(November 24 – written by “10K Dave”) You guessed it – we had rain overnight and again this morning.  The forecast of late is almost always that “tomorrow” it will be rain free.  Sort of like the funny old sign you’d see in many a ski lodge bar – you know, “Free Beer Tomorrow”.  You … Continue reading Some blue finally – Refugio Río Cisnes to Mañihuales (69k/24,910k, 3,100ft)

(November 23 – written by “10K Dave”) I ticked off a lifetime bucket list item off today – 10,000 miles in one calendar year.  Nancy passed this milestone a few days ago.  Before now, I was known as Dave.  Heretofore, I shall be known as “10K Dave”, or if it’s my Mom who’s calling, “10K … Continue reading 10K Dave – Puyuhuapi to Refugio Río Cisnes (82k/24,841k, 4,200ft)

(November 22 – written by Dave) The other day we were debating if having rain in first 5k or the last 5k of a ride was worse.  General consensuses concluded that the first 5k was worse, as more than likely, you’d probably just bag the ride anyway.  The last 5k is not fun as you … Continue reading The middle 5k – La Junta to Puyuhuapi (45k/24,759k, 1,840ft)

(November 21 – written by Dave) My entire life I wanted to ride 10,000 miles in one calendar year.  I’m not sure why other than I liked the symmetrical sound of 10,000 miles and it seemed like a difficult, but doable target.  And yes, to all my friends in Oz, the goal was 10,000 miles, … Continue reading Nancy sets a new “Ertel-Peterson” world record!

(November 20 – written by Dave) There was only a little rain overnight last night.  We’d hoped it would stay this way for the morning and set the alarm a little earlier than normal.  Somehow we managed to be ready to ride at 7:30 this morning and great news, it was dry.  We even had … Continue reading 5k short – Villa Santa Lucia to La Junta (69k/24,714k, 2,240ft)

(November 19 – written by Nancy) It rained all night and was still raining this morning when the alarm went off – bummer.  There is nothing romantic about the sound of rain on a metal roof when you planning to ride your bike the next morning...We looked at the weather forecasts for here and the … Continue reading Waiting out the rain in Villa Santa Lucia

(November 18 – written by Dave) What a day – we had a little bit of everything.  Well, not everything as we didn’t have any sun, though it would have been nice.  We were up at the same time and not sure if we were going to ride today.  It rained hard overnight and it … Continue reading Wet, wet, wet and then a reality check – Chaiten to Villa Santa Lucia (77k/24,644k, 3,100ft)

(November 17 – written by Dave) We slept pretty well in the tent in our tiny hut home last night.  It rained off and on but undercover we were dry.  It was not raining in the morning when we got up and in fact the rain held off until almost 10AM.  That let us get … Continue reading Wet progress – Parque Pumalin to Chaiten (45k/24,567k, 2,100ft)

(November 16 – written by Dave) Today was a great day – it mostly sunny in the morning.  We boarded the Hornopiren to Caleta Gonzalo ferry at about 8:15 with blue skies and great views to the surrounding mountains.  We were early enough to be first in the queue and got to wander the decks … Continue reading Ferry, short ride and more bikes – Hornopirén to Parque Pumalin (16k/24,522k, 1,200ft)

(November 15 – written by Dave) Today’s forecast was spot on and we loved it – blue skies in the morning, a few clouds and then more blue later in the day.  Repeat this to the bottom and we’ll be happy campers. We slept well in our tiny room, nice and cosy.  The owner’s dogs … Continue reading Sun and fun – Contao to Hornopirén (47k/24,506k, 2,540ft)