South of El Chalten and the incredible mountainscapes of the Fitzroy range, our lives became dominated by the wind. Although half of the 12 days it took us to cycle to Ushuaia had very little wind, the other half more than made up for it.
We had a day with sidewinds gusting to 100kph, which had us constantly looking over our shoulders for traffic, and when it appeared, stopping on the hard shoulder to let it pass, as we couldn’t trust ourselves to stay in our lane (let alone on the white line) when the gusts hit. We had a day with big tailwinds when we once accelerated to 35kph from a standing start, then climbed a few hundred metres up a 5% hill without once touching our pedals. Another day the headwinds were so strong that we teamed up with 2 other cyclists, and only by rotating the lead every 500m were able to go 60kms after 8 hours in the saddle. The day we arrived in Ushuaia, and decending steeply from a pass, a gusting headwind brought us to a standstill from 40kph in seconds. Being unable to move the pedals even on a steep downslope is a pretty strange feeling…
We slept in some interesting places to avoid of the wind – a roadworkers’ building, a rodeo stadium, an abandoned house, a bakery, a smashed up hotel, the waiting room at an Argentine border post. During the day we hid in bus stops, ditches, tunnels under the road – anywhere that provided shelter.
The really windy days we often only managed to enjoy once the day´s cycling was over and we had the satisfaction of knowing we’d managed to make it a bit further south, but the calm days were a joy. We developed a new appreciation for clouds which were constantly fascinating us with their crazy and ever changing forms. While the landscape was often flat for hundreds of kilometres at a time with not so much as a tree in sight, we fell in love with the emptiness. So much open space…and usually only condors, hawks, sheep and guanacos with which to share it.
Off the bikes we enjoyed a beautiful 8 day trek in the Torres del Paine National Park before jumping back on and arriving, almost exactly 6 months after setting off from Rio, at the end of the road at Bahia Lapataia. A week of rest, pizza and beer in Ushuaia later and we hopped on a bus (well, 4 buses) for the 60 hour journey back to Zapala, halfway up Argentina. This is where we first saw the Andes from our bikes in December, and where we decided to continue our ride – heading north for the first time this trip.

Cycling stats:
Days getting from El Chalten to Ushuaia -39
Distance – 1,354km
Time cycling – 83h50
Cycle days -15
Rainy cycle days – 5

Maximum speeds – 68.5kph (H), 60.0kph (N)
Unpaved roads – 388km
Longest day – 152km
100km+ days – 7
Punctures – 1H

Total amount climbed – 11,403m
Maximum altitude reached – 819m
Most climbed in one day – 1,311m
Steepest climb – 17%

Number of cycle tourists we met – 6

Accommodation – 7 beds,  27 camps, 5 wild camps
Longest stretch without a bed – 16 nights
Storms – 0
Pasta and sauces eaten – 11
Chocolate bars – 21

New Chilean beers drunk – Crystal

New Argentinian beers drunk – Cape Horn Red, Beagle Fuegian Stout, Beagle Fuegian Ale, Beagle Red, Patagonia.

Trekking stats:
Days of trekking – 12
Distance – 254km
Ascent/Descent – 11,105m

Photos