Traveling with David on his recumbent is like traveling with a beautiful woman. All over South America he has turned heads, from toddlers to young men and women to old men and women. While riding to Cuenca, Equador I began formulating my own lyrics to one of David’s favorite songs “The Girl from Ipanema” to describe what it is like riding behind him. Somewhere in the deserts of Argentina the song was finished. Thanks to the Lewis family’s mp3 player we are able to post it to the blog and share it with you:
Fast and sleek mp3

Julie sings for Jonathan & Dawn Lewis.

Ushuaia is fin del mundo,"the end of the world".

We made it to the world’s southernmost city, the “end of the world”.  Ushuaia is the port of departure for cruises to Antarctica, just 1000 km further south.  French cyclist Patrick joined us on our final day.  He’s biked from Salta in northern Argentina and, like many cyclists we’ve met, is ending his journey here.  But for us this is only halfway; a transition time between South America and South Africa, where we will resume our cycling adventure in a month.  We fly from Buenos Aires to Capetown on the 14th of April and have time to hike in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile before then.  In less than one year I have cycled 22,171 km in 244 days of travel with 104 days of rest.  Julie joined me nine months ago in Panama City and has cycled 15,220 km and climbed 143,744m (equal to 18 Mount Everests).  Another odd tidbit is the number of towns we stayed in that start with the letter “C”: 55 (22%).  (We noticed this after five in a row between Constitución and Concepción, Chile).  It’s A Small World:  We met two young women from Wisconsin in a brief snow squall while hiking up to the Martial Glacier above Ushuaia.  Annie Klahn, from Lodi, was a UW-Madison college roommate of Rachel Elbing, from Amery, daughter of Dr. Paul Elbing, my Dad’s former partner.

A regatta of tall ships has gathered.

They've sailed through the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia from all over Latin America.

We start our last day cycling the Americas with Patrick.

Fall colors are just beginning at 55 degrees south latitude.

A windbreak for a playground in Rio Grande.

One year ago today I left Amery on the Spring Equinox, which is the Autumn Equinox here.  Julie contemplated turning back because of the strong crosswinds and catching a bus to Ushuaia.  After 10 kilometers, though, we turned and flew southeast with a tailwind.  By the time the road turned again we were in some woods and the winds were no problem.  Upon arrival here we went to the famous panaderia La Union and serendipitously met Andrew Siess who had cycled here from Saint Paul, and contacted me via email before he left in September.  We are staying in a casa de ciclista and visiting with other cyclists.

French cyclist Oliver had come 7 km north in 2 hours, while we had gone 47 km south.

Trees in southern Tierra del Fuego block the wind.

Emerging from the rainstorm.

Cyclist Andrew Siess (20) from Saint Paul, MN

Beachcombing at low tide on the Atlantic shore of Tierra del Fuego.

What a difference a day makes!  Smooth pavement met us at the border, our seventh crossing between Chile and Argentina.  Mild tailwinds on a sunny, though crisp day at 7-11°C (around 50°F) make cycling a joy again.

A mollusk in a tidal pool.

Chilean Flamingos at 53 degrees south latitude.

Bull at dawn on Tierra del Fuego.

Tipi-type homes of the indigenous Selk'nam people.

This abandoned shack offered a nice windbreak for lunch.

Our last day on gravel roads started great with westerly tailwinds, though when we turned south at noon it became Julie’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Fifty-nine kilometers to go with crosswinds of up to 60 kph challenged both of us. I was able to put my foot down in time to keep from toppling over when my tire slipped on loose rocks while leaning into the wind, but Julie got knocked down.  And, amazingly, she got back up and (after cursing the wind) kept pedaling!  We had to cycle 106 km today to get to the next hostel and celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with a hot shower, a nice cabernet sauvignon, and a warm bed.

Herds of Guanacos crossed the highway often.

The windy Straits of Magellan.

We crossed the Straits of Magellan at it´s narrowest point, 490 years after Magellan sailed through.  Strong tailwinds became dangerous sidewinds here on Tierra del Fuego.  We pull over and stop when a boatload of cars, trucks and buses pass us; so we don´t get blown into traffic. This is an oil company town, built in 1958. Prices are higher here; we have paid $48 and $56 for hotel rooms, double what we paid in the rest of Chile and northern Argentina, for rooms no better than average.

