Touring Ted

Iv pretty much done no travelling since came back to Buenos Aires in early February. I met up a few times with some Argentian guys that I met in Ushuaia, seen a few shows, been shopping, repairing the bike and more often than not, drinking, eating and general chlling out with the other travellers that come through Dakar Motos. Its nice to take a time out from constantly riding and packing/unpacking everyday. 

I have mostly been staying at Dakar Motos again as its a great friendly atmosphere with new people coming through almost daily. It was there that I met Sean from Kansas. He has been stuck in Bsas for over 2 months while his bikes gearbox was being repaired.

It was Jorges ( from La postas) birthday in Azul so I rode down with Sean on the back of my bike as his was still in pieces (riding bitch as he says).  I knew there would be a great gathering and it was with over 30 other bikers making the pilgrimage to see him.. It was a brilliant party and broke up my Buenos Aires boredom a little !!

Half the reason I was in Buenos Aires for so long was because I was waiting for Bolivia to dry out. I did pretty much no research about the climate there and It seems that for pretty much most of March its flooded… The basic mud and gravel roads with heavy rainfall doesnt make good riding !!

Losing my passport and bumming about in Bsas for so long has left me behind schedule and I only really have 2-3 months max to complete my trip. For this reason I cant wait for Bolivia to dry out so iv changed my plan and decided to ride north through Brazil and pass through Venezuala into Colombia then into Equador…

This worked out pretty well as Sean from Kansas and Criste from California were seperatly planning the same trip so we all decided to ride together through Brazil to Clombia.

We set off on Monday for the 4 days ride to Puerto Iguaza which is on the border of Brazil and the base for visiting the magnificent waterfalls of Iguazu. We arrived here yesterday (20th March) and are going to stay here for a few days to go sightseeing, do some washing and waiting for them to get their visas for Brazil (US citizens need one).

The landscape is already changing dramatically from Argentina. Instead of boring flat pampa, its turning green, lush and very tropical. The very South America that i have been waiting for. Its really hot and sticky and finding locusts and ants in your hotel room is becoming just a normal thing…

So hold onto your hats for my journey through Brazil……

Sorry I havnt posted for so long but I dont really like posting unless I have something interesting to say.

From my last post, I was on the way back to Buenos Aires for a new passport after losing mine down in souther Argentina. So, on my way north and only 200 miles outside of Buenos Aires, I return to “La Posta del viajero en Moto”. This is the hostel and biker refuge run by Jorge.

In true fashion of “la posta”, Jorge put on an Asado for me, some other travellers and his family and friends. It was during this grand feast that I got talking to Claudio (Jorges brother in law) and explained my loss. He insisted on taking all the particulars of where I might have lost them and what I had lost… I thought nothing more of this as the meat and beer kept flowing and the party continued…

So, the next day as im recovering from my hangover, Claudio comes in and tells me that hes tracked down my bag !! I Coudnt believe it. He had spent hours and hours phoning round numerous police stations and government departments trying to see if it had been handed in. MIRACULOUSLY, someone had found the bag and handed it in to a police station. The camera, translator, cashcard and 350 quid in cash were absent but my passport and other documents seem to there.

Claudio arranged to have his friend down south recover the bag and post it to La posta.

so all of last week i chilled out at la posta, drinking beer, reading books and getting a tan while my bag was put into the Argentinian mail system. I only had so long I could wait as I had an apartment booked and paid for in Buenos Aires centro.

When it still didnt show, i had to leave for buenos Aires and arrange for Jorge to forward it to Dakar Motos in Buenos Aires…

I am now in the apartment in Buenos Aires and just been informed that my bag has arrived at La posta and is being sent today to dakar motos… I “should” have my stuff back in a few days… Until then, its fingers crossed !!

The next few weeks ill just be hanging around in the city repairing my bike and planning the next stage of the trip so dont expect posts for a while…. Thats unless something else happens, which me being me . is highly likely

Chau for now !!

I knew there would be crappy days on this trip to even out the great days. Thats just the balance of life in general… Now i´v been having such a great time that I was due some real crappy luck and bad times. The balance has now been restored. Ill stop talking crap now and fill you on on my last week of misery.

