I enjoyed a day off the trail visiting friends in Port Townsend.
We had a breakfast meet-up. Then continued the reunion with Chris & Carrie hosting dinner on the deck of their new house. Teriyaki Tuna. Grilled pineapple. And much more.
On the morning of the 9th Diana and I went over to Fort Worden for coffee. Deer and bunnies graze everywhere in PT.
NEW down by the harbour is a totem.
Doug’s retirement hobby / job is developing fitness monitoring apps. He’s much into solar energy, as well.
His latest electric bike is the Elf 2fr. It’s a superb product.
Doug and Diane drove me to the Bainbridge ferry where they were picking up a friend arriving from SeaTac.
That ferry delivered me and my bike to downtown Seattle where Tam met me at Ivar’s.
It’s no worse than the usual lousy beef version. But more expensive.
Beyond Meat has brought its burgers to more than 1,000 Carl’s Jr. locations in the US, marking its Beyond’s largest restaurant deal to date. Order a $6.29 Beyond Famous Star and you can eat a vegetarian (sorry vegans, there’s American cheese) burg that tastes much like its conventional beef counterparts …
I’m definitely going to eat less beef in future. Cows are TERRIBLE for the environment.
Ranchers on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) property have 94 percent of their grazing costs covered by taxpayers. …
Ranchers leasing BLM land cost taxpayers an estimated $500 million a year (and probably much more—some say a billion dollars).
According to Stephen Nash’s Grand Canyon for Sale, about 15,000 ranchers receive a $33,000 from the federal government annually.
This windfall of this bill comes in the form of radically reduced leasing fees (that some ranchers, such as Cliven Bundy, refuse to pay altogether). The cost of grazing cattle on privately owned land in the West is $21.60. BLM ranchers pay $1.41 per animal unit month (AUM), the amount of monthly forage eaten by a cow and her calf. In essence, ranchers on BLM land have 94 percent of their grazing costs covered by taxpayers. …
These subsidies apply to only 2.7 percent of livestock producers in the United States. Six percent of beneficiaries get 66 percent of the proceeds. So, rather than these subsidies leading to cheaper meat (which might, depending on one’s economic philosophy, justify them), the program tends to benefit corporate ranchers with names such as Koch, Walmart, and Hilton. …
In fact, the production of livestock is incompatible with the ecological health of much of the lands in the West.
Aridity is chief among the factors limiting compatible uses of western landscapes. Over decades, the placement of exotic, water-hogging, ill-adapted livestock on western lands has changed diverse native plant communities …
No cyclist likes to see something like this coming up ahead.
That means I’d be pushing my bike up a long hill.
But the scenery over these next two days was the best so far.
When taking photos I’m tempted to crop out the road.
Quite quickly it became obvious that my self-fixed pannier rack was not working. The fix I had installed was gone. ☹️
All I could do was replace the spacer with a sunscreen lid held with a zip tie.
To keep this one from breaking I decided to carry my hiking pack rather than try to strap it on the rack.
NOT HAPPY ☹️
The great weather and gorgeous scenery kept me going, however.
I stopped at tiny Villa Amengual to use their library wifi.
And bought my first completo.
These are the super popular Chilean hotdogs. Mine actually turned out to be some kind of ground beef.
Little towns like this on the Carretera are all trying to become more attractive to the passing tourists. All are being improved in 2019.
Not to mention the spiffy statues!
As there were no long hikes en route today, I tried to put in some miles. The sooner I get to a bike shop for repair, the better.
About 7pm I happened upon a perfect campsite. Couldn’t resist.
A lovely night. No fly.
Fine dining with red wine.
Feb 2, 2019 – wild camp to Coyhaique (121km)
Next day dawned perfect again.
I decided to try to push though about 120km to Coyhaique in one day.
I took very few photos.
My biggest cycling day of the trip.
In the sun, I worried about heat emergency at times.
Though I drank 4 litres over the day it wasn’t nearly enough.
There was a huge hill to climb just before the city. End of day.
Exhausting.
Still, I was thrilled to actually make Coyhaique. The population is about 55,000 — a megalopolis compared with the other towns I’d seen all 4000 or less.
Too tired to eat I had, instead, chocolate milk, Diet Coke and Rum & Raisin ice-cream.
This is it. The end of the line for this cycling trip. I’ll be shipping back my rental bike from Coyhaique … but not until I do some days cycling around the city.
It was Pinochet who pushed through this southern highway in the face of criticism. It wasn’t needed. … Only a dictator could have got it done at the tine.
South.
Soon after La Junta the highway reverted to gravel. They are slowly but surely paving the highway north to south.
I stopped at huge, beautiful, undeveloped Lake Risopatron and did a little day hike.
It was here I noticed that one of the tie downs for my pannier rack had broken off. I now understand this is the most common maintenance issue on this cycling route. They should be welded instead of bolted.
This is the good side. The other side broken.
I wobbled my way another 12km to Puyuhuapi (pop. 826) hoping to find a mechanic to fix it (somehow).
An American had run a Hostal here for 20 years but had shut down for this season. He’s selling it. But recommended the excellent Cornuy-huapi bed and breakfast. (C$60)
I unloaded the bike … then decided to wait until morning before trying to find a mechanic.
It was fiesta time in Puyuhuapi. Everything festive. Music in the plaza. Foot races for kids. Much of the town had been repainted in bright colours.
I’m sure I didn’t stop here 15 years ago. No doubt my ride rushed past on the highway.
With a bit of extra time I listened to Coffee Break Spanish lessons. Caught up on this trip report. And wandered the town.
AND I enjoyed my best meal on this trip so far … crusted salmon a lo pobre (fries, caramelized onions and eggs).
____
Jan 30, 2019 – Puyuhuapi (0km)
Nothing opens early in small town Patagonia. I decided to stay another night in my B&B to allow time to repair the bike.
I went first to the main mechanic in town. He said he couldn’t help me.
Instead I tried a temporary fix using zip ties and a metal pipe fitting I bought at the hardware. I believe it will work. #ZenAndTheArtOfBicycleMaintenance
I’ll reinforce with wire if needed.
This was my most tranquillo day so far. I peddled the area on a naked bike. Walked the village several times. Hung out in the plaza. …
AND there was a parade. Only two floats, but HEY … quality over quantity.
Rick McCharles 