after a great week of resting and feeding frenzy I was ready to go… but the bike wasn’t. Eventhough we took off the bolt/crank, there was significant damage to the right crank arm and the crank shaft was not looking too well either. After consulting with a friend and the best bike shop in argentina, it would need to be brought from outside but I didnt want to take a gamble with shipping to argentina (i was told its 50/50 wether it makes it or not).

I packed up and left, having only fence wire and hose clamps trying to keep the crank arm/chainring straight but i didnt get far. Luckily I saw the Boina (the argentina arriero hat) in the first pick up going back to town and i knew they would stop.

Back in Esquel, Pablo said we should try the bike shops again and one of the less fancy ones had a mechanic who said we can leave the bike overnight and he will try to fix it. And next morning he had it rolling quite well (he used a shimano casette cap to even out the crank arm)

I was out again along the little pavement ahead, getting passed like a road sign by lycra clad road cyclists.

With constant checks on the bolt, looking for any play and also taking it easy on uphills due to the freewheel the day kind of rolled by and I went over a closed gate on one of these roads off the main that go who knows where but have great camping beside and unlikely somebody would drive by

It was almost as if i had forgotten what riding a bike felt like, i was riding and coasting and it was all so easy!

I was slowly overcoming my fear of eating out from Chile and ventured out of my comfort zone into a cafe! They had internet but said it was off for the whole town for 30 more minutes and I figured it would be a good break to recharge all electronics. Very nice people in the cafe in the town of Corcovado

all in all, the food here is ok but the portions were very good. I packed half of that sandwitch for dinner. Featuring the “No for the mine” local beer

man and his dog biking to town

I continued up the valley often looking at the mountains thinking how nice they were. Sometimes i’d spot a road somewhere going up wondering if i should just detour that way for the day for the view and there is something calming about running up a dead end road, with all your water for the night and just trying to figure out the best campsite

I set up just over the fence under a tree, it’s all private property but if i meet someone, i ask. A man on a horse rode by but i dont know if he saw me or not (and my orange tent). Being under a tree is almost guaranteed no frost in the morning and aside from a random cow watching me, it was all good and mostly windless night

it has always been odd to see in Argentina (and Chile) the stark difference between the people living in the countryside and the super ranches stretching for hundreds of kilometers.

good morning and good day, barely noticeable uphill grade leading closer to the cordillera and looking at my map, maybe i need to make more of this as for a long time i will not be able to get as close.

Beside the rocky mountains poking through the clouds and looking back

we are about 40k from town at this point and about 50-60 to the next town i think. There was this black dog traveling alone

Dog sees me, probably thinks “oh crap, what is this kind of beast?” and runs the other way

I wanted to go closer to the Cordillera but um… not on this road

windy and gloomy but still considered nice weather, plenty of water in this season

20k later… dog still running away from me

I turn off to some lakes where the map shows a road and it looks snow free so far. Gotta give this dog a break, maybe he will turn around and go to wherever he was going

not snow free for long

but at this point, i am thinking man… now i can’t go back. i want to make it to the lake. Snow is too soft to ride but I figure it would be rideable in the morning when its cold. The bad news though is that it doesnt look like there are many passable campsites without snow

but the road, yeah that will do! I set up boldly taunting the patagonian winds, how bad could it be?

i always play this game where i prop my bike to be standing and see if it gets blown over by the wind overnight

couple of hours in the snow is definitely worth it to get this peaceful view. Although sometimes i wish it was summer so that I can venture until the end of the road and maybe get to see the sun more often

It wasn’t too cold but cold enough to make most of the way back rideable, i rode right in my track from the day before

Circling around one of the big lakes which was also an option to camp but quite windy

and approaching the town of Rio Pico

The one thing i dislike about the argentinian towns is that nothing is open from like 1pm to 4pm, meaning if you get there at 1:15, you will just have to wait until the stores open.

I asked the police if i can recharge some batteries (not having solar makes me more dependent on power outlets, and especially if i want to fly that drone) . They invited me inside and to matte, it was nice being indoors for a bit, too much wind outside.

later the store was open and ooh! look at these bananas piled on the windows!

I zoomed out of town on the new pavement, looking for my turnoff and wondering how that will go.

even caught some sun today

another warm night, likely above 0 and honestly this weather here is so much better than Chile. I’ve gotten rained on few times but nothing like the 24/7 rain and wetsnow on the other side of the Andes.

to be continued!