{"id":451,"date":"2011-01-19T14:51:39","date_gmt":"2011-01-19T17:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=451"},"modified":"2016-12-31T10:23:17","modified_gmt":"2016-12-31T15:23:17","slug":"bicycle-touring-patagonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/","title":{"rendered":"In Awe of Mother Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

If January is anything to go by, our 2011 promises to be full of adventure, amazing beauty and struggles against nature.<\/p>\n

\"Cycling<\/a>
The infamous RUTA 40. Nothing, nothing and more nothing. Just a sky that goes on forever.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\n

\"A<\/a>
A local Gaucho enjoying his daily dose of mate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The New Year began with a stand-off against the dreaded RUTA 40.\u00a0 This desolate stretch of road is nothing short of infamous in these parts.\u00a0 Motorcyclists grumble about the loose gravel and corrugated driving surfaces, motorists worry about flying rocks and cracked windshields and cyclists, well sane cyclists avoid this stretch of road entirely. Cyclists possess a natural inclination to stay far away from RUTA 40.\u00a0 Like cats steering clear of ferocious dogs or school kids crossing the street to avoid an encounter with the class bully.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8645-camping-chile\"<\/a>
Some friendly farmers let us pitch our tent out back. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

We were bouncing along RUTA 40 because my practical husband thought it was ridiculous to pay an \u2018exorbitant\u2019 $83 for a four- hour ferry ride in Chile.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re just ripping off tourists,\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n

The ferry would have allowed us to cycle the entire length of the famous Carreterra Austral.\u00a0 Famous, you note, not infamous<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Famous for its beauty.\u00a0 Fast flowing rivers, incredible mountain vistas, glaciers, sleepy villages, fjords, shimmering lakes.\u00a0 In short, perfect cycling.<\/p>\n

\"Perito<\/a>
Perito Moreno Glacier near Calafate, Chile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, we started off the year struggling against RUTA 40.\u00a0 Eric tried hard to sell me on the idea.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s off-the-beaten-track.\u00a0 Everybody cycles the Carreterra Austral.\u00a0 We don\u2019t just want to follow the masses.\u00a0 RUTA 40 is real<\/em> adventure\u201d<\/p>\n

By real<\/em> adventure I guess he meant a bone-jarring ride through a great windy expanse of nothingness.\u00a0 Personally, I\u2019d had my fill of real<\/em> adventure and was keen to tag along with the masses.\u00a0 Perhaps there was a sound reason behind the popularity of the Carreterra Austral.\u00a0 Maybe it was actually a fun<\/em> place to ride a bike.<\/p>\n

\"Riding<\/a>
Riding the Carreterra Austral near Coyhaique, Chile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Eric appealed to my sense of fearlessness.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not a wimp, are you?\u00a0 RUTA 40 will be another kind of fun.\u00a0 Real fun.\u00a0 Real adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, just as the really rough part of RUTA 40 appeared, a nice pick-up came along.\u00a0 Instead of spending a projected 5 or 6 days suffering out our \u2018real adventure,\u2019 we struggled a mere three days.\u00a0 For me, three days was more than enough of that type of fun.<\/p>\n

Finally it was time for our long-awaited reward: riding the Carreterra Austral.\u00a0 We\u2019d been hearing about it for years.\u00a0 On any list of Places you Must Ride, you\u2019ll find the Carreterra Austral.\u00a0 Cyclists come from all over the world just to cycle this stretch of road.\u00a0 For bicycle touring enthusiasts, riding the Carreterra Austral is akin to visiting the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal.\u00a0 It\u2019s a must do.<\/p>\n

\"Amazing<\/a>
Amazing mountain views in this part of Patagonia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And it was perfect cycling.\u00a0 Well, at least for a few days until the rains kicked in.\u00a0 The landscapes in this part of Chile are truly jaw-dropping beautiful.\u00a0 Villages are conveniently spaced every 50 kilometers or so.\u00a0 There\u2019s no need to stock up on supplies.\u00a0 You can just pop in to the tiny general story and pick up a pack of pasta and a can of tomato sauce.\u00a0 There\u2019s even fresh bread along the way.\u00a0 Just ask around and someone will point you to a house which serves as the unofficial town bakery.<\/p>\n

\"With<\/a>
With rain in the forecast it's nice to find camping at the farm with a roof for protection from the elements.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Carreterra Austral is unbelievably popular.\u00a0 Every day we crossed paths with cyclists heading south to Ushuaia.\u00a0 One day we met a whopping 22 riders.\u00a0 All these encounters made for slow going, as we stopped to chat and exchange tips on good spots for wild camping and road conditions ahead.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8788-french-cyclist\"<\/a>
A fearless French cyclist on a solo ride through South America. She got robbed of EVERYTHING in Colombia, managed to replace her gear and bike and kept on cycling. A girl with guts!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"IMG_8758-2playonearth\"<\/a>
Philipp and Valeska Schaudy from 2-play-on-earth.net. They've also been on the road cycling around the world since 2006 and we finally managed to meet up on the Carreterra Austral.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

