Breakfast was in the main lodge, the usual pan, queso, marmelada and kuchen with jugo, cafe and te. Kuchen is basically a German style Christmas bread at home that they seem to eat year round. We walked around the property for a bit, Tori took pictures of flowers and I found an old Willy's Jeep that looked well worn but given the age of the tires on it, I bet it still runs.
We sat on our deck for a bit, enjoying the warm morning, before packing up. Only problem is I can't find my sunglasses... bummer. I know I had them here, and we've checked the house 5 times, so I'm hoping they turn up in my baggage. I've got a back up pair, but in comparison to the self darkening and perfect optics of the Specialized ones, these are a joke. Oh well, they had a bunch of scratches on them from TransRockies and La Ruta, I'll see if I can find another pair on an off season sale when I'm back.
We began driving back towards Ensenada, and there's a whole bunch of older American (ie. team Discovery jerseys galore) "cyclists" riding towards us. By "cyclist" I mean they were people pedalling bicyles, not anything near a real cyclist. Part of me is happy that they're out there doing something, the rest of their social circle is probably still feasting on Christmas dinner leftovers. But the other part of me says "the point isn't to get out there and doing it, it's getting where you're going as fast as possible". Tori thinks this is funny. As much as I like seeing people dabble with active vacations, I also cringe when I people softpedalling bicycles with their knees out wide, white socks up to their calves, sneakers on, helmet on crooked, and orange triangle safety vests on all twisted up, achieving no more than 11kph on average. Oh well.
Coming over a hill we were presented with a grand view - Volcan Osorno was out of the clouds, and holy cow was it huge. We decided we'd stop off at the artisan shop and pick up a few wares, then head straight over to the big volcan. I also found my glasses.
The drive up the volcano is fun. The lake is only 150m above sea level I think, and Volcan Osorno is 2,652m tall. That means there's a lot of visible relief, it's a very impressive spectacle. The first half of the road is paved and windy, you can hold 3rd gear in a little 4cyl Toyota for a while, but it gets down to second gear territory soon. I'll add here that the truck is geared low, 110-120kph is basically as fast as it ever wants to go. The road then turns to smooth packed volcanic crushed rock sand and picks up in grade. They sort of attempt to keep a constant grade by adding a few switchbacks, but it doesn't really achieve the goal. It's a big cone, and the higher up you go, the steeper it is. We eventually get down to first gear territory, and with sandy switchbacks that are super steep, I begin to wonder if we're even going to make it up as the tires are spinning a bit despite my efforts. I wonder how receptive Tori would be to sitting in the back of the truck to help rear wheel traction.
We bump and slide our way up to the base of the ski area, which is on a mild plateau, and is 2 buildings. The lifts are running so we buy tickets to go up. It's a slow 2 person chair with a foot rest, that seems to cover 1/2 the elevation the ski area offers. We hike around a red crater, and are amazed at the heat considering the elevation. There's very little vegetation, but there are bugs and little lizards. The volcanic rock and the lack of ozone/elevation make you feel like you're roasting quickly. On the way back down we're treated to views of Lago Llanquihue, all the towns surrounding it, including Peurto Varas on the south end. You can also see Peurto Montt and the ocean, as well as down the valley toward Ralun/Cochacamo.
We have lunch on the lodge deck, I feel obligated to get the hamurgesa volcan, which is standard ski hill fare with a Chilean twist, it's got ham and avocado as well. For desert I get a Danky ice cream cone. Danky is good.
With my mountain bike, the descent off the mountain would be a terminal velocity riot, with the Toyota it's more of a 1st/2nd gear grind. Just like in Costa Rica, damp volcanic sand is just about the best traction I've found for mountain bike tires, you'd be able to lean into corners so much. We decide to drive around the rest of the lake after, retracing some of our route from day one, plus adding on the side we didn't see prior. We stop at the beach near where we had lunch on day one, and look back on how much distance we covered that day. The water is cold and refreshing, lots of little kids are playing in it without being bothered by the temperature at all.
The side of the lake we hadn't seen is rolling farmland, really quite beautiful. The further towards the south we get, and nearer to the main highway, the less applealing the towns are, Frutilla didn't seem to be anything worth seeing again.
