Our butts are happily clad in comfy, flowy skirts rather than bike shorts and our bikes are boxed up and resting happily in the basement of our hostel in Buenos Aires.
6700 kms later, we're done riding for the year and are enjoying a week of relaxing and shopping in the big city before we fly home for another fire season.
The "end" hasn't really sunk in yet so there's not a lot to say about it...it was an amazing ride and certainly won't be our last. On our final night of camping, we were surrounded by cacti in a dry river bed, nestled between mountains. We cooked delicious Argentinian steaks over a campfire fueled by cactus-wood and drank wine, staring at a black sky full of stars and dreaming of future cycling trips. And of coming back to Argentina, because we've only had a small taste of this wonderful country and there are so many more roads to ride! So, maybe this isn't really an end at all...
We're planning a little fiesta in Fort St John when we get home (towards the end of April) to give a slideshow of the whole shebang. We would LOVE to meet any lurkers that have been watching the blog but that we don't know in person yet! So check back and we'll post details here once we've figured them out.
Christine
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
uphill both ways
Chugging along south of Salta, I was surprised by how hard the riding felt and I figured that all of the riding on gravel and pushing that we did in Bolivia must not have left us in very good shape for highway riding. For 2 full days, I kicked myself for being in worse shape that when we were riding in the US and Mexico...
On the 2 night, at camp, I turned on the GPS to see what our elevation was - turns out we'd being going uphill the whole time and were over 500m higher than we were in Salta! The crazy thing was what an illusion it was....for most of the way, it actually looked like we were going slightly downhill!
Christine
On the 2 night, at camp, I turned on the GPS to see what our elevation was - turns out we'd being going uphill the whole time and were over 500m higher than we were in Salta! The crazy thing was what an illusion it was....for most of the way, it actually looked like we were going slightly downhill!
Christine
Thursday, March 15, 2007
hitchin a ride....or trying to, anyway
We decided to hitch hike to Belen....
At 7:30am, we stuck our thumbs out. Well, not really, since there weren't any cars going by. We actually sat on the side of the road playing crib and jumped up once or twice per game to wave down passing vehicles. An hour later, the third car to pass picked us up.
40kms later, we were back on the side of the road. And we sat. And sat. And sat. For 5 hours!! During this time, about 10 cars passed in our direction. Most were full or unable to carry bikes, and some of those stopped anyway just to see if things were ok and to ask what we were doing so far out in the middle of nowhere. The three vehicles that could have carried us didn't stop....and we cursed them appropriately before going back to sitting and throwing rocks under a scortching hot sun.
Finally, along came a red pickup truck with 4 people crammed in the front and one already in the back. They were headed another 40kms down the road, so we piled our stuff and ourselves in and off we went. We were in for quite a tour....the driver, his cheek puffed out with coca leaves, stopped the first time to buy a litre of wine, which he poured into a coke bottle for easy drinking while he drove. It was polished of within minutes but the wheel was still steady. A few passengers were let out along the way until only Jodie and I remained with the driver, his wife and young daughter. We pulled up next to a house and stopped, but the driver told us to just wait, we'd be on the road again soon. We waited in the back of the truck through somewhat of a family reunion and some more boozing... Half an hour later, we were on the road again, a new bottle of wine in hand and music blaring so that we could hear it over the wind in the back of the truck.
We pulled into the driver's yard just as the sun was setting and we were wondering what to do since we hadn't managed to make it to Belen. The only other vehicle in sight was a utility truck with three men and equipment already on board. Ah, but they couldn't refuse to gringas and as fast as we could load our bikes and hop on, we were headed to Belen!
We pulled into town at 8pm, having travelled 120kms in 12 hours..... it was more exhausting and time consuming than if we had just ridden!
Christine
At 7:30am, we stuck our thumbs out. Well, not really, since there weren't any cars going by. We actually sat on the side of the road playing crib and jumped up once or twice per game to wave down passing vehicles. An hour later, the third car to pass picked us up.
