Despite our impatience to go and discover the superb surroundings of Córdoba, the first day will have been more a warm-up lap and a reminder of a merciless reality : "we can't negotiate with events, we just can adjust to it" ! After a hard wakening, collateral damage of our reunion night, and the last moto's preparations and stuff's selection for the week, the Cabrito's group was ready to start in the late end of morning : Carlos on his Honda CG125-Storm, Chincho on his Yamaha YBR125, Dany on his brand new Honda XR125, Toto on the Honda CB250-Twister lent by a friend for the week, and myself on the Kawa KLR650 lightened of most of its luggages - what a pleasure to feel it light and reactive again !
I precise here that this little group already showed some notable disparities, although we managed it without any difficulty : on motorbike's side, the ones of Carlos, Chincho, & Toto are models designed for paved roads in terms of suspension and tyres, not exactly appropriated for our week's program... But their pilots at least already had some experience of this kind of road surface, contrarily to Dany and myself that were complete beginners on "ripio". To be more precise, Dany was actually a nearly complete beginner whatever the surface considered, showing here an undeniable courage and optimism with regard to the challenge to be faced ! And on my side, the more or less 230kg of the KLR were adding some spice to this off-road initiation, compared to the much more manageable 130kg maxi of the others motos, without even talking of my front wheel undulated rim which effect I would soon discover...
After having filled the tanks and finished the previous day's barbecue rests, it's thus in the early afternoon that the band eventually started with the day's menu : a route of a bit more than 150kms essentially composed of dirt tracks going from Tanti to the zone called "Los Tuneles", passing close to the summits of "Los Gigantes", and ending theoretically in the city of Mina Clavero some tenth of kms south. Unfortunately a first puncture on Chincho's rear tyre occurred a few kms after leaving immediately brought us back to Tanti's "gomeria" (tyre's workshop) for an express reparation, after some funny attempts to use a foam as volatile as useless. Having left again around 15h, a second puncture of Chincho, probably due to a bad work in the gomeria, imposed us a new stop hardly farther than the first one... No shitty foam this time, back to the good old method of self-patching the air chamber, and "vamos" !
But the unshakeable willing of Carlos to stick to the day's program despite the delay already taken nevertheless couldn't resist to the day's third puncture which he was the victim some tenths of kms before Los Tuneles, leaving us appreciating from faraway some summits bathing in the sunset's light... We eventually changed plans and deviated toward the town of Villa Cura Brochero, a few kms before the foreseen final destination of Mina Clavero, leaving for the next day the Tuneles zone !
Really good impressions for this first dirt tracks day, this taken route being globally favorable because well compacted and without any trapping zone. The KLR behaved safely and I could appreciate without worries this floating sensation such new to me after eight years of clear adherence to asphalt ! :)
Next day, having this time managed to get off earlier and having avoided any new puncture, we quickly reached back the Tuneles zone by a superb track going along the sierra's west edge, with a diving sight on the neighboring province of San Juan. And a mirador on the end of this track also allowed us to see some condors that favored ourselves with hedgehopping us... What a great beast seen from so close, with a good 3-4m wingspan and a sound silky but loudly present while overflying us ! After having enjoyed an offer of "free braised goat" in a restaurant close by ("Las Aguilas"), we headed back south and reached the city of Merlo, just at the border with San Juan's province, in prevision of next day's outing to the famous "Pueblo Escondido" ("hidden village"). A good new day totalizing 90kms of ripio and 200kms of asphalt, but studded this time for my part of some frights in sand patches where my front end begun to dangerously oscillate, forcing me to get back down below 50km/h in these zones to avoid falling flat... No concreted fall nevertheless, even if I though several times I wouldn't be able to avoid it !
A slight novelty from hereon, I give it a try to posting some lights videos just for fun, and yet I beg for pardon for its amateurism... I just start discovering the whole of it between two hostels :P
At the program for this third day, the famous "Pueblo Escondido", a tiny village isolated from the rest of the world which access has to be deserved whatever the mean chosen to reach it (even GoogleMaps only finishes its layout in dotted line !). Effectively, the Cerro Aspero's track followed in 4WD or moto to reach it is worth the nicest adventure excursion's posters, and it actually requires combining both a really adapted vehicle and a minimum of driving skills to be able to take advantage of it, or otherwise to end-up going walking... as we would soon discover !
The morning was fresh and cloudy, and before we even have time to warm-up, a hopefully low damage accident of Dany cut short to our expectations to defy these adverse conditions... A combination of some of the great classics of motorbike learning : a curve taken too early at the inside lane, an excessively quick return to the exterior to go away from a car that appears in front, a crispation on the front brake that picks the bike up and makes it go straight forward, and Dany went rubbing against the guardrail before to get over it, doing itself an ankle's sprain, not helped by the light sport shoes he was wearing ! Hopefully more fright than damage, and he even managed then to get his bike back itself to Merlo where we accompanied him to the "guardia" (emergencies) first and then to a clinic until getting the reassuring sprain diagnostic, which would anyway complicate a bit the end of his week...
