Dave and his Bike

Days 181 to 184. The Pampas.

Day 181.

Not a bad sleep – I think I must have been tired. Breakfast was served, not buffet, but was just enough to get me on the road.

The weather was much better today. Still windy, but more sunshine and about 5° warmer, and importantly not raining. The route out of town was very easy. The dual carriageway quickly became a single carriageway, and at that time of day the traffic was light. The downside of the smaller road was that the hard shoulder soon petered out to nothing, meaning that when lorries passed me I had to get on the verge, which got more frequent as the traffic built up throughout the morning. Frustrating.

Speed was up a bit from yesterday too. I think the wind wasn’t quite as strong and the road a bit flatter. After 45 kilometres I stopped at a petrol station (as usual) for a coffee and a croissant, and a video call with Jane. A lorry driver came over and said he’d passed me on the road, and wished me luck. A lady sitting at another table asked where I was heading, and wished me the same. People seem genuinely interested in where I am from and what I am doing, and their encouragement and enthusiasm is very uplifting. I had just passed a random sign (in the middle of nowhere) about Las Malvinas. We didn’t discuss it.

Immediately after leaving the petrol station I noticed a track running alongside the road. On investigation it appears to be the old road, quite narrow and not maintained at all. I decided to give it a try. It was very rough and slow going, but the trade off was worth it as I had it to myself and didn’t have to worry about the traffic at all.

A couple of times I had to walk a few metres, and occasionally I was forced back onto the road when the track was fully overgrown, but I stuck with it for 30km until I got to Sampacho, and another petrol station. Over a sandwich and a bottle of Tango I mulled over my options. Plan A had been to stay here, and Plan B (which I had opted for this morning) was to carry on to Río Cuarto, another 50km down the road. The conditions (weather and roads) meant I was feeling quite fatigued. Looking at the overall picture and the time I have left, I’m not in a massive hurry – partly because of my bus escapade – so I reverted to plan A and have booked into another 1970s hotel. It’s clean, really cheap (the equivalent of about £16), and breakfast is included. I’ll do the 50km tomorrow morning, and hopefully avoid the bulk of the traffic.

Dinner didn’t really exist. I was pointed in the direction of a good restaurant by the hotel owner, but when I got there it was closed. I wasn’t particularly hungry, and couldn’t be bothered to try to find anything else, so popped into a small shop and bought a pastry and a bottle of water. I’ll try harder tomorrow.

My deviation off the main road did mean that I saw a bit more wildlife. In addition to more birds of prey, I saw a couple of tegus – metre long lizards that are pretty impressive, and can run really fast. Still no llamas.

Distance cycled so far: 9124km.

Day 182.

I thought that my rib cage was improving, but last night it kept me awake a bit. Maybe it was the bed. It’s loads better when I’m riding, it’s just lying down that hurts which is annoying. Breakfast was very pastry based. Calories but not tasty ones. The coffee was quite good though.

On the bike by about 0845hrs, and straight into the headwind. For the first 12km there was no alternative to the main road, so getting off the carriageway or stopping for lorries was the order of the day to start with. There was then a short (3km) section of old road, which was still reasonably well surfaced, at the end of that, on the other side of the road was a gravel track, which was actually better to ride on than old broken tarmac and concrete. I enjoyed that section despite the strongest headwind that I’ve encountered so far, and the occasional bit where it was just sand.

Sadly though, after a further 10km I was forced back on to the road, and the joys of avoiding traffic. Almost immediately, when I headed off the tarmac onto the grass for the umpteenth time, the cable holding my handlebar bag in place snapped. I’m pretty sure it’s the culmination of 12 years of wear and tear, exacerbated recently by bouncing around on gravel tracks and jumping off the road. I may also have had too much weight in it. As a result my handlebar bag hit my front wheel, making me stop very quickly so that I didn’t wreck everything.

It’s a steel wire, which fortunately I’d left longer than necessary, so after a five minute roadside repair I was moving again. On the edge of Santa Catalina I was stopped at a police checkpoint, by a happy, smiling officer who wanted to know where I was going, and where I came from. I showed him my Polarsteps map (it’s been a useful visual aid) of where I’ve been so far. He took a photo of my bike (but not me) shook my hand and sent me on my way. I wish I’d taken a photo – I always forget.

With 10km to go to my destination (very short day), the road became a dual carriageway. However, rather weirdly one side of it has never been fully commissioned and was bollarded off, which clearly didn’t stop me or any mopeds from using it. It was a great way to get to the outskirts of town without the hassle of other traffic.

Riding through the suburbs of Río Cuarto was the usual run-down affair, with plenty of traffic light intersections. I’m staying at the Grand Hotel. It isn’t. But it is on the main square so the location is good, and to be fair it’s not bad – clean and comfortable. I paid a visit to a currency exchange, and had a short walk around the town centre. The cathedral (of the Immaculate Conception) is relatively modern, being built over less than a decade, commenced in 1883 and in the baroque style. Sadly the town planners at some point have allowed blocks of flats to be built immediately adjacent which somewhat spoils its impact. A bit of lunch and a lie down occupied the rest of my afternoon.

