{"id":850,"date":"2012-12-27T03:55:17","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T02:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelbybike.nl\/?p=850"},"modified":"2013-04-13T22:42:41","modified_gmt":"2013-04-13T21:42:41","slug":"het-gevecht-met-de-wind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelbybike.nl\/en\/2012\/12\/het-gevecht-met-de-wind\/","title":{"rendered":"The battle with the wind"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we got on our bikes, the wind was indeed very favorable. It was storming, but we had tailwind so it was great. We flew over the road. But after about 20 miles it was over. The storm hit us from the side and we got blown off the road from time to time. Sometimes we even had a headwind. We started to not like it anymore. Our speed went from about 15 mph to about 9 mph. And the sun which had been shining on our faces disappeared and it got cold. We fought with that wind for about 45 miles.<\/p>\n

We ran into Pablo again, who was seeking shelter from the wind at a busstop. We picked him up and cycled to a small town, the only town on the route. We bought something to drink and decided we would see each other again by a police station about 30 miles further. We wanted to try to reach it, although it was going to be a long day. We heard you could camp there and it might just be the only sheltered spot on the route.<\/p>\n

We could have camped in the little village, but we wanted to try to get a little further that day so that the next day wasn\u2019t going to be so long. We still wanted to try and reach Puerto Natales in 2 days. It was better to keep going a bit longer now than maybe not make it the day after. We also had to wait and see what the wind was going to do the next day. Over here you never know. But, oh miracle, that last 30 miles we had headwind! Without pedaling we already reached a speed of about 10 mph, so with pedaling we went flying just like the first part. It was great! After a recordbreaking distance of 90 miles, we arrived at the police station. We pitched our tent and waited for Pablo. Cooked dinner and then went to bed to give our legs the rest they deserved.
\nThe wind had changed overnight indeed. To the west, which meant that we would have to cycle the whole distance of 60 miles with a headwind (storm), except for a few short sections. A little before half of the trip there was a hotel where we had a good lunch. It was there at the right time. After the hotel, the road changed directions a bit so it wasn\u2019t a complete headwind anymore. We made it to Puerto Natales, but this also was a long and difficult day. We found a hostal and took a well-deserved hot shower.\n\t\t