Tuesday 7 November Tuesday started foggy, but soon enough the fog lifted and the sun was out for a bit. Most of the time it stayed cloudy. Today would be a big climbing day, so soon enough I found myself on a decently sized hill. After climbing that I descended to a small valley,… Continue reading Almost, but not Quite: Buta Ranquil – Zapala
Tag: Argentina
A Rite of Passage: Malargüe – Buta Ranquil
Friday 3 November Friday’s ride is relatively short at 65 km, but it includes a climb up to about 2000 meters before descending to Bardas Blancas. Indeed the climb started soon enough, but it wasn’t too hard. There were some steep sections interleaved with easier climbs and even some downhill. The weather was sunny… Continue reading A Rite of Passage: Malargüe – Buta Ranquil
A Shortcut to What? Mendoza – Malargüe
Sunday 29 October On Sunday morning I had a lazy start. I had made a pretty big mess of my room over two busy rest days. I had bought some new stuff that needed to find a place and I wanted to reorganise some other things. Thus packing my bags took longer than usual, as… Continue reading A Shortcut to What? Mendoza – Malargüe
Take it Easy: San Juan – Mendoza
A few days before reaching San Juan the bite valve of my Camelbak broke when a dog was a little too interested in my bike and gear. It generally still works fine, but occasionally it leaks and I may lose a lot of water. Thankfully that hasn’t happened on the road so far, but it… Continue reading Take it Easy: San Juan – Mendoza
Cuarenta Is Sixty Six: La Rioja – San Juan
That sounds like an extremely bad Spanish lesson, cuarenta means forty after all. But it’s not a language lesson, this is about culture. More on that later. First we go back to the events following my arrival in La Rioja. Tuesday 17 October The first few hours of Tuesday afternoon I spent in my air-conditioned… Continue reading Cuarenta Is Sixty Six: La Rioja – San Juan
Here Comes the Sun: S.M. de Tucumán – La Rioja
Friday 13 October Friday started at 10 after a very meager breakfast at the hostel, which is normal here. A cup of tea, a glass of carbonated water and a few small pieces of bread is usually all you get. It took about 20 km to get out of town with much stop and go… Continue reading Here Comes the Sun: S.M. de Tucumán – La Rioja
Born to Be Wild: S.S. de Jujuy – S.M. de Tucumán
Sunday 8 October Sunday was not my day. The day started by trying to find my way out of San Salvador de Jujuy. I had to cross a busy highway interchange to get to the road I wanted to take, Ruta 66. After crossing some foot bridges I finally got where I wanted to… Continue reading Born to Be Wild: S.S. de Jujuy – S.M. de Tucumán
A New Hope: La Quiaca – S.S. de Jujuy
The bus ride from Uyuni to Villazón was long and uncomfortable. I wasn’t told that we had to change buses once in the middle of the night and the road was extremely bumpy, so sleeping wasn’t really an option. We got dropped off at the new Villazón bus terminal at 3 in the morning. Thus… Continue reading A New Hope: La Quiaca – S.S. de Jujuy
About the Salars and Beyond
The next target are the famous Salars, the huge salt flats in southwestern Bolivia. I planned to ride to Sabaya, the entrance to the Salar de Coipasa, in about 4 days. However, judging by other people’s reports, large parts of this route are of similar quality to the last 2 days. As reported in the… Continue reading About the Salars and Beyond
South America 2017-2018: The Plan
After successfully completing my PhD I’m going on a bike tour in South America. I fly to La Paz, Bolivia on Tuesday the 19th of September and I will return from Buenos Aires on Thursday the 11th of January of 2018. This means I have almost 4 months in South America. What happens in between… Continue reading South America 2017-2018: The Plan