Dinner was at a restaurant recommended by the hotel reception. This time it was open. The lasagna was very good – it made a really nice change from recent pastry based meals, and was accompanied by a very pleasant merlot from Mendoza. I asked for a glass and got half a bottle. Not wanting to insult anyone by leaving it, I did the decent thing.

A very short walk back to the hotel and bed. Eat, sleep, cycle (in the wind), repeat…

Distance cycled so far: 9172km

Day 183.

Breakfast was pastry based again. It would appear to be the staple morning diet here. I stocked up anyway.

My route options today were either the main road or a minor one running parallel a short distance away. I initially went for the second option, but after a bout 2km of leaving the hotel, and whilst I was still in town, the road turned to gravel, and not in a good way – it was more like sand and rocks. After a couple of kilometres fighting this and avoiding street dogs there was a junction with the beautiful, smooth, tarmac road. I succumbed. It turned out to be a good move.

It was the nicest bit of road surface I’d ridden on for a very long time. With it being Saturday the traffic was light, and surprisingly the wind had moved – I now had a crosswind. All in all that added up to much better riding conditions, and I cruised along quite well.

The scenery sadly hadn’t improved – just a vast expanse of flatlands, some areas with crops, others just appeared barren. I’d hoped for a coffee stop somewhere along the way, but there was nothing, not even a petrol station, so my emergency biscuit rations took a hit. I did detour slightly through the village of Villa Reducción, established in 1691 and restored in 2024 (apparently). A bizarre pace with brand new roads, a Las Malvinas memorial, and not much else. I didn’t stop. The only thing I achieved was being chased by an energetic collie dog. He gave up eventually.

I had identified a hotel at the 70km point, but I was so far ahead of my estimated time schedule (it was only 1230hrs) that I carried on. On the edge of La Carlota was a petrol station and shop. The toasted sandwich fuelled me enough to get into town, and the Hotel Avenida. Clean, cheap, and friendly staff.

The town seems very much like most other places I’ve passed through in Argentina. A bit drab and uninspiring, but always clean and tidy. Some buildings may be derelict and there are plenty of vacant shop premises, but there’s not much in the way of graffiti, and no litter anywhere. The hotel receptionist was sweeping the footpath when I went for a walk.

Dinner was at a restaurant / bar about 100m away. Milanese is a breaded piece of thin meat, rather like schnitzel, served with fried eggs. Apparently it’s a local thing. The beef variant I had was tasty but a bit overcooked. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I realised today that I’ve been travelling for more than six months now. How time flies.

Distance cycled so far: 9281km

Day 184.

High dose Diclofenac and some tramadol meant I was more comfortable overnight. Thankfully. Breakfast was the usual – variations on a theme of pastry – with coffee. On the road by 0900hrs.

Again I was confronted with a sandy, gravel, corrugated road out of town as far as the main highway, then smooth tarmac for the rest of the day.

Today seemed particularly straight and flat, with nothing much to break up the landscape. The occasional herd of cattle on grassy plains was the only relief from endless fields of crops – mainly corn, which I guess is used as cattle food. At times it was all I could see as far as the horizon.

After 43 km I stopped at a petrol station near Canals – the only one for miles. Unfortunately they were experiencing a power cut, so no coffee, meaning I had to settle for a cold drink. A further 24km got me to my planned destination for the day, a hotel next to another petrol station. When I arrived the place seemed closed, so I got a coffee (at last) and asked the staff at the petrol station. It turns out that they run the hotel, but unfortunately they don’t get the rooms cleaned on a Sunday. So although no-one was staying there, no rooms were available. Interesting business model. I was offered a room where one bed had been slept in, but the second one hadn’t, but they wanted the full price and there was nowhere to eat tonight or tomorrow (garage closed for some reason). I declined.

Another 22km got me to Arias, and a choice of hotels. The Victoria Hotel is another clean, affordable place with breakfast. The owner has even offered to order food in for me tonight. Perfect. That said, I walked the 1.5km into town, as much to stretch my legs as anything. The place had again (like other towns) gone from an apparently deserted, closed backwater, to a thriving little town centre with people in all of the cafés, restaurants and bars, families in the parks and gangs of children racing around on bikes. The change in the early evening is amazing.

A cheap (but tasty) blue cheese pizza and a bottle of water filled a hole and I strolled back to the hotel. A couple of hours earlier there had been a very short, light shower. The day had been overcast and the clouds got darker throughout the afternoon. Walking back in the dark I could see lightening to the north and east, and I fully expect a storm at some point. It feels humid enough.

Distance-wise, I had split 134km into two days. With the extra hour this afternoon it now means a very short day tomorrow to a bigger town where I’m planning a day off for a bit of a rest and to wash some cycling clothes.

Going off on a slight tangent, I’ve found somewhere else in the world where Renault 12s live on. I hadn’t seen any since Turkey, but now they are back. Just the saloons this time though, no estates – yet.

Distance cycled so far: 9371km.