Steve Bate sends an update from his next big adventure after winning three Paralympic medals in Rio; a 770 mile cycle ride down the Carretera Austral in Chile.
Steve is riding alongside Great Britain Cycling Team colleagues Karen Darke and Jaco Van Gass. The team are carrying their own equipment and sleeping under the stars.
And they're off!
Jaco and I load the trailers with kit. With Karen on a hand bike it’s impossible for her to carry all her equipment so Jaco and I will be carrying the bulk of the load.
After a year of planning it’s great to be on the road at last. Once out of the town we make our way south along the coast.
The drivers are extremely patient as we crawl along at an average speed of 10 kilometres an hour. I think my bike must weigh 60 kilograms with Karen’s wheel chair perched on top of my loaded trailer, but progress is progress.
Good luck and have a great time to @kiwistevebate @carolineinscot @kdarke @jacovangass going to patagonia to ride a dirt highway!
— Adam Duggleby (@a_duggleby) November 19, 2016
The tarmac sees us make good time even in the scorching sun. We pass a small house as we climb and a local asks us if we want some cold water and returns with three ice cold bottles. The kindness of the local people is amazing. People stop their cars to film us and tell us how inspiring we are. It’s incredibly humbling.
We have a great first night in camp under a million stars in the garden of a lovely Chilean man and wake to another amazing day. Surely this weather can’t last but we’ll enjoy it while it does.
And they're off! @kiwistevebate sends an update from his 770 mile Chilean adventure with @jacovangass and @kdarkehttps://t.co/APRyiqBy9G pic.twitter.com/QLqWmQ6LJ5
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 30, 2016
Gravel and handbikes do not mix
We hit the gravel roads earlier than expected on a road with a savage gradient. I manage to make it up the loose rocky winding climb but need to stop to help Karen as she has trouble finding purchase on her hand bike.
Progress is painfully slow but we work well as a team and push on. On the second day of riding the longer steeper hills continue to be a real challenge for Karen who just can’t seem to find the traction she needs.
Jaco rides off ahead to get to the top then begins walking back down to meet myself pushing Karen through the middle section after taking over from Caroline who started at the base of the hill. As we leap frog each other most of the day, it’s rare that we ride hilly sections together.
As we pass through the wilderness heading south on the Carretera it starts to really feel like we are in Patagonia. We have caught three ferries now across amazing blue waters and, as we continue our journey on the gravel, tall trees line the road with mountainous landscapes behind.
Quick bit of wifi. Patagonia is treating us well thanks @DirtyDog @TheRealBerghaus pic.twitter.com/aRaZMxs9jU
— Stephen'Stanley'Bate (@kiwistevebate) November 29, 2016
As I’m writing this I’m sitting in a wooden shed in the back of a local’s garden where we have camped for the night. I’ve found a socket so I’m busy charging all of our camera equipment as I have no idea when we will next find power. I lost the solar panel off the back of my bike, shaken loose by the rough roads.
I wash out of a bowl of warm water at night due to a lack of showers; it feels like a treat to put on clean clothes in the evenings after spending day after day cycling in the same kit.
I haven’t turned my phone on since leaving Puerto Montt and only open my laptop to upload the footage I take each day from the cameras. Dirty, tried, sleep deprived, and dragging trailers along bumpy roads and big hills with the only contact between yourselves and the locals. This is what I love doing.
