The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Northern Argentina and the Ruins of Quilmes

April 8th to April 19th

Ride Coordinator: Cindy DiMassa
Report by: Nancy Kirk

Fantastico!  The combination of the beautiful landscapes, challenging riding and wonderful cultural experiences, made this a truly great and unique adventure.  This was BAC’s maiden ride into South America and one we all agreed should be repeated.  The ride was lead by Cindy DiMassa and supported by Experience Plus who provided 4 quides, 2 bus drivers, 1 SUV with bike trailer and 1 large bus.  Our quides were fun, friendly, knowledgable and extremely attentive to our needs allowing the ride to be at a rating/level that suited each indivual rider from a 1A to a 3C.

Our riding began in Salta and headed north where we climbed through a cloud forest with cascading green foilage, bromelids and waterfalls.  There were few cars, however, we shared the road with cows, bulls, horses, lots of friendly dogs and the occasional gaucho.  Heading further north the landscape was more arid and the mountains became eroded and streaked with brilliant colors and scattered with the large cardone cactus.  Our ride from Purmamarca over the Cuesta de Lipan was nothing short of spectacular.  Six of our eighteen riders climbed the 21 switchbacks, 6500 ft,  to crest at just under 14,000 ft at the top.  All 18 riders achieved personal bests for highest altitude climbed.  Many joined the elite 6 for a 13 mile descent down to the salt flats on the other side.

We shuttled back south and then rode back into Salta experiencing the bike path that tooks us straight through the heart of Salta and then a climb up to the top of the gondola for a beautiful view of the city. Continuing  south  we rode downhill along a large lake to a beautiful hotel overlooking the lake with a wonderul but cool swimming pool.  Riding further south we went through many microenvironments from cool mist and green to the driest deserts on earth.  At times it was easy to image you were riding on the floor of the Grand Canyon or in the Utah Canyonlands looking up at the beautiful mountains of the Andes which are as high as 28,000ft.

The roads were good, well paved with some areas of gravel and rough spots that were pointed out by our guides.  Each day the route was premarked with easy to follow chalk arrows.  There was minimal traffic and decent shoulders.

Our hotels were good each unique with its own charm.  In Purmamarc we stayed in an award winning “green”  hacienda style hotel with wonderful cakes for breakfast and baby llamas that we all had a chance to bottle feed.  The village market was fantastic and most everyone bought a souvenir.  Our visit to the Santa Anita Ranch and owner Carlos, was informative, charming and a highlight of the trip.   We visited his private archeologic museum, goat herd and enjoyed a wonderful carne asada bbq complete with homemade goat cheese and a swooning seranade by Carlos and his quitar.  In Tafi del Valle, Tucuman we stayed at a beautiful working cattle ranch high up in the moutains and clouds. 

In Cafayate we toured a winery and enjoyed a guided hike through the riverbed and spectacular rock formations.  In Salta we had a guided tour to the High Altitude Museum and saw the 500 year old frozen Incan mummies that were discovered in 1996.  And we were treated to felit lomo, a baseball sized steak, that is bar none the best steak ever!

Go for the riding, go for the culture, go for the adventure, go for the beef,  just go.