January 27-29, 2019

What happened…

A few days of kite surfing inspired life.

Amanda writes: Andrew sums this up pretty good. He was in a kite coma for a couple of days but it was good to see him have so much fun. Oh and the cycling was good too.

This kite surfing sign caught our attention and the rest was history.

Our awesome beach front camp spot on kiters beach.

A cool bus shelter heading into Bariloche.

Andrew enjoying his kite surfing.

Andrew writes:So I hadn’t realized why so many people were all gaga over Argentina’s “Siete” (7) Lagos Route. It’s actually a real gem. Nicely paved, winding roads, easy hills. Sure there’s a bunch of traffic, but that’s because it’s accessible and beautiful for everyone to enjoy. So what could make it better? How about kite surfing?

We were cycling down the road about half-way through the day when we saw a sign about “Kite Tour Access”. I was curious, so rode down to a beach at the bottom of a small hill. There was a registration desk setup for a group of kiters who were doing a 20km downwinder in a part of the park that normally isn’t really accessible for most kite surfers. Sadly, no one had gear for me to rent or I would have parked the bike and joined in. It was neat though how everyone had boated out to an island and we could see them setting up and getting ready to go out. Some of the kites were dancing over the waves. It was real pretty. With a sad sign, we continued on down the road until we found a campsite we liked. As luck would have it, the beach by our campsite was the one where the downwinder was ending. So I got to help land, and then share stories with many of the 20+ kitesurfers who had participated in the event. I also found out that I could rent gear in nearby Bariloche.

The next morning I was super-excited to get going, so we left early so as to minimize our time spent in heavy winds, and maximize our time spent out on the water (hopefully). The ride was tough, especially for the last 15km which was directly into the wind between Dina Huapi and Bariloche. We arrived in town and checked into the hostal where Jacob was holed up. The price was right and it was in a great location; just a 5-minute walk from Kite Beach!

So after unpacking everything, Amanda and I walked down to the beach and pretty soon I was out on the water. I won’t say it was magical, but it was a lot of fun. Some of the waves on the lake were shoulder-high which made for some big air jumps! The wind was strong and steady with some heavy gusts, and I was pretty tired from the 5 hours of cycling. I had paid for 90 minutes of gear rental, and kept looking over my shoulder at the lake shore hoping that someone would be waving for me to come in. I didn’t want to “waste my money” by coming in early, but eventually I could take no more. I promised myself that I would go out again on the following day, but my body was wrecked for a few days before I could do much of anything except for ride bikes, and whine about being sore. Still, I’ll always have Bariloche….

The aerial view of our ride – WITH PICTURES:

Today’s Flickr Photographs

Cycling Stats

January 27, 2019
Start Point: Lago Falkner, Argentina
Destination: Camping Ragintuco, Argentina
79.05 km trip, 14.76 km/h average speed, 57.92 km/h maximum speed, 5:21 time on the bike

January 28, 2019
Start Point: Camping Ragintuco, Argentina
Destination: San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
65.30 km trip, 17.28 km/h average speed, 52.84 km/h maximum speed, 3:47 time on the bike

Route Description:

January 27, 2019 The entire day was paved. No shoulder and lots of traffic. Undulating hills And beautiful lakes.

January 28, 2019 Paved road. No shoulder. Busy traffic . Construction. Undulating hills.

Accommodations:

January 27, 2019 Camped at kite beach called Camping Ragintuco for 500 pesos with toilets and hot showers. Beach front camping. Lots of campgrounds in the area.

January 28, 2019 We stayed at a hostel in a private room for 2 nights. We booked it online and paid Canadian dollars.

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