Surviving Patagonia Wind Storm Ride | Dangerous Cycling Days | Pole to Pole Ep.15

It feels amazing – you can really sense the pressure of the wind. The wind is blowing at 69.5 km per hour. It’s the first day. My legs are going to sink in. I’ll need a massage. Today, even someone like me is exhausted. It feels like there’s a dead dog inside – that’s how tired I am. My tent is ready now. It’s 10:30 and the sun is just setting.

“May I do good deeds and fear nothing.” That’s the spirit. Baba ji made coffee. Cheers! What beautiful views. There is the Central Police Office. I’ve had my coffee. They even charge money to use the bathroom here. As they say, God takes care of everything. We have just made a salad. Whose job are we going to finish? Let us go. We completely twist Haryanvi English. The wind has made our condition terrible. It is impossible to ride a bicycle.

Good morning. Salaam. Namaste. Sat Sri Akal. Ram Ram to everyone. Right now, I am in Punta Arenas, the southernmost city of Chile. In the previous video, you saw that I had reached Punta Arenas with great difficulty and in a very low mood. Behind me, you can see my hostel. I have just come out of the hostel. I want to explore the city a little before leaving.

You may notice some changes in me. When I first arrived here, some of my equipment had been damaged. I parked my cycle here and then went to Peru for a week. Today’s date is around 10th December, and I am shooting this video today. Some of my friends had invited me to Peru for four days, so I went there and now I’m back. Today, I will pick up my cycle and luggage and move on. But before that, I want to explore the city because this is the main hub for people travelling to Antarctica.

Many travellers go to Antarctica from here. There are flights from this airport to an island in Antarctica. From there, you take a cruise, and you don’t have to cross the Drake Passage – the dangerous stretch of sea that many of you were talking about.

The city looks quite beautiful, though it feels old. The houses are built in Spanish style. Most of them are made of tin sheets, probably with thermal insulation in between to handle the weather. I am moving towards the centre.

Oh wow! I found Japanese influence here. There is a Japanese restaurant. It is said that this area has had strong Japanese influence. There are also many Chinese people here, and many Chinese tourists visit.

Now I have reached the coast. I came here earlier by ferry. This is the ferry terminal. The building near the coast is made of concrete. Building multi-storey buildings here is nearly impossible because the winds are extremely strong. When I leave the city, you’ll understand how strong they are.

This is the coast. You can see many boats here. And look – this is the temple. It is currently closed. This statue was built in 1916. You can see statues of Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and Rabindranath Tagore. This temple is considered the southernmost Hindu temple in the world. Gandhi ji always carried a watch; he was very punctual. Normally, the temple remains closed because no one stays here permanently, but it has been built very nicely.

Plantation is very difficult here because of the strong winds. Still, they have managed to protect some trees. They must have worked for years to preserve them. It looks very green, which is surprising.

Before leaving, I had parked my bicycle at someone’s house, in their store. I have now collected my belongings and am waiting for a taxi. I booked it through Uber – yes, Uber works here.

Everything is ready now. I did some shopping in Punta Arenas and prepared my bicycle, Dhanush. Everything is set. With me is our new rider and companion, Mr Dalal.

He says, “I’m just a simple person. My name is Ranbir Dalal. I’ve been watching Raj bhai’s videos and thought I’d join him for a ride. I live in Washington DC and have been there for the past 30 years. I work in software. I had some time off, so I came to Punta Arenas to ride with him for a few days.”

He has brought his own bike. We will try to ride together for as many days as possible – maybe 4, 5, or even 10 days, depending on his leave. At least we will ride together from here to Puerto Natales, which is about 250 km away. Later, if possible, Raj bhai may visit the US, and we might do a longer ride there.

We have taken all our supplies because for the next 300 km, there will be nothing – it’s like a desert. And the winds will be extremely strong. Punta Arenas is famous – or rather infamous – for its winds. Sometimes they say the wind speed reaches 150 km per hour. You won’t see many tall buildings here. Most are only one or two storeys high because of the wind.

We are leaving at around 3:00 pm today, which is unusual because I normally start early in the morning. But the good thing is that sunset here happens very late – around 11:00 pm.

Right now, I am in the Free Economic Zone of Punta Arenas, also called the duty-free zone. One interesting fact is that around 40% of the Indian-owned shops and showrooms here belong to Indians. There are two Sindhi families in Punta Arenas, and people say that these two families control 30–40% of the city’s business. The temple I showed you earlier was built by them.

Someone told me that one family alone owns around 3,500 houses here, all rented out to tourists. They also own many car showrooms and mega stores across Chile. They have been here for a very long time. I had parked my bicycle at Mahesh bhai’s place. He has a big brand called “New Work”. I am thankful to him for letting me park my cycle safely.

