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| when you've gone as far as you can on the Argentine mainland and look south - this is what you see. |
The last day of riding
started out with a cruise on the Beagle Channel. I know – it’s a touristy kind of thing to do,
but it was part of the package, so you take advantage of it. Had it not been
for the 60 or so 100 year old Italian women who kept getting in your way, and
talked to you like they KNEW you understood them, it probably would have been
more enjoyable. I could have taken or
left it because I was kind of tired, but we got to see some things you don’t
EVER get to see in Mentor, Ohio. The
seals were kind of entertaining with all their barking and yelping, and of
course, when will I get a chance to see a cormorant again? After we were done, we wandered around a
bit. We tried to exchange our Chilean
pesos for Argentine pesos, but didn’t have our passports with us, so we had
some lunch and headed back for our last ride.
The end of the road is about
25km on mostly gravel, so it’s not anything we aren’t used to. While the final pictures were fun and
certainly something to remember, I guess I was expecting something more – I
don’t know – exciting, climactic, exhausting?
Maybe it was just the journey that overshadowed the ending, but I was
thinking – … I don’t know. When I figure it out, I’ll tell you.
I was certainly expecting a
great trip, but never could I have imagined something as much fun as this
was. In the end, while the roads, and
the scenery, and all the experiences are combined, it really comes down to the
people you get to spend so much time with.
Leo, our ride leader, along with Tavo and Andrew who drove the support
vehicle and kept Weez safe and entertained, are 3 of the hardest working people
you’ll ever come across, and truly seem to enjoy making sure we all had a great
time. Mike and Kim from New Hampshire
were our gravel road experts and all you had to do was watch them to learn a
trick or three. Paul was our always
talkative and smiling Irish Australian who always had a story to tell to keep
us entertained, and of course, Bjorn was our “quiet” man from Norway who had a
marvelous story about his ride in India to the highest navigable road on
earth. Louise and I enjoyed every one of
them, and if we’re REAL lucky, may someday meet up with them again. Mike claims he makes the world’s best
margarita, so a trip to New Hampshire may be in the offing some day.
The only down side to the
whole trip was the final tally. The
riders are, of course, responsible for riding in a safe and responsible manner,
and are on the hook for any damage relating to accidents or abuse. My front tire was damaged along the “ripio”
from one of the hundreds of millions of rocks and stones that make up a gravel
road. Compass Expeditions evidently
feels that, even though they were the ones that chose this route, I should be
the one to pay for “road hazards”. If it
had been real bad damage, it wouldn’t have continued to hold air, or should
have been replaced with a spare for safety concerns. I get real riled up –to the tune of $800- for
a new wheel, and it’s the only thing that really made me mad on this whole
trip. It’s a shame that it was the last
official thing on the last day of the trip.
Prior to that, I was thinking a trip to Machu Pichu with these people
would be hoot. I’ll have to re-think
that. But before that incident – would I
do it again? In a heartbeat!
Adventure Motorcycling! Sort of makes me want to go out and buy a
dirt bike. Hope you enjoyed riding with
me & Weez. I know sometimes I got
behind in this blog, but hey – I was out having fun!!
We leave for Buenos Aires and
plan on catching the first game of the semi-finals for the Argentine Open Polo
Tournament on Saturday the 4th, and leave from there right to the
airport for home. Hope I can post good
stuff BA also.
Adios!
Me & Weez
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