Departamento de Coronel Felipe Varela

As so many times when I had planned to leave early I slept through my alarm, leading to a much later start than intended.
We packed up our things and left Chilecito around 10am, bracing ourselves for yet another very hot day and this time mixed with quite a bit of climbing.

Our ride took us back towards the red mountains and on to the Ruta Escenica Cuesta de Miranda. This very scenic route stretched over 30km with a total of 1500m climbing. While the first 20k had us slowly ascent with not much more than 3-5% inclines, the last third of the road were serpentines taking us from 1400m up to 2200m in just under 10km.

Before reaching the climb I had been quite sceptical about whether my lowest gear ratio would be low enough to get me up the pass without pushing, remembering some rather painful climbs back on the Lagunas route (though the terrain there was a lot worse too).
But in the end it wasn't that bad at all and even with the 10+% incline the gorgeous views distracted me enough to barely feel the weight of my fully loaded bike.

Almost at the top of the paved pass we decided to take a little detour along what must have been the old unpaved road through the mountains years ago. Even though it was only a short stretch it felt like quite the adventure, with steep cliffs and partially blocked roads.

Once we reached the top, 40km and 4h into the ride, we were treated to a 30km long, speedy descent. Whupwhup! The last 40km to today's stop were on a boring straight road, back in desert-like conditions and, of course, sprinkled with our daily dose of annoyingly strong headwind.

By the time we finally reached Villa Union and had found a camp site with a swimmingpool (a must-have after this hot and sweaty day), the sun was already about to set...making the pool experience a rather cold and short one 🥲 but at least we felt refreshed 💦

The day was topped up with a jummy regional lentil stew at a cute outdoor place next to the camp site before heading back to the tents for some well deserved sleep....or so I thought.
I didn't factor in our neighbours, an older couple, who between her watching tik-tok reels on full volume and him snoring like a 600lbs Walrus, kept me awake until late into the night.🤦‍♀️
I guess some nights are just not meant to bring you good sleep 🤷‍♀️

🚴‍♀️Distance cycled: 110 km
⬆️ Climbing: 1500 m over 30 km
🌬 KMs with headwind: 40
🍸 Gin & Tonics enjoyed: 1
😴 Nr. of snoring neighbours at campsite: 1Читать далее