Keep Calm and Pedal On

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily living mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

We’ve ridden many beautiful routes over the years, but today’s may have been the best yet. Clear weather and sweeping views made every pedal stroke worthwhile.

Our legs paid for the views, however, as we worked hard up multiple switchbacks. Today’s climb is described by Austral Bikes as “a long, demanding climb on rough gravel, with loose stones, potholes and constant gradients that will truly test your legs, your lungs and your patience.” And they weren’t wrong. 😂

The elevation brought views around most every corner. And although flowing falls and streams played a calming soundtrack while we worked our way up to the top, occasional vehicles and pesky biting flies broke our rhythm.

Once we left Queulat National Park we practiced Spanish geography lesson while riding and quizzing each other about the words on the road signs Rio (river), Lago (lake), Puente (bridge), Ruta (route), Arroyo (stream) and finally, the word of the day Cueste (hill).

And sometimes there are just symbols on road signs and that works too. This one says “watch out for the huemul.”😂

Views continued throughout the day and pics don’t do them justice but they really are etched in our minds forever.

We ended our day in Villa Amengual, but not before one more climb just before town. Ouch, my legs were shredded.

As mentioned before the Carretera Austral is a planned ongoing effort to connect communities in southern Chile. Villa Amengual is a relatively newer community. It isn’t a frontier town that became connected; it’s a town that was created in the early 1980’s because connection finally arrived and it has a newer feel to it.

We landed in a small mom-and-pop owned hostel that offers meals. Loved the flowers. 💖

And finally I give you “el perro del día” just outside of our hostel.

Two big climbs complete and more pure Patagonian landscapes to come.

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

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

Good things happen on bike tours but the day doesn’t always start out that way.😂

We woke to steady rain drumming on the tin shelter above our tent. We peeked out of the tent only to find a growing puddle forming just uphill, poised to spill straight through our campsite. While scrambling to assess the situation, the camp stray dog tipped over a full trash can left by previous campers, and a small, rat-like creature happily moved in to enjoy the buffet. That’s a lot to think about the first minute of the day.

We jumped up and moved onto action by emptying the tent of its contents and stacking it on the picnic table. Tom quickly took the tent down and moved the bikes under shelter while I made coffee and peanut butter bread for breaky.

Soon we were ready to start our 10 mile climb, in the rain and mid 40’s. 🥶

The good news is that none of our dry items in our tent got wet, the climb kept us nice and warm on the rainy cold day and we found a fabulous hostel with the kindest woman (Giesela) who owns it. And in answer to our morning prayer, we arrived safely.

All of the contents in our bags stayed dry but we were so wet and cold from the five mile windy descent when we met Giesela.

She quickly showed us where to lock up our bikes, where to hang our wet clothes (right by the wood fired stove she keeps burning all day) and then to our room (that has its own bathroom🙌🏻). All done without mastery of a common language and instead communicated with smiles and gestures.

The community room has such a good vibe. It’s warmed by the stove. Giesela comes in and out with her daily routines that include making bread, hanging linens inside (no dryer) and welcoming guests.

After grabbing a couple empanadas and a bag of chips and some fruit from the mini market we returned to the hostal to enjoy our dinner, very grateful to be out of the continuing rain.

On our way into town before we found the hostel, this nice lady made us a coffee to warm us. We went back for her yummy empanadas.

And a little well deserved dessert for the Debster.

Thanks for following along. On deck tomorrow is our longest ride this trip and more rain.

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

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

Is it really only Day 4? It seems like we have already experienced so much. Tom thought it a good idea to get a little hike in before our ride and I agreed. With low mileage days we have the time. But first, something to drink.

Though an overcast day, our lush surroundings and the low clouds felt like a comforting blanket on our hike to Lago Negro (Black Lake).

Even the overcast days are beautiful and have a mystical feel.

Our destination for the day was the small coastal town of Chaiten, where we planned an inside stay due to forecasted rain.

If there is a word to describe Chaiten, it is resilience. In May 2008, a volcano erupted that destroyed more than half the town with flooding and mud slides. More than 5,000 residents were evacuated overnight and the the Chilean government discouraged citizens from returning to rebuild.

Slowly residents DID return, and they rebuilt the small northern frontier town that is an essential gateway to northern Patagonia for both logistics and resupply.

Great ride today – a little tarmac and a little gravel. There are always hills. 😂

Bring on Day 5! Thanks for following along.😊

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

Riding Stats (link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

We decided to pack up early and quickly find coffee and our ferry boarding area. But first prayers in front of the sunrise peeping over the mountains.

Today’s journey was unique in that we had a three hour ferry ride, then a six mile bike ride to the next ferry ride (a shorter one) and then a final bike ride to our campsite. This is what the route looked like.

There’s a little anxiety that comes with “make it to the ferry” or else, but one hour proved plenty of time to make the boat. However that didn’t leave much time for snacks or pics in the lush rainforest we cycled through.

Under Smurf blue skies, the views from the ferries were stellar and it was a relaxing way to take a break from cycling.

After the second ferry the pavement ended and the gravel — and hills — began. We opened up the front-fork suspension and suddenly the trail stopped fighting us. The bikes skimmed over the babyheads like water over pebbles. Soooo much easier on the last 11 miles and the day.

