Monday, February 15, 2010

North or South?

Now that I have a bike it is almost time to hit the road. But which one? I am now about two or three weeks behind schedule (whatever that means) and am a bit torn. Heading south means a week of flat, windy and boring stretches of eastern Argentina taking me into the deep south towards Ushuaia (the southern most town in the world, other than Antartica). However, from here, I will turn around and head up the famous and spectacular Ruta 40 along the base of Patagonia and up the Andes towards Mendoza, taking about two weeks to do so. Once in Mendoza I will see my old college buddy who conveniently works as a wine guide by summer, and ski guide by winter. Good man. This is one option, and was the original one. However, it is nearing the end of the summer and is a bit late to head south, according to some of the riders I have met in town. It is fair to say that the weather will certainly not be as pleasant down south. For the next ten days, Ushuaia is due for rain and wind, with temperatures in the 40s (*F). Brrrr.

OR...I head due west for Mendoza (wine country) to meet my pal, then make my way north through Chile into the Atacama desert, into Bolivia and down through the north of Argentina (which everyone vouches for) then back to glorious Brasil. Taking this route will keep me in warmer climates and still give me plenty of mountain riding and more tropical Brasilian exploration towards the end. Theoretically, I can still do all of this after coming back from the south. But with only three months left, and the nature of the trip, it seems that I need to be realistic and accept that everything will take much longer than anticipated. Considering my love for Brasil, I am inclined to keep a solid month or more to ride through their impressive canyons and jungles. At this point the trip is more of a scouting mission for the future trip. Through all of this BS I have learned what to do and not to do next time around.

With all of this said, it is time time to decide. What do you think?

5 comments:

  1. yes, i think so. b/c im still waiting on a new skid plate etc. its just taking so long. wine country calls. I hope to do a LOT of research!

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  2. I love the way you made this blog interactive. Good job man.

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