Day three of the trans continental trip across South America is behind us. Both Mike Halstead and I are faring pretty well considering the circumstances. The ride started off with a disappointing breakfast. Rather hard to not take in the correct fuel when asking your body to respond to this challenge. No surprise to anyone that I let the leaders know about my concerns. Seems clear that food and fuel is up to the cyclists. Pity but another good lesson learned. Keep your eye on Hudson Valley Detours.
Ride started out with a military checkpoint about 5 miles in. Quick review of passports and we each were on our way. A little over 106 miles today and about 3000 feet of climbing. So some hills but a nice breather from yesterday. We were rolling along at a good clip when Mike got his first flat. Then 10 minutes later his second. Then 10 minutes later his third. We finally found the rotten little thorn that was causing our problem and after a quick patch job we were back in business. It did separate us from the pack however and we spent the day by ourselves trying to catch up.
Lots of today’s ride was into the wind. Like always Mike led the way and pulled me through the difficult parts. Lunch was around 2 PM ( a long time from the 6:30 corn flakes. Will not happen again. Last hour of the ride took us into the city of Mendoza. This is a lovely Argentinian city.
Decent hotel although not special. Another disappointment. Mike and I rooming with a great South African gent who lives in the UK. No there are no bunk beds but three twin beds is the fancy set up. Mike and I feasted on our best meal so far and had all the protein we could eat. Our strategy is to fend for ourselves and I slipped out to a local convenience store in order to secure a suitable breakfast for the morning.
The team working this event is strong but it seems they have been provided with limited resources. We can handle our own needs. We need to be ready because starting Monday we start going longer. The day four ride is 155 plus miles. The first of two days that long in a row. We will start a bit earlier and hope to finish before dark. Looks to be the longest single day ever for both Mike and myself. Wish us luck.
