I’m going to shift the format a little bit by turning the newsletter into a weekly post in which I go a bit more in-depth into the past week and include as many pictures taken with my camera as possible, while keeping the reels daily. This way the workload during the cycling week is a bit more manageable.

The change into a more arid landscape happened as soon as I crossed into Argentina, I could have stayed in Chile but I really wanted to experience this.

Also the heat is as strong on both sides of the Andes (and it will stay the same until I reach the start of Carretera Austral- a populat cycling route through Patagonia), but the Argentinian side is way drier.

I also wanted to skip the high population density in central Chile as cycling on long, lonely straight roads is much better than being chased by dogs every 10 kilometers.

I was really looking forward to this part as cramming 5,000 meters of elevation in the first week took a toll on my legs but now there is an extra aspect to take into consideration: WIND DIRECTION. Even though I was going downhill, the majority of the time I needed to pedal hard.

At 2,800 meters, after the Argentine border I found a guest house to stay in for the night (not the one from the right, but both pictures are taken from there😅). I remember walking up in the middle of the night absolutely frozen to turn on the heater and tput two more extra blankets on me; but it did the trick and I got the rest needed.

Only 3 more kilometers after I slept there was a direct view to Aconcagua (6,961m) that I could not miss!

Fun fact time: It was a sacred mountain for the Incas. Ceremonial sites were found as high as 5,167 meters. It’s mind-blowing to think that people reached those heights without any modern equipment.

If Swiss alps are impressing (and they are), these mountains are at a completely different scale.

To be honest, I was probably stopping every 5 minutes to take a photo, absolutely a gem of a day.

This was the first stop after the start and I am glad such a big city was on my course; I haven’t done cycle touring before so a few things needed to be adjusted.

Due to the high frequency of flats I wanted to play it extra safe and needed to drill my Presta MTB rims to allow for Schrader valves (wider, cars also have them). This should make it possible that, in case of emergency I can buy extra inner tubes on the way. That said, I already have four and every inner tube theoretically can be patched a bunch of times. It’s eye-opening that in order to be well prepared for less developed places, one just needs to go back to the basics, absolutely no fancy and highly complicated stuff (that can and will break and repairing will be close to impossible).

Another aspect that impressed me was how social the trip has been so far. On the road I’ve met an Australian cyclist heading to Bolivia, but as we are both stopping in Mendoza we planned to go for some drinks. Also, other cyclist coming down all the way from NYC told me about the Presta/Schrader trick and gave me the contact of a mechanic who invited me into this house on a Saturday for bike work (even though we ended up having tea and talking for a few good hours).

On the outskirts of Mendoza I’ve meet a German guy that has been continuously cycling for 10years, that’s a bit too much but when I asked him about what his motivation is/was his answer was simply: I didn’t no what else to do, so I’ve just kept cycling.

And I’ve probably been stopped 5 more times by random locals asking me about my plans. One French guy (that moved in Mendoza 10 years ago) even offered to give me some baguette for the road, how classic🥖!

Nutrition is also a big part in sustaining this physical effort and I feel that South America is the right place for that. At every restaurant the plates are oversized. The peak happened after a full day of cycling which started with only a light breakfast, let’s just say that I was so hungry that when I reached a restaurant I directly ordered the complete 3-course meal. After devouring everything the waiter came to shake my hand, to mark the achievement of being able to eat everything.

The next chapter involves around 800 kilometers in a desert like environment until the start of Carretera Austral and because of the high temperatures I can’t wait to get there🌡️ !!

It might be a bit boring to go hours and hours without making even a turn but for me the landscape is very different from what I’m used to so I’m really enjoying it. Also, the Andes will constantly be on my right, now they are a bit further away but soon I’ll close that gap.

I had the first passage of 150 kilometers in which there was absolutely nothing, no grocery stores, no phone connection, no reliable water sources. Naturally I was a bit stressed but after having it completed I realize that is not that bad. Every 5 to 10 minutes there was a car coming and the majority of them were making eye contact with me and asking if everything is going according to plan. Knowing I could get extra water from others was very reassuring.

This crossing, unexpectedly resulted in one of the best days on the bike, with a constant tail wind and epic views!!! Let me show you a few pictures from the highest section at 1,800 meters (where was more greenery and the mighty looking Volcán Diamante).

Currently I am following RN40 that runs for about 5,200 kilometers from north to south of Argentina, making it one of the longest roads in the world that stays entirely within a single country. In about 100 kilometers the good asphalt road will turn into gravel, that’s a first into his trip (waiting to see how this will affect the daily mileage and dust intake).

700+km ridden with 7000m climbed !

It is said that the body starts adapting to the high daily effort only after the first 2-3 weeks, I might be there but I’m saying that after one break-day so ask me again tomorrow 😅

See you next week,
Sorin