Almost snowed in!

Location:

Punta Arenas

There is one thing that Ushuaia and England have in common - the weather is very unpreditable. When we set off to go back north, it had taken a turn for the worst and we realised that we had been very lucky with the weather when we had arrived back on 22 Sept. "Suerte" (Lucky) the guy at the Tourist Info had said and he was not wrong.

Leaving was under threatening black clouds and as we rode out, snow flakes started to fall. As the road climbed higher fresh falls of snow from the night before lay on the raods and the further we went the bigger snow flakes became.

On the tarmac, they melted quickly but when we reached the dirt and the Garibaldi Pass, the road became two slushy ruts of dirt and snow, treacherous riding conditions, meaning that for sections, I had to get off the bike as Kevin slithered his way higher. The snow did not let up and by the top we were riding in near blizzard conditions. On the assumption of once we were over the top, it would ease up, we crawled the last couple of kilometers and sure enough, as we turned towards the Lago Escondido, the clouds were breaking and weak sunshine came through.

We were not quite out of the woods, as the next stretch of road was narrow, wet, and clung to the side of a cliff and as usual had none of the benefits of barriers. It occurred to us indeed what "suerte" we must have had on the ride in, because now these were truly the worst combined weather and road conditions we had had to deal with. It also occurred to us that it would be just our luck to get through the world record only to end up slithering off the edge of a cliff on the way back!

Once again I climbed off the bike as Kevin negotiated his way through the "It´s a Knock Out" Course of motorcycling skills on snow. And yet within only a few miles further, we were at the bottom, no snow and all three of us in tact. It had taken the same amount of time to ride the forty of so miles from Ushuaia to get out as it had done to ride the last 120 miles in on the world record. Suerte indeed.

We spent the night in Rio Grande and then spent our last day on Tierra del Fuego, riding the 150 miles or so to Porvenir. The only Chilean settlement on the island and over on the west coast. It was clear that the traffic on this side of the island was much lighter. For the whole of the ride we only saw five vehicles. The ripio road was significantly worse than the one coming in from the north of the island. Huge tracts of gravel piled high and a wind that was forever intent on pushing you over. Still this road ended up running the coast and was magnificent (at least for the pillion!)

At Porvenir, we took the Melinka ferry boat across to Punta Arenas. It was clear they did not have much experience of big bikes as there knowledge of strapping a bike down for the crossing was non-existent, nor did the boat have any lashing hooks. Luckily we carried our own straps and used our imagination with the piping and other vehicles on the boat!

From here, we will head upto Puerto Natales and spend time exploring the Torres del Paine National Park - I will even put some time aside to start writing "THE BOOK"! Last time we were here, we got a tour bus to the Park. This time, we will ride the bike as far as we can go.

R and R

Location:

Ushuaia

When you ride like we have ridden you have no time to think about being tired. You just get on with it. The moment it is over, everything seems to break down. Big plans for celebrations and champagne dissolve too nothing as after your first beer, you fall asleep in your food.
The past 4 days have been nothing but catch up time. Sleeping for 10 hours each night, eating to make up for all the irregular meals and days without eating, and sleeping some more. We can barely keep our eyes open past 9pm. The body slowly seizes up, bugs which seem to have been kept at bay appear from nowhere as throats are sore, sneezes are frequent. The brain remains as if stuffed with cotton wool and it is too hard to think.

If only someone could pluck us out of here and back home!! Still we have a route back to Santigo to ride and tomorrow we leave. In many ways this part of our journey is the most risky, with a lot of dirt to cover. Without the focus of the record, it could be too easy to make mistakes. You can track our ride home over the next month.

End of the Road

Location:	Ushuaia
Mileage:	16,974

We wake up knowing that this will be our final days riding. There are little niggles as we have about 80 miles of dirt to cover today, but really we know deep inside that we will make it.

It is a spectacular ride. The further south into Tierra del Fuego you go, the more valleys, rivers, mountains appear and the road winds back and forth. The wooded glens look like they are from Lord of the Rings. Grey twisted trees are drapped in light green hanging mosses and the ground looks buckled and covered with a blanket of mosses, with pockets of still water reflecting the blue sky.

The "FIN DE PAVIMIENTO" sign appears and we are back on dirt. We do not blast it. There is too much at stake and the scenery is too breathtaking.

Besides over the Paso de Garibaldi, there is no option but to take it slow as the road climbs higer, with snow deep on each side and the road narrows at the highest part, leaving huge drops to the right. The road has a top sheen of glassy mud and the bike skates across it. With my vertigo, I can't even breathe as we crawl over the narrowest bits. As we head down to the valley, we can pull across to the side and look back at the mountain peaks behind us. It is truly the most mesmirising view of the whole ride.

And then it is tarmac again. Signs for hotels appear and the final corner, shows the city of Ushuaia. Brightly coloured buildings nestling upto a deep blue sea, and set against sharp jagged snow capped mountain peaks. We snap ourselves back to the job to be done. Photos by the town sign, our witness book signed by the local police and also Tourist Info, right in the centre of town.