40kms later, we were back on the side of the road. And we sat. And sat. And sat. For 5 hours!! During this time, about 10 cars passed in our direction. Most were full or unable to carry bikes, and some of those stopped anyway just to see if things were ok and to ask what we were doing so far out in the middle of nowhere. The three vehicles that could have carried us didn't stop....and we cursed them appropriately before going back to sitting and throwing rocks under a scortching hot sun.
Finally, along came a red pickup truck with 4 people crammed in the front and one already in the back. They were headed another 40kms down the road, so we piled our stuff and ourselves in and off we went. We were in for quite a tour....the driver, his cheek puffed out with coca leaves, stopped the first time to buy a litre of wine, which he poured into a coke bottle for easy drinking while he drove. It was polished of within minutes but the wheel was still steady. A few passengers were let out along the way until only Jodie and I remained with the driver, his wife and young daughter. We pulled up next to a house and stopped, but the driver told us to just wait, we'd be on the road again soon. We waited in the back of the truck through somewhat of a family reunion and some more boozing... Half an hour later, we were on the road again, a new bottle of wine in hand and music blaring so that we could hear it over the wind in the back of the truck.
We pulled into the driver's yard just as the sun was setting and we were wondering what to do since we hadn't managed to make it to Belen. The only other vehicle in sight was a utility truck with three men and equipment already on board. Ah, but they couldn't refuse to gringas and as fast as we could load our bikes and hop on, we were headed to Belen!
We pulled into town at 8pm, having travelled 120kms in 12 hours..... it was more exhausting and time consuming than if we had just ridden!
Christine
Friday, March 09, 2007
Welcome to the Jungle
I believe that we may have ridden one of the most perfect roads on our way to Salta! First of all, from the Bolivian border to Salta we dropped 2,500m and it was ALL paved – 380km of luxury. The roads were windy and so much fun! But, it was about 100km out of Salta we hit heaven…
The road was narrow and only one lane wide but had wonderful fresh, smooth pavment; it wound its way through lush fields and ranchland and then into the thickest jungle! We saw birds, butterflies, flowers (even hibiscus), and so much lush green vegetation… oh and one small snake.There were so many sweet smells and sounds (and a lot of oxygen) in the air – it was a shock to our senses after being up on the altiplano for so long! We didn´t realize how much we´d missed everything but as we dropped down into the land of plenty – it was incredible. The road wound up, down and around through this amazing jungle until we finally dropped down, through the warm pouring rain into the cute town of La Caldera. We rode 145km that day because everything went so smoothly, really, it was the perfect cycling road.
-Jodie
The road was narrow and only one lane wide but had wonderful fresh, smooth pavment; it wound its way through lush fields and ranchland and then into the thickest jungle! We saw birds, butterflies, flowers (even hibiscus), and so much lush green vegetation… oh and one small snake.There were so many sweet smells and sounds (and a lot of oxygen) in the air – it was a shock to our senses after being up on the altiplano for so long! We didn´t realize how much we´d missed everything but as we dropped down into the land of plenty – it was incredible. The road wound up, down and around through this amazing jungle until we finally dropped down, through the warm pouring rain into the cute town of La Caldera. We rode 145km that day because everything went so smoothly, really, it was the perfect cycling road.
-Jodie
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Argentinian Escort Service
It was 5pm, 2 hours before the sun would go down and we had already travelled 100kms. We were stopped for a quick snack when we met Roberto. He had seen us ride through town and ran to get his bike to catch up to us. He loves cycling and often competes in mountain bike races in his hometown. Once he met a French cyclist at the Bolivian border and rode with him over 200kms to Humahuaca. He insisted on riding with us to Tres Cruzes, the town at the top of a pass where we planned to camp for the night. It was 25kms away, uphill. He rode far ahead, easily outdoing us on our loaded bikes after already ridden for 5 hours, and he stopped every few kms for a break and a sip of Coke, which was all he carried. He raced far ahead near the top of the pass and when we got to the town, we thought we might have lost him. We stopped to look around, and there he was, riding towards us with a big smile, but obviously tired, with a 4L jug of water and 2 packs of cookies for us! He bid us good night after we exchaned addresses and he loaded his bike onto a bus that would take him home.
