It has been a rough couple of weeks for El Viento. South of Argentina's Lake District I crossed back into Chile at Futaleufu and followed the Carretera Austral south towards the small town of Coihaique. This dirt and gravel route is remote, badly washboarded and sees little traffic.
The near constant pounding destroyed my foglamp and headlight. It flattened my front tire. And it loosened many fasteners: two bolts that hold one of the aluminum panniers to its frame were lost. One of the subframe bolts actually sheared--leaving the entire rear end of the bike connected to the main frame by just a single bolt.
Fortunately, there's a small machine shop in Coihaique where they helped me extract the sheared subframe bolt and retap its threads. I replaced the bolt, the bad tube and the broken headlamp, then tightened everything up, and adjusted and lubricated the chain. The foglamp is toast and will have to be replaced later.
Overall, I can’t complain. El Viento continues to endure the punishment.
Onward.
Telltale bubbles reveal the tube's leak at the base of the valve stem.
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