November 9, Day 30: Rio Bueno to Valdivia
Just a short 5 hour ride today, taking the back roads to Valdivia. When I got going there was light rain. The forecast said it'd dry up midmorning and this time it was accurate! There were a few more light showers but I didn't need to put my raincoat back on for the rest of the day.
The first part of the ride is crossing the Ruta 5, which is the main north-south highway. It's a Saturday morning and fairly quiet. If cars are coming the other way at the same time they can't easily go around me: when that starts to happen I prefer to get off the road and onto the shoulder - even if it's rough. Two cars and a bike side-by-side doesn't leave much space, and I don't want to try fitting us all onto the road with two below-average drivers, I don't trust them.
But the traffic was so light today that it was fine, I could stay on the white line. There was a bikepath for the section nearest the Ruta 5, which I was quite grateful for; it was asphalt but with two-inch-high bumps to separate it from the road and keep cars away.
The bikepaths weren't that great. They ended unexpectedly, and it's not clear where the designers intended cyclists to go. When crossing the Ruta 5 the path stopped abruptly and the road narrowed for the overbridge, with no space for cyclists. There was pavement for pedestirans, which I used because nobody else was around. On the far side of the bridge the bikepath began again... but on the other side of the road. Messy. But fortunately traffic was light so crossing the road was stress-free.
From left to right: bikepath - not great but I’ll happily take it. Transition to gravel. Vista from the back country. Winding gravel roads.
Most of the day was on the backroads. Quiet, but with a long gravel section. And dogs. Lots of dogs. Many dogs are pretty relaxed when I go past, but I think just about every dog I passed today got riled up and would chase me and bark, whether they were fenced in or not.
Quite often they were fenced in, so they'd run a well-practiced route along the boundary, sometimes stopping to make noise. One set of dogs clearly did this for cars and weren't used to relatively slow bikes, so they bolted ahead. I slowed down to see if they would adapt: nope. They sprinted to the final corner and looked a bit lost until I got close.
One house had three dogs of varying sizes, they all flipped out completely when they saw me, but only the smallest and yappiest could fit under the gate and come scurrying. It hopelessly failed to allow for the fact that I was moving, ran directly towards me while yapping shrilly but didn't get close and couldn't keep up.
At another place there was a big dog who didn't look fussed when they saw me approaching - until its smaller, madder co-dog had a full freakout and the big one got pressured into barking and running at me. I don't think its heart was in it though.
I got chased by a lot of dogs today. I do wonder if they want to bite. Usually they will run alongside, bark wildly, get closer, but - as far as I know - none have tried to bite me. But I'm not really looking: on gravel roads it's easy to come unstuck, so I just keep going straight on and let the dogs to their thing. If I do get bitten that will change...
From left to right: more half-paved roads, and I’m borrowing the paved side because nobody is using it. Bridge that’s more interesting than usual. Street art. Ship maintenance across the rivier.
So the run to Valdivia was short and mostly sunny; quite a good day. However, the back wheel has started to squeak: not consistently, but it's a sign that something needs attention. All the good bicycle repair shops are closed for the weekend, and I'm planning to get on the road before they reopen on Monday. The next few days will all be in smaller towns, although there are some well-reviewed repair shops there. One option is to try my luck with them - another is to stay another day in Valdivia.
That idea keeps looking better.
