Keep Calm and Pedal On

Wrapping Up Our Ride on the Carretera Austral

Sitting on the bus from Villa O’Higgins back to Coyhaique which took us two days, gave us time to reflect on our ride. After all, we are traveling northbound on a portion of the very road we cycled on southbound.

Seated (kinda) comfortably on the bus we saw cyclists along the way, working toward their destinations just as we did days ago. Although we welcome the rest, we are already missing the riding. I was thinking… “Dang that riding looks kinda hard. Did we really just do that?”

Below are a few thoughts on the ride from each of us:

From Deb:

The first week was like bicycle boot camp riding on a different saddle, a mountain bike and even riding at all and especially on elevation like this. By the second week I was “all good”.

Winds, rain and cool temps were more of a challenge than the elevation and road surface for me.

I never tire of seeing mountains, waterfalls or flowing rivers and cycling on the Carretera Austral through Patagonia never got old.

So glad I was riding a mountain bike with front suspension. It made the lumps and bumps more manageable.

Spending time in the saddle for a good part of the day enabled me to spend quiet time with the Lord. There are a lot of special people that need prayers right now. Plus we began each day together in prayer. Why don’t we do that at home together?

Thank goodness I brought rain pants.😂

And finally, I’m grateful Tom is a planner and uses shareable spreadsheets. I always feel safe and prepared with this guy.😘

From Tom:

When you start a new trip in a new location, you have certain expectations as you plan daily rides. This trip as I was planning the daily rides, the mileage was a bit shorter, ~35 miles average per day, which seemed somewhat easy for us.

The unknown is the weather, wind, gravel riding surface and grade of climbs. At the beginning of the trip we were challenged with all of the above. The winds were difficult at times, the temperature was much colder than expected, and we had much more rain than expected. The gravel and climbs were no more difficult than what we experienced on the Great Divide or in New Zealand. By the end of the trip our mental state was stronger and our climbing legs were in shape.

At the end of these bike trips, you feel in such good shape, you just don’t want it to end, but then eventually have to reenter back to real life.

Working with Austral Bikes really helped with the logistics of renting mountain bikes and bags. If you ever consider riding the Carretera Austral, I highly recommend you consider reaching out to them for info.

Click on the image below to view our video wrap up:

Carretera Austral Day 21: Lisa Marie Camping to Refugio Los Raices| 34 miles, 3,510 feet elevation | Almost There

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

It rained again last night and the forecast is for rain today. As cyclists either emerged from tents pitched inside or mats and sleeping pads on the floor of the shelter, we were all hoping for the same – no rain.

Wayne (from the UK) who I like to call Mr. Ambassador of the Carretera Austral (this is his third time riding it) knows his way around the camp kitchen. He pulls fresh produce and kitchen gadgets out of his packs like a pro to prepare his meals.

Ralph the elder of “the brothers” made a batch of mate and shared. Mate is a Chilean loose leaf type hot tea sipped through a straw. Ralph taught us the art of mate – do not stir, and when finished, say “gracias” and pass. Don’t say “no”. Despite the look on my face, it’s very good. I taste a lemon flavor. Would def try again!

And in a moment not nearly as special as sharing a mate with the brothers and Tom, the camp kitty caught a mouse and proudly placed the dead creature at my feet while I was making breaky.😂

The ride was a bit tough on challenging climbs and rocks but the rain held off. Although we begin each day with prayer, we know it’s the prayers and encouragement from y’all that’s working for us. We give thanks for all of you. 😘

We rolled past waterfall after waterfall as the glaciers melted high above us. The clouds and gray day made it look like the mountains were weeping as streams of water flowed from the snowpack above. They were simply stunning. I’ll never forget it. And the flow of water is so powerful at times, it sounds like ocean waves. If you are in a car or on a motorcycle, you miss that.

Our last night on the Carretera Austral will be spent in a bunk house in an Eco Camp with an inviting cocina. Perfecto!

Click on the image below to view today’s video:

Carretera Austral Day 20: Tortel Turn Off to Lisa Marie Camping | 23 miles, 1,900 feet elevation | Tramily Reunion

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

Waiting for the rain to stop before getting “out there.”

But before we leave, coffee.

“The Brothers”, Thomas (from Austria) and Ralph (from Germany) heading to Tortel for the day. They camped just around the corner from us by the river and stashed their panniers for faster riding to Tortel and will retrieve them on the way back.

Made it to the ferry with about five minutes to spare. When we got off the rain picked up again.

Gloomy but still worth riding to see what’s around every corner. Truly, this place is magical no matter the weather.

The “split” – first time leaving Ruta 7. We’re headed to O’Higgins on Saturday!

Tom planned an inside “camp” stay tonight due to weather. With our tent still wet from the night before it also needed to dry it out. We had an interesting stay at Lisa Marie’s with bunnies and chickens running around the front yard… soon followed by three horses. Later in the afternoon, the Brothers showed up as well as Wayne and Peter we we met at the Confluence. Our Tramily was united.

