Day 223 – Caleta Olivia to Puerto Madryn, Argentina
April 7, 2011 2 Comments
Day 223 – Caleta Olivia to Puerto Madryn, Argentina 04/01/11 Mileage: 352
The hotel let me put my bike in the lobby last night and while I had a good place out of the weather, I figured it’s also a good time to change my oil. So I went to work on the bike and the owner didn’t seem to mind and was asking me questions about the trip while I worked. That done I packed the bike and headed out of town. My rear tire was almost gone and I had to put the other that I’ve been carrying on. The owner of the hotel had told me about a good Honda dealer in the next town…so that’s where I was heading next. I found it easily but they literally closed the door in my face….? Damn siestas! They didn’t reopen until 3:30pm…3 hours from now…and I didn’t feel like waiting around that long. I went a few blocks back to tire repair shop and asked if they could swap the tire for me, which they could….sweet.
So I pulled the rear wheel off, and using the tire changing machine the mechanic had the tire swapped in 10 minutes. I’m embarrassed to say that it took me (even with Marshall’s help) over 90 minutes to swap the rear tire by hand back in Uyuni. So to me that is $7 well spent! Back on the gas the wind was not quite as strong as yesterday, but still gusting heavily in spots. Late in the afternoon the road turned more northeast which put the wind primarily at my back…making it much easier to ride. At sundown I started to look for a stealth campsite which I found 100 yards off the road by riding into the open range through a gap in the fence.
My stealth campsite near Puerto Madryn
Tomorrow it’s more of the same…and I hope the wind continues to get more manageable as I make my way north…
From Deadhorse Down 
You have been really very lucky with the strong winds and the fact that you can keep riding upright so many miles!!! I had written that I hoped you had the wind on your back and you did eventually and that must of ade a difficult ride a little easier in that horrid weather.
Glad you got to stay at a hotel for a night to dry out.. I am sure there aren’t too many people doing the long ride that you have done since August and the guy in the hotel must of enjoyed hearing your stories.
I forgot that they take siestas……….glad the guy whoo replaced the tire didn’t and that is a good $7.00 spent.
The weather seems good in Buenos Aires and glad you are getting a chance to enjoy it.
Spoke to Beth and they are in Denver and on Saturday it was 78 and on Sunday they had so much snow that Aimee and family had to stay overnight because Route 70 was closed and they went back Monday. They are 3 hours from Beth & Neal. They rented a place for a month to see if they like it.
Lenny, stay well and safe and enjoy. Waiting to hear if you met up with Sabine and John’s friends.
Love ya, Mom
Yeah…I was lucky on that first day riding north of Rio Gallegos…I won’t give you anymore grey hair with more details… lol 😛
I am staying with Helena and Gustavo…they have been very gracious and I’m having dinner with them tonight!