Bike Leg 1

2/14/2002; 51º34' south. Rode 25km in 2.5hrs.

After a brief overnight in Puerto Natales, we were off again on the bikes, headed north to Torres del Paine national park. But first we needed to buy food, enough to get us up to Torres del Paine, supply our hike through Paine, and get us from Paine to Cerro Castillo where we could buy more food (at a reasonable rate, that is). A quick blitz through the supermarket brought us up to a total gear and food weight of 45kg each (almost 100lbs)- quite the load. I now have my two rear panniers full of food, with the tent and sleeping bag sideways on top of the rear panniers, and my backpack with warm cloths & odds & ends on top of that. I feel like I am riding with the leaning tower of Piza perched on the rear rack. Mandy is no better off, carrying her gear (and my computer) in the BOB trailer, with the BBB (big black bag) on top of the BOB bag with the stove, pots & pans, 3 liters of fuel, water, shoes, etc.

After buying food, we rushed back to the hostel to pack up before the 10:30am check out time (which we missed, but they were nice about it), and then I headed off to the internet cafe to download the latest web pages. I also needed to call in and activate my new ATM card and get some cash from the bank. Meanwhile, Mandy went off to find out more information about hiking in Torres del Paine. So there I am running around town loaded down with 45kg of gear, and miscellaneous items in my backpack. First to one phone center (which didn't work with my phone card), so off to another, and then back to the bank where I got some cash, and over to one internet cafe (at which I could not connect), and then another, all the while shuffling stuff in and out of my backpack. Those of you who know me well can guess what happened next. As I hopped on my bike and started out of town, Mandy gave me an exasperated look asks me where my helmet was. After a bit of rummaging I discover that it is not in my pack, and I return to each place I visited in the past several hours asking for a white bike helmet. Meanwhile Mandy heads to the park for a nap. Half an hour later I find it behind a computer at one of the internet cafes. Now we are finally headed out of town. On the outskirts of town I see a map which shows our entire route to Paine, and I stop to get out my notebook and jot it down, as I only have verbal instructions. Rummage, rummage, rummage, and surprise, surprise, I can't find my notebook. So I head back to town, and Mandy goes back to the park for another nap. Eventually I hunt down my notebook, and we finally get out of town at 6:00pm. There must be something else left behind in Puerto Natales, I just haven't figured out what it is yet. The riding was moderately difficult, with some headwinds and a few nasty hills, but we made it to the Cueva de Milodon before sundown, where we pitched the tent in fierce winds behind yet another run-down shed.

2/15/2002; 51º14' south. Rode 30km & walked bikes 2km in 8hrs.

All was fun and games until we crossed the bridge over Rio Rincon. Up to that point the ride was idyllic- wind at our back, generally good dirt roads, no other people, beautiful scenery, a great lunch spot on the shores of Lago Porteño- we couldn't have asked for more. So when we looked across the bridge and saw a steep, loose, rocky hill we thought there must be some mistake. But alas, it was true, our route had taken a turn for the worse. We ride the first few inches of the hill and then hop off and start pushing. Ugh. Hard work. Very hard work for Mandy with the BOB. But we surmount the hill and ride around the corner only to find another hill. Hike the bikes, ride down the back side, then another.

So we spend the next few hours, until finally we climb what seems to be the last main ridge before reaching the Rio Serano and entering the park. In the morning we had high hopes of reaching the park that day, but after pushing the last hill I was pretty wiped out, and soon thereafter I noticed that my rear rack was rubbing on the tire and discovered a missing screw. So we decided to call it quits for the day in order to rest and fix my rack (fortunately we had the correct replacement screw). Our consolation prize was one of the most beautiful places I have ever camped; above Lago del Toro with spectacular views of the Cordillera Paine. Very few people use this road as the bridge over Rio Serano is only a foot bridge, and so we were surprised to see a German guy on a loaded down mountain bike headed the other direction. It was 6:00pm and he hoped to make it to Puerto Natales that evening- 55km of tough riding. We wished him the best and he rode off into the sunset while we went about cooking dinner.

2/16/2002; 51º11' south- Torres del Paine Administration. Rode 20km & walked bikes 1km in 3hrs.

The riding today was not to bad- we only had to push five more hills before crossing the Rio Serano. We left camp around 7:30, and arrived at the bridge around 9:30, where we unloaded all of our gear and carried across the river. The river was cold, clear and swift, and the bridge had only two planks to walk on which were warped and rotten in places. After loading up we rode for another 45 minutes to arrive at the park administration building where we paid the entrance fee (7mil pesos per person; about $10) and used the front lawn to spread out all of our gear and re-pack for hiking. When we asked where we could store our bikes and extra gear, the ranger pointed us to a large orange barn about 100m away, but said that we would have to wait for another ranger to open it, who happened to be on break. Just 5 minutes he says. No problem, we have about 2 hours until we have to catch the bus over to the other side of the park where our hike starts. An hour and a half later the ranger still has not shown up to store our gear, so we take matters in to our own hands and ride our bikes & gear over to the barn, which happens to have a door ajar. We quickly searched around and found a place, and while Mandy was locking the bikes up, I ran back over to the road and stopped a bus just as it was leaving. And so we begin our hike of Torres del Paine.

Puente Negro crossing the Rio Serano