Stages 25-28 of 109 Huanuco to Huancayo via 2 hostals and a camp, Days 34-37 of 142

• Stage 25 Huanuco to Cerro de Pasco, 103.2 km, 2,452m, 7:10, 42 km dirt
• Stage 26 Cerro de Pasco to Junin, 82.6 km, 531m, 4:18, 55 km dirt
• Stage 27 Junin to Trout Farm camp, 90 km, 505m, 3:34, 4 km dirt
• Stage 28 Trout Farm camp to Huancayo, 107.7 km, 1,453m, 6:32, 56 km dirt

Where	Distance	Dirt	Climb	EFI
South America	2,653	425	34,181
Andes Trail	2,371	416	30,571	X
Ecuador	912	30	16,265	✓
Peru	1,459	386	14,306	X

Missed distance: 100 km, 1.5 stages.

After a relaxing rest day in Huanuco where we had to say good-bye to Dutch Karin on her way home for shoulder surgery, we set out on our biggest climbing day of the whole tour. It was over 8,000′ up to a high mining town called Cerro de Pasco. This town is at about 4,300m (over 14,000′), the highest we’ll sleep on the whole tour. The route started out gently climbing to lunch at 60 km going up a river valley. After lunch we turned off on a side dirt road that followed a pretty stream up a nice valley, but it was quite a bit steeper and of course rougher. There were km markers counting down the distance to our goal, starting at 42. The first 10 km were quite hard, then the middle section was easier, but I think just about everyone was reduced to very low speed on the final 10 km. Those last three switchbacks up to the giant smelly garbage dump were particularly steep and tough. When I rolled into the hotel at about 5 pm with Jan and Jens and Chris, I was really used up. It was hard to climb the stairs to get to the soup! Many of us had to stay in a different hostal, which had tricky showers – we gave up on ours after Andrew turned himself blue trying to get something other than ice water out. The restaurant choice was super limited so we went back to the original hostal and ate there. Things started looking up as we got giant beers and then delicious large dinners. I had trucha encebollada (trout with onions) which was great. Back at our place, I scored a hot shower in Martin’s room, then it was 8 pm and time for a long sleep. Outside it was -3°C and inside maybe warmer but the pipes did freeze. We slept under big piles of thick blankets. Some rooms had electric blankets but not ours. Martin said the altitude made him breathless when he turned over in bed because the blankets were so heavy. I slept super well as I seem to be fine with the altitude.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39926222453

The truck came before 8 to get our baggage then we walked back to the other hostal for breakfast. The typical. Then time to ride. The sun was out partially but it was cold and the few of us going bare-legged had our sanity questioned. But it wasn’t that bad and after some climbing in town we were blasting down the highway. The trucks were a little scary but it was only 26 km until we turned off on a dirt road that was relatively level, all the way to Junin. Rob was with us but when the pavement ended, I think he accelerated. He was gone in minutes – such an amazing cyclist. Lunch was at halfway, very nice in a little village. We were riding past Lago Chinchaycocha, a large lake at 4,100m with flamingos and other birds. There was little traffic on the road, but everyone I talked to hated it by the end. Somehow the last 10 km was just plain hard even though it was relatively flat. Jan and I finally made it together. Junin is a small town also at 4,100m with a lively square. We found the hostal and again, had to go sleep at another one. A local guy with a funny tricycle carted our luggage over; we followed on bikes. The place was small and cramped but Jan, Andrew and I all scored single rooms. Mine had windows on two sides and a shower that worked! After cleaning up we rode back over for soup, then went out on the town. At a pasteleria we had cake (and brought in beers), then Martin, Andrew and I sat like bums in the central square/park drinking beers and people watching until 5 pm, time for dinner. Since there weren’t restaurants, our Bike Dreams kitchen crew cooked us dinner and it was great. Also it was so nice and easy to just sit down and eat instead of searching for a decent place. After dinner we rode back at dark, and since the internet didn’t work in my room, I watched a couple of downloaded Netflix shows then went to sleep, again under a thick pile of heavy blankets. Like the previous night there was a sort of flannel bottom sheet but no top sheet, just the pile of wool blankets. Sleeping well was no problem.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39973615615