And I give you… (although easing up my guidelines) the Dog of the Day. This doggo, a pet belonging to our hosts welcomed everyone to the yard with “fierce” barking at anyone who dared to enter. Pretty sure one of the bunnies hopping around the yard could take it down.😂

Just a short post today; we’re eager to get back at it. More pics in the video below:

Carretera Austral Day 19: Los Nadis to Wild Camping at the Tortel Turn Off | 30 miles, 1,400 feet elevation | What Is This?

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

What is this? A day without 3,000 feet of climbing? Feels like we are on vacation or something.

It was our coldest night of camping this trip at 39 degrees. We jumped out of the tent at 8am and Tom quickly made a fire in the stove in the community cocina. We hung out in there all morning until it warmed up.

Not much climb today but the road surface was 💩 with lots of chunk rock, so much washboarding and more dust. But… there was less traffic.

More Patagonian views made the extra effort worthwhile.

We stopped about half way through and found a place to get a hamburger after thinking there wouldn’t be any services at all. We met a fellow rider from Israel – just 24 years old and… our El Gato Del Dia.

We are missing our doggos of the day since we aren’t riding through towns. Surely there will be some in O’Higgins on Saturday or maybe before.🐾

Tom found a prime camping spot right on the bank of a stream flowing out of the Baker River. We’re turning in early since we have a big climb first thing and a ferry to catch. And we are pretty sure a lot of rain is moving in.

Click on the image below to view today’s vid:

Carretera Austral Day 18: Cochrane to Los Nadis | 34 miles, 3,009 feet elevation | Pure Patagonia

Riding Stats (link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

Our extra day was spent in Cochrane buying food and fuel for the last stretch. We also did laundry for the first time – and for the first time ever, PAID someone to do it. That’s what is done here if you need cloths cleaned quickly.

Southbound from Cochrane, cell, WiFi, electricity and supplies are sketchy. We are ready for the final push!

Today was nothing but pure Patagonia with majestic mountains, big water, blue sky and clear air. It might have been the loveliest weather day we have experienced since we started riding almost three weeks ago.

We are in Patagonia, and in a place after which the familiar clothing company was founded and named in 1973 by American climber Yvon Chouinard.

I remember reading in “A Wild Idea” that Doug Tompkins and Chouinard and a hand full of other guys who named their group the “Fun Hogs” set out to climb Mount Fitz Roy (located in southern Patagonia near the Argentina/Chilean border) and one of the most difficult granite peaks in the world. The successful climb of Fitz Roy and the hardships endured profoundly impacted Chouinard. It’s an unforgettable story – pretty sure there was a movie made as well.

For him Patagonia was wild and mysterious. It represented adventure, exploration and unspoiled nature soooo why not name a company in the spirit of a place?

As an aside, Chouinard and Tompkins were lifelong friends and in fact, Chouinard was with the group of kayakers on Lake Chelenko when Tompkins had his fatal kayak accident.

We have shortened our riding mileage to accommodate the rough riding surfaces – lots of washboarding and rocky gravel. Good thing is… there is less traffic so we are liking that.

We were having a bit of a time finding a place to camp this evening. Our first choice looked a bit sketch so we peddled on. Our second choice was a wild camping spot by the river (good water source) but it was too close to the road for comfort.

On iOverlander Tom discovered another camping spot up the road and we snagged it.

It’s a husband and wife operation and if only we could communicate with them in Spanish beyond simple phrases. Their lifestyle here looks so different from ours and I have so many questions. They warmly welcomed us and explained everything we needed to know in Spanish.

Being the rule followers we are we want to be sure we don’t offend or disregard their instructions or customs. Their smile says it all tho. I think we are “doing things right”

Thanks so much for your encouragement, comments and prayers.

Click on the image below to view today’s video:

Carretera Austral Day 17: Puerto Bertrand to Cochrane | 30 miles, 2,982 feet elevation | The Confluence!

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

One of the sites we were most looking forward to seeing was the confluence of the Baker and Neff Rivers. Today was that day.

The Baker is the largest river in Chile (as measured by volume). It’s so blue and beautiful. And in places – very powerful. It’s a also a popular destination for river rafters.

You can see in the above pic where the Neff comes in at the top and the brilliant blue Baker River joins. There’s some good shots in today’s video as well.

And we saw our first guanacos today!

The Patagonian colors have changed from green to brown in some areas yet the landscapes are still magnificent. When climbing on a bike there is always something to look at.

Immense effort (as well as planning and pesos) is needed to build the Carretera Austral. We saw evidence of that today in the amount of road construction. There was a lot of it.

We got to Cochrane in the afternoon and will take a zero tomorrow for our last resupply before O’Higgins. We have an extra day and thunderstorms are also forecasted so it’s a good day to hangout. 👍🏻

Tom’s been finding the hostels, campsites and restaurants using a combo of iOverlander and Google Maps. This is what he had to say about our timing. 😂

We ride all day and get to our campsite/hostal around 5:00. We check in and we are the only ones there. I am thinking “how do they stay in business”. We shower up, get organized and walk in to town for a dinner at a local restaurant. We are the only ones there. I am thinking they might want to close early and we need to hurry up and order. We eat and check out around 8, and by then the place is packed. We go back to the campsite/hostal and the place is packed. So I guess our timing is good in finding available places to stay eat.

