|
|
25 Oct 2008
|
Registered Users
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: the world
Posts: 87
|
|
Ruta 40
Hey folks how you all doing just a couple of days away from getting down to Ushia wow isn´t the road down here number 3 long and straight not that you can ride straight of course because of all the wind but hey thats life.
I was just wondering if anybody has any upto date info on Ruta 40 quality of the road the amout of time it takes that sort of thing would really appriciate it because I ave heard many rumors!!!!
Thanks Rich
|
25 Oct 2008
|
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,187
|
|
Amount of time for what/where?
It's called Ushuaia by the way.
|
25 Oct 2008
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Des Moines
Posts: 433
|
|
If you are going to do Ruta 40 make sure that you have lots of spare parts and tools. The condition of the road varies from small gravel to large gravel. If something on your bike breaks the nearest place to maybe find what you need is Commodor Rivadavia.
I know how boring Highway 3 is, but if your bikes are in questionable condition just take it instead of Ruta 40
|
27 Oct 2008
|
Registered Users
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: the world
Posts: 87
|
|
Someone must have been there recently!!!
Thanks for the tips on my spelling!!!! Never said I was smaaart!!! The bikes are in tip top shape. But i heard that the route is shut from a couple of backpackers yesterday and I am on a bit of a tight time frame so don´t want to head up there if it is impossible!!!
Cheers Rich
|
28 Oct 2008
|
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Todos Santos,B.C.S ,MEXICO
Posts: 173
|
|
In Mendoza
Hi, i just left the aaa office,i am not sure what was said except theres 50 km not good, i had a friend with me who understood, maybe can relay later. I am looking for others passing thru, maybe talk a bit or ride . take care ,i am going south within a week, fastfreddy
|
29 Oct 2008
|
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Todos Santos,B.C.S ,MEXICO
Posts: 173
|
|
construction ruta 40 for 50km
Hi, seems that it is the 50 km south of Chos Malal that has alot o work going on, i think its just real slow going.I ill be there in a week or so myself.
|
29 Oct 2008
|
Registered Users
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: the world
Posts: 87
|
|
Thanks fast freddy
Hey
I should meet you on the road on the way down then. I leave Ushiaia tomorrow I went to the ACA sight and sadly it has very little info. If you see me going the other way stop for a chat I have been in SA now for 4 months nad haven´t bumped into a single other biker!!! Kind of thought that from what people said we would be all over the place!!!!
Thanks for the help though
cheers Rich
|
29 Oct 2008
|
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Belgium
Posts: 6
|
|
Hey Rich,
We're coming down on ruta 3 for the moment. We started in BsAs, and are currently in Peninsula Valdez. Great wildlife here
Ruta 3 is indeed not very exiting, but we're going north via ruta 40 so we don't wanna see things twice( till now).
If you pass 2 BMW with a belgian matricula, just stop and share some stories
See you around hopefully, take care
Paul and Sigrid
|
30 Oct 2008
|
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Todos Santos,B.C.S ,MEXICO
Posts: 173
|
|
maybe we can tell some stories in Bariloche
howdy, am now in Malargue, probably in Choos malal tomorrow. will let you know how it goes as the drop south after there is ????? When are you around Bariloche?
|
6 Nov 2008
|
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Todos Santos,B.C.S ,MEXICO
Posts: 173
|
|
moon dust
Hi, I lost it in some moon dust, and fractured my ankle. between the big bridge over rio grande and baranca. Going south, went over the top of a rise and there it was 50 m ahead and longer. south bound lane only, but had a truck coming at me, went in and down ,deep shit! Back home now, med jet was great. Dakar Motos continues to amaze, they are truly great people, thanks to Javier and Sandra for being there for all of us
|
6 Nov 2008
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Posts: 313
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by fastfreddy
Hi, I lost it in some moon dust, and fractured my ankle. between the big bridge over rio grande and baranca. Going south, went over the top of a rise and there it was 50 m ahead and longer. south bound lane only, but had a truck coming at me, went in and down ,deep shit! Back home now, med jet was great. Dakar Motos continues to amaze, they are truly great people, thanks to Javier and Sandra for being there for all of us
|
Glad to hear that you are safe though. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
|
7 Nov 2008
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Montreal
Posts: 103
|
|
Sorry to hear about your accident FastFreddy. Hope the recovery is fast!
I wrote this for another site and figured it might help answer some questions here about the south part of ruta 40. The stretch I am going to talk about is what we did 4 days ago, from the town of Perito Moreno to El Calafate (If you have already been, then you know this is one hell of a long day of riding, it took us 14 hours in total with less than 2 hours worth of stops).
Basically, this stretch of road was the worst we have done on our trip in the Americas so far, not so much because of the driving surface (although it too proved difficult) but because of the intense wind which varied between 40 km/hr to 100 km/hr. What also makes it difficult is the fact that you really are in the middle of nowhere on this road. In fact, we crossed a total of 2 towns before we got to El Calafate, about 650 kilometers away.
Part 1- Perito Moreno to Bajo Caracoles
So basically we went from Perito Moreno, leaving at 5h45 am to the town of Bajo Caracoles 123 kilometers away (this town is not on all maps). In Bajo Caracoles there is a small gas station that is not on the main road but rather in the town itself (on the left hand side of ruta 40 when you first see the town). Some people have told us that if you expect to get gas here it is a good idea to first buy a coffee in the attached restaurant as some motorcyclist who have gone straight to the pumps have been told that there is no gas for them. When we were there we definitely got the impression that buying a coffee before asking for gas was a good idea based on what we saw with some Argentineans that went straight to the pumps.