And now, for the first time, I am starting my ride at 2–3 in the afternoon instead of early morning.

Sunset happens very late here, so there is no problem. Look on the side – here comes a Mega Store. All these Mega Stores belong to the same family. There are many such stores. “New Work” is on the other side, the store where Mahesh bhai works. This whole area is an economic zone – a duty-free zone.

Many people come here from Argentina to buy goods because it works out cheaper. Argentina is expensive. Chile is slightly cheaper, and in the duty-free zone you save around 18% tax. Tomorrow we will do a small experiment. I bought a new camera. A YouTuber friend, Vishnu bhai, was coming from Chile via China, so I asked him to bring it for me. It was cheaper that way. I really needed an action camera. My GoPro is not working, and my last camera was lost on the way while I was travelling from Iceland to the USA.

Today is my first day riding with Mr Dalal. I met him for the first time today. Let’s see how the ride goes. You all tell me. He is slightly older than me, so I have to speak carefully! Overall, it’s fun.

The cycle lane will end soon. His small car might trouble him a bit. This is almost the end of Punta Arenas. From here, the city nearly finishes. This is the terminal. They have kept boats and even cannons here for decoration. The terminal is nicely built.

Mr Dalal will ride with me until Puerto Natales. Let’s begin in God’s name. Look, there is a dead mouse here – probably run over by a car. No, no, don’t leave the stand like that, straighten it.

Look at this house – they’ve even built a tower. The sea is very close. Now we have crossed the city. There is still traffic because this road leads towards the airport, which is about 20–22 km from the city.

The municipality has built a roadside park here. There is even a camping site. It’s written here that you can camp. It’s already 5:00 pm. If I were alone, I would camp here. Let’s ask sir what the plan is. The weather has turned cloudy and looks like rain. Let’s see how long it stays like this.

There is a police station behind us – the Central Police Office. We made coffee there and drank it comfortably inside after asking the officer. Now we are ready to go.

We are adjusting the luggage. The strap broke because I tightened it too much. Maybe we’ll find a needle and thread later to fix it. Otherwise, we will buy a bungee rope from the next market. The weather keeps changing – a few drops of rain, and now sunshine again. That’s how it is here.

My jacket is completely wet at the back. It might be sweat, or maybe rainwater that seeped down. It’s very wet.

Let’s move. After 20 km there is a petrol pump. We might stop there. In the next 200 km, there is hardly any town, so stopping at the petrol pump makes sense. Let’s go. The wind is extremely strong. It’s very difficult to ride. You’ll see – the cycle keeps tilting because of the wind.

Look at this – sometimes sunshine, sometimes cold. These wind turbines are huge. One turbine alone can supply electricity to an entire factory.

Now we have reached a place called Rio Verde. The winds are so strong that we can hardly move forward. Only 6–8 km remain for today’s target. It’s already 8:30 pm. The wind has exhausted us. Sir looks completely tired.

But what beautiful views! Behind us there is a lake, and I can see my reflection in it. Only 4 km remain. My voice is shaking because of the cold. We are riding on Route 9. From here, Route 255 will branch off towards Argentina after about 100–150 km.

It is 9:45 pm and still no sunset. Finally, we found a place to sleep tonight – at a petrol pump. We rode 55 km today, but it feels like we have done 100 km because of the wind.

Sir, you got stuck on the very first day! He says his legs will hurt tomorrow. I told him not to worry – I will give him a massage.

We asked the petrol pump owner if he had a room. He said no room, but we can sleep here and give whatever tip we like. He even charges for using the bathroom! Still, we are thankful. As they say, God takes care of everything.

Now we will adjust sir’s cycle, then cook food, and then say good night. It will be around 11:00 pm by the time we finish cooking. The good thing is we have electricity, water, a roof over our heads, and even Wi-Fi. So we can charge our devices.

My tent is ready. I have laid out the mattress and sleeping bag. Now sir is setting up his tent. He said he will do it himself. The weather looks amazing. I have already chopped onions and am preparing the tempering for our meal.

Today we are making rajma with tomato and onion. I’ll prepare the tempering and just add the spices. The tempering is ready. Look at the weather – it’s becoming dangerous. The wind outside is definitely strong. If there were no wind in this area, it would be very beautiful. Just look at this amazing sunset. It’s 10:30 pm and the sun is only now setting.

One good thing is that we got a roof over our heads. The winds have become very strong now. It feels like you could almost fly away. The last 10–15 km today were very tough. It took us nearly two hours to cover just 15 km. In total, we rode about 55 km today. We started around 2:00 pm and reached at 9:30 pm – about 7½ hours for 55 km. That’s actually good considering the winds.

