What the word ´retired´ means to the dutch...

...is 100k a day and sleeping in abandon factories at night! I hope i am bike touring when im 62, in the same way i am while i´m 24. lots of numbers in this post, so if you don´t like numb-bers, i suggest turning off your monitor. Map less in Calama, Chile, i had no idea of exactly how far Santiago was. but over the past thirteen days, i have figured out that its about 1480k. Since my plane for Columbia leaves on the 24th from Santiago, i had to make a daily goal of 130k, with hopes of ariving at or around the 22nd. The desert turned out to be a great place to fly through, and be alone in... my tires and chain sing to me in a kind of universal hum.

In Alto Carmen i meet a Fellow Northwester and BMXer in his VW van, i tell him about my 130k a day santiago or bust plan and he says, ´´auhh man, you got it!´´ With that i finally feel like i´m going to school for the procrastination factor is high alone side the kilometers (1500 in 13 days).

The road side is litter with bottles, and plastic bags the talk to me in the headwind. The used truck tires are strewn every where and look like dead snakes, discontroted with thier inards hanging out. The desert can be mind numbing and monatanious, but my boardum is abaded by looking for things on the side of the road, i found 2 strawberries, 3 peaches, potatos, kale, bread, lots of onions, sandles, a peice of candy and a leatherman multi tool! All the while the head and side wind fill my ears with white noise.

A certain violence is adheared to with each passing semi, Violence of an unidetifiec nature, but when metal passes you at 6 times your speed with in arms reach, some times with out warning, one can´t help but assiciate a violent conotation with this event.

I am of the firm belife that anything is posible in a pair of skate shoes, mine currently have custom tin can metal inserts to stiffen´em up. Was give 2k of tomatoes, bread, avacados, a lunch in a vinard, and a place to stay by thevarious friendly people of chile. Why bother conserving the desert of chile when its covered in mines? Due to the earth´s rotation, the winds come daily from the south, while i make my way southward, a combo leaving hill climbing, even while going down hill. Saw 11 windmill, but using less electicity, not finding new sorces is key (i think). And why not just burn up all the oil, for that will surly end technologies progrestion. i suspect we will be back in the stone age in no time for how could we progress with out the aid of that black gue. In putaendo, the river runs dry, while the irigation ditches flood the vinares and farm land of this man controlled fertile vally. I am serinated with guitar music while fixing a flat at mario´s house before making my way to Santiago to rest for a day and wash two weeks of snot, sweet, and dirt out of my close. Tomarrow, Bucaramunga Columbia, for a brake from bike touring to ride BMX with my good friend Carlos for two weeks!

Santiago spriter is resting his pistons.

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