INDIAN Cyclist TRAPPED in Deadly Chile Forest Fire 😱🔥 | EP 28

Look at this – people are saying I have covered 600 km in 4 days. I have broken my own record. It honestly feels like the temperature is 42 degrees. The wind is in my favour, so the cycle is almost flying.

Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram ji once again to everyone.

Right now, I am in Los Angeles. You must be thinking, “Has he reached Hollywood?” But no – I am in Chile. There is a city in Chile called Los Ángeles. The Los Angeles you usually hear about is in the USA. That one is newer; this one in Chile is quite old.

In the last video, you saw that I covered 500 km in three days and reached here. It is now 10:00 in the morning. Yesterday, I told you about a cyclist from Punjab, Kuldeep, whom I met here. He lives in this town. He came early in the morning, and we had breakfast together. We talked for quite some time, so I got a bit late starting today.

Today’s target is only 108 km. The wind is in my favour. However, something challenging is going to happen – the temperature is expected to touch 40 degrees. You might wonder how it suddenly became so hot. For the next two days, the temperature is going to be very high. In some areas along the route, there are forest fires burning. Santiago is about 500 km from here.

Dhanno and I are ready. Let’s get going.

I tried taking the cycle out through the gate without opening it fully – and yes, it passed through! This was the hostel. It cost me $30; I got a $5 discount.

I noticed something interesting here. The gas pipelines are properly tagged and marked. I used to think South America might not maintain high quality standards, but they do. Everything is checked properly before construction, especially because earthquakes are common here. Also, volcanic eruptions can happen anytime. So they must protect against both ground movement and volcanic ash. Quality control is very important here.

We were supposed to leave at 8:00 am, but it’s already 10:00 am. Still, since he invited me warmly for breakfast, it was worth it.

We are now on the inner highway. Once we merge onto the main highway, there will be heavy traffic. Come on, Dhanno – it’s just 100 km. After riding 160–180 km in a day, 100 km feels easy. But honestly, my body is tired. How much can it work?

Speed is around 24–25 km/h. Santiago is now 503 km away.

There are big company showrooms here. On the side, far away, there are forest fires burning. On my right, there is a town called Concepción, about 100 km away, where forests are burning heavily. Depending on the wind direction, the fire could spread this way. That might be why the temperature is crossing 40 degrees here. Normally, it doesn’t get this hot.

We have now said goodbye to the city. Around 15–20 km were within city limits, so there wasn’t much noise. Now that we are entering the highway, the noise will increase. We have come down from the 500 series to 495 km remaining. From 1,000 earlier, now we are in the 400 series. Today I will try to push it into the 300 series.

Roadside eateries have started appearing every 5–10 km. Earlier, there were none. Many local cyclists are riding too. Today is Sunday, so you see a lot of cyclists.

These roadside restaurants are called “Hosteria” here. Agriculture is very strong in this region – I forgot to mention that earlier.

With the wind in my favour, I am riding at 25–28 km/h. It feels amazing today.

I also saw some Mahindra XUV 500 vehicles here. But most of the cars I see are older models. New Mahindra vehicles are not visible. Chinese companies seem to have captured the market. Most new vehicles coming here are from China. China is growing rapidly.

I stopped for a small coffee – about ₹300. After coffee, those first five or six pedal strokes feel very heavy, but then the rhythm returns.

I accidentally left the highway and entered a bypass into a city. As soon as I entered, it felt like travelling from Chandigarh to Delhi. Even inside the town, there are small roadside eateries. There are many biker groups here. I even saw a Royal Enfield Himalayan.

Only 70–80 km remain now. I am thinking of pushing further because the wind is so supportive. It feels like I might stretch even more today.

In four days, I have covered 600 km – a new personal record.

Here, some people stand outside hotels holding menu boards to attract customers. One man is standing with a menu, saying he will serve a burger for ₹6,500. There is even a circus set up nearby, with equipment lying in the open.

Christmas has just passed, and people have decorated beautifully. They have made creative Christmas tree designs using cloth. It looks wonderful. Fashion plus festival decoration – and a real tree was saved from being cut.

It seems there is some event happening ahead; many cars are parked. Even in this small town, they have built a proper cycling route. I am really enjoying today’s ride.

And look – while riding, suddenly a beautiful waterfall appears by the roadside. It looks absolutely stunning.

People are going down there. Look at this – it’s like a gorge, and everything is built inside it. It feels like a small Niagara Falls. That’s the kind of feeling it gives. But here, between the mountains, the land is sharply cut. Normally, you don’t see something like this.

I parked Dhanno on the road and came here. I just took a turn from inside, and when I looked, it felt like a completely different world. There were tourists everywhere. Mostly local tourists. And honestly, when local tourists come, it feels more lively and enjoyable.

