Two 500+ mile days, back to back, was definitely hard on my neck. I'm not riding that far again on this trip (or ever, if I can help it). Additionally,, that is the last I want to see of the Panamerican Highway.

The roads and traffic behavior in Chile are about the same as in the US or Canada. The lanes are slightly narrower than what I'm used to but pavement has been predictable and the speed limit is 120Kph (75mph). People use their signals to change lanes and I haven't seen any lane-splitting motorcycles. There are DOT-style illuminated highways signs, interchanges are clearly marked and the traffic into Santiago was remarkably orderly. It really takes all the fun out of it.

Today's ride was really about the same as yesterday but I think I have the wastelands behind me now. Coming over the last pass into Santiago I finally started to see some trees. It reminded me of riding in the Yakima or Wenatchee valleys. It still was fairly arid but there were orchards and vineyards planted along the base of the mountains.

I'm staying at a very backpacker-hip hostel near the city center. I caught up with a Canadian rider that I had met in Panama. He is headed out tomorrow but we had a chance to look at some maps and discuss some options for getting to Tierra del Fuego. I'll be staying here until Monday as I need to get new tires and I would like to see the city.

I was looking at my tires today and was the fence as to whether or not I could stretch them as far as Buenos Aires. I hate to waste good thread but they would have to last me about 7000 more miles That's like driving coast-to-coast across the U.S. three times. If I was planning to do that, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't leave home on tires that only had 1/3 of their tread left. Santiago is my last opportunity for tires so I'm just going to have to bite the bullet.

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes. It meant a lot to me to hear from so many of you. Rest assured that I am exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to be doing on my 60th. Or as I like to say... celebrating the 31st anniversary of my 29th birthday.