High altitude and vertigo

Finally, I've broken it in! It took a while, in the interim I have been quite embarrassed by my rugged, outdoorsman status, trying to pretend the groomed island between the lanes of Santiago's ring road is off-road. It has been taking up my dining room wondering if is destined to suburbia with the occasional pavement thrown in. "Surely there must be more to life?"

Well, yesterday it earned its name, and we breathed (or rather gasped) fresh wilderness air. It's not called a mountain bike for nothing, so I took it to the mountain. I didn't return with a stone tablet, but rather with a flat. Luckily a slow one that I only noticed this morning.

One hour and 40 hairpin bends out of Santiago you arrive at La Parva. One of the ski areas that lurks at 3200m somewhere between here and El Plomo, which still has some snow, but at La Parva the only way to go skiing righ now is to fall off your bike. After enthusiastically jumping on my bike and sprinting away for the first 5 metres I was not so gently reminded of the altitude (well thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it), needless to say granny gear and I are now one.

Now this is why I thought it would be fun to live in Santiago, and what a jol, especially the downhill part :)





















Curve 10 of 40, Bain would be proud! Nice touch, they're all numbered.

















La Parva on the approach.

















Fresh ice melt stream, some ski lift pylons heading up the left.






















Looking towards Santiago...It is still summer down below, I promise.













La Parva, where we came from. That is El Colorado, another ski area in the distance.









All white in winter.

At about 3pm I received a call... "someone's bailed on me, you interested?", and so I landed up at U2's Vertigo concert at Chile's national stadium along with 70 000 of my closest friends. It was an incredible concert. At stages it got a bit preachy about poverty and peace, as U2 are prone to do, but I guess in this day and age someone needs to say these things. Especially since politicians are too busy trying to get reelected to tell the truth and say what counts. Ridiculously expensive, but magic concert, and there were plenty of the classics to not make me feel too old.

















The magic of a concert in Santiago.... the beautifully sunset lit up Andes.

















Not called vertigo for nothing.... rrwwwaaaallllfffff
















U2 go preachy... pretty cool message though! I wonder if the car bombing, embassy burning, gungho types like U2???


















Sign of the times: Gone with the lighter... wave your cell phone...

















One of the classics (haha sorry). Apologies the dodgy phone photies.

Great Sunday... now I just need my legs to become friends with me again. A rarified air and classic song wish for you this week.