Cycling The Globe

Distance: 112.69 km
Ride time: 6:12:19
Average: 18.9 km/h
Total: 20855 km

I woke up to a clear and cold morning in Tolhuin, feeling very happy about being in a warm bed and not in my tent. I was feeling even better when Emilio gave a carte blanche to his bakery – it truly felt like being a kid in a candy store allowed to take everything. What a way to start the day.

After saying goodbye to the wonderful people at the bakery I started cycling towards Rio Grande. To my surprise I was enjoying a solid tail wind, not something I was expecting much of in Tierra del Fuego.

As long as I cycled I almost couldn’t feel the wind, but it was very cold to stop even for 20 seconds to take a photo. Later in the day it luckily warmed up a bit more, and the sun broke through the clouds.

40 km before Rio Grande the road made a turn, and the tail wind suddenly changed to a massive head wind and the speed dropped from 32 km/h to 10 km/h. In Tolhuin a friendly local cyclist had given me an energy gel just as I left the bakery. I thanked him in my thoughts as I used it for the last push into Rio Grande.

As I was looking for a place to stay I suddenly heard a familiar voice. It was Petter from Sweden who I had met on the flight from Buenos Aires. He had just arrived on his bicycle as well. At our hostel we met yet another cyclist, Anita from Germany.

Over pizza and beer we were checking the route and the weather forecast for the next days of cycling. Tomorrow morning it will be rainy, and in the afternoon very windy. Rain or head wind seem to be the options we can choose from.