Monday, Oct 3rd.
First day on the road, and an eventful one. It was up in the air whether I would leave today or delay due to the weather forecast but I woke up to a dry morning and it felt like a good time to go. I emptied out the room I’d been staying in at Chil-hue and stashed the bike box and a bag to return to. Sandra waved me off down the drive but I didn’t make it more than 50m before having to dismount and push up the steep hill of a drive-way. I’d had to make some gearing adjustments the day before so the 5km into town was a good test to see if they were alright.
I picked up some last supplies in town, including a bag of maqui & murta bars from Britt at Isla Natura. The wail of the tsunami alert test announced noon as I began along Ruta 5 out of Ancud. Just past the bridge out of town was when the lorries started passing. The drivers gave me a little space but there was an element of hoping for the best as I heard their approach, rumbling by and pushing me along in their wake.
A few kilometres more and I turned off the main road onto the back route, I’d seen how narrow the main road gets further on and didn’t fancy trying my luck. First surprise of the day, it was onto deep loose gravel track. The first test of a fully laden bike on channels of gravel and indented road. It wasn’t too bad but required constant concentration and the occasional vehicle passing threw stinging dust up into the air. One positive for the rain that was forecast.
30km of gravel track along the north coast of Chiloé past farmhouses, cabins and fishing boats, with only a handful of curious guard dogs along the way. The rain started a little before I made it to the ferry but it wasn’t a problem. On the boat I huddled in the corner amongst the lorries under a small overhang and made a quick lunch of bread and avocado followed by more bread and peanut butter. The rain was coming down hard now.
My plan for the day was to get past Puerto Montt, 60km away on a stretch of motorway from the ferry landing. I’d hoped to find someone to hitch a ride with so as to get past this dangerous section. The first person I asked was happy for me to throw my bike in the back of his pick-up and said he’d take me within 10km of the city. We spoke in my broken Spanish along the way, his name was David and worked in sales for an engine company with an office outside of the city. The rain was coming down hard and the road looked awful for riding, the10km I did have to venture along were not enjoyable, thankfully a bike lane separated from the motorway as I got closer to town.
This is where my first equipment failure of the trip occurred. As I came further into the city I had to dismount to pass some roadworks. As my back wheel dropped down a curb I heard a grinding noise and saw that my rear rack was hanging loose on one side. One of the load-bearing bolts had sheared off, I’d installed it too high and overloaded it, the bumpy gravel roads finished it off. Stuck by the side of the road in the rush-hour traffic it felt like I’d hit a show-stopper on day one. A guy in a car garage saw a me and came over, he brought over a drill and we had a go at drilling out the threaded shaft but I felt we’d cause more damage than good. I managed to bodge it temporarily with 4 cable-ties and took some of the weight off the back by carrying the backpack. As I descended into the city I was thinking about the best course of action when I spotted a bike shop. After some patient work with needle nose pliers, Noel at the Mundo Bike shop had me back on my way. I couldn’t believe my luck. If that had happened out on the gravel tracks it would have been a different story.
It was only 6pm. I still had time to get out of Puerto Montt to the next little town around the bay. As I write I’m in a cabaña on the hill above Pelluco. I’ve got a fire going and have cooked up some tuna pasta and am sheltered from the rain. There is rain forecast all week, peaking mid-week. I’ll see how it goes but I’m in no rush, I’ll take it slow and get used to the road and the bike. I’m glad I’m past Puerto Montt, that section had the most industry and traffic that I should see for the remainder of the trip and it will feel good as the places get quieter as I start south. Tomorrow will be following the coast road to a short ferry at La Arena. There are campsites at 56km and 87km.
Austral Spring 