PowerCycle

12/06 I’ve seen what Nuclear Winter looks like and it ain’t pretty. The weather leaving San Martin was absolutely perfect. I can’t remember a nicer day for riding. This road is aptly named Road of the Seven Lakes and it runs through some gorgeous landscape. Lot’s of mountains, rushing rivers, a nice waterfall and of course, several lakes.

The road was paved for the first 31 miles and then the dirt started. My timing was good because they had just sprayed the road to control the dust a bit. There are several campgrounds along the lakes but it was too nice to stop. I passed a German couple and saw four other riders heading north. Lot’s of climbing today. Big hill out of San Martin and many steep sections on the dirt.

As I rode along I could see what I first thought was a massive cloud bank up ahead. It wasn’t long before I realized it was a giant cloud of ash being funneled along the valley from the west. Things soon got very ugly. The ash has pretty much covered every square foot of grass and there are drifts of it along the road.

The campground is a wasteland. No one else here (not surprised). The picnic tables have several inches of ash on them and there’s a layer of it on just about everything else. It’s pretty much the ugliest non man-made sight I’ve ever seen outdoors. I feel really bad for the people that live out here. It’s giving me a bit of a headache so I’m wearing a bandana to breathe through. There’s water, bathrooms and a shower by the office.

I’m loving the long days down here. Sunrise is at 6:09am and sunset is at 9:05pm. At my destination in Ushuaia, sunrise is 4:53am and sunset is at 9:54pm.

GPX track