ICE 2 ICE Live Blog

Day 69

Real dark bread

Day 69

Real dark bread

At the beginning of today’s stage I had to cycle uphill. From our night stop it was a climb to 2000 meters of elevation. It is probably the last time that we come to this high altitude, because the mountains of the upcoming Andes crossing are significantly lower.

On the descent, we were rewarded with an incredible view of the fascinating landscape of northern Chile. The many mines we passed show how rich this area is in ​​mineral resources. Today I cycled along the Chilean coast for the first time. From black sand, over white sand to stone beach we saw everything. On the many reefs the waves break breathtakingly beautiful! Here it is deserted and more like a moonscape.

By now I really struggle mentally. The moments when I can laugh with my team about a short joke become less and less. Today they had a great surprise with them from shopping: real dark bread! Of course, this is not comparable to Ströck’s excellent bread, but at least it had a touch of bread from home.

We see many Chilean flags that are hung everywhere because of the national holiday. They work perfectly as wind indicators. Currently the wind is only a bit weaker and keeps turning.

After almost 300km and 3200 meters climb in height we reached our night stop. The last kilometers of the night went relatively well today. However, the temperature differences make it difficult for me. It is warmer here on the coast, but it gets on top of the mountains. This also means that I have to wear more and of course sweat heavily on climbs. I just hope for less wind in the next few days, so I can cycle a greater distance during the day. The North and South continents are not comparable at all. This wind and the many meters of height difference here are just grueling.