Distance: 102.55 km
Ride time: 7:39:59
Average: 13.40 km/h
Total: 22641 km
The day started with a hard climb up a 1200 m pass to the highest point on Carretera Austral. It was difficult to find the right amount of clothes as I seemed to constantly be taking on and off my jacket, gloves and hat. The sun was back and as usual the views were absolutely breathtaking. I don’t mind climbing mountains and the descend on the other side of the pass was long and nice.
I knew that the latter half of the day would be more flat as I was coming out of the mountains and into a valley. This was when I made the mistake of expecting some easy kilometers. I had of course forgotten that when the sun is shining and you are on flat road, the angry Patagonian wind will usually blow right into your face. And so it did today as well, making it just as hard to cycle downhill into the valley as it was to climb the pass. I should have learned by now that there are no such things as easy kilometers in Patagonia. It required all my strength to reach Coyhaique for the night.
Once in town I made a call to Boris who is known to host cyclists passing through. Boris’ house was busy with a total of 10 cyclists staying for the night! I put up my tent in the garden as people were sleeping in rows on the floor inside. Even if you are travelling alone cycling is a very social thing in Patagonia.
