My two brasilian friends and i had a meeting to plan the next days move, it was good to have some company on that long ride north. A 4am start was agreed on and the next morning in cold still conditions we started our journey north. The riding was cold, but without the wind pleasureable, but as the sun rose so did the wind, we then rode 300kms into a head wind. Poor Herbert straining at around 5000rpm at 80kms per hour. Poor Herbert is feeling the strain as well as me, with him jumping out of third gear, i can get by on the asphalt but on the many gravel diversions he becomes a handful. He has also developed a drinking problem with about a litre of oil every 1000kms. OA for him when he gets home, thats oil drinkers anonymous. The two 650s struggled, this is one time a bigger engine was sorely missed. With two long days of around 18 hours riding we covered 1300 kms, i wont be sad to leave windy Patagonia.
The three of us stuck together for four days finally leaving Patagonia and reaching La Pampa. Unfortunately the wind didnt know it wasnt supposed to cross over, the scenery slowly changed to open farmland and pasture with big fat healthy looking steaks sorry cows grazing. After reaching Chloe chloe or something similar we went our seperate ways, i will miss their company we struggled together and had a great laugh. The next day i headed to Lindquist a Danish town with a natonal park of high sierras surrounding it. Poor Herbert is slowly falling to pieces with third gear dropping out constantly and using oil, broken pannier brackets and a clicking headstem bearing. I will change the oil to make sure there is no metal floating around and this may help the gearbox. The scenery through the Valle de Ventana was stunning with Sierras at around 1000 metres surrounding a fertile valley, the road following the valley floor making 1000 metres seem even higher. Then the bike died i couldnt believe it i had run out of petrol, every time i fill up i zero the odometer, someone had zeroed it, one of the many curious people. Suprisingly i didnt even swear. I sat down on the soft grass and waited. I looked up and their was the moon hanging over some eucalypts, insects buzzing around me it was all very calming and for a split second i didnt feel so far from home, it was all very familiar.
I only waited an hour then a farmer drove up and stopped, after finding out my plight drove off to get me a five litre can of petrol. He was of Italian heritage and we chatted for half an hour about horticulture in Argentina and Australia. Onwards toward Buenos Aires and an oil change for Herbert. I stopped in a town called Tandil and found an oil change shop. They did the oil change which saved me trying to work out where to get rid of the old oil. One good thing there were no metal particles in the oil or filter and third gear seems to be hanging on better as long as i dont accellerate too hard. After the oil change we all sat around the workshop drinking mate, my first proper session.
I woke in the morning to pouring rain so i hung out till the last. I left Tandil in the cold drizzling rain for Buenos Aires. The ride was through rich farmland mainly for grazing cattle, the smell of freshly cut grass verges permeated the air and for the first time in weeks no wind. I even enjoyed the wet ride. I reached Buenos Aires in late afternoon without a second thought about the achievement, it will hit me at some stage i suppose. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city a mix of old and new, lots of cafes, bars and things to do but boy is it crowded. 16 000 000 people i was told it really feels like it too. I caught up with an Inca Trail girl for lunch and was invited to stay at their home in Quilmes, the home of the brewery, now owned by Stella Artois. On my way to Quiles i stumbled upon the Quilmes gardens and bar owned by the brewery but for public use. I whiled aways some hours till my hosts got home, drinking some great beer subsidised by Quilmes at less than an aussie dollar a pint you could do some serious drinking. With my first bus trip coming up maybe i will need the booze.
