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    South by South America Tour – Argentina Part 20

    Sunday, August 18, 2019
    Mendoza, Argentina

    Pole position with a coat of red paint in Mendoza, Argentina.
    Pole position with a coat of red paint in Mendoza, Argentina.

    The ornate gate at the entrance to Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.
    The ornate gate at the entrance to Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.

    A torn flyer on a sign in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.
    A torn flyer on a sign in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.

    A bicycle race at the Velódromo Provincial Ernesto Contreras in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.
    A bicycle race at the Velódromo Provincial Ernesto Contreras in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.

    I spent this lazy Sunday sleeping in until the early afternoon. Sometime right after 2:00 pm, I walked down to Parque San Martin, where I planned to ride a bus to the west side and walk back east, hopefully through some areas I missed out on during my last visit. By the time the bus reached the northwest corner of the park, I stood up to get off, but there were no stops to be had for quite a while. Argh! Finally about a half mile outside the park, I disembarked and schlepped all the way back, which took quite a while. Despite the fact that I had a printed map and a map app on my phone, I still couldn’t figure out the way to the route I wanted to take down through the middle of the park.

    A bicycle race at the Velódromo Provincial Ernesto Contreras in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.
    A bicycle race at the Velódromo Provincial Ernesto Contreras in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.

    A bicycle race at the Velódromo Provincial Ernesto Contreras in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.
    A bicycle race at the Velódromo Provincial Ernesto Contreras in Parque San Martin in Mendoza, Argentina.

    Pole position with a cable assist in Mendoza, Argentina.
    Pole position with a cable assist in Mendoza, Argentina.

    After wandering around in circles near a stadium for a short while, I spotted a velodrome and went up there to check it out. Luckily, I was just in time to witness a bicycle race, which I was pretty happy about, as I’d never seen one in real life before. After a few laps, the racers picked up the pace to a pretty quick clip, a speed they maintained for quite a few minutes. As the final laps approached, the racers began to pedal at a frenetic pace, flying around the track at an impressive velocity. Finally, the checkered flag came down, which was a cue for me to head back to the Hostel Alamo, with a quick detour to the grocery store to pick up some grub.

    Words and photos ©2019 Arcane Candy.

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