By Christ that was a long way, Im sure if someone had told me it was going to be tougher than a commute on the Northern Line I may have reconsidered, but when my friend Geoff suggested it as a good idea after a few ales I forgot to check the distance. (Yes Geoff I blame you whole heartedly)
Anyway, here I am a tad after over 25,000 miles, 8 tyres, 4 chains, 2 and a half sets of brake pads and 2 pistons. I now find myself in Ushuaia the most Southerly City in the world. It also so happens that I am camping right next the what I assume to be the most southerly rugby club in the world so I shall certainly be taking a pic of that for the Rugby Club at home. Im sure I could quote plenty more stupid stats regarding the trip from top to bottom, and no doubt after 10 or so beers I shall, but for now this is the story from Santiago down...
After asking a few veterans of riding how long it would take to get to Ushuaia they said that 10 days was possible but it would be a serious mission. Clearly I took this too much to heart as it took me 5 days which included a minor detour of 370 miles and a spot of sight seeing as well.
I rode like a man possessed for about 450 miles the first day which was not easy after 3 hours sleep, also I was trying to run the bike in after its rebuild. So with no more than 55 mph on the speedo it was a long long day, but the road was a very agreeable dual carriageway so all was well. After the first night camping I rode to Puerto Montt where I was stupid enough to trust what a toll booth woman told me and ended up riding the wrong way for almost 200 miles! Silly, yes however I did realize this issue but thought I could use it to my advantage by getting the boat from a place called Quellon on the island south of Puerto Montt towards Chaiten where I could ride the carretera Austral. So I got there to be told I missed the boat by about 8 hrs but I could go back to Puerto Montt and catch it there the next morning.
Off I ride feeling pretty annoyed, leaving the town, and a heap of dead pooches splattered on the road. I think some kind driver must have thought it more sporting to kill a whole group of socializing dogs rather than choosing to delay his journey by 20 seconds and stop. I carried on back to the short but expensive ferry back to Puerto Montt and finally arrived at 10 pm. A total waste of money but the guard at the ferry port said I could camp there for the night, so I set my tent up in the managers parking space.
The next morning I sensed victory, and when 9 am finally arrived I went in to get my ticket only to be told the boat was full and I would have to wait 2 days! ARRGG! I could stand it no more... Off I went all the way back to the crossing to Baraloche in Argentina.
I am quite glad it turned out that way as the road to Baraloche and beyond was very nice indeed. Great views of snow capped mountains and a seriously pleasing assault on my nose from all the flowers by the road. This new smell was quite incredible to my senses after many months of smelling the standard waft of road kill and stewing carcases. It was a very nice ride indeed.
After my second oil change in as many days due to the new piston and the miles I was covering I was ready for the long haul South. On reaching the famously windy Ruta 40 I realized that yes it is indeed some what gusty to say the least. This was not too much of an issue on the tarmac but the gravel later on did not mix too well with those mean old cross winds.
The next few days all seemed to merge into one really. There was a lot of riding and a lot of wind, occasionally complimented by an Emu or an Armadillo throwing itself in front of the bike. The Emu are particular amusing. They really do look like that puppet that the entertainer Rod had his hand stuck up all those years ago, but they certainly didn't seem to have the same balls Rods pet Emu had when attacking Parkinson, instead they just flapped about madly and often ran in front of the bike.
Armadillos on the other hand are much quicker than I imagined. I tried to chase one to get a photo but the little sod was too fast for me, then again I would run fast if I had some unsavory looking slob in bike gear was chasing me.
One section of Ruta 40 was a long piece of gravel, apart from that I was surprised at how much tarmac there really was. Even the gravel parts of the road were very good. The only problem which faced me was where the cars had pushed the gravel into deep lines made it very tricky to ride in. Clearly I would therefore not ride in it, but this is where the wind came into its own. With one big gust whilst riding 60 mph you may not have any choice whether you were going to end up in the gravel or not. All told though I made it through without any falls.
After the 3rd night camping I got to El Calafate and went to see the Glacier there. Well all I can say is that this Glacier was seriously impressive and well worth the entrance fee. It blows the Alaskan ones out of the water (no punn intended!) It was certainly ranks high up amongst the most impressive things I have seen on this trip, and unusually for me it lived up to what was promised to me! The sheer size of it, the creaking and crunching as well as the chunks falling off where really cool. I think I may be right in saying it is one of the last advancing glaciers in the world (I may be wrong though) at 2 metres a day! Quite swift hey.
After a bit of sight seeing I headed off South once more, but for the past few days I had noticed my chain becoming stupidly loose, and only after 1 day post adjustment it was almost coming off once more. Next new chain I fear. So finally after another cold night road side camping I arrived at a main town and bought myself a new chain. More expense, but I fitted it and headed off towards Ushuaia.
All was fine but the borders were a pain in the arse. Basically I had to leave Argentina to enter Chile to then leave Chile to re-enter Argentina. Each time I had to do all the paperwork required for the bike. What a pain, but finally after this and a small boat crossing I was on Tierra del Fuego and on my way to Ushuaia.
I couldn't help but get the feeling my bike had finally had enough as everything seems to be dropping off it now. I have lost my flip-flops, my cooking pot and then one of my panniers half fell off. Luck for me I have many spare nuts and bolts from previous minor technical faults, so ten mins and I was off again.
Finally at about 8pm on the 21st December 2007, I arrived in Ushuaia! YES!!!!!! In my mind I expected some kind of great celebration, but clearly reality is very different. After a few pics by the sign I found my campsite and have set up camp for 5 days before I leave on the 26th for Buenos Aires where I catch a container boat back to Europe on the 8th January.
Before you all cheer and clap at this being the end of my posts, I am afraid there will prob. be 2 more to come. (If you're lucky!) One for the trip to BA, and maybe another to let you all know if I sunk or got sold into white slavery.
Sorry this post insnt too gripping but frankly I am very tired and need a Crimbo sleep.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.
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