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The Nitty Gritty Dirt Page
as of Dec 15, 2000, from Santiago, Chile

 

This is where we thought we'd put all the stats, trivial, and niggling trip info that someone along the line has requested. Hopefully some of this will be useful to other folks planning a similar trip.

In particular, other cyclists have asked for detailed info on road conditions, segment distances, places we stayed, campsites, water availability, etc. Hence, we've made available our Gory Details Trip Logs.

 Gory Details Trip Log 1  - Santiago, Chile to Iguazú Falls, Argentina

 Gory Details Trip Log 2  - Quito, Ecuador to Santiago, Chile

We broke it into two parts cause it's pretty big... but there's also an Excel version of the complete log (83Kb).


Other Nitty Grits

The Numbers
Bestests, Mostests, and Worstests
Parts is Parts
Local Brews
Take off (links to other sites)

   

 
 
The Numbers

Here's the full tail of the trail from Santiago, Chile on Jan 21, 2000 to Santiago, Chile on Dec 10, 2000. All tolled, we've rolled a little over 11,000 kilometers. And since we're not purists, there's been a few buses, planes, and trains along the way...
 
  Distance 11,514 km    (7,196 mi)  
     
  Pedal days 142 days  
  Goof-off/Rest days 181 days   (40 of those in Quito)  
     
 

Average day

76.4 km   (47.8 mi)  
  Biggest day
(Concepcion to Catamarca, Argentina)
161.2 km   (101 mi)  
       
  Average speed 19.2 km/h   (12 mph)  
  Highest daily average speed
(Catamarca to La Rioja, Argentina)
33.5 km/h   (20.9 mph)  
 

Lowest daily average speed
(Chile-Argentina border crossing)

8.7 km/h   (5.4 mph)  
  Max speed
(Matt being dumb descending a Ch-Arg pass)
92.4 km/h   (57.8 mph)  
       
  Longest day in the saddle
(Paso Jama from San Pedro de Atacama)
7:10 hrs:min  
         

 
 
Bestests, Mostests, and Worstests

 
  Best day of riding:
  Tierra del Fuego: Over Garibaldi pass
  and into Ushuaia, Argentina
 
Best goof-off day:
Estancia Indio, Argentina: Hanging out with
the Ambrosius family in the Argentine pampas.
  Most scenic place for a post
  morning coffee movement
:
  Overlooking alpine lake below Mt.
  Taulliraju, Cordillera Blanca, Peru
 
Most flats in one day:
Nine. Chile-Argentina border crossing.
  Strangest high-altitude meal:
  Guinea pig, or cuy, roasted on a spit in
  Catac, Peru, 3460 meters above sea level.
 
Best place to kick around the hacky-sack:
  Day 2 campsite, Quebrada Santa Cruz,
Cordillera Blanca, Peru.
  Best towns (places we could see ourselves living in):
  Coihaique, Chile
  Montevideo, Uruguay
  Cuenca, Ecuador
  Cusco, Peru
  La Paz, Bolivia
  Sucre, Bolivia
 
Worst ending to a meal:
A rat turd drops from ceiling and onto
Nicole's plate in Cañar, Ecuador.
  Worst road:
  this is a tie between:
  - Ruta 40, Patagonia, Argentina
  - Challapate to Potosí, Bolivia
 
Steepest road:
  Pass from Guaranda to Riobamba, Ecuador
(first and only time we HAD to push our bikes)
  Most life-threatening shower:
  Huallanca, Peru
 
Best place to buy land and become hermits:
  Manihuales River valley in the
Aisen Region of southern Chile.
  Friendliest towns:
  Collipulli and Valdivia, Chile
  Bahia Blanca, Miramar, and Alvear, Argentina
  Durazno, Trinidad, and Paysandú, Uruguay
  Ayaviri, Peru
  Sucre, Bolivia
 
Scariest towns:
  Paso de Los Libres, Argentina
Quito, Ecuador
Juliaca, Peru
  Best hot springs:
  Papallacta, Ecuador
 
Best billboard:
  Pucara, Peru
 

Strangest wildlife sighting:
  A pair of short-haired, light
brown, large-headed
  beasts about the size of German shepherds seen
  lethargically hopping into the chapparel off
  the side of the road between Garayalde and
  Uzcudon, Argentina

 
Best place to get eaten alive:
  Santa, Peru - death by sand flies.
 

Worst place to have only large bills:
  Anywhere in Bolivia - you'll starve to death before
  finding someone to accept a 100 boliviano note.

   
 
 

Parts is Parts
Our bikes have gone through the ringer and yet keep rolling... well, at least with a little help from the local bicicleteria. Here's an abbreviated list of bike problems and remedies for those cyclists who are trying to plan their spare parts list.