Then a cyclist came to me. He couldn’t speak English properly. He said, “Wait, wait… size, size… 27.5, small.” I gave him a tube and helped fix it. After helping him, I said, “Gracias, I am going.” He thanked me, and we moved on from the crowded place.

From here, you can go inside towards the waterfall. They have made a proper path for it. There’s also a police car parked there in case any problem happens. Since it’s Sunday, there’s a lot of crowd.

I saw a place called “Cabanas Don German.” They were saying rooms are available for 500. I thought, no way it’s 500 – it must be 1500. Anyway, we moved ahead.

Look at this – they are pouring water on logs of wood because the heat is too much. They keep them wet so that they don’t catch fire and their strength remains. Around here, especially teak trees are grown. They prepare the trees for five to seven years properly. Even water is poured underneath. I don’t know the exact reason – if you know, tell me.

We stopped at a petrol pump. Now pumps are coming regularly – every 10–15 km, sometimes 20 or 30 km. It feels good; you get a sense of support.

I felt like having kulfi. I’ve had too much coffee already. The juice here is fresh. If you buy juice in plastic bottles, they add sucrose and other things, which isn’t good. But this one is pure. It’s 35 degrees outside, and I’m thinking of covering as much distance as possible quickly. By 5 pm, I’ll take rest from 3 to 5 because it gets extremely hot. It feels like 42 degrees.

I parked Dhanno properly. The wind is in my favour, so I’m moving well. After drinking juice, I left again.

Every now and then, helicopters are flying with water. There is a forest fire somewhere nearby. Small planes are also flying with water. Fire everywhere. Do you understand? Fire!

On the side, you can see pine trees. Proper plantation is happening. Some trees are small; some have already been cut. They grow them for five to seven years as part of farming. Suddenly the heat has become intense. There’s fire all around. Thankfully, since it’s Sunday, trucks are not running. Otherwise, there is a long line of trucks on this road. Today, hardly any trucks are visible.

It’s 2:30 pm, and 35 km are still left. I was wondering where my glasses went – they flew off! I’ve been sitting under a bridge for 10–15 minutes, resting. There’s no proper place to sit, but here under the bridge, wind comes from both sides, so it feels nice.

In four days, I’ve ridden 600 km. After travelling for 10 years, I felt maybe my time was slowing down a bit. But the confidence is still alive. I can still pull off 1000 km in five to seven days if needed. That confidence is there. I just wanted to check my limits.

On my left side, the whole area is on fire. The red colour in the sky is because of smoke from the fire. The entire area is burning. The temperature is around 40 degrees. It looks green, but there is a lot of sunflower farming here too.

The National Highway authorities have built toilets for travellers and vehicles so people can stop here. Look at the smoke clouds – they are from the fire. Helicopters are flying to control it. The situation is really bad.

I tried checking the temperature on my phone, but there’s no internet. Outside the city, it switches to 3G. Inside the city, 4G and even 5G works in many places. One good thing – it’s very clean here. No garbage.

Because of the heat, my iPhone showed a warning. I thought it was due to overheating, but it was actually an evacuation warning because of the nearby fire. My phone kept buzzing. I’ll have to move ahead; otherwise, the police will stop vehicles in the next 5–7 km.

It’s 4:30 pm now. The temperature will increase even more. Sometimes at 6 pm, it even goes up to 40 degrees instead of decreasing. About 21 km are left to reach the target.

My feet started burning because of the heat. I removed my socks. I thought of eating some paneer or cheese. In this heat, you don’t even feel hungry. I only had juice the whole day and a small bread in the morning. Before entering the city, I’ll stop at a petrol pump and book a hotel.

Finally, I reached before 6 pm. I covered around 108 km today. I started at 10 am and reached around 5 pm. In seven hours, I completed 108 km.

If the wind is in your favour, you can cover this much distance easily. And sometimes, even in 12 hours, you can’t manage 50 km. This area feels like it has permanent heat. At the city entrance, they have planted palm trees, and there’s even a big gateway. It feels like I’m somewhere in Dubai or the UAE because it’s 40°C here.

But look at the cycle route – as soon as you enter the city, they have made a proper cycling lane. And it’s clean too. It’s not chaotic. Actually, my hotel is on the other side of the city. I think this place is called “Sianam” or something like that. Spanish words are very difficult to pronounce.

Look at the mess of overhead wires. Come on, Dhanno, don’t slow down in the city! Without you, I’d fall apart. And now we’ve reached the city centre. Wow, it’s beautiful. There’s a small market here, a park, and even some beggars. And there’s a church in front. What a lovely route – the trees are bending towards each other.

Another China Mall here. I already saw one earlier. They say every city here has two or three malls. Look, there’s a third one. I even saw Papa John’s – finally a pizza shop!

