Today it’s finally THE DAY when I can say that my cycling adventure starts after spending so many days preparing for it.

No matter how much you prepare, things can always go wrong. In my case, the saddle cable snapped. Whenever it was getting into a funky position, my seat kept slipping down. So I started my day with a tour of bike shops in Santiago where I was rejected 4 times for my repair, because “no tiempo señor”. Eventually I found a mechanic who did this 20 min job fix and I was ready to go!

The silver lining was that all the bike shops were concentrated on one street.

The first part of the journey is leaving Santiago. The cycling infrastructure is better than other European cities but it still took more a few tries to get the right route out of the city.

As much as liked the dramatic city skyline, I prefer much more the stillness one finds in the countryside.

Only 5km out of Santiago, I hit my second mechanical hiccup. My rear luggage rack shifted backwards, bolts had loosened. Luckily it was an easy fix, a few turns of a tool and it was centered again. Lesson learned: never forget your tool kit and never underestimate day 1!

As I got farther from the city, the traffic thinned. I was still in a populated area, with a village or small town every 10 kilometers, which made for pleasant breaks where I could refill my water and get some snacks from time to time. In the distance, you can sometimes see the Andes, which I’ll have to conquer in the coming days.

Finding a place to sleep was easy. Most accommodations in this area aren’t listed on booking websites. I contacted them directly on Whatsapp after getting their number from Google Maps. 

Tomorrow, I’ll do my first big climb with this heavy setup, and I’m curious how it will go.

Distance: 75km,

Elevation: 300m

Mood: Still feeling fresh!