So….,  I left Ushuaia and headed back to Rio Grande where I stayed at the fantastic Hospedaje Argentina with Graciela again. I love it there, so chilled and so many great travellers passing though. After a couple of nights i decided it was time to move on and make my way up the dreaded Routa 40 and the west coast of Chile. The first few days of travelling were good fun, stopping off in Punta Arenas, Puerto Natalas and mucho touristic El Calafate to see the huge glacier which is one of the only moving glaciers in the world…Brilliant !! From El Calafate it was north and to the Routa 40. To those unfamiliar with the routa 40, its a long, barron and dreadful “road” which runs up the west coast of Argentina. Its completly unsurfaced and covered with deep gravel, pebbles, stones and occasioal patches of sand. Along with the strong patagonial wings, its not a nice experience. You have to pick your way through the paths that the trucks leave and prey you arnt blown into a wall of gravel which would probably send you into a crash and tumble…

I battled this road for 220 miles and 6 hours to the next and only petrol station half way up to the next major town… It was empty !! AHHHH. The attendant told me I would have to wait 3 days for fuel. As this depressing news was sinking in, I reached down for my bumbag to look at my map, BUT… !!!!, IT WASNT THERE !! A sense of dread filled my body. My bum bag was gone and everything inside it. This included my Passport, my cash card, 300 pounds in cash, my camera, my V5, my tempory import for the bike, my drivng licence, my spare keys, my map and my notebook with all my contact details that I needed for South America. FUUUUUCK !!

I will tell no lie that I just wanted to cry and nearly did.. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank in an petrol station with no fuel for the next 3 days and my bag with all my essentials lying somewhere on a 220 mile stretch of horrible dirt road…

In terrible Spanish, I tried explaining my prediciment to the owner and he eventually took pity on me and managed to hand pump enough fuel out of the ground to get me back the way I had came. A glimmer of hope at least ! I gave him 60 pesos out of the 100 I had left and turned around looking to the heavens for help.

I rode and and battled the same stretch of 40 over again for another 5 hours and still no sign of my bag. It was a slim chance of me ever finding it in the dirt anyway, especially as you need to keep all your concentration on not crashing..

It was starting to get dark, I was knackered, depressed and running low on fuel again. Just as I thought my life couldnt get worse, a gust of wind blew me into a patch of gravel and I crashed. I was thrown from the bike into the dirt and the bike was burried and the pannier ripped off AGAIN. To add salt to the wound, my petrol can that I had filled up with fuel to get me to the next petrol station had ripped open in the crash and left a nice damp patch in the sand… I have never been so pissed off and angry in my whole life. I would of sold my soul to be back home with a nice cuppa in front of the telly. I checked the bike and thank god, it was still running.. I strapped the pannier to the bike with a ratchet strap and collected by things from off the road.

I looked at my watch and it was 10.30 pm. By that time I was just so fed up and tired, I pulled up on the side of the track, pulled out my sleeping bag and slept in a bush.  I barely got a wink of sleep worrying about what I was going to do. Would I have enough fuel to get me to the petrol station ?, would the petrol station even have fuel ?, would my  credit card let me get cash out ?, would I be able to get back to Buenos Aires for a new passport ?? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next morning I packed up my things and made my way down another dirt track to a small town where hopefully there was fuel and thankfully there was !! YAY !! I filled up and rode 180 miles down another crappy road at 40 mph to get me to something which resembled civilization. I pulled up in San Julian on the RTA 3. The same town I stayed at on the way south 6 weeks ago. My credit card gave me a wedge of pesos, i ate for the first time in 30 hours and I finally sighed a breath of relief. I wasnt out of the crap yet but at least I knew I had fuel and cash…

I reported my things lost to the police and made a plan to get back to Buenos Aires, where I can get a new passport, documents and repair my bike.. For the last 5 days I have ridden 6 hours a day to get north. Im now 300 miles away from Buenos aires, Dakar Motos and friendly faces !!!

Im knackerd, smelly , pissed off and skint but as long as there is sunshine and cold beer, ill be cracking on !!

