Dave and his Bike

Days 185 to 189.

Day 185.

Breakfast was better this morning as there was bread and a toaster, so a bit of a variation from the norm. Despite a lie-in and being in no hurry to get away, I was still on the road by 0900hrs. The weather was better – actually warm and sunny with a slight cross-tail wind making the riding relatively easy, although this was my sixth day since I had a break so I was a bit weary.

There wasn’t much change in the scenery, other than the appearance of a few small lakes on either side of the road – as much flooded low spots on the plains as anything else. There was also no change in the frequency of coffee stops. Rare. So no mid-ride refreshment today.

After about 35km I saw a fully loaded touring cyclist coming in the opposite direction, so we stopped for a chat.

Tom is a New Zealander who sold up his business and has spent the last five years on the road. It makes my paltry six month effort look a bit poor. Despite interruptions from Covid, he has travelled all over the world, clocking tens of thousands of kilometres in the process. We exchanged some tales of the road, destinations and routes, and after about half an hour went off in opposite directions. We’ll be in touch via social media no doubt. Really interesting bloke who I could have chatted with for much longer.

Venado Tuerto wasn’t much further down the road. The outskirts are quite industrial, but the centre has several pretty squares and parks, and a choice of hotels. I picked one with good reviews and booked in for two nights. The cooler weather has made drying my clothes more difficult if I wash them myself, so in the interests of personal hygiene I dropped a bag off at a launderette and will collect it tomorrow.

After a lie down and a bit of a nap I ventured into town in the pursuit of calories. The Henry Cook gastro pub was perfect. The Patagonia beer tasted strangely English, and the Americano burger was good too. A relatively early night followed. As per usual.

Distance cycled so far: 9418km

Day 186.

Rest day.

Having ridden (to a certain degree) every day for the last seven days I was due a day off. So I took one. I’ve also got some days to play with before I arrive in Buenos Aires, so there’s no rush for mileage.

Today was a familiar admin type day. Steady stroll into town; coffee and people watching; collect laundry; get a haircut (a bit overdue); read my book; catch up with phone calls. It was a warm and sunny day, so mooching about was very pleasant. I had a surprise call from Steve (Thailand & Malaysia companion) which lifted my spirits somewhat. He’s now venturing out on his bike in chilly (and windy) weather back home in France, and hopefully planning the next expedition.

Other than the above, not much to report, and no photos – although Venado Tuerto is a really nice town. Dinner was back at the same place as last night, but the steak caught my eye this time. When in Argentina… I also succumbed to the happy hour 2 for 1 deal on the beer, which I declined last night (strangely enough). I don’t like to drink much on my own in places I don’t know, but caved in this time.

Back on the bike tomorrow, smelling much cleaner. Hopefully the wind will have dropped a bit.

Day 187.

I was a bit later setting off than I’d hoped to be, having had to sort out a bit of a banking glitch, but I knew it wasn’t going to be a particularly long day.

My first stop was at the bakery opposite the hotel to pick up some rations in the event that there was nothing en-route. Which there wasn’t. Navigation out of town was simple, and I was soon on highway 33, which made a pleasant change from highway 8, in name only. The was no hard shoulder, and possibly because it was a bit later in the day the traffic was quite heavy. After 12km I eventually got the option of a track alongside the road.

It started well, but soon deteriorated and was hard going. Not only was I battling the headwind (again), but dealing with ruts in what looked and felt like a farm track. At points it was almost overgrown and picking a route wasn’t easy, but there was no traffic to contend with, no diesel exhaust in my lungs and not much noise. I loved it. The thirty something kilometres I rode like this didn’t go quickly. It was slow and physically draining, so I was glad to be able to stop occasionally to drink and devour the aforementioned pastries. I love it when a plan comes together.

Unfortunately, for the last ten or so kilometres to Firmat I was forced back onto the busy road and constantly looking over my shoulder. Almost the first building I came to was a petrol station. Despite the pastry I was hungry and thirsty, so an empanada and some Gatorade was consumed (in seconds), and I took some time to look again at accommodation options.

The Hotel Posta de Juarez won. Massive room, nice bathroom and breakfast included. It also has the benefit of being next to a decent bar/restaurant, and two blocks from a small supermarket. So having stocked up with fluids (I have a fridge in my room) and rested in my room for a while, I ventured into the restaurant, or more accurately a gastro-pub. The veal Milanese was huge – more than I really wanted – but I’m not one to turn away food that I’ve paid for. It was excellent.