We make our way around a complex off ramp and on to Ruta 5 for the last 25km to Peurto Varas, and check back into the Hostaleria Outsider. Arvid has our bags waiting in our room. The luggage, the bikes, and the gear from the truck makes the room look like a disaster area.
I take off my rack, fenders and handle bar bag bracket, turning my 24lb beast back into a 20lb bike, with light road wheels it's 18lbs, and the only bit of carbon on it is the fork. The only signs of wear are a few shiny patches on the frame from bungee cords rubbing, and my pewter Strong logo is roughed up a but from carrying the tent up front. Other than that it's just drivetrain wear and a set of break pads. I use half a roll of toilet paper trying to wipe grit and gunk off my drivetrain, and to generally prime my beauty back up for some faster riding. Pumped up the tires nice and hard, and grab our laundry bags to drop off at the lavenderia, but both seem to be closed.
We drop them off at the room, and head out on the open road again, no weight and nothing but cycling shorts, helmet and jersey on. We ride along the lake, which is a beautiful rolling road. It's 5pm, traffic is low, the air is warm, and Volcan Osorno is clear in the evening sun. I notice my bike still feels like a monster truck with 37mm tires. These things have so much rubber and other space age materials I bet they'd go 30,000km before wearing down enough to flat. The injection mold hairs are gone off the rear, but still in tact on the front, and I think that's mainly because I let the pressure down on the gravel on the way to Futaleufu plus more weight being in the back.
I never have to shift out of my 50 tooth ring in front. I don't know or care if I'm fast, but I have torque like I've never had before. Part of my achilles ailments meant it was hard to generate force solely by pushing down, so I was actually emphasizing my upstroke for days, and pedalling decent circles. Instead of instantly needing to shift down to my easiest couple of gears on any incline, I shift down only 2 or three gears. My speed and cadence stabilize much faster than I expect on the upslopes. Power is coming in complete revolutions from my pedal stroke, these hills feel inconsequential without 40lbs of baggage. I feel like Jan Ullrich. I feel like the last time I drove a diesel. I feel strong, able bodied and happy.
This bike is proving it's versatility, this is a beautiful machine in all respects. Quality parts throughout that delivered 100%. My Chris King hubs didn't have any trouble with the load, nor did my rims. My stem and bars didn't squeak while standing and climbing with big torque, the S&S couplers didn't loosen 1mm over the entire trip, or let out a single squeak, even with 40lbs of junk and hundreds of km of bumpy gravel and pot holes. This bike is both a workhorse and a thoroghbred. In my world, everyone needs a custom ti frame with couplers in their stable. Don't weight weenie it... sure this could be a sub 3lb frame if I asked for it, but what does 1lb more get me? Strength beyond any strength you'd ever reasonably need out of a bike, and durability beyond my lifetime. Only theft or a crash I wouldn't walk away from are the limiters.
Tori's Dean is built a lot lighter and more road oriented, but it made it just fine. Her bike shows signs of use, you can't look at it and say she doesn't use it. Her front hub has a little play in it now, and the rear hub sounds like it's had better days, nothing that can't be taken care of when we get home.
My achilles doesn't hurt, there's a little bit of soreness that serves as a reminder that they were really sore a few days ago, but they're definitely on the mend and I can feel that this isn't doing any harm. On a longer hill, I stand about half way up instead of shifting. Pulling up on the pedals as well as pushing down feels so good, just like standing on PowerCranks does. Cresting the hill, my legs don't burn and I'm not breathing hard. I feel like my gas tank is full and I could do this for hours. I once again am back to my natural state - my body is delivering rather than being a limiter. I'm unaccustomed to the latter, and have a hard time dealing with it.
My version of heaven will include endless hours of today's ride, the feeling of powering over hills with ease is sublime. The scenery is perfect, as is the temperature.
We hold 35kph for a while, Tori's keeping up fine as she's got the little 23mm tires at 100psi. I'm impressed and proud at the same time. Eventually we decide to turn around, and for the most part we ride side by side at a vacation pace, looking out at the lake.
Back in town, we shower up then head out for dinner. We go to a tpas bar overlooking the lake and the two volcanoes. We watch the sun set and have some great food, along with a pisco sour, our only non-wine drink of the trip. Interestingly enough, we spot two of the three attractive Chilean women that we've seen this whole trip tonight... sure are fewer and more far between than on the other side of the Andes... funny how that works.
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