Day 15: I Can't Feel My Fingers!

February 4, 2026. Puerto Rio Tranquillo to Mallin Colorado. 30 miles.

This morning dawned with clear blue skies, albeit about 10 degrees cooler than the previous days. The weather app promised a cool but clear ride—perfect for cycling along one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve seen, surrounded by towering peaks.

The road rose steeply out of town, and by the time we were only four miles in, we had climbed 1,000 feet, and, much to our chagrin, discovered that the weather app was very wrong, as we found ourselves enveloped in clouds, cold wind, and hail!

Thinking it would be a just a quick cloud passing by we waited it out "under" a tree on the side of the road. After about 10 minutes, it did lighten up and we rode on... for about five minutes, when cold rain began to pelt us in earnest. With little shelter to find, we took what we could and did our best to put on our rain gear and booties, which was incredibly difficult with freezing cold hands!

Finally bundled up, we were still wet underneath and cold, but we pressed on, hoping that the promised sun would break through the clouds. Unfortunately, it never did. We rode another 25 miles in the rain on rough ripio, climbing tough hills along the lakeside. Just as we summited one of those hills in the southeast part of the lake, we rounded a corner and nearly fell off our bikes—the view before us was so stunning! A whole range of jagged peaks covered in massive glaciers looked so close that we felt we could almost touch them. It was mesmerizing!

As the road wound further south along the lake, I could feel my energy zapped, and my hands were curled in a frozen rictus, making it nearly impossible to shift my bike. My sweet husband stopped several times to rub my fingers back to partial life, just enough to get me a few more miles down the road. The views continued to stun, however, with the glacial water alternating between powder blue and milky white.

We finally arrived at a place we were really looking forward to: Mallín Colorado. This small hotel and restaurant overlooking the lake is owned by a family in the middle of nowhere, yet it is considered world-class. The place is beautifully constructed, warm, and served the most amazing dinner I have ever had: salad with shrimp, hot carrot soup, and fresh steelhead trout with risotto. I could not have been happier! And, the good news: we are staying here for two nights to rest up after a tough four days of riding.