The alarm went off at 5:45am, and I crawled out of the tent to witness the barely-lightening sky on a perfect windless morning, with ripples from the lake quietly lapping on the rocks. Our hidden spot was just as peaceful as I’d hoped. With the water right there, it was easy to collect some and Read more…

Days 2-5 One good thing about me occasionally riding Rett’s bike up steep hills is that it gives me a chance to notice any potential mechanical issues that might escape her detection. For the last few days, I’ve felt a sort of vibration, or “buzzing” coming through her pedals and into my feet when pedaling. Read more…

With today’s route into the town of Puerto Rio Tranquilo now 10 miles longer than I had initially planned, we were again up at 4:30am. I’d put a 50% chance on someone showing up and setting up camp after we had gone to sleep (because most other cyclists here are crazy), but stepping outside of Read more…

With no chance of rain in the forecast, I was annoyed when sprinkles on my face at midnight forced me to get out and put the rainfly on our tent. Of course that meant the sprinkles immediately stopped and did not return for the rest of the night. “The rest of the night” was only Read more…

Three of the four highest passes on the Carretera Austral barely brush 2000 feet above sea level, so today’s climb up to 3650 feet is by far the highest point of the route. We had done most of the work yesterday, lifting ourselves from 1000 ft. to the 3200 ft. initial pass where our campground Read more…