The next day, it was 5pm again and we were already well over 100kms when Juan caught up to us. He is also an avid mountain bike racer from Jujuy who was just out for a leisurely ride. He rode with us for the final 30kms of our day, again easily cruising far ahead on his unloaded bike, but stopping to wait and for a chat every few kms. We parted with him when we saw a good camping spot and he raced off down the highway.
There are so many people out on bikes just for fun here in Argentina and it's great to wave, say hello and have a chat. But these escorts are fast! And they always seem to catch us when we're already tired at the very end of the day and as much as it seems like a great idea to get to know them as we ride together, we just can't keep up!
Christine
The next day, it was 5pm again and we were already well over 100kms when Juan caught up to us. He is also an avid mountain bike racer from Jujuy who was just out for a leisurely ride. He rode with us for the final 30kms of our day, again easily cruising far ahead on his unloaded bike, but stopping to wait and for a chat every few kms. We parted with him when we saw a good camping spot and he raced off down the highway.
There are so many people out on bikes just for fun here in Argentina and it's great to wave, say hello and have a chat. But these escorts are fast! And they always seem to catch us when we're already tired at the very end of the day and as much as it seems like a great idea to get to know them as we ride together, we just can't keep up!
Christine
Saturday, March 03, 2007
the land of plenty
We made it! Argentina at last!
The last few days' rides were uneventful, save for one more big climb and a whole lot of busses and trucks flying by kicking up dust and rocks with their horns blaring. It was the destination that drove us on, and since there aren't many songs about Argentina (or at least we don't know them), we sang our California and Mexico songs, exchanging Argentina in the lyrics...
"Going to Argentina, going to life the life, sipping on red wine night after night..."
The border was chaotic, but thankfully our bikes bought us a ticket to the front of the line, where I only had to wait for an hour rather than five like everyone else. Still, it was a battle. When I got to the line, I was third. At least 10 people were helped before me. Everytime I would let myself get distracted, I would look back to see that 3 more people had snuck in front of me. At one point, the border guard refused to help anyone until a straight line was formed. After a 5 minute stalemate, he simply accepted the passport of the woman that had just butted to the front. Finally, I used my long limbs to secure my place in line by putting one hand on the wall and stretching the other one out so that no one else could get by. And finally we were in....
But alas, the land of plenty does not seem to have plenty of hotel space and we spend another hour riding around in search of a place to stay, hearing "no hay" as much or more as we did in Bolivia!
But plenty of pavement, there is. The 3 kms of it between the border and town were blissful and we can't wait to hit the smooth black road again tomorrow!
Christine
The last few days' rides were uneventful, save for one more big climb and a whole lot of busses and trucks flying by kicking up dust and rocks with their horns blaring. It was the destination that drove us on, and since there aren't many songs about Argentina (or at least we don't know them), we sang our California and Mexico songs, exchanging Argentina in the lyrics...
"Going to Argentina, going to life the life, sipping on red wine night after night..."
The border was chaotic, but thankfully our bikes bought us a ticket to the front of the line, where I only had to wait for an hour rather than five like everyone else. Still, it was a battle. When I got to the line, I was third. At least 10 people were helped before me. Everytime I would let myself get distracted, I would look back to see that 3 more people had snuck in front of me. At one point, the border guard refused to help anyone until a straight line was formed. After a 5 minute stalemate, he simply accepted the passport of the woman that had just butted to the front. Finally, I used my long limbs to secure my place in line by putting one hand on the wall and stretching the other one out so that no one else could get by. And finally we were in....
But alas, the land of plenty does not seem to have plenty of hotel space and we spend another hour riding around in search of a place to stay, hearing "no hay" as much or more as we did in Bolivia!
But plenty of pavement, there is. The 3 kms of it between the border and town were blissful and we can't wait to hit the smooth black road again tomorrow!
Christine
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Off the map and off our rockers!
"I know I´ve really lost it when shit like this starts getting fun!"
