Day 367 Monday 7 April Hotel in Mendoza to Car Wash to Storage 57km

I can’t believe this has just happened, I spent 2 hours doing the Blog and must have lost Wi-Fi, and when I pushed Publish the screen went blank and everything I had been pouring my heart out about was gone, missing, zero, niks. Well, I suppose it is more better it happens on a day like today when I have lots of time and not when I am trying to send my family a message that I survived the day of riding in the mountains¿s in  pouring rain without any wi-fi, and that everything is still OK with Super Dad.

So instead of doing this as a Final Post with a long catch-up of my emotions bra bra bla, I will make this, my 2nd Post for today a short business-like factual post and then tomorrow after I have drank some Malbec I will look at life from a more personal angle and do a Final Post.

But let’s start with Pie. He was not opening up to us as to his future, will he ride with us past 366 days or will his bike go into the container tomorrow???

I pushed him for an answer, and instead of a straight ” I am sorry I should not have said one year,” or “OK I am out,” he wormed himself out of it with this: Your method of counting the days are flawed.” So it was my fault. He felt that I always count the day before the ride begins (from the Storage to the hotel, and like today, from the hotel to the storage as a day.) So he feels I should just have counted proper riding days, where I counted days if my bum sat on my bike, even just for a short distance.

So, he bought himself some time. Sadly, he bought much more time than he will need as the end of our trip is starting to show itself just around the corner. We can see the end of South America, 1,5 Trips away, and after we reach the Bottom of The World, we take a quick photo and start heading North as the weather winds down there is very small, so in 2 trips it is all over. Or will one more trip into Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil keep us from retirement? But the end is near, we can smell it.

But let me get back to today.

The Storage is filling up, fast.

We are in the Wine Province of Argentina, Mendoza Province, one of the 23 Provinces, in the Capital, Mendoza.

We are in line with East London in South Africa, and look how far past Cape Town we still need to go;

I left the hotel this morning and went towards the storage, 40km away. I washed DadAss and did some maintenance on the bike. I did my washing and re-packed my bike, locked all the panniers away with my Riding Gear, clean clothes and helmet, I had a very productive day. So did Pie and Tex, which followed a similar plan but also fitted tires etc.

Peens could not tell us what he was going to do today as his phone battery was flat, due to a late night date with YouTube, but he planned to go into the mountains and see something BIG.

After Pie Tex and I were finished at the storage the owner gave us a lift back to Mendoza City Centre. I met up with Peens who was still at the hotel busy on a date with YouTube, but he had done his washing and did some planning for tomorrow, so he can’t play tourist with Pie and I tomorrow, who have a wine Tour planned.

The stats of this trip is below, note how much better our fuel consumption was on this trip (with leg 20  we got just over 17km from a liter as it was mostly spent in the mountains, at least on this trip we got into 6th gear on a few days.)

Below is a Peugeot, it is the model before the 504. My father taught me to drive in a 504, I still remember that dangerous afternoon when he made me sit behind the wheel, on a gravel road in the Orange Free State, with the sun shining into my eyes, and cattle and goats lurking in the long grass, with thoughts of suicide on their minds, and my mother and sisters praying on the back seat of the car. Well, you can’t believe how many of these cars are still on the road here, 40 years later, they are still everywhere here in Argentina, plus their Van or Bakkie models.

I am a little tired now, so please excuse me, I will do the Final Blog Tomorrow before Pie and I go on out Wine Tour, or when we come back.

Milsy and Rocky flew this morning, Tex flies at midnight tonight, so tomorrow I am all Lonely From Benoni and will have time.

So for a 2nd time I say Good Night to you, hopefully this Blog sees the light of day.

Hope you are still around for tomorrows Final Blog with some Riveting Revelations and I plan to reveal the Meaning of Life, again, if the Wi Fi lasts

Regards

Fleisch