After having lunched a good winter meal accorded to this day's climate ("guiso de lentejas") and once reassured on our injured health, we decided to go in the late afternoon on a reconnaissance tour of this famous cerro Aspero's track : "Vamos" ! And for my part I took advantage of Dany's unavailability to temporarily drop at the hotel the heavy KLR and go for some fun with his super-light XR125. Thanks for this loan amigo ! :)
The difference in manoeuvrability was just huge and offered me some really brilliant hours, allowing me to be more and more playful whatever the surface and to fully enjoy this time the pleasure of dirt track riding. And I have to say it was highly appropriated for this clearly "enduro" track, on which we had as much pleasure as difficulties without talking of the cloud enveloping our getaway... And it would have been impossible to pass through some hard points with the KLR, whatever the pilot's skill level : far too heavy to slow its descent, and far too low to cross over some high steps ! After having highly enjoyed the first kms of this funny track, we resigned ourselves to turn back at sunset, after a particularly hard zone where even in 125 we hardly managed going through even helping each other one at a time, pushing forward cm by cm, lifting and repositioning the bikes to find the best way forward...
Back to the hotel, and after having passed some moments laughing on this day's videos, we arranged Dany's ankle in my boots I lent him for the end of the week, back for my part with the moto shoes I hopefully had carried in case of excessive heat.
Next day, this is with the full group that we headed again toward this fucking village so well hidden, Dany being prudent but present, and for my part on Chincho's YBR after having left to him the Kawa. Although the clouds had renovated their participation too on first part, we had the chance to see them dissipate once arrived in the most spicy track's part, revealing wonderful sights unsuspected the day before.
Having left the KLR in the entry of the (too) steep zone, I followed the others cabritos as the official cameraman and occasional substitute on Dany's XR for the few bits where his injured ankle didn't allow him to go on riding. Progressing slowly but surely, the group bravely fought until Carlos, as a good opener ("vamos !"), made his clutch discs melt by asking the impossible to its modest city-oriented 125 !
It's thus walking that we - nearly - ended the track to the Pueblo Escondido, a nice 5kms stretch that Dany covered in "Gandalf the insane" mode leaning on a stick. Actually we stopped once we had the village on sight, approximatively another 5kms more down below, considering the advanced hour, the bikes & stuffs dropped some kms behind, and the pending route to our night staying point : Villa General Belgrano, more or less 90kms away. Without forgetting that Carlos's cabrita was still needing an improvised reparation to rebirth from its ashes !
About-turn thus after having rested a bit observing from faraway this fucking village that will eventually have kept us away (undeniably well "escondido"), and open-heart operation for the Carlos's Storm, in the shadow of a providential tree, cutting and modifying the shape of clutch discs foreseen for the Chincho's YBR125 to make them fit in the Carlos's Storm... Some great Argentinian's style art !
After having quietly covered the nice track carrying us to Villa General Belgrano, where a secondary house lent by Chincho's boss was awaiting us, our night was organized around an improvised barbecue as a warm-up for the more serious one foreseen for next day.
For the last getaway day back to Tanti, the route being nearly exclusively paved, we took advantage Toto and I to interchange our bikes all day long, giving me the occasion to remember how the Twister is definitely not designed for guys as tall as I am... On his side, Toto visibly loved the KLR ! Having taken the time in the morning for some maintenance / reparations, he even could enjoy a resuscitated velocity counter (so much dirt had entered the endless screw making turn the cable that it had broken a tooth of the transmission ring).
After a nice road without surprises, we had a fantastic barbecue ("asado" in local term), managed by the expert hand of Carlos, and accompanied by a good Fronsac wine bottle brought by my father during his holidays in the end of 2014. A pure feast, as this week with the cabritos ! Thanks a lot for this good vibe shared during these few days the porteños ! :)
Next day, the one of their way back to BsAs, a nice morning rain and the week's accumulated tiredness carried away Carlos's last "Vamos !", and the ultime getaway program in Tanti's surrounding turned into a resting session and peaceful house cleaning & stuffs tidying up. After separation and having wished each other a good continuation / way back home, I left back for my part to Córdoba for a short resting week and some motorbike's maintenance (trying to arrange this undulated rim creating me front end oscillations), waiting also for the rain to pass by.
Going back to the "heavily luggage loaded" configuration was quite painful, despite the few stuffs left to Carlos before his departure, but this dirt track initiation week's balance was clearly positive : although its high weight was a clear handicap in comparison to a light 125 manoeuvrability, dirt tracks seemed globally to be within reach of the Kawa at the condition of mastering the skills to drive it on this kind of surface and as far as the tracks stayed compact enough (sandy zones being still a real issue nevertheless), and more than nothing these tracks give access to such wonderful landscapes ! Up to me then to go on learning how to ride those surfaces by heading in new stretches along the journey... :)