Giant chess pieces made from oil pipes and valves in Cerro Sombrero.

Chile & Argentina almost went to war in the 70's over territorial disputes here, until the pope intervened.

Threatening sky north of the Straits of Magellan.

We retreated yesterday in our battle with the winds.  Cycling into a strong SW wind at 8 degrees (C) was challenge enough, but when the sunny day turned into a cold rain we turned back to Rio Gallegos and watched movies on TV all afternoon.  Now we plan our days according to the weather forecast,(which changes often).  Today´s sidewind turned to a tailwind after noon, making today much more pleasant than yesterday, and no rain until the end of the day. Chile controls the Straits of Magellan, so we have to travel 200 km through Chile to get to the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego.

The estuary of Rio Gallegos on the Atlantic Ocean

Ñandus, (lesser Rheas) run along the fenceline ahead of us in threes or fours, failing to cross the barbed wire in panic, until we pass them and they gradually realize that they are now running towards the danger instead of away. We are seeing more wildlife here on the dry Argentine side of Patagonia than in the forested Chilean side, (which is a temperate rain forest in northern Chilean Patagonia). Herds of Guanacos sound a whistling whinny at the sight of us; four young Grey Foxes seem to play while crossing the highway; Caracaras, that I’ve been seeing since Mexico, are becoming more numerous again; and we see a Patagonian Hare, (or Cavi), known locally as a Mara, in the Coyle river valley on this dark and dreary morning with almost no wind. We come out to drizzle after a hot lunch with coffee, and the rain persists all afternoon as the temps drop from 13 to 8ºC (55 to 46ºF). The winds change slightly, so we have no tailwind to make the end of day easier. After another welcome stop at a cafe to warm up with hot chocolate and homemade bread and jam, we finish the last rainy 30k on new pavement that is not yet open to traffic. We have cycled 310 km in two days across Patagonian Argentina from the Andes to the Atlantic.

Lombardy Poplars mark a distant estancia (ranch) on the otherwise treeless Patagonian pampa.

Scotsman Neil Ian cycling north from Ushuaia

A condor soars low on the hillside, facing us, fifty meters away. The white collar around his neck is clearly visible, as are the white markings on the tops of his wings as he veers back and forth in the gusty winds. Andean Condors are more common here on the low Patagonian pampa than in the high Andes.  We, too, are dealing with the infamous Patagonian winds today.  Carlos, our hostel manager, cautioned us about high wind warnings when we left this morning.  We’d been hoping for tailwinds to assist us in reaching this town, 165 km away; and we sure did fly with the morning wind, even on a 500m climb up the bluff bordering the Santa Cruz river valley.  Then we turned south into strong crosswinds that almost toppled us over. Julie has more trouble on her “normal” bike than I do with my lower profile recumbent.  I also carry the panniers low and centered which greatly increases stability.  I even seem to benefit from the crosswinds, like a sailboat that sails faster with a sidewind (when reaching).  I estimated today’s winds at 30 to 50 kph; but the stats for Rio Gallegos (150-300 km away) were: wind speed 39, max speed 68 and gusts to 98.

Video thumbnails of Julie battling the crosswind.

Glacier Perito Moreno

At breakfast we met met Stjepan Pavicic’, founder and director of the Patagonia Expedition Race.  He gave us neckbands and a Wenger Swiss Army Knife.  We enjoyed another sunny, windy day following the La Leona river that flows from the huge Lago Viedma into even larger Lago Argentino; where we turn into the wind for the last 32k to this tourist town.  After a day’s rest we visit the main attraction here: Glacier Perito Moreno.  It sometimes blocks and dams up the Brazo Rico arm of the lake until the water level rises high enough to burst through the ice.  From many walkways we look across to a 74m high wall of ice 5 km long.  It comes down 30 km from the Southern Patagonian Icefield, the world’s third-largest reserve of fresh water (after Antarctica and Greenland).

The narrow channel from the Brazo Rico arm of lago Argentino.

Tourists waiting for the glacier to calve. Little chunks break off every few minutes and we witnessed a couple of big ones. It moves at a relatively fast glacial pace of 1.7m/day, and we watched it for over four hours without getting bored. It moved about 0.3m (1') in 4 hours.

The road winds along La leona River.

New Swiss Army knife & neckband from Stjepan Pavicic'.

Mike (54) from Colorado cycling from Ushuaia to Santiago.