El Bolson to Cholila (Wed 2/10)

Stats:
- 55 miles (20 on ripio)
- 3100 feet of climbing
- met a couple of north bound cyclists from Switzerland
- precipition = ZERO!!!
- winds = mild to gusty at times and mostly at our back
- roadkill: zip, nada, zero
- passed location of Butch Cassidy's hideout

We woke up to partly sunny skies and a crisp temperature. I am guessing it was in the 40s.  But hey, we could see this big glowing ball in the sky and we could see all the mountains around El Bolson.  

So I am going to cut to the chase.  The last week has had a lot of "this sucks".  Today, EVERYTHING improved and it was awesome!  And, I don't mean it was nice. I mean it was over the top, better than either of had imagined possible. Here are the highlights.

To escape the scary death riding on the highway, we took a round about route for 9 miles. Get this -- we had a paved shoulder to ride on and there was very little traffic. The mountains were fantastic. They were big, dominating, and backed up with even bigger snow capped mountains.

Continuing to enjoy the sunshine and with almost completely blue skies, we had to rejoin the scary death highway.  It was a moment of shock and awe --- a paved shoulder almost 4 feet wide!!  While the shoulder would ocassionally disappear or turn to ripio, it was a welcomed addition. Plus, the traffic south of El Bolson seems a bit less. As the miles went by, the traffic continued to descrease, our paved shoulder continued, and the mountains grew even more spectacular. 

We passed the turn off for Lago Epuyén. While we had planned to stop here for the night, we decided to ride further. Covering more ground today would set us up better for the days ahead.  We had ideas about lunch at Lago Epuyén but once we laid eyes on the turn off road, we decided against it. It was a straight downhill road to the town. While we like climbing, our ride included several multiple mile uphill grinds in the morning. Just past the turn off to town, we found a woman selling "pan casero" (homemade bread).  We bought a loaf and continued onward. 

Around mile 33, we left the pavement and started on the dirt. Several days ago, we met a woman from Alaska and she described this as the worst 20 miles of ripio in their trip. So, we were expecting a grind and a long afternoon. After a few miles, we pulled out to enjoy our lunch (homemade bread, peanut butter and homemade breadsticks). While the bread was great, it was our eyes that feasted. And they feasted all afternoon. I know you are going to think I am bullshitting you, but it just got better and better and better. It was like the Sound of Music on steriods. Yes, the ripio was a bit rough at times and loose at times and washerboard at times, but the sun was out, the wind was at our back, the traffic was low, and the views were outrageous. Arn repeated himself over and over all day long, "Now THIS is some gooood riding".  And then there was, "This is in my top three days with the Ruta de Siete Lagos".  For me, the mountains today have been the best scenery of the whole trip so far. It was like taking the Canadian Rockies crossed with the remoteness of the Himalayas (okay, I've never been there but in my mind's eye they are remote), and some wild jagged features like Torres del Paine in Chile.  During the last few miles of the ride, we met two riders from Switzerland heading north bound.  They declared this stretch of ripio worse than anything on the Carretera Austral.  This was a good data point.  

Our day ended in a VERY little town called Cholila. We found a hosteria in a lovely setting. The room is nothing special, but it is clean. Okay, I killed one cockroach in my bed, but I am not complaining after the day we enjoyed. (We are sleeping in his and her's twin beds).  The cook has agreed to come and prepare dinner at 9pm. Tomorrow, we hope to ride to Lago Verde in Parque Nacional Los Alerces. Get this --- the park is in the direction of these awesome mountains. Here is hoping for clear skies tomorrow!!!