I was climbing the walls in Santiago and relieved to have a new passport and be on the road again. I feel pressed for time but don’t know why, the looming winter in the south, perhaps. 300+ mile days of high speed asphalt don’t normally appeal to me but the bike is running well and I’m still jonzing on the suspension work I had done at Ajar in Mendoza. My new sag settings have the bike well planted as I hammer the 5 down to Chillan and I’m enjoying being ignored by the Chilean Police as I light up their radar guns. I was told they won’t pull me over since I’m a tourist, I guess writing a ticket is a fruitless endeavor for them. The only thing I can say with certainty is they didn’t so much as bat an eye at me.
I’m in desperate need of a rear tire and after 15K miles the bike’s chain and sprockets are done. I visit Roland and the gang over at the KTM shop and they have everything I need in stock. Though I am a bit disappointed they don’t carry the rear Scorpion for the bike. Roland convinces me the Golden is a good tire, not that I have a choice. The new chain & sprockets make the bike feel like new and I motor on down to the Lake’s District and the city of Osorno. It’s noticeably colder now as I get further south and it’s raining more frequently. Osorno is cold and wet so I hang out for a day then make for the Argentine border and the town of Bariloche.
On a side note, I’ve had a number of set backs on this trip, some voluntary, some involuntary, but the net result has me arriving in the Lakes District and Patagonia during the tourist season lull. The towns I’m riding through now are typically quite busy and I appreciate having the roads virtually to myself and getting my pick of lodging accommodations. I’m having great luck with negotiating room rates down as well. I’m doing more riding than photo taking in this particular leg of the trip so not many images to share.
