Day 1,641

Splitting Schwalbes

Our day of rest in Chaiten flew by. We checked over the bikes and discovered Tom's rear tyre had split on the sidewall. Frustrating, as it's pretty new but as we carry a spare (4+ plus years we've carted it around) at least we were prepared.

Split tyre - not a problem, we carry a spare

Our hostel filled up too, with a couple from Italy setting out from here to ride the Carretera, and we expect to see many more people doing just that. I did feel sorry for them, they have about a month of holiday and after a long journey to be greeted by such awful weather must be so depressing. We were chatting about what was to come when another couple walked in, car tourers, Sofia and Bruno, but lovely people all the same. We had actually met before a few weeks back. Sofia and I hugged as if we were long term friends, whilst Bruno looked on somewhat bemused, but honestly it was just wonderful to meet up with them again, and yep, chat! 

The weather was being consistent so off we headed into the rain, our Italian friends close behind. The views should have been magnificent but the mist and rain definitely hid a lot from view. No stunning pictures of Chaiten volcano and blue lakes I'm afraid, but the hillsides were still magnificent with the solid mass of trees and plants looming above us and the birds of all sizes kept us entertained.

Slowly, as the day went on, the weather and views improved, but were feeling cold and damp when we arrived in Villa Santa Lucia. The small campsite looked a wee bit depressing and we knew the next campsite, though in a picturesque setting, had no shelters, so a hotel recommended on iOverlander it was for us. We were soon joined by the Italians and a new couple from the US. There was just enough space for us all to dry out our kit by the stove and warm up. 

The following day we were up and off by 8.30am. Both Tom and I were buzzing, it wasn't raining and we had plans to ride 70+ miles today. We just flew along, a few hills on the way but we loved it all. After about 40 miles we reached La Junta, a small town. We popped into a store to fill up on water and buy some groceries just as the couple from America arrived. They were impressed how fast we'd ridden, and so we're we. Tom and I were feeling great, and maybe even up for a race with them to the next town when disaster struck. 

A second tyre had split, just like before, along the beading.

What it looks like when fully inflated - a time bomb waiting to blow!

On further investigation we found the other two tyres were showing signs of similar damage too! 

All the tyres had big areas where the seams were breaking down

The nearest bike shop was 150 miles away. We were stuck and very pissed off. The next couple of hours were a miserable and fruitless search around La Junta for tyres or salvation, but by the end of it we had a plan. We'd booked 2 nights in a small hostel, arranged for 4 budget tyres to come on a bus from that nearest bike shop in Coyhaique, saving us a 12 hour round trip on the same bus (thanks @PatagoniaCycles). These should get us safely to Coyhaique, where we organised a delivery of 4 Schwalbe tyres that should take around a week to arrive. Quite an expensive and stressful day, made a little bit more complicated by Tom’s credit card being blocked after trying to pay for the tyres.

The tyres from Coyhaique would arrive in town the following morning so we decided to not waste the rest of the day, but take a hike up a mountain instead. Well it was just wonderful. Tom was simply blown away by the trees, some over 1,000 years old. It was a straight uphill, but really well maintained, though as usual they made the steps suitable for folks around 6’4”. None of that mattered, it was simply a joy. Mother nature had covered downed logs with wild plants better than any gardener could do. We could see the rivers below, and the mountains all around us. Definitely more hiking as well as cycling for us. 

The tyres on the bus arrived as planned and we replaced the totally destroyed one and popped the spares in my near-empty panniers. We decided to just keep an eye on the other two, and off we went, rolling again. Sofia and Bruno had recommended we hike up to see a hanging glacier at Queulat. It was misty when they were there so hopefully we will be able to see it tomorrow!