Adios España
14 de janeiro de 2024, Espanha ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Successfully managed to pack everything into our 4 boxes. Fortunately our host had access to to a car big enough take us and our stuff to the airport. Long wait in line but easily checked everythingLeia mais
Hola Chile
15 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
A mere 15 hours and we are in Chile. Fly over the Andes. Gather our boxes and assemble ourselves in the airport. Not a terrible ride to our apartment. Get clean and go for a meander. Dinner of craftLeia mais
Santiago
16 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Day spent in Santiago. Check out the many markets, main square, Cathedral and Museum of History. Quite toasty.
A rocky start
17 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Get a nice early start and find ourselves on dedicated bike paths out of Santiago. Mountains on both sides of us and grapes alongside. Two flat tires slow us down resulting in big climb during hottestLeia mais
It gets smoother
18 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
A lovely ride into wine country. Grapes, peaches, corn and many other produce surrounds us. Turn towards the mountain and camp by river.
Fertile valley
19 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Quick ride through grapes to get to museum in San Fernando. Turns out that Uruguayan plane crashed due east of this town. Nice museum which includes exhibit on their rescue. Meander along countrysideLeia mais
River valley
20 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Bit of an up coming out of our campground. Make our way through a few towns and then ride along Rio Mataquito. Few north/south roads so have to go west to go south. Turn away from the Andes. Plan toLeia mais
Heat is a thing
21 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
No straight line to get where we are going. Leave lush green valley and head into arid desert. Make it over hill and back to valley by Ruta 5. No other direct route so follow winding road to Talca. SoLeia mais
Into the Precordillera
22 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Nice bike path out of Talca. I continue to be surprised by the cycling infrastructure here. Make good time until get caught up in a town. Continue on to Panamavida and enjoy ice cream in the square.Leia mais
Rest day
23 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Stay in place to relax and do some organizing. Go on a little walkabout and get stopped by a gang of cows. Meager dinner of emergency food though Doug miraculously rustles up a zucchini.
Straightening the route
24 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
Get an early start as it’s predicted to be hot. Bumpy start but cruise along a dedicated bike path to Linares. Manage to get replacement rack relatively quickly. Stock up on emergency food andLeia mais
River crossings and camping
25 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
With an aspirational goal of 60 miles set off early. Great pace until hit unpaved section. And I paved means tough going. First water crossing was kind of fun. Then hit the dry stream bed and two moreLeia mais
Rio Diguilan
26 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Slower start but make good time to Chillan. But like usual lose lots of time in cities. Eventually get ourselves out and head out on very busy road with no shoulders. Make to Pueblo Seco, get food andLeia mais
Rio Laja
27 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Continued along road with limited shoulder though traffic slightly less. Terrain is more rolling and grain fields give way to pine trees. Nice Mountain views though the haze continues. Lunch stop on aLeia mais
Rio Renaico
28 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
A nice 30 mile decline has us zigging across the country again. Leave the Andes behind and head towards to coast range. Pass through Los Angeles, managing not to lose much time. Lots of constructionLeia mais
Transition day
29 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
A windy start with still more construction. After town of Anglol, we enter rolling hills amongst the forest. Much nicer riding and scenery. Set up by tiny river under a bridge. Still swimmable.
Rio Quillen
30 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Leave our little troll hovel under the bridge and amazingly head almost due south. See first glimpses of Villarica volcano. Big down into a gorge but sadly can’t get to the water. Climb back out andLeia mais
Temuco
31 de janeiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Though the day starts with a steep uphill, riding is enjoyable as we cruise through the farmland. Arrive in temuco and find Argentinian style ice cream. Quite tasty. Warm showers host Lea welcomes usLeia mais
Tune up day
1 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
As we had scheduled time at a local bike shop for tune ups, opt to just stay another night. Visit local market and get nice fresh fish and veg for dinner.
Villarica
2 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Woke to a cloudy and misty day, but warm. Mist ended but clouds remained. With a few exceptions, road along very busy roads as we headed to the very popular lago Villarrica. The clouds briefly openedLeia mais
Hike: San Sebastian
3 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Up early to catch buses to take us into Parque Huerquehue. Set off on a hike up and up! First through forests of monkey puzzle trees and the clam bowing almost straight up the side of the mountain.Leia mais
Beach day
4 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Yesterdays hike really took a toll on our quads. Opted to spend another day in Villarrica and enjoy the lake. Did very little besides sit by the lake under an umbrella. An evening stroll to findLeia mais
Circuito de siete lagos
5 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
With legs still sore from our hike climb away from Lago Villarica and onto the circuit of 7 lakes. First up - lago Calafquen and busy little town of Lincan Ray. Empanadas and strudel lunch in theLeia mais
When it rains … it pours
6 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
With a rain storm forecasted get an early start to try and beat the rain. Which we did mostly. Arrive in Los Lagos just as the rain begins. Ponder our options over cake. Find a nice pension for cheap.
Lago Ranco
7 de fevereiro de 2024, Chile ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
The sun reappears thankfully. Do a quick bit on Ruta 5 to move us along. Move over to quieter road amongst lots of livestock. Wind kicks up - not in our favor. Cross Rio Bueno and then downhill toLeia mais