Saturday, January 11th Distance – 447KM 70% gravel Heading back north from Tranquillo was nowhere near as exciting as our trip down. The weather was great but that pushed lots of dust up in the air. We were also a lot more disciplined about keeping everyone in view at all…

Friday, January 10th Distance – 193KM, 100% ripio Given that Martyn cannot get down here until later in the day, we head off to see the local glacier. However, we don’t get off without a hiccup. Rob’s bike, will once again not start. The leads are checked but they are…

Thursday, January 9th Distance – 0KM After yesterday’s excitement and the need to reconnect with Martyn and George, no one is really on the mood to ride. We decide to head out to the Catedral de Marmol (Marble Cathederals), a local attraction that is reached by boat. First order of…

Wednesday, January 8th Distance – 237km Leaving Coihaique our trip could not have been going any better. The weather was great, maybe a little overcast. The roads were beautifully paved. Our route took us out of town and into the mountains. It was a little chilly up at the top…

January 7th Distance – 318km It is hard to believe that we are almost a week into the trip. After a fantastic breakfast at the hotel, we had to stop by and see the monument erected by the local people to Pinochet. Apparently, he is quite revered locally for driving…

January 6th Distance – 204KM, 90% gravel The clouds over the pass should have been a warning that the day would not be the clean sailing as we’d had to date. Clouds over the Andes. Just as we started to roll away, Rob realized he had a flat. Everyone had…

January 5th Mileage – 416 km The cabañas we stopped in Villa La Angostura seemed to be run by a crazy Argentinian cat/dog lady. The next morning all bikes evidenced a cat’s close attention. Cat prints on the seat. The culprit shows herself as we loaded the bikes. Inquisitive cat. Where…

January 4th Distance – 349km A few weeks ago, I saw pictures of Martyn and George out for a ride. The caption said something along the lines of. “Out practicing for our Patagonia ride”. There the two of them were, riding a dry river bed. I expressed my concern and…

January 3rd Distance – Santiago to Temuco 680km as the crow flies. – Temuco to Pucon 120km all paved. Travel Time – 4 hours to Temuco – 90 minutes to Pucon Easy flight out of Santiago down to Temuco. Odd seeing the mountains to the left and flying south. Beautiful…

January 2nd Distance – 0 Travel time – 0 Santiago, Chile The genesis of this trip started about a year ago when MacBean called Martyn and asked him to set up the trip. Martyn and Mac became riding buddies over 30 years ago while in school. I’ve known Mac even…