February 4, 2018
Casa de Ciclesta: A hard day but a great day
We knew that today was going to be one of our tougher days. There were a number of big hills and we had no idea what the road surface would be like. For some reason (I think it was the mosquitoes) Leigh was the one rushing me on when breaking camp this morning but we were on the road some time after nine. The first climb started within three kilometers followed by a steep downhill and so it repeated itself until about twenty seven kilometers. The weather was in two minds as to rain or shine and we spent a lot of the time putting our jackets on and then taking them off again.
At the top of the second to last climb we were joined by the Aussie couple, Jay and Jillain, and a Dutch lady from Mardid, Nino, and we all ate lunch together at the bridge before the last climb. Then is was the last slog before reaching a long flat valley that would lead to Villa O'Higgins. By now a strong northerly wind had whipped up and, with fair road conditions, we were flying along. We had only planned to do a forty kilometers today - about halfway to Villa O'Higgins - but the strong tailwind made it too easy to carry on another ten kilometers to where we knew there was a refugio for cyclists on a property owned by a chap called Jorge. Various other cyclists heading northwards stuck their heads in before pushing on into the wind. Those who had come up from Ushuaia seemed rather scornful of what we thought was a strong wind. Just wait until you get further south, was the message. We also got some feedback on the problems with the ferry crossing of Lago O'Higgins due to the main ferry being out of action and the smaller boats only able to operate in the right weather conditions. Unfortunately, there were also reports of service providers taking advantage of the situation, particularly preying on those travelers who had run out of food or time. We'll have to judge the situation when we get to Villa O'Higgins.
We set out tent up outside the front of the refugio while the other three planned to sleep inside. Jay got a big fire going and we all got our ablutions done in various ways. While we were cooking supper Toby and Lesley arrived and set their tent up at the back joined us inside for supper. Toby produced a box of wine which was a great and unexpected way to end our meal. It's his birthday tomorrow and I owe him a beer - for that as well as the wine.
The views today have been spectacular. In discussion with Nino, we agreed that, along with the road between Raul Marin and La Junta, this was the most attractive piece we have traveled in Patagonia. It was literally littered with snow capped mountains, glaciers and waterfalls. To top it all, there was very little traffic, a pretty decent road surface and some good company.
Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 1,147 km (712 miles)
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