This part of Southern Chile is perfect for wild camping (with just one caveat: the rains).\u00a0 It\u2019s easy just to pull off the road and pitch your tent by the riverside.\u00a0 Patagonia is one of the least populated parts of the continent so there\u2019s little worry of being bothered by locals.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, Chile has a reputation for being one of the safest countries in South America.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8787-cows\"<\/a>
It's best to give stubborn cows a wide bearth...they have been known to charge cyclists--especially those with bright red panniers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"IMG_8764-rainy-road\"<\/a>
Winds aren't as strong in this part of Patagonia, but rain is never far away. Some very soggy cycling in Chile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Just one rather unpleasant camping experience marred our ride on the Carreterra Austral. Our grassy riverbank spot turned to marshland over night and we woke to a minor flood in the tent.\u00a0 Nothing that a little bailing didn\u2019t solve.\u00a0 The sleeping bags are still a bit squishy, but I\u2019m confident the fierce southern hemisphere sun will soon shine and we can dry things out properly.<\/p>\n

The long, lonely roads and unrelenting winds are behind us now.\u00a0 The road north promises some wet riding days, but I\u2019m sure the spectacular scenery of the Lake District will make up for the pain.\u00a0 At least I\u2019m hoping it will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If January is anything to go by, our 2011 promises to be full of adventure, amazing beauty and struggles against nature. The New Year began with a stand-off against the dreaded RUTA 40.\u00a0 This desolate stretch of road is nothing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[28,12,49],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn Awe of Mother Nature - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Awe of Mother Nature - Worldbiking.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If January is anything to go by, our 2011 promises to be full of adventure, amazing beauty and struggles against nature. The New Year began with a stand-off against the dreaded RUTA 40.\u00a0 This desolate stretch of road is nothing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Worldbiking.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"worldbiking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-19T17:51:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-31T15:23:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/IMG_8226-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"World Biking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@worldbiking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"World Biking\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"World Biking\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/f57a15cc54fe11f80a90902e2256d401\"},\"headline\":\"In Awe of Mother Nature\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-19T17:51:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-31T15:23:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\"},\"wordCount\":1021,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Patagonia\",\"South America\",\"Tour Updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\",\"name\":\"In Awe of Mother Nature - Worldbiking.info\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-19T17:51:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-31T15:23:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In Awe of Mother Nature\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Worldbiking.info\",\"description\":\"Round the World Bicycle Tour since 2006\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Worldbiking.info\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/11-florida.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/11-florida.png\",\"width\":280,\"height\":90,\"caption\":\"Worldbiking.info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/f57a15cc54fe11f80a90902e2256d401\",\"name\":\"World Biking\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f32773a3812157bf4b26e3db7396fe6?s=96&d=retro&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f32773a3812157bf4b26e3db7396fe6?s=96&d=retro&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"World Biking\"},\"description\":\"Hi, I'm Amaya. Together with my husband, Eric, we make up the World Biking Team. We're on a quest to cycle every country on the planet and inspire others to go bicycle touring. We hope you enjoy the blog!\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/about-world-biking\/\",\"worldbiking\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/worldbiking\"],\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In Awe of Mother Nature - Worldbiking.info","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In Awe of Mother Nature - Worldbiking.info","og_description":"If January is anything to go by, our 2011 promises to be full of adventure, amazing beauty and struggles against nature. The New Year began with a stand-off against the dreaded RUTA 40.\u00a0 This desolate stretch of road is nothing","og_url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/","og_site_name":"Worldbiking.info","article_author":"worldbiking","article_published_time":"2011-01-19T17:51:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-31T15:23:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/IMG_8226-1024x683.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"World Biking","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@worldbiking","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"World Biking","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/"},"author":{"name":"World Biking","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/f57a15cc54fe11f80a90902e2256d401"},"headline":"In Awe of Mother Nature","datePublished":"2011-01-19T17:51:39+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-31T15:23:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/"},"wordCount":1021,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Patagonia","South America","Tour Updates"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/","url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/","name":"In Awe of Mother Nature - Worldbiking.info","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-01-19T17:51:39+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-31T15:23:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/bicycle-touring-patagonia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In Awe of Mother Nature"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/","name":"Worldbiking.info","description":"Round the World Bicycle Tour since 2006","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#organization","name":"Worldbiking.info","url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/11-florida.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/11-florida.png","width":280,"height":90,"caption":"Worldbiking.info"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/f57a15cc54fe11f80a90902e2256d401","name":"World Biking","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f32773a3812157bf4b26e3db7396fe6?s=96&d=retro&r=pg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f32773a3812157bf4b26e3db7396fe6?s=96&d=retro&r=pg","caption":"World Biking"},"description":"Hi, I'm Amaya. Together with my husband, Eric, we make up the World Biking Team. We're on a quest to cycle every country on the planet and inspire others to go bicycle touring. We hope you enjoy the blog!","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/about-world-biking\/","worldbiking","https:\/\/twitter.com\/worldbiking"],"url":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7046,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/7046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}