March 7: Puerto Varas to Petrohue, Chile 67 kms, 42 miles

The forecast for the day was sun and warm -- but Mother Nature wanted to delay that for a little while. The morning fog/low clouds/drizzle/rain welcomed the group as they exited the hotel for the last day of riding before saying good bye to the "Dirty Bike Store" tour guides and beginning the next phase of the trip.

The route follows the banks of the lake up and over rolling hills and down through farm fields. The morning mist created a different feeling as one wound down into the valleys and the climbed the gentle inclines up into the forests of eucalyptus. That alone gave a freshness to the air with the fragrance of the damp leaves. The roadway was newly paved for the majority of the mileage so pedaling was easy and gave plenty of time to dream as one pedaled.

Unlike earlier routes, this one was peppered with quaint cafes advertising "kuchen, tortes, sweets" which of course needed to be sampled. A morning coffee break to get out of the rain was in order.

As the late morning wind picked up the clouds moved out over the mountains to the east and availed the riders a clear, sunny day with only minor traffic. A few points of construction slowed the pace, but only temporality. A stop at the Salto waterfalls and then into the national park for the last 8 kms. The only negative -- the last 6 kms were on gravel roads covered with volcano lava ash from the last eruption of the volcano several years ago. It is like riding through slippery sand for about three miles. The rear tire likes to slide in one direction as the front tire is headed in another. It is as if your bike has a mind of itself and you are just there to hold on!!!