The good news about this stretch of road is that the first 50 kilometers are paved. After these 50 kilometers the road turns to ripio until you reach Bajo Caracoles. But the ripio in this section was actually quite easy. Basically we were able to go between 60 and 80 km/hr. In total it took us 2 hours to do this part.
Part 2 – Bajo Caracoles to the turnoff for Gobernador Gregores
Things start off ok for the first 50 kilometers with small bends in the road then you get your first taste of real wind as you drive a 50 kilometer straight stretch that gets pounded from the right hand side by gusts coming from nearby mountains. Were you were doing about 80 kilometers per hour your speed will (or rather should) drop down to a still respectable 50 kilometers per hour.
Once done with the straight stretch the road bends towards the Atlantic and you are treated to 50 kilometers of freshly paved road.
Part 3 – Turnoff for Gobernador Gregores to Tres Lagos
Assuming you aren’t going into Gobernador Gregores but rather heading straight down the 40 you are in for 180 kilometers of nothingness and hostile wind. This is the real difficult part and the first section of this stretch gives you a taste of things to come. Where moments before you were zipping along with the wind at your back on a nice paved road going about 110 kilometers per hour or more you are now reduced to 3rd and 2nd gear only (4th gear will remain a distant memory for a while but there are stretches coming up later where you can see if it is still there!).
So right about now would be the time to explain exactly what the road surface is like.
First off, from Perito Moreno to Tres Lagos there are 457 kilometers of which 360 are unpaved. Between these two towns there is only one gas station in the village of Tres Lagos unless you detour to Gobernador Gregores.
The unpaved sections are of varying quality:
-hard packed dirt with some loose gravel (about 20%)
-covered in small rounded stones except for vehicle tracks where the stones have been pushed aside (sometimes 2 tracks, sometimes 3 and sometimes 4) (about 35% of the road is like this)
-Covered in large, mostly rounded, half-fist sized stones except for tracks (about 35%)
-Covered in half-fist sized stones everywhere (maybe 5%)
-Covered in small rounded stones over the entire width of the road (about 5%)
Thankfully there is no sand on this road but because of these varying road conditions listed above your speed can vary between 110km/hr to 25 km/hr (we even had to come to a complete stop on two occasions as the wind kept pushing us off course). The trick is to make sure you are not going 110km/hr when you should be going 25.
On some of the road the tracks are barely visible because they aren’t much deeper that the rest of the road. This is because there isn’t much loose stuff on the surface to begin with. So you can easily zip along even in windy conditions without worrying if (when) you get blown off the track. In other words, the front wheel won’t catch in the stones that have built up on either side of the track if you can’t keep the rubber on the track because there is only a small 1 or 2 inch buildup of stones on either side. But what makes this road a killer is that the stones that have been pushed to either side of the track are often in piles over 6 inches high. So you find yourself driving in a track that is usually about 1 foot wide with 6 inches of half-fist sized stones built up on either side while you wrestle a 60 to 100 km/hr side wind that isn’t always constant. If you get pushed into this going too fast you go down unless you make a split decision to turn into that little wall of stones in which case you will probably make it over but the wind will ensure that you won’t be able to stop until you are in the ditch on the other side of the road.
Part 4 – Tres Lagos to El Calafate
In Tres Lagos there is a gas station. It is about 1 kilometer beyond the turnoff for the town itself. Look on the right hand side. After you have filled up you are on paved roads the entire way except for 20 kilometers of easy hard packed dirt.
So that’s it. We started off thinking to ourselves “this isn’t so bad” as we made our way to Bajo Caracoles. But on the last 5 kilometers before we got into Tres Lagos we were running exclusively in first gear as I was cursing the wind like a madman.
Hope this helps somebody out there!
|
7 Nov 2008
|
Contributing Member
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: ireland
Posts: 22
|
|
Eek!
Well thanks for the advice Brian.
I'm not due there for another few months, but now part of me thinks I need a friend to share the "picking it up" experiences!
Paddy
|
7 Nov 2008
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Montreal
Posts: 103
|
|
I forgot to mention that we were riding 2up fully loaded on an 1100gs. Usually 2up is a disadvantage but in this case I think the added weight helped to keep us on the road.
Another thing, there is traffic on this stretch of the 40 but it is light. We passed about a dozen cars during the day.
|
7 Nov 2008
|
|
The franglais-riders
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 1,185
|
|
You can also buy fuel at Estancia La Siberia, about 80kms north of Tres Lagos, although as everywhere in ruta 40, never aasume they are going to have some in stock.
And if you're really tired you can camp and eat there as well, nice friendly place.
I second what was said about Bajo Caracoles, not particularly friendly people. We waited an hour to get someone to give us fuel, served by some miserable g*t! Despite eating there the night before.
Hat off Brian and Marie: Perito Moreno - Calafate in one day! You must have been exhausted!
I don't think it is a difficult road IF you take your time. Just take your time, the wind (and over-confidence!) is a killer but the road is very wide and flat. It is easy to get too confident when the surface is good, speed up and get pushed by the wind into the soft stuff.
There are much (much!) worse road once you hit the Andes.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
|
|
|