Night and Day, Our Saviors From LA

Ruta 40 to Malargue -

Did I mentioned it rained in the last post? Of course, the first night we camp out in what basically was the desert, it rains. It was a blessing in disguise because it compacted the sand so we were able to average 14kmph in the morning. This was of course after Joe and Markus had decided to ride back to Pereditas and then over to San Rafael, adding 2-3 days to the trip to Malargue. Aaron and I, on the other hand were banking on getting a lift past the gravel. We later realized that going to San Rafael. Oh, I forgot to mention from Pereditas to campsight it was a climb the entire way. I believe Markus saw a change of over 1000 ft on his GPS. This was another reason why depression was setting in for me the day before. The ride south, however, gave way to slightly better conditions and our first downhill! Could I actually be enjoying myself?

The plan was to flag down any passing car and ask for a ride. A few passed without stopping, but about 15-20km into the ride, David and Web, travelers from LA, came in their rented pick-up truck with a nearly empty bed in the back. What a godsend; we hauled our bikes up into the back and sat in the cab as we flew down route 40 going much more than our previous pace! What would have taken us 2 days on a bicycle took only an hour or so by truck. We passed the first volcano of the trip, and later the Lago del Torros, a lake attracting the boating crowd of the region. I was in euphoria.

Web had found a book about route 40 in a book store north of Mendoza, and we used that as a guide to stop by an incredible bar that no tourist would ever see. They treated Aaron and I to beer, we couldn't be more thankful! We ate lunch just down the road, Aaron and I had goat for the first time. It wasn't bad, but I admit it wasn't my favorite. The bill, however, was a ripoff. I'm pretty sure they saw tourist and thought $$$. This was the only time so far that Argentinians have let us down. I want to put it out of my mind, but I'll just think of it as a small price to pay for skipping route 40. Thank you David and Web.

The ride into Malargue was the best, by far. We were going 40+ kmph downhill sometimes, and rode with a tailwind for much of the way. We covered 50km in 2 hrs, it was one of the best rides ever. My legs were tired, so I'll be glad to wait for Joe and Markus to show up in a few days, we hope...