wheresmilcasa

[wheresmilcasa]

Ruta 5 in Chile, north of La Serena, on the way to San Pedro... #ruta5

[wheresmilcasa]

Not enough snow yet to snowboard at Valle Nevado so may as well ride up there instead... My hands were a bit frozen though. No hay suficiente nieve a snowboard en Valle Nevado todavia por eso subimos sobre las motos alla sin embargo... pero mis manos estuvieron congelado. #vallenevado (at Valle Nevado)

[wheresmilcasa]

Sii, es verdad... #santiagodechile #KLRParty (at Cerro Manquehuito)

[wheresmilcasa]

Bike, volcano, awkward pose. Everything needed for a good photo. #volcanlanin #patagonia #igerspatagonia (at Volcán Lanín)

[wheresmilcasa]

Currently digging a trench in El Bolson, Argentina... I do get this view each morning (more or less, I don't sleep under the bike) and a free mini-cabin to stay in though. #elbolson #patagonia #doris

[wheresmilcasa]

Nothing worthwhile was ever easy… How profound. Anyway, whoever created that saying was quite right. Since writing last in January, I’ve made it about 500kms further north. I’m going to be on holiday forever at that pace. Woe is me. The reason for the snail’s pace is mechanical. Doris, the bike, “broke down” in Puerto Guadal in southern Chile with a snapped clutch cable. I ended up putting it in the back of a truck and taking it to Coyhaique, the nearest big town, about 300kms north as I couldn’t fix it. Clutch cable repaired, the engine was overheating. I left the bike with a mechanic to try fix it and hitchhiked up to Chiloe, a big island further north in Chile. That expedition took a week or so and included a fried fish festival, thermal baths and a broken tent. I made it back to Coyhaique and it turned out the radiator was stuffed. A new one in Chile was cost prohibitive, to say the least, so I ordered a new one on ebay from USA which takes a month… Luckily I met Lucho and Abbey who had a farm out of town and I worked for them in the meantime in return for a bed and food. They did horseriding and rafting tours so that was my job, plus picking up horse shit and other farm things. I had a great time and eventually became an expert in whitewater and on horseback. We went cow herding one day on the horses, which was great fun, but I was quite useless on the horse and it just galloped off into the distance with me flailing around on its back… Eventually we came to an agreement that if it did what I said for a short time, I would get off it. That worked much better. My new radiator eventually arrived and I got the bike to work. To celebrate, I went on a hike around Cerro Castillo near Coyhaique for a few days. Fantastic experience except when we, the fantastic gang I met there, had to cross the highest point of the hike and were hit with a blizzard and 100km/h+ winds that blow you off your feet. I had been told about these though and we survived, we were just fucking cold. I got back to Coyhaique eventually, packed my bags and headed back to Argentina and then north. The next day, my bike’s battery died. This luckily happened near a farm outside of Corcovado in Argentina. The farmers put my bike in the back of their truck, after not being able to jump start or charge the battery, lunch, novelas and a lot of maté, and drove me the last 20kms to town. I hitchhiked to Esquel, the nearest big town, found a battery, returned to Corcovado and got the bike going again. And eventually I made it to El Bolson in Argentina; somewhere I had wanted to visit for a long time and only about 2 months later than I had “planned”. I then met a lovely chap at my campsite who was shortly driving back to Buenos Aires and he said I could come with him. I did take a quick sojourn to Bariloche first or a night to visit Kim and Stephen from back home, which was great. Then I left the bike at El Bolson and came to BsAs for a cheeky little city getaway. I’ll head back tomorrow I think, probably by bus and keep bikepacking north. Anyway, things haven’t been going to plan lately but I can’t complain at all. Nothing worthwhile was ever easy… Anyone planning a visit and want to jump on the back?

[wheresmilcasa]

Most recent bit of surgery to replace the long awaited radiator on the bike. Pity I need to do more again now the battery is dead. #doris #bike4sale

[wheresmilcasa]

It only took a few modifications to get my bike working again...

[wheresmilcasa]

Una buena vista de mi casa temporario. Hace calor tambien, perfecto. Creo voy a bronceareme... (at Coyhaique, Chile)

[wheresmilcasa]

My desk is a bit dirty and the colleagues keep dumping work on me, but at least there's a pretty good view from my new office... #coyhaique #patagonia #caballos #rafting #mimotoesroto

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Not the mode of transport I anticipated to be using when starting the Carretera Austral in Chile. Much better than pushing my bike though... #brokenclutch #overheatingengine #doris

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It's hard to stay on the road with views like this #chilechico #puertoguadal #265CH #lagogeneralcarretera #but1hourlatermybikebrokedown

[wheresmilcasa]

5000 miles and counting (maybe) Sweet child of mine is playing the background of this bar I am currently sitting in at Chile Chico whilst I wait for the mechanic to return from siesta. There is internet and it is sufficiently fast. The scene is set; now fade out to the back story. It's not quite as exciting as a movie though. I made it to Ushuaia just before NYE following a somewhat punishing journey down Ruta 3 in Argentina. Xmas was camping in Piedra Buena complete with wine and dulce de leche, two of my favourite things in said country. I didn't manage to find an affordable Antarctica trip from Ushuaia, so after some exploring and partying, it was time to head north. Els, a a Belgian girl staying at the hostel jumped on the back of Doris and we set off. We made it through the ripio of Tierra del Fuego, which included an unexpected shipwreck discovery along the way into mainland Chile. We headed to Torres del Paine for a nice 9 day, 130km walk in the park and it was fantastic. Well worth the effort. Left Doris in the carpark of the park and thankfully she was still there and standing when we returned. Still needing more glacier and hiking time, El Calafate and El Chalten in Argentina followed. A lot of tourists at both but it's not really surprising why. Els headed off at El Chalten and I kept going along Ruta 40 in Argentina and towards the Austral in Chile. I almost made it to the Austral then Doris decided to overheat and snap a clutch cable. So now I'm staying in Puerto Guadal in Chile waiting for a replacement cable. But there's nothing in said town so I had to hitchhike back to Chile Chico (a very beautiful 110kms away) to try order a replacement cable. I'll wait to get the radiator fixed though. And now the story has gone full loop. Time to go see the mechanic...

[wheresmilcasa]

Walking up to and in a shipwreck at Tierra del Fuego. Excelente. #tierradelfuego #propstotheprop

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More bike love in Parque Nacional Monte Leon #doris #monteleon

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On the ferry to Tierra del Fuego. Here I come fin del mundo! #straitofmagellan #findelmundoNYE2015

[wheresmilcasa]

Made it Tierra del Fuego today after riding 380km, of which 100km was gravel, a ferry trip, 2 separate border crossings, a leaking radiator, rain but amazingly no wind. And I couldn't be happier. #findelmundoNYE2015 #tierradelfuego #doris