Villa La Angostura to Bariloche (Thurs 2/4)

Certainty is sometimes a nice thing. Today, we woke up with complete certainty in our decision to arrange a shuttle to Bariloche. The weather is still very cold, wet and windy. The bikes easily loaded into the back of the van. Using the carrying straps from our handlebar bags, we secured them in for the ride. We loaded the bags and we were off. Our driving route was the same as the riding route -- only warmer, drier, and faster! We pasted the German couple we have played leap frog with since Pucon. They did not look like happy campers. We didn´t think that ride looked like fun and they confirmed it. The traffic was pretty heavy and once the road turned toward Bariloche, it was a full on head wind. While we had hopes of an afternoon ride, the weather killed that idea.

After our quick shuttle, we locked up the bikes at the hosteria and dropped off our gear. Wearing more clothes than Seattle in January, we headed off to lunch at Morphy´s --- 2 churripan combos with Diet Cokes and fries. The guy behind the counter even remembered us from last year! So, with lunch at 3pm, we are clearly on Argentina time. Last night, we couldn´t get a dinner reservation until 9pm. This was not because they were busy. 9pm is the earliest they serve dinner.

So how bad is the weather in Bariloche? I would guess the wind to be 30mph+. The temps are harder to judge. To go outside, I´m wearing wool socks, hiking shoes, long pants, a long sleeve polypro (bought yesterday), a wool hoodie, rain jacket, neck gator, and gloves. I have started to think my cycling tights under my pants might be the right option if I have to really be outside for any length of time.

It is good weather for the internet and reading and not much else. We met a Brazilian woman in the hosteria. Her hiking plans were nixed because of too much snow and they had to turn back. Her pictures showed a complete winter landscape. It is really crazy! We trolled the shops and the bike store we frequented last year. We rode a number of days with a guy working in one of the local shops. As luck would have it, we stopped in BikeWay and found Rodrigo at work. He is in race shape and headed to Nationals and hopefully to the Worlds. So, it is probably better that we (read "me") are not trying to ride with him this year!

For dinner, we decided to visit Naan. It is a restaurant run by a couple out of their home. Their living room has been turned into the dining room and has beautiful views looking out over the lake and the city of Bariloche. Breaking from the pattern of beef, we decided to share fish and chicken. It was a good but not great dinner. Arn has made a reservation for our favorite place for tomorrow. Completely wiped out and tired from really doing a lot of nothing, we crashed right after dinner. Remember, we are on Argentina time and this was still after 11pm!