P.S. Sorry there are no pictures. My camera is either burried in gravel or being used by a local farmer to take sexy pictures of his cows !!

Well everyones been bugging me for a new post so here it is.. As a few of heard, I´ve just got back from Antarctica. I didnt plan to go Antarctica at all, it kind of just happened.

I was still in Ushuaia after new years and a couple of the other guys had been there for Xmas and were showing off their pictures. I had a quick look at their photos and was amazed and decided that it was a once in a lifetime oppurtinity and to hell with the cost. Fellow Brit Mick and Irishan Arthur were also still at the campsite and wanted to go so we made a decision to go nto town and try and pick up a “cheaper” last minute deal. The trips to Antarctica usually go for about 4000-10,000 pounds. WOW ! No way I could afford that so some serious shopping would have to be done.
After about 2-3 days of shopping around we found the last 3 places on a 90 bed ship called the MS Andrea. A Liberian registerd and Croatian/Philipino crewed ship. It was 2200 pounds for a 9 day return cruise. 2 days to cross the infamous Drake Passage, 5 days of landings and 2 days back.

Now, I know your all saying “TWO THOUSAND QUID FOR 9 DAYS” and you´d be right, its bloody expensive but worth every penny. We had luxurious cabins, 3 multi-course waiter served fabulous meals a day and a team of scientists, deck hands and wildlife experets to guide us around the highly controlled and sensitive continent and its islands. The first two days were crossing the Drake Passage and the Beagle channel. One of the roughest and most dangerous stretches of water in the world. 15 metre swells and waves play with the ship and throw you about the ship like its its a funfair. There were actually seatbelts on your bed to stop you being thrown out in your sleep. The last time I was strapped into a bed, i had to pay more than 2000 quid ….

As you can imagine, the first night I was pretty sea sick along with most of the other passengers. Its also pretty worrying when your woken up at 3am with the sound of ice crashing into the hull as the ship carves through the summer pack ice. SO, the second day and when we walk out onto deck our jaws dropped. Huge icebergs were floating literally feet away as the Captain and Ice master pick their way between snow capped Volcanic islands and icebergs bigger than a footballers mansion in Cheshire. Birds that you only see on TV circle the ship and the odd pengy pops in and out of the water while you keep your eye out for Whales. One day we were very lucky to be greated by a family of Humpback Whales. They followed the ship, playing and rolling while spraying water out of their blowholes… A once in a life time wildlife experience !! Its hard not to stay out on deck all day looking at the scenery but the icey cold wind keeps you in the bar as much as it can.

While we were sailing between landing points we were given briefings, slideshows and drills about going out into the islands and the continent. Its a highly controlled environment due to sensitive geology and of course the wildlife must not be disturbed. Our excellent guides made sure we knew where we could and could not go whilst giving us history lessons and talks about the penguins, Elehants seals etc. Did you know how many differnt kinds of penguins there are ??? No, either did I but there are frig loads. (They all smell like fish shit though. A sickening smell when your surrounded by thousands of the little blighters).

So we were taken out on inflatable boats to the various different islands 3 times a day for 5 days. We visited so many pengion and seal colonys that I lost track and we also visited the British base, Port Lockroy where I sent a few postcards home !!! I cant give justice to what I saw in words so just look at the pictures !!

As in life, all good things come to an end and before I knew it we were sailing back to Ushuaia all still in awe of our experiences… We arrived back in harbour late in the evening and us non derepid passengers and the crew hit the town for a big party and piss up lasting until 6.30am… I rode out of Ushuaia the same morning with only 45 mins sleep back to Rio Grande ready to cross the border back into Chile and Northward bound……

So I guess I should write about New years eve down here in Ushuaia. As always, I’m taking life very slow and easy. Iv been here in the Rio Pipo campsite for nearly a week while other bikers and travellers roll in and out, desperate to keep to their dead lines and schedules but I just lie in my tent until I feel like it and take another hour to decide if I can be bothered making breakfast or updating my blog.

