The End

We rise to clear skies, sunshine and the sun and an almost full moon still in the sky. We are leaving early to ensure we get in to Buenos Aires before the rush hour. We are starting out from Sierra De La Ventana park. The tarmac has a strange sparkle to it as it catches the low sun. It is like stars on a carpet of tarmac darkness showing us the way home.

We gather at a small restaurant for lunch and to complete our ride as a group. We rode out of Anchorage as a group on 6th August and we will ride in at Buenos Aires as a group. The run in is a simple route and we arrive at the hotel smoothly and all together. The parade of bikes attracts lots of attention and admiring looks.

And so this is the final proper ride for Trans Am 2011. All that remains is to get the bikes through the bureaucracy of the freight process and take them to the agent. Then we are going to the best Tango show in Buenos Aires, eating one last superb steak and washing it down with some fine red wine.

If you want to experience this epic ride and be part of the adventure then there are places available Trans Americas 2013. Just contact us through www.globebusters.com

Thanks for following the blog. We hope you have enjoyed reading it as much we all enjoyed the experiences that we wrote about.

Ushuaia – Buenos Aires

We thought we celebrated our arrival in Ushuaia pretty well. However the next day Boca Juniors won the Argentinian Football league and the town showed us how to celebrate properly. The party, the drum bands and the car horns went on to the early hours.

We rode out of Ushuaia the next day in some light drizzle which soon cleared as we re-traced our steps across Tierra Del Fuego. After an overnight stop we crossed back to Chile, boarded the ferry to cross the Straits of Magellan, crossed back to Argentina on the other side and headed for Rio Gallegos. This was our final land border crossing of the trip and the 9th time we had cross between Chile and Argentina.

In Rio Gallegos a number of us visited the British Club. In its centenary year the club still has strong British membership with over twenty of the original founding families still members. The over-stuffed deep buttoned leather arm chairs, the snooker table and the club members such as Colin Jamieson give the feel like you are back in Britain. However in Argentinian style the restaurant doesn’t open until 8pm and serves great Biefe de Chorizo steak.

From here we have a few days heading north on Ruta 3 which is the main all tarmac route to and from Tierra Del Fuego. A stop off in Viedma presents us an chance to visit the Horizons Unlimited South America meeting which is on. It is a small gathering with mainly locals but some English, Scottish and German travellers as well. The travellers are mainly heading south to be in Ushuaia for Christmas. At our hotel we also meet some more travellers heading south. A huge group of Dutch registered Volvo’s are outside. It is a two month endurance event and they are just on day 4 out of Buenos Aires. Some of the cars are recognisable as quite recent models and some are proper classics. Many are stickered up from their previous event to Beijing in 2008. They are all full of enthusiasm for the road ahead. However when they mention that many of the vehicles have fuel tanks of only 35 litres we are shocked. With their fuel economy and the lack of fuel in some parts of Patagonia we think they are going to run into some big problems!

We also get caught up in another Argentinian celebration as they are re-investing President Cristina Kirchner for another term. Again the street party runs and runs. Latin Americans from Mexico to Ushuaia certainly know how to celebrate and party.

And so here we are in Sierra De Le Ventana Park with just one days riding left to take us to Buenos Aires and our final hotel. We have 300 miles to run to Avenida 9 De Julio, according to some the widest road in the world.

We will let you know when we are all in.

Ushuaia – Fin Del Mundo

The crossing of the Magellan Straits is a major milestone. It is only the second ferry of the trip and the other was on our first day in Canada. The ferry runs back and forth constantly operating as a lifeline for Tierra Del Fuego. It is a very quick turnaround as the boat does not dock or get tied up. The Captain just drives it into the concrete dock and drops the loading ramp. He keeps it there with the engines churning white water out of the back of the boat and with constant adjustments with the side thruster’s to counter act the viciously strong currents. All you need to do then is ride up the wet steel ramp that is always moving slightly against the dock. It looks worse than it is and the transition is swift and easy. So swift in fact that they do not bother to tie the bikes down or secure them in anyway. Just leave them on the side stand and in 1st gear.

We disembark and remain in Chile for our first evening. The Island is divided between Chile and Argentina and so the following day is once again a border day as we cross to the Argentinian side. A few of the group take the opportunity to visit the Tierra Del Fuego, Falklands Conflict Memorial on the sea front in Rio Grande. Sadly it looks tired and unkempt.

We are stopping off just 65 miles from Ushuaia for the night so we can ride in as a group on this remarkable day. Our overnight stop is at the head of Lake Fagano. The mood is mixed. People are reviewing old photos, playing cards, talking, but it is all subdued. Tomorrow marks a huge achievement for every-one here, but it also marks the first end of this epic ride. For us it is has been our reality for 5 months riding our bikes in ever changing environments and countries. However other realities are starting to beckon. Some sorely missed; wife’s, partner’s and children . Some maybe less so; work, or job hunting or returning to the business that has allowed the time away.

