Ruta 40
 

Has anyone who made all the Ruta 40 in Argentina?

hace 3 años hice la parte sur de la 40 (o caminos y rutas cercanos) desde San Rafael, Mendoza, hasta Rio Turbio en Santa Cruz y de ahi a Punta Arenas, Chile. Puedo informarte si estás por viajar (ahora ya hace frio)

Olá novamente Raul,
Entonces,

Estou planejando uma grande viagem, para percorrer toda a Ruta 40.

Iniciando em Rio Gallegos e terminando em La Quiaca, divisa com a Bolívia.

Quero coletar informações a respeito para montar o projeto.

Grande abraço,

Raul,
I'm planning a trip no do all the Ruta 40, leaving Rio Gallegos, and arriving em La Quiaca, in the border of Bolívia.
Just about it I'm colecting information OK?
Regards,

Yes, in November 2008. What do you want to know?

I posted a report here: There (Ushuaia) and back again - ADVrider

Cheers

Yes, it's lovely if a little breezy at times...

Very good Frodo,
I'll see your website, then I'll write you OK? :thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:

crretera austral??
 

hola yo soy de Ecuador y en diciembre salgo para la carretera austral, quisiera armar la ruta mas linda entre chile de ida y argentina de regreso, podr

We rode 4500 km's of Ruta 40 in Feb and Mar of this year...from Cancha Carrera just inside the Argentine frontier near Torres del Paine, Chile, then north to Cafayate, just south of Salta.

It was "breezy" at times, rugged and remote at times, and smooth sailing on pavement at other times. Probably my favorite part of a 25,000km ride!



This Way UP!

...if it's gravel what you want, you have to hurry they are paving a lot...
Cheers from Uyuni

Ruta 40.....
 

Hey,
Just got back a few months ago from a New York City to Tierra Del Fuego trip. We did a large part of Ruta 40. It's hard riding, by far the hardest of the whole trip. It is cold, the wind is endless (when camping on the side of the road, we would have to find a hill to set the tents up behind, and tie the bikes to the ground as they would often blow over no matter which way we faced them) and the gravel is very sharp. It is an amazing test of endurance, but be sure to have:
1. Heated handgrips
2. Windproof/waterproof jacket/pants
3. Tire repair kit & air compressor (again - the gravel is sharp!)
4. Good camping gear
5. Lots of LOCK-TITE - - we would stop for the day and discover that pieces of the bikes had just vibrated off (my travelling companion lost his chain guard without noticing....) My frame bolts started to come loose from the vibration.
6. A buddy. Waiting for a cargo truck to come by when you've dumped your bike and can't pick it up solo sucks.
Other than that, it's amazing, desolate, beautiful, monotonous, and I'd recommend that everybody ride it (and besides, when you finish, slapping that RUTA 40 sticker on your bike makes it all worth it : )
Cheers,
O.

de regreso por Argentina tenés 2 opciones: por la costa atlántica (ruta 3) y contra la Cordillera (ruta 40). Yo fuertemente te recomiendo la segunda. A tus órdenes por cualquier información
Raúl

I've got to chime in to say that I didn't find Ruta 40 all so terribly difficult. I didn't dump the bike (though there were a few near misses), survived the winds, had no flat tires, never craved heated grips, didn't run out of gas..... Plus, I've definitely found more difficult roads elsewhere in South America, often when I'm not really looking for them. Rainy season in the tropical jungles seems to bring out the worst in quite a few routes.

Having said that, it wasn't easy either. In a lot of places there are preferable alternatives--like the full length of the Caraterra Austral. After a certain point you'll have seen enough ripio and there's little purpose to seeing any more. IMHO.

Hope that helps.

Mark

(from Venezuela, where the gas is so cheap they drive big old American V-8's from the otherwise-forgettable 1970's)

Done a large amount of it in March/April this year. At one point we had about 10 bikes on their sides as we were getting blown straight off . We just left them on the ground. As soon as we got them up they would be over again. The Argentinian guide said "its not that bad, when it is bad it flips cars over" !
Some parts of it is like riding on a shingle beach and with the wind it makes it pretty lairy. As we got higher the ground turned into mud and slop then into snow. Its all a test but its one of the points we look back on fondly for getting out in one piece.
A lot of new tarmac sections run parallel to the road so you can ride along them for short periods until an unmade bridge welcomes you.

I reckon within the year it will be finished so its definatly worth the effort!

I have done it from north of Salta to Ushuia with one or two short detours.