...That was my breaking point (Chris was long gone) after pushing my bike for 25km on a very sandy (and uphill) road that MIGHT be the right one from Atocha to Tupiza! We were told that we could just follow the train tracks and then take the first road to the right... well, my friend, that was not the best advice that we could have taken. The train tracks were a cool novelty at first, but believe me pushing your bike in sand is not fun, even if there are two big pieces of steel beside you. After the first 15km we figured that we really needed to ask someone about the road but there was not a soul to be found, and we seemed to be heading the right direction so we pressed on. It was the next morning that we met our first vehicle. The driver told us that we were not headed to Tupiza, but were on a dead end road! Ahhh, so that sand was just for fun! ...but there was a little 7km trail that we could cut across on to hit the main road.
We made it.
See our photos to understand, I mean really understand how we feel about sand.
-Jodie
...That was my breaking point (Chris was long gone) after pushing my bike for 25km on a very sandy (and uphill) road that MIGHT be the right one from Atocha to Tupiza! We were told that we could just follow the train tracks and then take the first road to the right... well, my friend, that was not the best advice that we could have taken. The train tracks were a cool novelty at first, but believe me pushing your bike in sand is not fun, even if there are two big pieces of steel beside you. After the first 15km we figured that we really needed to ask someone about the road but there was not a soul to be found, and we seemed to be heading the right direction so we pressed on. It was the next morning that we met our first vehicle. The driver told us that we were not headed to Tupiza, but were on a dead end road! Ahhh, so that sand was just for fun! ...but there was a little 7km trail that we could cut across on to hit the main road.
We made it.
See our photos to understand, I mean really understand how we feel about sand.
-Jodie
bike up, bike down, repeat
So we heard that there were a few hills between Atocha and Tupiza. I'm not sure who we heard it from, but I'm pretty sure they didn't mention that there are actually 9 (count 'em - NINE) mountain passes between the two. In retrospect, maybe I'm glad that they didn't tell us that, because I likely would have gone 200km out of the way just to avoid so many hills and missed out on some of the most spectacular scenery I think I'll ever see anywhere.
The road snaked up, around and over mountains for 100 kms, keeping us above 4000 meters for most of the way and offering amazing views that seemed to stretch on forever. Exciting plunges to 3700 m, some of which were as steep as black diamond ski runs, were followed by gruelling climbs to 4200 m that had us pushing much of the way.
We didn't learn just how many hills we had to climb until we had already crossed 4 passes and ran into a couple of Italian cyclists that told us we still had 5 more coming! Ouff!
Here are some stats:
- highest pass was 4259m
- three passes over 4200
- all passes over 4000
- elevation in Atocha 3600
- elevation in Tupiza 2900
- longest continuous descent 1300m vertical
- most passes in a day 8 (after climbing most of the first one the day before)
Finally, we hit the river valley that would lead us into Tupiza. It was instantly summer and the temperature, which had been near freezing when we woke up at 3900m, soared to 36 degrees. We were riding by fertile fields boardered by red sandstone cliffs hundreds of feet high that had us looking everywhere but at the road and exclaiming "wow" every time we'd crest a hill and get a new view.
What a ride!
Christine
The road snaked up, around and over mountains for 100 kms, keeping us above 4000 meters for most of the way and offering amazing views that seemed to stretch on forever. Exciting plunges to 3700 m, some of which were as steep as black diamond ski runs, were followed by gruelling climbs to 4200 m that had us pushing much of the way.
We didn't learn just how many hills we had to climb until we had already crossed 4 passes and ran into a couple of Italian cyclists that told us we still had 5 more coming! Ouff!
Here are some stats:
- highest pass was 4259m
- three passes over 4200
- all passes over 4000
- elevation in Atocha 3600
- elevation in Tupiza 2900
- longest continuous descent 1300m vertical
- most passes in a day 8 (after climbing most of the first one the day before)
Finally, we hit the river valley that would lead us into Tupiza. It was instantly summer and the temperature, which had been near freezing when we woke up at 3900m, soared to 36 degrees. We were riding by fertile fields boardered by red sandstone cliffs hundreds of feet high that had us looking everywhere but at the road and exclaiming "wow" every time we'd crest a hill and get a new view.
What a ride!
Christine
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