After a 100km or so of lovely sweeping tarmac we hit the infamous Ruta 40 piste. Initially it was narrow, bump and twisty. Lead by our guide Erik, it was enormous amounts of fun and the bike felt just perfect for the job. After 5 km or so we hit very deep gravel and the bike in front of me went down, several of us stopped to help.
We set off again. I managed about 2 meters before the gravel got the better of me and I dropped the bike for the first time on the trip. After being helped up we were on the way again, all be it a little it more cautiously. It was piste for the rest of the day. Conditions can change very quickly between hard clay, light gravel to very deep gravel and riding demanded concentration to read the road. The wind can easily push the bike several meters sideways with very little warning.
I got over confident and hit some deep gravel going a little too fast. The bike started to weave with ever increasing oscillations. I scrubbed off a fair bit of speed but low side down the road. The pillion peg dug in and is now badly bent. My hip is a little bruised but otherwise crash bars and armour all worked as intended.
It was another night wild camping, but as it was dry we broke out the stoves and cooked pasta.
A minor coolant leek means I need to keep an eye on engine temp and coolant levels, I also have some minor damage to the radiator and chain from the piste gravel.
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