Crossing the Andes

jongooligan

A mate is organising a trip to cycle C2C from the Valparaiso area (Chile) to somewhere near Buenos Aires (Argentina). I'm thinking of going with him but his planning is a little sketchy. Does anyone have any info on which passes are likley to be open in November for road bikes?

Any other info on prevailing winds, general weather conditions at that time of year, possible accommodation gratefully received.

Thanks

Jon

takeonafrica

You might want to try the Lonely Planet On your Bike forum (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/f ... forumID=32) also.

Accommodation: http://www.hostelworld.com/ is good, as is picking up flyers in other hostels. I found my guidebook was rapidly outdated for this region.

Weather: should be hot and sunny in November but cooler as you reach higher altitudes.

Have only backpacked this area, not cycled, but from what I recall the roads are generally good (except perhaps the Carretera Austral and into Patagonia, but suspect you won't be going that far south)
The Lake District region, south of Santiago, is beautiful and you could cross into Bariloche which is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. The road to Mendoza would probably be good too, but I haven’t travelled it.

Whichever way you go, I have no doubt it’ll be a great trip.
Helen

jongooligan

Lots of info on the Lonely Planet site. Thanks for the tip Helen

TorugartTim

We did more or less the same trip in reverse. The Christo Rendentor is the pass nearest the Santiago. It is fine on a road bike. There is a long tunnel at the top that you can't cycle through. But it is not a problem - the polic just wave down a bus of truck get them to give a lift.
We did it in an El Nino year, so the weather in Argentina was totally screwed. But I sure it will be fine in November.
We camped mostly, but there is no shortage of resonable hotels en-route.