We are left there in the middle of the bustling street, people walking past, staring at the bike and it is done. 35 days and it is finished. We look at each other and feel a little lost. There is no big ceremony, nobody opening champagne. It is just another overland bike that has made it to Ushuaia and only we know what and how we have achieved it.

After the record

Location:

Lapatia

Finishing such a huge ride has left us drained and exhilerant at the same time. But once we were signed off in Ushuaia, there was still an unofficial task to do. The road south, "Ruta 3" still continues for a further 25 kms out of Ushuaia, into Tierra del Fuego National Park and to Bahia Lapatia.

It is here that the Overland Motorcycle Mecca exists - the sign which states "Aqui finalisa Ruta 3" and gives the kms (as the crow flies!) to Alaska. Anyone who has ridden there bike from the very top to the very bottom (and many more who have only done part of the journey but got here on their bikes), take a photo by this sign.

And it was the same for us. Just a couple of hours aftering finishing the record and after a hot cup of coffee, we are at the sign, for a second time in our lives. Both times two-up on a BMW GS. But the circumstances could not be different. Our first time was on a 10 year old R80GS, having ridden for 6 months from Miami; our second on a 6 month old R1150GS Adventure, having ridden 35 days from Prudhoe Bay!

For us, this was the true finish. Ahead the ocean, behind the mountains and nowhere further to ride the bike, except back the way we came.

And so as well, it is not over. Both us and the bike have to get back to England and that is no mean feat. It is another 3,000 miles ride for us back to Santiago, Chile. From here the bike is air freighted to Madrid and we ride it back through Spain, France, catch the ferry to Dover and ride home.

Our journey back north takes us back through the Caraterra Austral and the Chilean Lake District, awesome riding so watch our progress back home here!

So near and yet so far

Location:	Rio Grande
Mileage:	16,840

Today we crossed tow borders (Argentina to Chile and Chile back to Argentina) and arrived on Tierra del Fuego. It seems that we have found some luck again. The weather holds as a bright blue clear day. When we arrive at Punta Delgada for the short ferry crossing across the Magallen Straits, the sea is like glass and the sun has an early springtime warmth to it.

As we board the ferry, we have a sudden rush of excitement, almost hysterical. We had reached Tierra del Fuego!! The bike was running well. Kev had recovered and I was in high spirits. And we were ahead of schedule. We had recalculated final miles and times and it seemed that to come in at a 35 day + time was feasible.

We had this new aim - we took 12 1/2 days off the RTW Motorbike Record. Could we take 12 1/2 dys off the Trans Americas Motorbike Record too??

Low mileage day

Location:

San Julian

Kevin is stilll not back to 100%. We make some startegic decisions. Our timing against plan is better than expected. We have managed consistently since leaving Santiago to do more miles than plan each day (with the exception of yesterday) and we have some fat to play with. If we just do 300 miles today, we can still make Ushuaia, a day ahead of plan.

As the record gets closer and starts to focus into reality, we don't want to tke risks that are unnecessary and the struggle of the ride yesterday has left Kev drained.

We decide to do less miles and be totally prepared for the following days and the final cross to Tierra del Fuego. We know that the weather will only get colder and road conditions more difficult and we need to be back on form.

So we stop at Pto San Julian (apparently Drake landed here to behead one of his crew!), have an early night and prepare for the last stages.

Sick

Location:	Comodoro Rividavia
Mileage:	16,150

Kevin is sick and has been up most of the night with the s****. He cannot get up for our 6am start, is weak and white and shivery. I tell him to get another couple of hours rest and see how he feels. In the meantime, I stroll outside and on the beach to watch the sun rise.

We have been really lucky with our health, up until now and with only a few days left, it is looking dodgy as to how Kevin can ride today. I am very worried.

When we do leave around 8.30am, he looks grey and has no energy. Thw wind is freezing and for the first time on the back of the bike, I feel seriously concerned. Kev's hands are numb and the bike is wandering. I sit up alert and try to help him with talking about the road, but really I just feel helpless. This is his personal battle, him, the road, the bike and his mind.

We stop 100 miles down the road for coffee. His eyes are blank and his hands are like dead yellow wax. He can't speak. We spend an hour there to warm up and he has three hot coffees, before getting back on the bike.

Our ride becomes slow and faltering. Every so often Kev's hand falls from the throttle, the bike slows as he tries to stretch life back into his fingers. He knows no one else can get us to our destination and we have to carry on. Stopping in the middle of a freezing windy wasteland was not an option. We fight the wind all the way, it is persistent, unrelenting and the strongest we have had to deal with.

Without Kev being ill, this was a tough ride. With him zapped of energy, each minute felt like an hour. It was agony, watching the km markings to Comodor Rivadavia, dropping two by two. But we get there. Kev falls off the bike, his whole body going into spasms. He feels like ice. We make no apologies for finding the best place to stay in town. He starts to feel human again after a hot bath, plenty of pasta and orange juice.

He has no luxury to rest up. We still have Ushuaia to reach.