Well, I got here 4 days before New Years Eve and a lot of the old gang from Viedma were already here along with other bikers and travellers on the tourist trail in Ushuaia. As always, The bikers hugged, shuck hands and shared a few beers whilst discussing our stops and crashes. As the days rolled on we started preparing for the new years eve party in the campsite refuge. This campsite is pretty good apart from the constant rain and cold but I guess you cant blame the weather on the campsite. In all fairness, we do get the odd bright day but its a rare occurance. They have a large communal area with tables, chairs and a old home made wood burning heater. There’s also a big old professional kitchen that the guests are free to use which is great for our big biker feasts we throw together.

So its new year eve and we are expecting 30 bikers for an Asasdo. I’m volunteered by Gherban as the Asado chef along with with my beautiful assistant Ken, the Aussie guy who’s travelling round the world with his wife Carol.

The day is a fluster of activity as we’re all running around buying steaks, chorizos , booze and salad. Gherban (the Dutch vegetarian chef) is running around making pies, deserts etc with everybody running around helping where they can.  There was other big group having an Asado made for them by the campsite manager so it was Me, Ken and the owner playing with steaks, sausage and fire all evening at the parilla.

After hours of blood, sweat and tears, we all sit down to a monster New years feast. This goes down as the best new years I’ve ever had with the best company you could wish for. We party until 2am with members of nearly every country imaginable. Us hardcore folk made out way into Ushuaia city centre and partied away until 6am which I would write more about if I could remember it

So, its 4 days after new year and pretty much everybody has left the place. Myself and a couple of the other “take it easy” stragglers have decided to take a trip to Antarctica. It was hard to hand over the substantial amount of cash to do the 9 day tour but when else would you have the opportunity to take a trip to the most untouched and difficult to reach continent in the world.  Until then…………………

I made my way to Ushuaia a few days before New years eve.  Ushuaia (if you didnt know by now) is the “End of the world”. Its the southermost town in the world and the closest you can get to Antartica without having flippers or a tail.

I took the Routa 3 from Rio Grande and headed the 200 Km to Ushuaia. As I approached the deep south the terrain rapidly changed to snow topped mountain ranges and sweeping moutain road. A real treat to the eyes after the thousands of miles of open praire. This is where to rain and cold hits you. Within a 50 miles, the wind gets worse, it starts raining constantly and the cold rushes down off the moutains. For most a miserable experience but it made me feel right at home coming from the North West of England.

From the twisty mountain roads I roll in Ushuaia. An old fishing town which has seriously cashed in on the Tourism. I make my way to the Rio Pipo where I meet some other bikers and prepared for the party…….:)

 Hold fire for the post on New Years eve and my up and coming trip to Antartica.. YES !! Antartica WOOOOOOO

Well i’ve finally made it to Tierra del Fuego (Land of fire) in the deep south of Argentina for Christmas. I left Rio Gallegos at 7.30 on Sunday morning and made my way 250 miles south to Rio Grande. There is no direct way to cross into Argetinian Tierra del fuego without going through Chille so I had to cross into Chille and then back into Argentina 2 hours later. So, my first border crossings !!  I didnt know what to expect but it was very easy and straight forward and the border guards were polite and helpful. I actually had to go through 4 checkpoints… Argentina out, Chille in, then Chile out, Argentina in.. Comprende ??

Tierra del Fuego is a large island so you have to take a ferry in Chile accross the straighs of Magallan. Its a short 10-15 minute crossing but you have to wait upto 90 minutes for the ferry. On the ferry I get chatting to a really friendly Chillian guy. He barters with the ticket man for me and gets my ticket reduced from 80 pesos to 24 because im on a bike and not a car. He was totally made up when he found out I was from Liverpool as hes a big Beatles and Liverpool FC fan… Its a strange world !

I roll off the ferry onto Tierra del fuego. Tierra del Fuego reminds me a little of Mordor without the Orks. Lots of volcanic features and geology and huge expanses of open country. Very beautiful but again, very windy and cold.. There are few cars about and the roads are mostly pretty good apart from 70 miles of ripio to get to the main large town of Rio Grande. 

