Summer Riding in Uruguay

[majl]

Last week my family and I returned from our annual trek to Uruguay to visit my wife's family. We stay in Punta del Este, a vacation hotspot frequented by folks from Argentina (like my wife and her family), Brazil, and Paraguay, among others.

I took my Ritchey Breakaway Cross down there for the first time this year. A couple of years ago, I took an older Stumpy hardtail and left it there, but this year decided that to really get out and have some fun exploring, the Breakaway Cross was the way to go.

It was my first trip with the bike and although it took a bit longer than expected to pack it up the first time, I eventually got everything to fit and it traveled remarkably well in the supplied case. After 22 hours door-to-door, the bike arrived safe and sound and after assembling it up, I enjoyed some wonderful rides over the course of two weeks and saw some beautiful countryside. The weather this time of year is well, about as good as it gets. :D

I've included a couple of photos here along with a link (http://majl.zenfolio.com/p656123861) to a few more shots I snapped with my trusty iPhone while I was out and about. Hope you enjoy them!

Assembled and ready to go at the workshop...

http://majl.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p1068145535-4.jpg

A little bit of dirt...

http://majl.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p954088739-4.jpg

A little bit of pavement...

http://majl.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p1052863677-4.jpg

[Louis]

Neat.

Did you see any other bikes while riding?

[Ray]

Nice "workshop"!

-Ray

[mike p]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

Mike

[toaster]

Forecast for Punta de Este looks like temps in the mid-eighties. Tell us more about your trip. Sounds like a nice place to travel.

[SEABREEZE]

Having caught a couple differnt segments on House Hunters International, my wife and I have said that would be a great place to visit. Life there seems to be very laid back and relaxing, and not very crowed.

Enjoy your stay.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Put this thread together with Thompson's inevitable upcoming taunts, er, make that "reports" from Cabo and Cabin Fever is going to be out of control around here in no time!

BBD

[majl]

Our place is about 10-15 miles west of Punta del Este itself, in a locale named Punta Ballena. There's a highway that runs from Punta del Este to Montevideo (where we fly into) that was the launch pad for some of my rides on this trip.

I don't particularly like riding on the highway (it's 2 lanes in both directions) but most all of the vehicle traffic is used to seeing bicycles and slower moving mopeds on the side of the road so they generally give you a wide berth.

In the towns, there are a number of folks who use bicycles as their main form of transportation, so yes it's pretty common to see bicycles down there. As far as high-end road bikes and riders clad in lycra, they are far less common, but I would maybe see 1 or 2 other roadies along the highway when I was out.

The farm roads that I travel on though - different story. I was generally out there by myself. In 3 years of riding down there, I've never seen another rider on these dirt roads. It's pretty isolated and over a 3-hour period I may come across no more than 5 vehicles. :) Much of this I believe is because there's really no mapping of these dirt roads, so the roadies that do venture out tend to stick along the major thoroughfares.

Back in my motorcycling days, I had a Garmin Quest. I still use it as my car GPS unit, and armed with it, along with Google Earth, I have my own network of trails and roads tracked onto the Quest and can plan new routes.

I've been going there for the last 15 years, and my wife has been there every year since birth. It's a beautiful place to visit. The Uruguayans have a tranquil, laid-back pace of life that you just don't get here. It's a wonderful place to unwind and spend a couple of weeks recharging your batteries.