Last week I did a day trip on Ruta Provincial 13, between Mendoza and the town of Uspallata. The road is locally nicknamed, “La Casa de Piedra“, the House of Rock. I didn’t take many photographs, so there’s no separate photo gallery, just the video below. I hope you enjoy it. And if you’re interested in a discussion of the techniques of off-road riding, keep reading.
Technically, this is not off-road riding. It is a road. But in Argentina, having a highway number, doesn’t mean it’s a highway. Ruta 13 is little more than a 4WD track along most of it’s 97 km length. It was definitely a challenging ride, but this is the sort of thing the Ténéré 700 was designed for. It’s the motorcycle version of a jeep – the suspension, steering, ground clearance, indeed the whole bike is designed to handle exactly these sorts of conditions.
I am the weak link.
Off-road riding is not my strong suit. I’ve spent most of my motorcycle life on pavement, riding motorcycles designed for pavement. Riding on sand, loose gravel and other soft surfaces requires slightly different skills. But I’ve never let that stop me. There’s still lots of room for improvement, but the amount of gravel here in South American means that I’ve had lots of practice in the past few months. I am improving, but I’m still a little nervous when blacktop ends.
One of the main differences of riding off-road is that it helps to stand up on the foot pegs. This seems counter-intuitive, but the physics works – the motorcycle doesn’t know where your body is in space, it only knows where your weight contacts the bike. Standing actually lowers the center of gravity from the seat to the level of the pegs. You may see on some of the video above, where the point of view changes when I’m standing – something I should do more of.
Standing also allows your knees and ankles to absorb the bumps. When you’re sitting the jolt goes directly up your spine.
It also helps to loosen your hand grip on the bike – grip with your knees instead. The bike is naturally going to move around a bit on a soft surface, but momentum and the gyroscopic effect of the wheels means that it wants to go straight and stay upright. Having a death-grip on the handle bars doesn’t help. It’s a bit like giving a horse it’s head.
Stay in control, but relax – let the bike do what it’s designed to. The main reason I fell on this trip was that I was going a little too slow, lost the gyroscopic effect and hence my balance. But the only damage was some scratches in the paint and dents in my pride.
If you want a really good explanation of off-road riding skills, click on this link: The Dirty Dozen: The 12 Basics of Off-Road Riding.
Wow John – unbelievable – great tour! You really could see how the suspension was working!
And yes hopefully you weren’t going as fast as it looked but interesting about keeping the speed up enough – just like paddling a Nelo! 😊
You’re absolutely right about the paddling comparison! The mental part too. Confidence and a positive attitude go a long way. If you think you’re going tip, then you will.
Some of your route looks like my daily bike ride. The level of concentration needed to avoid the larger rocks precludes sight seeing. Looks like you we’re having fun!
What an awesome ride!! Thx for sharing 🙂
It’s pretty spectacular riding here – challenging, but fun. Sometimes it’s hard to keep your focus on the road/trail. I just wish you and my other two-wheeled buddies were here to share it!!
Absolutely loved the video! What a ride! Some of those ruts and drop offs are scary!. Glad you and bike are ok after the ground contact. I’d be interested in hearing what extra items do you carry when travelling alone in these remote areas in case of emergency.
Looking forward to the next trip!
Sandra
There’s an old motorcycle saying, “There are two types of riders – those who have never dropped their bike, and those who tell the truth.” It doesn’t happen often but I’ve done it before and it’s a lot harder to get an 800 lbs Gold Wing back up. For most of my 50+ years of riding I’ve stuck mostly to the pavement when I could. The Tenere is my first ever off-road bike. I was told when I got it, to expect to fall more often. That’s why adventure/off-road bikes have crash bars, hand guards, skid plates and the like. It’s a tough environment.
As for emergency equipment, when I’m doing day trips I take off my panniers. This lightens the bike, but it also means I can’t carry everything I normally do when I’m on the move. All I have a small pack which I bungee over the passenger seat. I have a small toolkit, enough to tighten anything that rattles loose, but not for serious repairs. I carry 1.5 liters of water, enough for one day. I also have some extra clothes and my cell phone, though signal is a problem in the middle of the mountains. These roads are not heavily used, but there a car or a truck every hour or two, so I wouldn’t be in too bad a fix if I was totally broken down, unless I had really serious injury – possible but not likely.
When I’m on a multiday trip, like the upcoming one to Ushuaia, I carry the fill kit. One whole pannier is full of spare parts (front and rear inner tubes, clutch cable, drive sprocket, master links for chain repair, 12V air pump, etc). I have enough tools to basically disassemble the whole bike. I can repair or replace just about anything outside of the inner guts of the engine. For emergency equipment, I have an extensive first-aid kit, with large dressings, sterile pads, triangular bandages, splint material, anti-biotics, etc. I also carry an MSR Guardian water purifier (0.02 micron filtration), a sleeping bag & pad (no tent), lighter, flashlight, knife and various other do-dads. And I always have enough trail mix and/or granola bars to keep me going for a day if I get stranded somewhere.
My buddy Dave has a Spot tracker, that uses the GPS system to automatically report and track his position every 10 minutes. We normally ride together on long trips, so I’ve never bothered. I should probably consider getting one myself.
If you want a complete inventory of what I carry you can check out the “Lists” section on the right side of each page.
John, that was quite the adventure travelling between Mendoza and Uspallata. The non existing road at times with sometimes medium rocks to avoid while travelling. Also, an experience when you met a car. Did good picking up your heavy bike twice when fell over! Take Care. Elaine