After some research, Tom started using a new campsite app called iOverlander to find both established sites and wild camping spots. It’s crowd-sourced and takes a little getting used to, but down here it can be a lifeline. Cell service is often nonexistent in southern Chile, yet if you download the regional map ahead of time the app still works and suddenly you have other travelers quietly guiding you to places you never would have found on your own.

Tonight we are camping in a National Park and have just about the whole area to ourselves.

All in all it was a “ferry” nice day and we are learning more about our bikes, the route, and even a little more Spanish each day. 😉

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

Riding Stats (link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

Right out of the gate we had a three mile climb. Hello legs!

And the hills just kept on coming, one after another but they were all on pavement so that makes it easier. Gravel starts soon.

Our destination for today was the town of Hornopiren, a town from which the ferry launches and most consider the gateway to the fjords. We have tickets for tomorrow, purchased months ago as the ferry fills up quickly. Thank you Tom for your exceptional planning! 😊

Tom waited patiently while I “grannied” up the hills and we took breaks to skip rocks in the stream and snack.

After arriving to our campsite, we set up the tent, enjoyed hot showers and then a walk into Hornopiren for some town food and bevvies. And yes… there were more Sopaipillas.

We were so well taken care of in the restaurant and were reluctant to go back to the tent since it doesn’t get dark until after 9pm so a walk into town was in order to locate the ferry ramp.

In celebration of our second day, we stopped in a small pub on the way back to the tent to plan the next couple days.

So grateful for another day. Thanks for the follow!

Click on the image below to view more pics and today’s video.

Riding Stats (link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

Let’s start with this thought: sopaipillas are bread from heaven. We had our first taste of them today and oh my are they ever tasty!

Our shuttle driver arrived early and Tom very carefully loaded the bikes and bags in the back of the van. Finally we were off to Peurto Montt to find the start line of the Carretera Austral! And find it we did.

We put the bike bags back on, Tom went to the money spitter 🏧 for more pesos and we were off.

It was sunny day, a bit windy and we were surrounded by water, flying Chilean flags and the most free roaming doggos (all friendly) I’ve ever seen.😂 Not kidding – a LOT of dogs, although no chasers.

Beautiful animitas were lovingly placed along the route memorizing the loss of loved ones.

Staying true to taking our time so as to not “waste time” we rode at a slow pace and wanted to get our bodies acclimated to the new bikes. We sit completely different on a mountain bike. There’s a new saddle, different handlebars and coordinating our gear stow is a bit spicy. The only things we brought were our own SPD pedals. It takes a day or so to get squared away with new bikes and gear organization.

One of our favorite experiences when bike traveling is meeting people. At the ferry we met Gilles, a Frenchman who last year rode his bike from Vancouver to Panama. He is finishing the ride this year riding from Panama to the southern tip of Argentina. Amazing!

Just one ferry ride today through the Estero Reloncava Inslet.

There were so many places to stop and enjoy the remarkable views and I’m pretty sure we stopped at every one.

We ended our ride in Contao today and grabbed dinner in town (fresh salmon and merzula) before finding a campground and setting up the tent.

This was Yannik’s (from Bielefeld, Germany) first day too. He’s planning on spending the next year in South America riding his bike, learning Spanish and doing all the things people on tour do… smile!

Digs for the night!

Click on the image below to view today’s video recap of our day.

Ya don’t get to visit a magical place like Chile without a bit of planning. Ours started in May 2025 with a What’s App call and ended with three flights totaling more than twelve hours (not including a nine hour layover in the Santiago airport). 🫣

We’re no longer in blustery Indiana and have arrived to summer in the southern hemisphere where we begin riding the Carretera Austral route tomorrow.

One of the smartest things we did in preparation for the bike tour is rent bikes and coordinate with Austral Bikes. We’ve rented their mountain bikes and bike bags and although they offer everything you’d need in the way of sleeping bags, tents, stoves, etc. We opted to bring our own gear. They will pick up their bikes and bring down our duffles with clothing we didn’t take on the bike when we finish in Villa O’Higgins in early March.

Whereas yesterday we travelled, today we dialed in the bikes and bags.

You may notice something new in the cockpit of my bike. Meet Conrad the crocheted condor who’ll be riding along with us on the CA. I’m hoping Chile’s national bird will invite friendly convos so we can practice our Spanish.

Speaking of español, is there such a thing as pidgin Spanish? ‘Cause if there is, that’s what we are speaking. Determined to learn as much as we can about Chilean culture, her flora, fauna and her people, we are giving Spanish our best effort and actually so far, either people we meet speak some English or are happy to work with us. And well there is always Google Translate.

Tom’s efforts in planning the logistics of the ride and subsequent adventures in Peru and Ecuador have been over-the-top amazing. If you know Tom, then you know there is a multi-worksheet spreadsheet involved that can be shared and accessed offline.

To reward his exemplary efforts he enjoyed his first empanada and a tasty meal of Chilean salmon. BTW did you know Chile is the world’s second biggest producer of salmon (after Norway). I sure didn’t.

So far our biggest mistake has been buying three litters of sparkling water instead of regular water so we might be burping a lot tomorrow but at least we’re likely to avoid water contaminants with us being bacteria-intolerant Americans. 😂

Per usual, we plan on blogging daily but anticipate many areas without cell or wi-fi, so there will be some catchup over time.

Thanks for joining us on our journey. We are so grateful to be able to do this and appreciate your interest and prayers.

Hasta pronto! 👋🏻