October 2: Day 5, Cerro Sombrero to San Gregorio
Today was all about the Patagonian wind. It was unusually strong - so strong there's a warning. The really strong stuff should be coming out tonight and tomorrow morning, so I was hoping to avoid the worst of it. Maybe I did, and I should be grateful for what little I experienced? I can't go that far.
Today's trip started with a 2h18m, 42km ride to the ferry. I left before 9, and was hoping to get on the 1130 departure. There was a strong westerly (not the first time I've told this story, I know) and my pace was pretty directly related to how much I was pointing west. North? Can't go fullspeed, but can get a good speed. West? Find the right gear and be at peace with slow progress.
At 1108 I passed a sign saying 8km to go. That's half an hour at a respectable pace, so the 1130 is missed, might as well stop pushing and save energy. I ended up arriving just before 12 (!) but in my defence that part of the route is pretty much west!
But a ferry was arriving! For a moment it looked like the timing was perfect. But it loaded up three trucks from a side road and departed immediately, without taking anyone from the queue.
When would the next ferry be is a very important question when you're standing at the side of the road in shorts and it's near-zero when you don't include windchill and subzero when you do. I retreated, went back up the road and looked for a place to wait. Was that a cafe? No, it's an abandoned building with drinks adverts on it currently guarded by dogs. No go.
Next to it was a building saying "Municipal" which was guarded by three dogs. They were friendly so I stuck my head in, to discover that no-one was there. It looks like some sort of information kiosk? Well, it was warm and had a cat sleeping on the heater so I leaned against it and kept warm. I couldn't see the sea but I could see the queue so I guess when the ferry arrives I'll see trucks starting up and - why is that dog biting my pannier? I went out and shooed the dogs away: yesterday's lunch sandwich had meat and was in the pocket of the pannier. Sadly, it goes into the bin.
At about 1230 a ferry arrived so I rejoined the bike queue (well, rolled up the side of the road to the head of the queue; there were no other bikes) and eventually got directed on. This was one of the ferries where you wait in your car, so I found a sheltered corner and tried to keep warm. The sides of the ferry were pretty high so I couldn't see the sea or shore, just sky. Some gulls were surfing the updraft from the ferry, so I could see which was the upwind side. Occasionally spray would come over the sides, the cars and the bike got splashed and I was grateful for the raincoat.
From left to right: Mater! The cat where I waited for the ferry. The ferry. My bike stowed. A nice sundial on the other side - the sun dimmed so the shadow isn’t clear here but it worked really well.
There's two tearooms on the other side. The one on the waterfront has plenty of bad reviews. There's another one further up which seems much better, but occasionally has a very angry reviewer complaining about something, followed by the restaurant owner saying "we don't actually serve that, I think you went to the seaside tearooms not us". Sadly they were closed, so I went to the one with a bad reputation. But it was OK! I had a sandwich with cheese and meat and a hot chocolate and that made me feel ready for the afternoon ride.
The final section is 27km, Komoot estimated 1h37m. But this is when things went bad. The wind had stepped up and I don't know the speed but it was more than I've ever been in before. (The weather forecaster that gave the snow alert the other day, which I now trust, says it's gusting 70km/h and I can't argue.)
The road did zigzag a bit so the wind was sometimes head on, and sometimes a bit side on. Head on is actually not the worst; just plow on. But when from the side, the gusts were so strong that they'd push the front wheel to the right and I'd lurch towards the gravel shoulder. If you don't reel it in in time you're in the gravel and any sudden turns (like trying to get the bike under control) can lose traction, skid the wheel and then you're going over sideways. So just keeping the bike on the road is hard work.
Things go bad even when stopped. I'd pull over for a stretch (I didn't dare look at the map because I knew my progress would be depressingly small) and the wind blows the wheel right, the front wheel starts meandering down the slope and the bike's no longer upright. But since you're standing over the bike, the chain or gears or something will usually scrape your legs as it falls over. Best plan is to point the front wheel away from the wind so it doesn't want to turn...
I probably said some milquetoast words like "finding the highest gear without needing to push" for going into headwinds. I did 8km/h which some people would do as a fast walk. On that road without the wind I'd expect to get over 20km/h.
From left to right: my average speed was so bad I screenshotted it. If wind was visible this road would look quite different. Wind is sort of visible here I guess, but it doesn’t really communication 70km/h. A bike path among the gravel streets is something I haven’t seen before! This is the view from my window tonight.
So the 1h37m trip ended up being about 3h30. Most of it was the westerly part, then the route turned north east and it was like the wind stopped. I was sitting on the bike, in a peaceful world, not putting in any effort, but was in a high gear and sliding down the road at about 20km/h. Being pushed along by the wind, for a change! It was 10km from the turn to the hostel and I finished it up in 30 minutes flat.
Tomorrow I'm going to Rio Gallegos. The route is mostly north with a bit of NE (great) and a very little bit of NW (not great).
After that a rest day. If the winds are still strong I seriously might take another day off.
