Extreme gravel roads and remote volcano trails - Cycling Argentina - Vlog #04
In this episode we would like to show you two very beautiful but also very challenging parts of our bike touring trip across argentina the following takes place between the two cities of Malagüe and Chos Malal Hello and welcome to the 421adventure place of rest for a few days I want to show you our room, it's basically just a big mess I think it's normal for cyclists to arrive to a place where they're going to stay for a few days and just open all of their bags You have a lovely table! Yes full of stuff Yeah but eatable stuff! Marco is not really happy I'm not really happy because I'm going to carry all of this stuff! The thing is that we're leaving Malagüe tomorrow and we have three, maybe four days, of not much-ines ... so i just want to show you very very quickly what we have here We got some eggs, it's always great to boil them. Of course we have to stack up on peanut butter a.k.a. the fuel of every living cyclist Some of this horrible dried stuff which comes in really handy if you're stuck in the middle of ... somewhere without any food and you can just boil some water and get some calories And today for the first time we're going to try these things, what they're called? Zapallo Zapallo? They are like a courgette ... Now it's our turn! Epic downhill!!! There seems to be a problem! The tire in the middle of the road gave it away ... oh, no more asphalt! What's going on?
I see what's happening! Alright! Aurelie, we need to talk! We found another way... Yes, it's 40 degrees but I'm making fire! The reason is because there's these ugly, really horrible big horse flies which bite and a really good way of keeping insects away is smoke so we're going to smell like sausages tomorrow but at least the flies aren't getting us What's up? Do you want to come to Singapore? Let's have some fun! That's it, we are finally on the dirt road! Of course it's not ideal but it depends where your comfort zone is and it's important to know that it can always be worse and these difficult parts make you appreciate the good ones even more! Did someone say "volcanoes"? Okay so, welcome to the volcanic chain of ... I can't remember the name ... doesn't matter it's really cool! You can see a lot of volcanoes there, that's a cone, those are all cones, those are all volcanoes and basically all of this is an eruption, it's a lava flow, and then it's even more visible if we go to this side and you can see that that's as far as the lava went! What's up? It's hard, and it's long ... and it's hot! And it's hot yeah!!
That's not what she said, that's what I said! And it's kind of true It is hard and long and hot ... you need a lot of patience! Who? People who do this! Ah yes, definitely ... This place is awesome! The river has dug a canyon in the lava!! Lava is super hard!! 5 hours later ... a different story It's the end of the day and it's time to think about what happened today It was really intense both physically and mentally. I think it really tests yourself.
The way is really difficult, it's a mix of a lot of stones with sand and the difficult thing is that it's for a very long time which makes it very hard. And it's really hot; we have more than 32, 33 degrees. Even though we started early, it gets hot at 8 o'clock so ... We found this place, it's a house with no one inside, maybe like a farmhouse where someone comes once in a while and then we spent the afternoon editing videos and writing our diary and then we had to start preparing dinner and lunch for tomorrow. Okay so I've just come back from my shower in the river ... very nice, very fresh although there were
a lot of horse flies and I just wanted to add something to what Aurelie said Well, a lot of people have been telling us that this was going to be really hard and that we should skip it ... The thing is that we're not here for a week or two weeks or three weeks ... I mean we're not on holiday This is actually our way of living, this is our lifestyle, and if we would just skip this hard part then we would probably end up skipping all of the hard parts and as I said this is our life, this is how we live so in life you can't skip the hard parts, you have to face them. It makes you stronger, it teaches you something ... you always learn something out of this, and finally, when you're riding somewhere nice, it's always a lot nicer, you know? Just like life.
The hard parts always make you appreciate the easy parts a lot better! The next morning we started even earlier ... Camera Stabilization ON Camera Stabilization OFF After the river there's a climb, right? Yes And it's still a gravel road there, right? Yes Yeah, you still have quite a bit ahead So yeah, it's going to take us a while. First break of the day, we're refueling with some peanut butter and jam "toasts" Very hard ... I think our morale is not super high ... we've just done 20 kilometers in two hours ... and if you're not very good at maths, that's 10k an hour ... the problem is not that we're going slow, the problem is that we're knackered already! It's really really difficult to cycle on this So we have about 20, 22 kilometers of climb. Let's get some more of those peanut butter and jam ...
