Antarctica Marathon 2014: Buenos Aires Daytime Bicycle Tour

This is a review of the Daytime Bicycle Tour offered by Urban Bike Tours.

• Running A Marathon in Antarctica and Australia in 2014
• Planning
• Hotels, Flights, Final Deposit, Medevac Insurance
• Training
• Flight BOS-JFK-EZE (Domestic first, 777-200 business)
• Sheraton Libertador Review
• Marriott Park Plaza Hotel (San Martin) Review
• Shakeout Run in Buenos Aires
• Buenos Aires Daytime Bicycle tour (Urban Bike)
• Las Nazarenas and Argentinian Cuisine
• Marathon Tours Champagne Toast and Dinner
• EZE City Tour with Marathon Tours
• Flight down to Ushuaia (on Aerolineas Argentinas)
• OneOcean Ship Introduction (valvilov)
• First Night at Sea
• First Full Day at Sea
• Ship Daily Routine
• Marathon Tours and OneOcean cruise
• Trip Clothing and Gear Recommendations
• Antarctica Camera and Tech Recommendations
• Staying Online in Antarctica, Tweeting and FB via Email
• Alcohol onboard Marathon Tours Antarctic Cruise
• Kayaking on Marathon Tours Antarctica Marathon Trip
• Day 1: Yankee Harbor, vacuum Party, and Zodiac operations
• Day 2: Half Moon Island
• Day 3: Race Day
• Antarctica Marathon Runner Highlight: Overall Winner: Bartek
• Antarctica Marathon Runner Highlight: Blind Runner: Henrick Wagner
• Day 4: Dahno Island, Michelson Bay
• Day 4: Race Award Ceremony
• Day 5: Curverville Island, Wilhelmina Bay
• Day 6: Paradise Bay, First and only Continental Antarctica Landing
• Day 6: Outdoor BBQ in Paradise Bay
• Day 6: Paradise Bay Zodiac Cruise and Seals
• Day 6: Champagne Toast and after dinner Pictionary
• Sheraton BA convention Center Review
• AA First EZE-MIA-BOS Review

Bicycle tour

I tried to sign up for the nighttime bicycle tour by urbanbiketours. Wanderlusty went the nighttime tour and it sounded fun. I signed up the afternoon before the night time ride. Luckily I noted my hotel and they happen to catch me before I went out to dinner. They called me to say that they would not be doing night time tours anymore and asked if I could change to the daytime tour the next day. It worked better for my schedule so I choose the daytime tour. I also figured that it would be better to take pictures during the day then at night.

The tour started about 30 minutes late because we had to fill out a form and also adjust the bicycles to our liking. They adjusted the bicycles for you and also filled up the tires, but I can adjust the bicycle myself.

The tour started in San Martin square, went south then looped back to the park. There were a few stops.

The tour guide noticed we were moving well so she sped up a bit. On our rides, we were probably averaging about 16-20mph. This is much faster than what their normal tour probably is. I was in very good shape and the other pair on the group had just finished a 7-day bike tour in the Patagonia region so we were all very fit.

About 40% of the rides were in public streets while the others were on marked bicycle paths and sidewalks. Traffic wasn’t bad as it was a holiday and not many cars were on the road. I am used to biking in heavy traffic in Boston so it wasn’t bad for me, but I can see some amateur riders having difficulty riding on the streets.

Here was the map of the route on mapmyrun: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/497146919.

We started the tour with Puerto Madero and went through the Ecologic Reserve, which was a bit challenging because of the short inclines and the rock/gravel surfaces on some of the trails.

Our tour guide brought along some mate along with the tour. It is generally drank among friends and not very often out in coffee shops and bars. It was cool she brought it along. It is a bitter tasting tea.

After the ecological reserve, we went to Bombonera in La Boca. It looks a bit small for a soccer stadium but these games are very popular and only club members get tickets. They are usually sold online via other channels and can get expensive. However, it is very close to the city and the atmosphere is amazing so she highly recommended going. I will try to plan to see them the next time I am in EZE.

We rode through a few neighborhoods to get to San Telmo, where there are many tango demonstrations and bars that offer tango shows.

We rode around the city through a few different neighborhoods to get to Casa Rosada.

We spent some time there taking pictures and she explain a bit of the history of the square. Some of the protests occurred here and the most recent one was the one in 1980s. The riot fence was still here and there seems to always be riot police here around the clock.

We rode through the financial district and some back streets to get back to San Martin Plaza. Below are some pictures of their collection of bicycles they offer.