So it was a long 8 hour day but I finally arrive in the large town of Rio Grande and to the Hostel Argentino. The Argentino is a brilliant friendly hostel owned by the lovely Graciela. There are lots of Swizz, French and Argentian travellers staying here and the atmosphere is fantastic. I got here on the 23rd December and fellow Brit, Mick O’Malley was already here. Yesterday (24th) we all had a great Christmas dinner and partied until 5am with all the travellers and friends of Graciela. Like always, the Argentinians are very hospitible and cant do enough for you.

I think ill chill out here for a couple of days to change my tyres, wash some clothes and take advantage of the free intenet . Then its the one day ride south to Ushuaia, the end of the words and a huge New years eve party with all the other travellers who make the long journey south. I cant wait  !!!

Until then, Feliz naviva

So… It was over a week ago since I left the other guys and decided to ride alone.

The day after the crash I left the others and headed South to the seaside tourist city of Puerto Madryn. It was my hope to find “Gato Motos” there so I could change my crappy street biast Trailwing tyres for some decent duel purpose rubber. Sadly, they didnt have what I needed so after staying one night in luxury (2 star hotel), I rode a short 90 miles back North to the Peninsular Valdez.
Peninsular Valdez is a a well known nature reserve and tourist site which is famous for Whales, Penguins and other marine life. It has a infamous Ripio (gravel) coast road which claims a few lives a year and seems to attract the locals and crazy bikers alike who want to circuit the coast for a challenge. So, I pull into Puerto Piramides, the major town on the peninsular and straight away I see 5 overland bikes owned by the German guys.. Small world huh !! We eat lunch and decide to find a hostel and go whale watching the next day and then maybe ride the peninsular.

We stumble into a brand new hostel which I immediately fall in love with. Stone built, wooden ceilings scattered with big sofas, a kitchen and most importantly, clean hot showers and comfortable beds. We settle in with the usual routine of beer, wine and home cooked food and chat the night away.

The next day on the peninsular, we decide to go Whale watching. I love nature and have always wanted to see whales in their natural environment so I was well up for this. Sadly, the main whale season ended a few weeks ago but we were lucky enough (with the skill of our Captain) to find a Mother Southern Right Whale and her calf. We followed the whale for some time with a few other boats until the whale got bored with us which was our cue to head back to shore. It was really nice to be out on the water but it gave me a major appetite (not for blubber though).

That night we headed into the town for a big juicy steak with a newly arrived American guy who had just turned up at the hostel from Ushuaia,  a Spanish guy from Madrid who was travelling by car and Mick O’Malley from the UK. We ate and drank while the restaurant slowly transformed into a bustling night club around us. There was a brilliant local 5 piece band playing followed by a DJ and dancing.  We danced the night away with the help of numerous ‘Cuba Libre’ coctails and wine… The rest became a bit of a blank . A good night all round I think

So after another lazy day at the hostel, the Germans decided to ride the peninsualar. I debated with myself all day whether to ride the bad ripio roads with my street tyres and very fragile handlebar clamps. I knew that even a small topple could break my bars straight off and end my journey south for new years eve . I felt the need to be sensible for a change so left them to ride out and camp while I sulked in the sun with some Quilmes beer.

My tyres were really pissing me off by then so I made the decision to have some sent down from Buenos Aires. Javier in Dakar Motos had a set of Metzeler Karoos and agreed to send them far south to the city of Rio Gallegos where I could collect them from a bus depot before heading to the Souther island of Tierra del fuego..The next day I set off alone for the long 3 day ride south to Rio Gallegos. I stopped at Comodore Rivadavia that night and then the next day I rode another 200 miles to Puerto San Julian.

I stopped in San Julian, one days ride away from Rio Gallegos where I can pick up my tyres and finally head the final stretch to Tierrra del Fuego and Ushuaia. This place was touristic but with not many people around which confused me as to why I couldnt get a room in a hotel anywhere. Maybe the thought of a smelly Englishman staying in their hotel doesnt appeal to them. Maybe it has something to do with the huge memorial to the Argentinians who died in the Malvinas (Falklands). Funny thing as you get further South in Argentina is that there are a lot of memorials and strong feelings to the Malvinas. They still take it very much to heart and there are a museams and tours devoted to explaining why the Malvinas are historically Argentinian. I just tell everybody im Irish to save any poential ill feeling. !!!  So another nights boring camping alone. Thank god the wine is so cheap and I still have my laptop full of music and videos.