Faster than light!!! For sure! Granny Gear Okay so, we're halfway up, it's hard and it's starting to get hot now ... I think we're doing about eight kilometers an hour? Yes. So it's going to take us a bit more to get to the top. But we're slowly getting there ... Oh my God, I can't believe it! Also, at the top we'll have some tarmac so let's put some sun cream on and do this! It's almost over ...
Stop recording It's here ... IT'S HERE! Who, Jesus? Better!!! Oh it's so hard!!! So the good news is that we've survived, it was super hard and I can't wait to go to bed It's quarter past 12! Good time to go to bed! I don't know if you can see it but it says 40.65 kilometers in 4 hours 50 minutes. That is definitely a record! Bye bye, see you ... never! After a few kilometres we found this farm and decided to stop here for the night ... That's the amazing place where we slept last night ... what a place! Today, as a warm-up present, we got a steep climb. Aurelie is coming over there but it's a beautiful day in Argentina
Now we are having a little bit of downhill and I can tell you that we will really appreciate it ... Let's go!! Why do you look so happy? Because I'm cycling and I like it! Cool! I thought the glass was broken? It is broken. Really? Yeah... Aurelie is referring to the fact that I just dropped the camera and the lens protector broke. Maybe you can see it... I'm not sure ... Anyway, there you go, stuff that breaks ... Well, we're here, at the crossroads between the 37 which goes left and the 53 which goes straight and this is a very important crossroad for us because today, 31st of December 2021, we are beginning the ascent to ... The Tromen Volcano!! where we're going to spend the night hopefully, if we get there ...
And it's fun; we told ourselves that we wanted tarmac for a few days but then we got to Barrancas and everyone started talking about this trail and we thought "Bum hole"! We just reached this really random place, I can't wait to get closer and check it out It seems like it's a farm ... I don't know if you can see it but there are cows or horses grazing. It's really random because this area is really dry and we have no idea how on earth that exists. So we're going to go and check it out maybe they have ... A swimming pool? I was gonna say Rice Krispies The reason is that there's a spring nearby Drying sheep skin ... shade ... It's perfect! There's even a table ... check that out! Now all we have to do is find the fridge and get some Cokes ... oh some wine, yes! This place is perfect ... sorry sheep! What is this? Time for a break? Look at that, this is heaven! It just looks amazing! We're trying to decide who needs to go first ... The heaviest, so it should be you! So we're going to do this the grown up way! Ready? Scissors, paper, stone Okay then, you film me Aurelie shows Marco How it's done!!! Yes!! I am queen!! Happy New Year!!! It's the first of January and what a better day to cycle! We have 10 kilometers to the top and it's very steep so we are at a very low speed.
We are doing 5 kilometers an hour and also there is a lot of wind which makes things harder. It's a lot more difficult than yesterday because the ground is a lot looser and once I almost fell and I think I hit my leg against my left pedal. Later that evening ... Oh wow, brand new! We bought this is in Thailand by the way! ... but now let's go back to the volcano! It takes a lot of time to take this kind of shot so we hope, you really enjoy them :) The Windy Mountains So here we are, back to civilization. We're in this little place called La Salada. The tarmac road starts there ... I can see it ... I can smell it!
Now it's basically just 10 kilometers to ... the place where we're going ... I can't remember the name, sorry, ah, Chos Malal! Here comes Aurelie ... She doesn't look happy... What's up Aurelie? I understand the wind, cold ...
hot weather ... it's nature, but this road? It was made by humans! After so much hardship, the universe was about to give us a real treat... ... in the shape of great people! My name is Ariel Bravo but everyone knows me as "Pato Bike". I'm from Chos Malal, Neuquen Province. I've always liked cycling, well, sports in general. Being with people like you who tour or even race bicycles really makes me feel well. The idea is to build a refuge for cyclists who ride the Ruta 40 and for them to stop and rest here for a few days and provide a quiet place with hot water so that they can relax and feel at home before setting off again.
I love when people stop by! We always share great conversations and have some meals together or an Asado which is typically argentinian I really hope that next time you'll stop by again.
2022-03-06 00:14
