Patagonia with Slide Show

Bariloche to Tecka – 240 miles

Today was the start of mine and Mac’s unsupported adventure. We left Bariloche and headed into Patagonia alone and without a plan. We need to meet up with the others in 6 days. It is only 1,000 miles to the rendezvous town, so we’ve plenty of time. Mac wants to take it extremely easy. He suggested we stop each day around 3 PM. I’d rather ride longer but old Mac never asks for much so that is our plan. Today’s ride ended at a small village called Tecka on the road to the Eastern coast. The coastal city is about 400 miles away. We probably won’t reach it tomorrow but no worries. There is a promising town on the edge of a very large lake about 250 miles away. We’ll probably stop there.
Our accommodations are unusual. This village has a new, modern gas station. We filled up and I asked if there was a village hotel. The attendant said ‘This is a hotel’. Really? I went in and sure enough they had just finished an eight unit hotel out back. Mac and I each got a room for less than $30.00. New furniture, dish TV, free breakfast in the morning, hot, hot water, and three single beds. It only lacks the Internet.
The local police stopped by to talk about our bikes. When he saw my hobbling he suggested I go to the local hospital. Since my Ozone injection did no good I’m in extreme pain again. It eels like someone stabbed me I the lower left side of my back and it is stuck in my hip bone. That pain is constant. When I’m riding every bump is like having the knife twisted by a sadist. That’s why off road riding 800 miles was out of the question. Today the roads were perfect but I still longed for the chance to get off and sit still. Road construction put us on a dirt detour for five miles. It was excruciating. /That’s why Mac and I took the cop’s advice and went to the hospital.
The woman doctor spoke no English and couldn’t believe I had an Ozone injection. She thought I showed uncommon good sense by eschewing the second injection. She said I should stay put for three days, take pain reduction pills and an anti-inflammatory. When I explained I had to keep moving she advised me to only take the pain pills after my day’s riding is done and she gave me an injection to quell any inflammation. I already knew not to ride with pain medicine in my system. It’s tough enough with all of my faculties intact, muddled by medicine would be crazy.

I’ve tried to stop taking pictures of the landscape, but cannot. Every time I turn around there is more spectacular mountains than the moment before. I’ve made a slide-show with musical accompaniment by The Gourds, my new favorite group. The Gourds are an eclectic group from the American southeast. It is comprised of four certifiable musical geniuses and one idiot savant. Remember the kid who played deuling bangoes in DELIVERANCE? We he's growd up as they say in the Ozark mountains. Two of the four geniuses are the group's songwriters, the other two are world class pickers (banjo, mandolin, and other stringed things).