The food is ready. It’s 11:00 pm now. Time for dinner. The rotis are ready, the rajma is ready. Let’s begin in God’s name. Raj bhai has made rajma curry and rotis. Whatever it is, we eat it with gratitude.

Good morning, friends! The lions are awake. The luggage is still lying around. Sir has made tea. Let’s have some tea – green tea, nice and hot. The wind has already started again. Today we will play with the wind – we’ll become “Khatron Ke Khiladi”. It’s 7:30 am. We’ll leave by 8:00 am. The “feels like” temperature is 0°C, though the actual temperature is 3–4°C. The wind is already strong. Today we have to ride 50 km.

Let’s go. After 50 km we’ll try to stop at a small guest house. The weather for the next two days is bad, so we’ll see if we can stay there.

Look, there’s a fox walking around. You don’t usually get to see foxes like this. It’s coming towards me.

We have come about 15–20 km and are doing a “good deed” – making coffee. The winds are very strong. We made coffee and are having bread with it. Dip the bread in tea, just like we used to dip Parle-G biscuits. I still do that! It’s available everywhere, whether in India or around the world.

It might rain. Yesterday it drizzled, maybe today too. Sir is a little behind, so we are waiting for him. Someone has built a house here – looks deep and old. There are burrows made by animals. It seems someone like me once stayed here. Inside, there’s even a dead dog and a gas cylinder. It looks abandoned for years. I came here for shelter from the rain.

We have been riding for 5–6 hours and have only managed 30 km. Very slow ride because of strong wind. When it rains, the wind slows down. But as soon as the rain stops, the wind starts again. Now we actually want rain so that the wind stops!

I’ve added extra layers. Two layers underneath and now four layers on top. We made a salad – chickpeas, onion, tomato, cucumber, black pepper, and salt. After this, we’ll make tea. It’s 2:30 pm and still 20 km left. It will take at least 3–4 more hours because it’s completely flat terrain, and the flatter it is, the stronger the wind.

We finished lunch and tea. At junctions like this, they build waiting areas or bus shelters. They are rare – maybe one every 40–50 km. Let’s go.

We had just started again when rain caught us. This is Ruta del Fin del Mundo – the “Route of the End of the World”. It’s raining lightly. There are ostriches here – they run away scared. Look at that eagle sitting there. The wind is so strong everything is swaying.

I’m noticing beautiful flowers – each one different and lovely.

It’s 5:30 pm. Still 10 km left. It has taken us 8 hours to cover 40 km – the slowest possible. Even downhill we have to pedal hard because of the wind. We’re not sure if we’ll even find a hotel ahead. It’s a small village, so hopefully something will be available.

Today the wind speed is around 30–35 km/h. Tomorrow it may reach 50–60 km/h. That’s considered normal here. With tailwinds, it can feel like 70–80 km/h.

Look at the lake – and ducks walking with their babies. I’ve seen at least 8–10 such families. It feels wonderful.

All day the weather troubled us, soaked us, and now at the end the sun has come out. Only 4 km left and it’s 7:00 pm. We may even have to walk uphill. The wind is still around 30 km/h.

Finally, we found a small market area and a house where they rent out a room. It costs $25 per person, so $50 for both of us. Just a double bed, bathroom, and shower – that’s enough. It’s 8:00 pm. It took us 10½ hours to cover 50 km. You can imagine the condition. Inside I’m sweating, outside it’s cold. The temperature feels like 0°C, maybe actually 4–5°C. I can barely keep my eyes open. Time to unload and sleep.

I slept here last night. Sir has decided to go back – he will take a bus. I’m staying because look at this – the wind speed is 69.5 km/h. The sun is out, which is good, but look at the wind outside. Riding a bicycle in this is impossible.

This instrument shows the wind speed and pressure. That’s the house where I stayed. The wind is nearly 70 km/h. If we had to ride into this wind, it would be impossible. Yesterday we rode in 25–30 km/h wind and it took 10 hours. At 70 km/h, it’s not possible.

Today is the third day we have been stuck here. Three cyclists from Italy arrived last night. They are also going to the bus station to catch a bus. I decided to rest one more day and wait for the wind to reduce. Yesterday the wind even reached 80 km/h. If I had to go the opposite direction, it would be even harder.

Finally, today is the third day and we have decided to go to the bus station with our bicycles. For the last three days, we waited for the wind to calm down. But today the forecast says 70 to 100 km/h winds – impossible to ride.

Sir is going to the bus stand. I’m also going with him. Let’s see what happens next. You will know in the next video what we decided to do.

Until then, stay happy, stay busy, stay cheerful, stay healthy.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.