The next morning the skies are overcast but it is dry and relatively warm. We ride out at 9am and make our way gently over the Paso Garibaldi towards the most southerly city in the world. However to remind us it is a small world we are catching an Iveco overland truck. It has UK license plates, and even a Welsh flag on it. We may be a long way from GlobeBusters home in South Wales but we are not the only people making this epic journey!

At Ushuaia we stop at the town sign for photos and then on into the National Park and to the end of the road. “Here ends Ruta 3” proclaims the sign and 20 metres further on is the ocean. Pacific or Atlantic? Fed from the Antarctic? The Southern Ocean? The debate wends on and we all hug, congratulate each other and the Champagne corks fly. We have 17 riders here, 11 of whom have ridden all the way from Alaska. From the Dalton Highway to the end of Ruta 3 in Ushuaia, but all have completed an epic journey whether from Alaska, Tucson or Bogota.

There will be a celebration this evening. There will be hangovers tomorrow. The next day we start 7 days more riding covering over 2,000 miles to get to Buenos Aires and our ultimate destination for this ride. We have reached the end of this road but the road ahead is still calling for another week or so.

Patagonia

From our small coastal hide-away we ride the best parts of Carretera Austral around bays and inlets climbing and descending the twists and turns of this gravel road. It is a challenging ride but the views are reward enough. The day ends in another remote hotel with cabins alongside the Rio Simpson. The early evening is spent next to the roaring fire in the lounge chatting with a glass of Chilean Vino Tinto and comparing photos from the day.

More time on Carretera Austral the following day takes in vistas of incredulously blue lakes and for contrast the Laguna Verde, the greenest of green lagoons. The road continues to challenge and reward as we head further south. Our destination for the night is more cabins but this time on the lake shore of Lago Buenos Aires. The white capped waves roll in with the snow-capped mountains providing the backdrop behind them. As the evening dusk draws in the wind subsides and the waves ebb into gentle swells.

The next day provides a change from the dirt roads as we ride through the mountains on pristine tarmac, with the snow lying on either side, and occasionally actually on the road. We are treated to some great twisties and a fantastic set of hairpins to descend to a small town for coffee.

After crossing back in Argentina we are heading for Ruta 40. This iconic road stretches the almost the length of the southern continent but this Argentinian dirt section is perhaps the most famous. We will probably be the last Trans Americas group to enjoy it as a dirt road. There is much more tarmac than previously and there are large sections being worked on. What hasn’t come with improved roads is improved fuel supply.

Argentina seems to have sporadic problems getting fuel distributed and we are about to experience the problems this brings. We all fuel at mile 65 in Chile and the next station is at mile 108 in Argentina. It has no fuel and none due today. We ride for the next station at mile 171 in strong head and side winds. When we arrive they have no fuel and have had none for 5 days and will not get a delivery for another 10 days. Our stop for the night is another 130 miles and we ride on. We are staying on a working Patagonian Estancia and in the evening we are eating fresh lamb cooked over an open wood fire. We purchase all the fuel they can spare which is 10 litres for most of the bikes, as we have another 95 miles to go tomorrow before the next station. Back onto the gravel of Ruta 40 and we arrive 95 miles later to find…… no fuel and none due for 20 days. This is now a problem! We check out the local town 3 kilometres away and are told there is no fuel to be had there either.

We plan out which bikes could make it into El Calafate 100 miles further on, where we are promised there are supplies. We then distribute the emergency fuel from the support vehicle to maximise the number of riders who can make it in. However this means leaving 5 bikes at the fuel station while we ride for El Calafate at 55mph to ensure maximum economy, to re-stock the support vehicle and return.

One rider runs out en route but we have a last 1.5 litres emergency stock and this gets them into town. In El Calafate we find queues at the stations and only one with diesel which the support vehicle is now also desperate for. We re-fuel the 70 litres of containers in the van, and the van itself, and are quickly on the return journey out of town. However 30 miles out of town we meet the remaining riders heading in. Bill a retired Canadian Policeman had gone into the local town again and at the police station called in a few professional favours and secured 30 litres of fuel between the bikes. This had been done by syphoning it from the towns fire engine! We just hope there is not a fire in town in the next 20 days or we are going to feel really guilty!

When the riders meet the support vehilce at 30 miles out, three are running on fumes having had the fuel gauges reading zero for over 20 miles each. Re-fuelled from the support vehicle they ride the last stretch with the comfort of knowing they would make it in. As we say – It’s not a holiday, It’s an Adventure!

We have two nights in El Calafate to visit the Perrito Moreno glacier, one of the largest and most impressive remaining in South America. You can get to it by bike or boat or both and all agree it is very much worth the journey out. The ride moves on again on Ruta 40 south to the Chilean border where we cross back once again to take us to the edge of the Torres Del Paine National Park. The park is home to over 100 bird species as well as Puma, Guanaco and Black Widow Spiders!

The next day will take us across the Straits of Magellan and onto the Land of Fire, Tierra Del Fuego. From there we are just two days from Ushuaia and our furthest destination south. Having been heading south since the 9th August we will have to stop. If not we will be in the ocean.