All of that food made me weary, so I did the obvious thing and went to bed.

Distance cycled so far: 9477km

Day 188.

Today was more of the same. After the usual hotel breakfast I was on the road just after 0900hrs. Within two kilometres I was on a dirt track; the old railway line runs alongside the main road, and a track runs next to it. It wasn’t really gravel, more like compacted sand and mud, so fortunately it hasn’t rained recently otherwise it would have been a bit of a mess.

Sadly, near to the towns and villages fly tipping is rife. Not something I’ve experienced for a while, and meant that flies and broken glass were also in abundance. Away from the built up areas it’s much cleaner and I was surrounded by huge fields of crops, but the more remote it got the worse condition the track was in. You can’t have everything.

After 27km I stopped in the village of Chabás for a coffee and a sandwich. It was good to be able to rest for a little while as the tracks are relatively rough and therefore quite hard work on my hands and arms as well as my legs. That left me 30km until my overnight stop. I’m only doing short days as I have enough time to ease off a little, and enjoy the ride as much as possible. It’s more of a proper touring ride now, as opposed to an endurance slog as I’ve deliberately opted to shorten the route a bit and take the pressure off.

After my early lunch break, the track was less well maintained. I also found several low, shady points, where the mud hadn’t dried out and meant that I had to walk the bike past some tricky sticky bits. That meant also having to clean out my cleats a couple of times so that they would actually clip back into my pedals. I thought that my bike needed cleaning before – it definitely does now.

Once in Casilda I found the Hotel América. Another nice little place with a bit of a 1970s theme going on. The town itself is smart, clean, and as usual appears almost deserted.

Once I had removed the day’s grime from my body, I went for a short walk around. There’s nothing spectacular here, but it seems very pleasant all the same. A siesta followed, then the hotel ordered me a pizza as they have a dining room but no kitchen. It wasn’t the greatest, but I needed the calories.

It’s not a long ride to Rosario tomorrow. I’m trying hard to stay off the main roads which will no doubt get harder the nearer to the big city that I get. Hopefully the dirt tracks will continue until I reach the outskirts. I’ve then got far too much choice of hotels, which is ironic after the issue I had a couple of weeks ago. Another first-world problem.

Day 189.

I had a bit of a bad case of apathy this morning, and struggled to actually pack up and get moving. Breakfast was the most meagre yet, a coffee and a couple of mini croissants – fine if you’re not cycling, not enough if you are. I then procrastinated a bit more, and eventually paid my bill and got my bike out of the locked garage. Only to find a broken spoke which I hadn’t noticed yesterday. Bugger. Rear wheel, non-drive side, so quite a simple fix, but delayed me even more.

I headed out of town on the gravel, up until the point where the track was fenced off, thereby forcing me to ride on the road for a few kilometres. It was as busy as usual and not great fun, but gave me 3 or 4 quick kilometres before I could get back on the dirt roads. After about 20km I heard a twang which I knew immediately was another spoke retiring from the game. Another roadside repair required. I’m gradually using up my stock of spares.

My concern is that experience tells me that once spokes start to break, others will follow. I’ve been there before. It’s logical, in that they’ve all had the same amount of wear, and the additional strain on them when one breaks increases the chance of snapping. gravel riding with panniers clearly doesn’t help. Once a new spoke was in place, and the wheel straightened, I was back on it.

The dirt tracks continued until the outskirts of Rosario. One stretch in particular made me laugh. As I approached it I saw a tractor coming in the opposite direction, with what looked like a snow plough blade on the front. It was levelling out the ruts in the earth, which in principle is a great idea. In practice, the result looked like a ploughed field, making cycling even more challenging. You’ve got to laugh…

The city gradually appeared around me, starting with small, less affluent homes with old Renault 12s and dogs outside, then bigger premises and businesses and eventually a well maintained city centre with parks and cycle lanes. First impression of Rosario is that it’s very nice. I stopped in a park to look at hotel options, which was basically a massive rose garden. Beautiful.

I checked into an ‘apart hotel’ (a hotel room with a kitchenette) for three nights. Partly because I have the spare time, but mainly because I really need more than one day off. I was later than usual, so no exploring, just a steak and a glass of wine at the restaurant recommended by the hotel.

Overall an enjoyable day despite the setbacks, but some nagging concerns around mechanical issues linked to the bad roads and the forthcoming weather pattern. Something to think about on my days off.

Distance cycled so far: 9597km