I booked a hostel. I got one bed, and all the luggage in the room is mine. I’m alone here. I’ve taken a shower, and now I’ll cook dinner. I have rajma, onions, and roti. It’s very hot outside, and there are fires everywhere. I just read the news – 15 people have died about 150 km behind from here because of the fire. When I was talking to you earlier about the fire warning on my phone, it wasn’t random. Suddenly, the fire had spread badly, and that’s why the evacuation alert came.

Anyway, I’m in the hostel kitchen now. Look – utensils, gas stove, microwave, fridge. I’ve added the tempering for rajma. I don’t have tomatoes; they spoil in this heat, so I didn’t carry any. I’ll cook it with onion tempering only. I’ll boil it properly with some water, and it’ll be ready. There’s a flat pan here to cook roti. These rotis come half-cooked, so I heat them properly. They’re made of refined flour, but still better than bread for me.

It takes just 15 minutes to prepare food. There’s no proper curd here. Only sweet yoghurt is available, which I don’t like. So I’ll manage without curd. Three more days maximum to reach my destination, then I’ll rest for 10–15 days.

The food is ready. I added lemon to the roti. No curd, but that’s fine. We eat what God gives us with gratitude. See you in the morning.

It’s 8 am now, and it’s already very hot. I packed everything. I didn’t take a shower. Honestly, I couldn’t sleep properly. When you are over-exhausted, sometimes sleep doesn’t come. In the last four days, I’ve ridden 600 km. Today, I’ll try 150 km. If I complete that, it’ll be 750+ km in five continuous days – that will be my peak.

Today is the last heavy ride day. After that, I might stop at Talca. From here (Chillán, maybe), I’ll go to Talca and find a hostel. Or I might ride another 100 km further to a city called Curicó. After that, I may take a bus because ahead there are tunnels and a big city, which is difficult to cross on a bicycle. So out of the last 100–150 km, I might take a bus. Not confirmed yet. Let’s see how today goes.

I still have four days because my target is to reach by 26 January. Even if 200 km remain, I can easily reach. But I feel like just continuing. The temperature is 40°C today and may go to 41°C. In the next city, it may touch 39°C. Hopefully, in two or three days, the temperature will drop a bit.

Dhanno is ready. One problem last night – a four-year-old child in the next room didn’t sleep and kept making noise. The walls were just plywood partitions. I was very disturbed. Anyway, I said goodbye to the uncle and headed towards the highway.

I’ve pushed my body to its limits. That’s the benefit of a cycle – if there’s traffic, you just move aside and climb through another way. The highway is ahead. Let’s push for 150 km today. The wind is calm today. For the last four days, the wind was strong and in my favour. Today, there’s no wind – you can see trees are not moving. It will be tough.

By noon, the temperature went from 35 to 38°C. I had already covered 70 km. It was very hot, so I stopped and ate pizza. I reached 80 km. Around 60 km were left. At a petrol pump, I found Subway earlier and now Domino’s too. Amazing infrastructure. The pizza cost around ₹1500 equivalent. In this heat, I needed energy.

Five days, 750 km – that’s my record. I’m laughing at myself. Your brother still has power! We’ll reach Alaska too, don’t worry.

Now I’ve entered a fully hot zone. I want to finish this heat zone quickly. After eating pizza, I sat under a tree near a wall beside the highway. It’s around 39–40°C. The biggest problem here isn’t just temperature – the sun burns your skin. The air itself isn’t that hot, but the sunlight feels like fire on your body.

After pizza, I regained energy and covered another 20 km. Around 40 km left now. I’ll finish it in two or three hours.

But there was a problem – I kept recording, and the microphone was off! Also, the memory card got full. I didn’t notice. So many clips might be lost. I switched to the internal memory of my DJI Action camera (about 50 GB). Let’s see what survived. I don’t have the energy to check on the laptop now.

I left the highway and entered inside. Only 2–3 km left. I had already booked the hostel. It was 6 pm, and I completed 150 km today. Average speed was 15 km/h. For the last few days, it’s been even higher because of tailwind. From tomorrow, when the wind turns against me, I’ll start complaining! Funny how selfish humans are – I didn’t praise the wind when it was helping me, but I’ll complain when it’s against me.

I noticed something in this country – buses are everywhere. I hardly see trains. Double-decker luxury buses everywhere. Roads are full of buses and cars.

Only 1.5 km left. I saw an old Scorpio GLX parked there. This whole region for the last 100–150 km feels dry, like a desert.

They’re building an underpass – maybe for railway, though I haven’t seen a single train moving. As evening comes, the heat increases. It feels strange here.

I reached the hostel. It’s a small room, no air conditioning. Grapes are growing above. The lady said there’s a swimming pool at the back. I asked for a fan, and thankfully she gave one. There are two players here too.

And here’s the swimming pool. She said, “Go bathe in it.” It’s really nice here. I’ll sit in the pool for a while. The water will cool me down in this intense heat.