’s sister). I hope you both had good days.

Distance cycled so far: 8757km.

Day 176.

My first full day of riding in Argentina.

I slept well. Either my ribs are improving, or the medication is working. I suspect a bit of both. It was therefore nearly 0800hrs when I got up, fully expecting to have to go out to source some breakfast. I was wrong. I lugged all of my kit down two flights of stairs to the smell of toast, and found that for my £14.50 overnight fee breakfast was included. Only toast and coffee, but that was perfect. I was then on the road by 0900, after a short conversation with one of the other guests who told me that the cassette on my bike is too small (i.e. I’m overgeared). He’s not the first. To be fair, if I ever did anything this stupid again I would look at lower gears. They seem low to me compared to what I used to ride in the Alps and Pyrenees when I was younger.

It was only 9°C, so I was wearing more than usual, also in anticipation of not pedalling much for a while. The first 20km would have gone very quickly if I hadn’t kept stopping to take pictures, but it is so beautiful here I couldn’t stop myself. The couple of villages shown on the map (Punta de Vacas and Polvaredas) were pretty much non-existent, so any thoughts of stopping for a coffee soon evaporated.

After about 25km the road mainly levelled out, with some undulations to remind me to pedal. I got off the road a few times in order to get out of the way of the heavy goods lorries which didn’t slow down much, and weren’t keen on giving me any room. Self preservation. By this time I had ditched the leg warmers and skull cap, but kept my jacket on. It was warm in the sun but chilly in the shade.

There are a series of tunnels along the valley. They are not long at all, but I stopped short of each one to ensure that I wasn’t going to be battling with traffic when going through. Other than that, and the magnificent Andes all around me, there isn’t a lot I can say. It was like cycling through a geography text book.

Uspallata is still at almost 1900m above sea level. Therefore when I arrived and sat outside a little restaurant it was better to be in the sun than the shade. I had a ‘small’ burger, which was massive, and then looked for some accommodation. I would have preferred to carry on a bit, but am again dictated to by the location of places to stay, so I didn’t want to commit to long hours and massive mileage. I’ll save that for when I need to.

There’s quite a bit of accommodation here. I opted for a cabin over a hotel, as it’s more cost effective (about £33) and I have loads of space – nice after the last couple of days. Since I can self-cater I went out and bought some noodles, fruit, and drinking water, and found a bakery for breakfast in the morning.

More descent tomorrow overall. There’s a few hundred metres of climbing again along the way, but a net loss of around a thousand metres. Bigger mileage, so I shouldn’t be too late getting away.

Distance cycled so far: 8827km.