Jack's (Matt's bike) war story
Handlebar bag bracket demolished in wreck on the Camino Austral, Chile.
Rear derailleur cable replaced in Puerto Natales, Chile.
Continental rear tire replaced with spiffy Goodyear whitewall in Comodoro Rivadavia, Arg.
Headset fills with sand/dirt/grime, gets repacked in Puerto Madryn, Arg.
Rock Shocks toast after 3 rebuilds, swapped out for rigid forks in Buenos Aires, Arg.
Rear wheel snaps it's 7th spoke, later entire wheel gets rebuilt in Buenos Aires, Arg.
Rear tire blows 2 days south of Iguazú Falls, Arg. after a little over 3000 km.
Rear fender duct tape disintegrates, new one molded from Inca Kola bottle, Quito, Ecuador.
Rear Mavic rim develops cracks in 10 of 32 grommet holes, new Sun rim in Cusco, Peru.
Rear Shimano Silent Clutch hub sounds like a Tonka truck that's been left
   in the sandbox for 2 years, new XT hub in Cusco, Peru.
Left pedal falls off middle of street while cycling to bike shop, new pedals in Cusco, Peru.
Schwinn Homegrown frame cracks at rear derailleur attachment point, the coolest
   guy name Dwyane at Schwinn expresses a 2000 Homegrown frame to Cusco, Peru.
Rear brake pads almost spent, new pads in Copacabana, Bolivia.
Scarce water necessitates inventing a front fork agua carrying system, San Pedro, Chile.
Chain skips and clunks for about a week, new chain and rear cassette
   (Shimano Alivio is all they had) at Manresa bike shop, in Salta, Arg.
New chain blows a link, roadside repair near Tafi del Valle, Arg.
Spokes on rear wheel snapping daily - multiple rethreads & truing sessions, northern Arg.

Bob's war story
Tire looks circumspect, buy beefy knobby 2 sizes too big in Bariloche, Arg.
Tire & tube explode 1 day south of Iguazú Falls, Arg.
Bottom grate blew its factory solder joints on one side, re-soldered and bolstered
   with strip of scrap steel in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Tire wears a hole in tread; can't find 16" tire so the local tire guy, volcanero,
   uses piece of leather from old glove to repair in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Glove starts poking its finger through the tread, new tire in Salta, Arg.

Dianne's (Nicole's bike) war story
Rear Blackburn rack blew its solder joints on the Camino Austral, Chile.
Hooks on REI Novara rear panniers pulled through the wood (what were they thinking???)
   frame support on Camino Austral, Chile.
Handlebar bag bracket decimated in wreck on the Ruta 40, Patagonia, Arg.
Continental rear tire replaced with spiffy Goodyear whitewall in Comodoro Rivadavia, Arg.
Blackburn rack gets chucked, bought Trek rack in Puerto Madryn, Arg.
Fancy new (in truth, a used piece of doo-doo) fender added in Puerto Madryn, Arg.
Rear wheel pings through it's 11th spoke, later entire wheel gets rebuilt in Buenos Aires.
Trek rack blows its solder joints, gets re-welded in Alvear, Arg.
Rear tire erupts 2 days south of Iguazú Falls, Arg. after only 3000 km.
Brake and front/rear derailleur cables get installed in Quito, Ecuador.
Solder joints on Trek rack fail again, re-inforce rack at the Oster blender repair
   shop in Quito, Ecuador.
Rear fender that lasted 10 times longer than expected bites the dust on the way
   to Cusco, Peru but is later resurrected and still dangles from Dianne's rack.
Rear brake pads almost spent, new pads in Copacabana, Bolivia.
Main stay on Trek rack shears right bolt hole, gets roadside McGyvered,
   Middle of Nowhere, Bolivia.
Other main stay on Trek rack shears above bolt hole; since we're out of scrap metal,
   have to bus from Chilean border to Susques, Arg.
Chain suck gets worse, upon inspection we find her small chainring is spent, new chain,
   rear cassette, and STX cranks at Manresa bike shop, in Salta, Arg.

 
 
Local Brews

For the cerveza-minded folks, here's a list of South American beers by locale. These are the most common, the ones we came across and in which we imbibed. Almost all are lagers or pilsners. The city names that follow are where the beers are brewed.
 
  Chile
Cristal, Santiago
Escudo, Santiago
Austral, Puerto Natales
 
 
Argentina
Quilmes, Buenos Aires
Brahma, Buenos Aires
Salta
, Salta
Norte, Salta
Andes, Mendoza
Isenbeck
, Buenos Aires
 
  Ecuador
Pilsner, Quito
Club, Quito
 
 
Peru
Pilsner, Chimbote
Cristal, Lima
Cusceña, Cusco
Arequipeña, Arequipa
 
  Bolivia
Paceña, La Paz
Potosino, Potosí
Sureña, Sucre
Hauri, Oruro
Taciña, Cochabamba
Ducal, Santa Cruz
 
 

 
 
Take Off   (links to other websites
)
Here's a some links to other cycle or travel related webs ites. Most are from cyclists/travelers we met along the way. Others are sites we used to help plan our trip.
 

Michael Merz's list of South American cycle tour websites
    Fairly complete list of websites by folks around the world who are or have pedaled parts of South America.

Sheldon Brown's websites
    Sheldon is a nut. TONS of articles on bike repair, touring, parts, etc.

Adventure Cycling Association
    A U.S. organization of goofball cyclists. Can get some back issues of their monthly magazine from this site.

South American Explorer's Club
    Traveler's organization with up-to-date info. They have "clubhouses" in Quito, Lima,and Cusco.

Motorcycle touring Chile & Argentina
    Great stuff from Robert Runyard, a guy who has traveled extensively through Chile and Patagonia.

CIA Factbook
    "Just the facts" on every country in the world. Good basic maps (they might look familiar...)

Travel Warnings and Consular Info Sheets
    The official line from the US State Dept.