The next morning I was woken up by wind violently flapping my tent. I just knew this was going to be a bad days riding. I lay in my sleeping bag hoping the wind would suddenly drop but it just seemed to get worse. I packed up my tent and geared up the bike up knowing that the longer I procrastinated, the worse it would probably get. It turned out to be the worst days ride of my life. The wind was just horrendous. I couldnt ride faster than 45mph with the head wind and it was a constant fight to keep the bike from blowing into the side of the road or into oncoming trucks. The other drivers were as crazy as ever, overtaking within cm’s and overaking on blind bends. There were more than a few moments when I saw my life flash between my eyes. The sensible thing would of been to pull over and sit it out but over here thats not really an option. You are so far between fuel stops and towns that theres just nowhere to stop, just praires and pampas. I battled for 7 hours in the cold, strong wind and finally made it into Rio Gallegos. I was soo cold and pissed off that I wanted to be back home with a hot cup of tea and a bacon butty. No such luck for me though as I still needed to find the bus depot to collect the tyres that were meant to be waiting for me and then find a hotel, as camping in this wind would be a nightmare.

In one moment of luck, the bus depot happened to be on the main route into town. In another moment of bad luck, the tyres wern’t there. By now I was just so pissed off. The guy just shrugged his shoulders and said “Manana” (Maybe tomorrow) so I just said thanks and left in search of a hotel where I would wait for my tyres to arrive.

After riding around the city for 30 minutes with every hotel turning me away I was really feeling sorry for myself. It had been a truely awful days riding, I was shivering cold, my tyres wernt there and I couldnt get a room.  I turned to my GPS to show every hotel in the vicinity and god bless it, it found me the one that im writing this post from. The downside is that i’m in the the last room which has 3 beds so I had to pay from them all  A horrendous £26 a night for a 3 bed room which is pretty expensive on my budget and especially for a uber basic room.

On top of all that, the hotel staff are really miserable and unfriendly.  Breakfast which was included in the price was never brought to me unless I haseled them, and one day they even dropped it on the floor infront of me and put it back on my plate which out even a sign of remorse.   My only example of poor hospitality from Argentina !!  Theres something about this town that just doesn’t sit well for me.

 So today is Saturday and iv just been back to the depot for a 3rd time (they had a siesta the 2nd time). Thank god my tyres were there so I can now leave tomorrow and hope to make it to Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego for Christmas eve. I have to cross the border into Chille then back into Argentina to get there. Its going to be cold, wet and miserable but im used to that now !!!! Until the next time….

After the meeting in Viedma I joined a group of Germans to ride down the east coast on the way south. Sebastian, Uchi and myself started first with Ra, Ali and Korolla following an hour behind. The plan had been to take a ripio (gravel & sand track) road down the coast so we could avoid the painfully dull Rta 3 again. We were all riding pretty slow at first but gaining speed and confidence on the gravel & sand track as we rode on. After a while, the other Germans caught up with us and the boys (as boys do) started going faster and faster. It feels great to ride on these roads at speed. You feel like you are in the Paris Dakar Rally with clouds of dust behind you and gravel and sand spitting up from under your tyres.

A real sense of speed and calm and control takes over, but, as in life, all good things have to come to an end…… I was riding at about 70mph on this ripio surface for a good hour or two and feeling pretty good about life. The thing about ripio roads is that the faster you ride, the easier it feels to ride. You start gliding over the surface instead of bumping and sliding about in the gravel. This leads you into a false sense of security which made me have my fist big crash of the trip.

We were looking for somewhere nice to spend the night camping wild and coming the other direction were two big bull dozer vehicles with massive scoops on the front. They were smoothing over the surface of the track as it becomes corrugated and portioned by car and truck tyres. So, I pass these big bull dozers and start going faster and faster again. 30 seconds later I’m flying along at 70mph like before totally oblivious to the fact that the track had turned into more sand than gravel due to the smoothing process. 40 seconds later and my front wheel goes into an uncontrollable wobble. I try to fight it straight and power out of the weave but its too late. Before I have time to soil my underwear, the bike buckarooed me and flipped itself over into the dirt at 70mph.

