Mountain Biking In Chile & Argentina

Mountain Biking In Chile & Argentina

by Dr. Maurice John

Publication Date: July 2001

The lake district of northern Patagonia lies in the heart of the Andes Mountains with snow-frosted volcanoes thrown in for good measure and dazzling lakes reflecting the Andean peaks. Add national parks with rich forests and you have a breathtakingly beautiful part of the world. This past January, my wife Jan and I joined some friends from Colorado and two other couples on a mountain bike trip to Chile and Argentina. It was the middle of summer for this part of the world, and a most spectacular way to see it.

The trip was offered by BACK-ROADS, which is one of the world's better active travel companies. The other three couples were all active bikers, but Jan and I were not...our only preparation was some indoor training bikes and a few spinning classes. But, we weren't about to let poor preparation stop us.

Our group met on January 4th in Puerto Varas, Chile on the shore of Lake Llanquihue (the country's second largest lake). The group consisted of the eight of us friends and six other ladies. After lunch at our hotel, our two guides, Chris and Sonya, gave us instructions on the various do's and don'ts for the trip and a route map for that afternoon's ride. As the days progressed, we would find that Chris and Sonya were there to make our experience as perfect as it could possibly be.

Did I mention it was supposed to be summer in this part of the world? However, they were having an unseasonably rainy season and on our second morning the rains came pouring down. Undaunted, our troop saddled up and took off for a 35-mile ride primarily over gravel. In fact 70% of the trip was on gravel roads with one day of single track. The next two days would be spent riding around Lake Llanquihue with the snow-capped volcano Osorno in the background.

The second day ride turned out to be the most traumatic of the trip because three of our riders experienced serious crashes. One rider hurt his shoulder and back and did not ride again until next to the last day. Another rider broke her rib, hurt her shoulder, and also did not ride again until next to the last day. Finally, the U. S. embassy representative from La Paz, Bolivia, who was a very experienced gravel road, mountain biker, did a face plant that readjusted her overbite for which she would probably need surgery. However, she was a gamer and stayed with us, but never got back on a bike during the trip. Except for those three serious injuries, the rest of us had a few slips and falls but no loss of riding time.

After four days of riding through a lot of rain, and some of us licking our wounds and trying to keep our gear dry, we traveled deeper into the Andes and Argentina on a trio of boat crossings and short bus trips. On day six we took a 17-mile bike ride around the Nahuel Huapi Lake and practically froze to death in the freezing rain.

On day seven it was time to board another boat and go across the lake to Los Arrayanes Park and national forest. Our BACKROADS' guide that day helped plan the Eco Challenge competition that had been held in that area recently and was truly a fountain of information on the area and the trials and tribulations of the Eco Challenge. After our tour through the forest it was time to mount up and do 14 miles of single track. I personally found this to be a little bit challenging, especially since it was a national holiday and there were lots of riders coming from the other direction. Most were courteous and a few were not - on single track that made it a little more exciting! Also, because of the unseasonable amount of rain, there were many mud holes you couldn't ride around...you either rode through full speed ahead or planned on taking a mud bath.

Day eight consisted of a 25-mile ride to a local ski area, where some of us got off our bikes and hiked to the top while others rode up the ski lift for more hiking in that area. At the top there were more magnificent views of lakes and volcanoes.

Day nine was supposed to be the killer day on our bikes. We were going to be going to San Martine de las Andes through the region of the seven lakes, which is a 72-mile journey. On a mountain bike, that is a serious ride, especially since we were going over some mountain passes. Of course we were told the scenery would be spectacular, and we were not disappointed.

After riding about 60 miles that day, we reached the Continental Divide in the Andes. Our guides were waiting there with refreshments. Some of the group that had chosen not to do the whole ride were there cheering us on as we reached the top. We then rode 12 miles downhill into the beautiful village of San Martine de las Andes with mountains to the right and a magnificent sapphire lake on the left.

Day ten was a lazy day of hiking and shopping for Jan and me, as we prepared for the big barbecue for our final night as a group together. That evening after a fabulous meal of various Argentinean barbecued meats, we began saying our farewells, as we were leaving the next morning on the bus to Baraloche where we would all go our separate ways.

I should say a few words about BACKROADS. Each evening after cleaning up, the group would get together before dinner and our guides would go over the routes, give us a little history, and alert us to the various scenic pleasures awaiting. They would also provide us with an incredibly detailed route map which slipped into a small plastic compartment on the front handlebars. Each morning there was a table set for us to select snacks and prepare a lunch for the day's trip which fit into a small carry bag that was attached to each bike. The selections were plentiful and more than enough. One of the guides always rode somewhere in the group, while the other drove the support van. One day we rode in incredibly hard rain and hail and several riders opted for the van for at least part of the day. No one brought their own bike. Instead we used BACKROADS', and they were excellent. The three couples we went with had all been on anywhere from eight to twelve of these trips over the last several years. They advised us not to bring our own bikes because they frequently get beat up in shipping and mechanics on the trips do not have parts for your bike.

The fitness levels varied a moderate amount.Several were capable of doing all of the long days and about a quarter of the group did some biking, walking, and just had a leisurely fun time. The beauty of a trip like this is whether you are soft or hard core, you can pretty much do what you want and not affect the overall group.

This was Jan's and my first biking vacation. Would we do it again? In a heartbeat! In fact, our group of eight is already planning a bike trip with BACKROADS to Turkey in 2002.

For more information on BACKROADS: 801 Cedar St., Berkeley, California 94710-1800, 1/800-GO-ACTIVE, or www.backroads.com. If you decide to contact them tell them we sent you