Click on the image below to view today’s video:

Carretera Austral Day 16: Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Peurto Bertrand| 41 miles, 3,963 feet elevation | Azul

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

Today was all about the color blue. And the water isn’t blue just because it’s reflecting the sky’s color. The glaciers (and there’s a BUNCH in the neighborhood) actually grind up rock like sandpaper into material similar in texture to chalk dust (it’s called rock flour). And while we think the water is so clear, there is actually a bunch of minerals floating around in the water. And that’s what the sun is reflecting off of.

Today the rock flour showed up for us today in vivid blues, BIG time!

The mountains were also present and gave us something to look at around nearly every turn.

Lots of gravel riding today – actually 40 miles of it and since it hasn’t rained in a few days there was lots of dust flying around.

One of my fave Doggos of the Day appeared when we cycled up on a group of goats hanging out in the middle of the road.

Sheep dogs are extremely protective of their flock and can actually be aggressive if they feel threatened. Goat dogs not so much.😂 After this guy came up and licked my salty legs he went and asked Tom for head scratches.

It was a really good day to cycle through Patagonia. Tomorrow we head to Cochrane, the last town on the Carretera Austral. After that… nothing but gravel, mountains and weather to contend with until we get to Villa O’Higgins.

Click on the image below to view today’s vid:

Carretera Austral: Zero Day | The Marble Caves

We took the day off from riding bikes to rest, resupply and kayak! Austral Bikes recommended the inn where we are staying and they also offer kayak tours to and through the Marble Caves soooo hard to pass that opportunity up.

Lake Chelenko, the largest lake in Chile and second largest in South America, is also home to some of the most beautiful rock formations. In summer when the glacier fed lake is high due to melting snow, the caves are accessible by water.

Luis, our tour guide clarified that Lago Carrera and Lake Chelenko are the same however most prefer the name Lake Chelenko as the Tehuelche people who were here first named the lake as such. Chelenko means “stormy waters”.

We had an absolutely glorious morning to get out early on the water and want to share a short video from the visit.

The accompanying song is titled “Doug’s Theme” in memory of Doug Tompkins.

Carretera Austral Day 15: Dona Dora Campsite to Puerto Rio Tranquilo| 24 miles, 2,841 feet elevation | We Are Not Alone

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

Thoughts from Tom about yesterday’s ride which was the most mentally tough ride on the Carretera Austral for us so far:

Yesterday morning reminded me of my past. Back in the mid 90s, 3 young kids, tough job, wondering how I am going to make it. Then I got involved with a men’s group at church and we started sharing our similar experiences and I realized I wasn’t the only person feeling as I did.

Fast forward to yesterday’s ride and feeling, why am I doing this? Big headwinds, with rain and horrible gravel. Feeling like you are hardly moving and you have 40 more miles ahead of you. You finally struggle through it to the campground setting your tent up in the wind and cold rain. You finally change into dry clothes and go into the community shelter and see all the other campers with food bags out and small stoves cooking up their meals. You are surrounded with other cyclists who have just experienced the same ride and have the same feelings you have. You start sharing stories and find out you are not alone! Lesson learned. Don’t face your daily struggles alone. You are not alone!

Today started out the same as yesterday, grey and rainy. We set out southbound in deep gravel since they hadn’t graded it yet, but… there was a tailwind!

It was tough cycling through deep gravel but soon we approached the grader, and although we had to ensure we cycled faster than it could spread gravel (even uphill and in the rain) the riding surface improved.😊

From there the day got even better with the sun coming out, stellar views of Chile’s largest lake, General Carrera Lake (aka Lake Chelenko) and again we cycled by waterfall after waterfall.

As a historical side note, General Jose Miguel Carrera was Chile’s first president and is considered one of Chile’s founding fathers.

We decided to take the day off tomorrow to rest, resupply and kayak through the Marble Caves and reserved two nights in a small inn with a cafe but we didn’t have an address.

The lake is also where Doug Tompkins (North Face founder, Esprit co-founder and conservation activist) lost his life in a kayaking accident in 2015.

Our last hill before finishing our ride was an 11% average climb with a 21%er thrown in to keep us humble. Tom rode up it like a boss. 💪🏻 I took a little rest to take photos.

In early afternoon we arrived to Puerto Rio Tranquilo and immediately visited a place with the best play list blaring out the door.

Investigative work in the pub and using only a photo from Googling the name of the inn (no address provided and no one answered the phone) we noticed there was a gas station in the picture so looked up where the gas station was located. In doing so, we found our place!

Whew! Every day is a challenge from headwinds, rain, climbs, dicy road surfaces, challenges speaking Spanish and one of the hardest… which Doggo to pick for our “perro del dia”.