I lay there on the gravel surprised to be conscious and tried to work out if I was hurt. Miraculously, I could feel no pain and had the use of all my limbs. I stood up and took a look around. The bike was buried in the side of the road and my luggage boxes were about 10 metres further down the road with all my possessions scattered across the place. BOLLOCKS !!!

I automatically assumed that my trip was over there and then. No bike, no luggage, no nothing ! The others caught up with me and instantly started to pick up my things and we all got our tools out and assessed the damage. Surprisingly the bike was intact apart from the left hand luggage box was battered out of shape with the fixings ripped off, the handlebar clamps were bent and hanging out of the top yoke and the clutch lever and mirror were bent. L Ali wandered off into the bushes and in a complete stroke of luck, returned with a scaffold pole. What it was doing there in the middle of nowhere is anyone’s guess but it helped to bend the pannier frame out of the back wheel. The handlebars were soon back together but there was no way to straighten them without breaking them but at least the bike was ridable. I’m really surprised how tough this bike is. Many a bike would have been written off and beyond repair by this crash and my Metal Mule box still looks like a box and is useable if a little awkward.

By this time is was getting late so we decided to all rough camp on the side of the road. I was feeling sore by now. My lower back and ribs were pretty bruised and it was a major effort to bend over and move about but nothing a dose of painkillers couldn’t cure.

It actually turned out to be a really good night. Due to me crashing we camped in the scrub in total darkness. All lying together on a sheet staring up at the most amazing night sky I have ever seen. There were more stars than black. Mists of stars, comets and satellites were flying about all night. We lay there making silly jokes (usually at my expense) and looking on the very bright side of life.

So, I’m now riding with 1 battered and bent luggage box which is strapped up to the bike and bent handlebars. The important thing is that I’m still mobile and travelling.

Just a quick post to let everyone know that im not “banged up abroad” just yet.

I finally left ‘La Posta’ in Azul on Wednesday and rode the long boring Ruta 3 to ‘Sierra de la Ventana’ for a halfway stop before the Horizons Unlimited biker meeting in Viedma.  Routa 3 is really starting to bore me now. Its just open straight highway through the praires with nothing to keep your attention apart from the road kill and 50mph winds which try and blow you into the dirt. Things picked up as we entered the area of ‘Sierra de la Ventana’ which is GORGEOUS. Lots of lush green fields and moutains which reminded me a lot of Snowdonia National park in North Wales. The plan was to camp one night there and climb the highest mountain in Argentina (La Ventana) then ride down to Viedma the next day… We couldnt find anywhere to camp near the Moutain so we stayed in another nice campsite nearby but too far out to do the walk the next day. So, the next day i awoke with a bad hangover and decided to ride down to Viedma alone.

It was another long boring ride down RTA 3 with some absolutely killer winds. At points I was riding at a 30 degree angle to keep in a straight line. I actually saw some mini twisters kicking up sand and debris on the road and not being familiar with these in Britain, I wasnt sure what to do… Images of me being sucked up off my bike and deposited in a tree spung to mind but sadly as i rode through them, I barely felt a wobble !!

So…. 5 hours later I rolled into the campsite in Viedma for the HU meeting. Bikers we already pouring in, mostly from Canada and Germany. One thing about travelling on a bike in South America is that 75% of the other travellers are German. ITS CRAZY ! I think my German will be better than my Spanish when I return  The good thing is that they are all lovely, friendly, helpful and always up for a beer and a party ! My new favourite European neighbours !!

So, we all spent the last weekend cooking, eating, and generally drinking loads of Quilmes (good Argie beer) and going for rides out to to see the Sea Lions on the beach. 

Tomorrow I think I will be riding down to Las Grutas for a stop before Peninsualr Valdez to see some Whales etc. The next two weeks will be long rides down Ruta 3 to get to Ushauia and the “End of the worlds” for Xmas and New year !! 

P.S  As always i havnt got my photos with me so maybe next time huh !