September 3: we woke up and rode over to the other hostal, with the tricycle man busy bringing a mountain of luggage over. After breakfast, the weather was looking a little dicey and we each had a choice to make. There are two different routes for stage 27 and we had both gpx files so could ride either. The longer easier one would be supported with lunch so I chose that one – also it was nearly all paved – I was tired of those dirt roads. About ten people including Mr Bike Dreams Rob took the harder route. It featured a 1,500m descent on the crappiest of rocky dirt “roads” you could imagine. And beautiful scenery at up to 4,500m. Our route was down the highway, easy out of town. After 15 km we stopped to put on rain gear but the rain was just stopping and it wasn’t that bad. We had a 7 km climb back up to 4,200m and we removed shoe covers etc on top. Then the fun started. It was a 1,200m perfect descent! You only had to brake on the few hairpins, we passed trucks in the left lane, it was scenic and getting warmer as we dropped. Lunch was halfway down, a perfect spot. Wijnand, our awesome lunch truck driver, was in a super good mood, giving cookies to local kids, cranking great music for us, and lunch was even better than usual. Avocados and yesterday’s quinoa salad added to the normal power burritos! He had picked a spot by a little church and it was perfect. The funniest thing was everyone screaming at Kees as he rocketed by – he loves descending so much he just blew by. I had ridden with a great group led by Wim and after lunch we continued together. The town below called Tarma was kind of a hell hole. Construction, terrible roads, the route impassable in several places – I don’t know why Rob said we would like to visit it. We got out as quick as possible and continued down the valley to a dirt road turnoff. A later group got to watch the sign blow over and nearly smash a car. The last 4 km was up the dirt road to a fantastic Trout Farm Rob had found on the previous trip. Smooth level green grass for our tents, trout pools everywhere, little buildings and a swimming pool, nice shaded tables to sit, and cold beer. I had arrived first for once since all the fast guys were busy with the harder route. We had all afternoon to kill drinking beer and eating snacks and greeting everyone as they arrived. Niek was the first in from the harder route, an hour after us, with tales of the crazy descent. No one else from that route came in for quite a while. After a nap, we had one of the best dinners of any camp: fresh trout cooked by Maria, the local cook. Plus potatoes and beets and then a yummy sweet dessert with whipped cream. I was serving this time which was actually fun, rushing out of the kitchen with three plates of trout, then back, repeat until everyone is served. The rushing water of the trout ponds made me sleep really well.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh40026302317

Our 4th stage in a row was a big one. It started raining after breakfast so everyone was all rain geared but then it stopped while we were loading the trucks. No one knew what to wear and the temp kept changing so we just headed up the hill and made a few clothing stops. I rode with Tom and we had a great time although sometimes it was hard to keep talking on the steepest parts. The dirt road was mostly fine but the first 10 km was steep.

We stopped for a banana and sunscreen break at 24 km then found the lunch truck was set up just 500m after that. It started raining again during lunch so the same clothing questions started again. We just rode and rode – the whole climb was 39 km long and we climbed 1,300m. After lunch I rode with Miranda and it really helps to have someone to talk to and ride with on climbs like this. At the top Jan joined us for about 20 km of semi-steep dirt road, not too bad but you have to really pay attention on the corners. We stopped multiple times to take photos as the views were just amazing. The lighting was so cool. At the bottom Swiss Karin caught us – her front shock was frozen solid and her back one leaking air but she just doesn’t care and rides fast anyway. We had still a long way on dirt, with my chain making “I want lube now” noises but still shifting perfectly. Finally we hit pavement and it was great for a second until we turned into the wind. We had 45 km of this left and it was after 3 pm. We had also picked up Lambert and he took the lead into the wind, but then sometimes it was a side or tail wind so it really wasn’t so bad. Plus it was gently downhill. We took a food/Inca Kola break. Jan bought us everything and a big beer for himself. Then back at it. Around 90 km we entered Huancayo, a big city of 450,000 people at 3,250m. Traffic got crazier and crazier until around 100 km it was almost silly. Taxis and cars going every way, with the five of us trying to stay together weaving in and out. At one point there was a big downhill with total gridlock so we rode the wrong side of the road – scary but fun. Our hotel was just off this main road, right in the center of town. It was SO nice to arrive, and before 5 pm. No soup but we had cakes and other treats, then, the best shower in two months of travel in South America! The Hotel Turismo Huancayo is THE place to stay when you come here. Trust me. We’ve now completed the second of the nine Andes Trail sections, so we can lose and gain riders here. It turns out we don’t lose anyone but gain an Australian couple, Pip and John, who know some of our riders from previous Bike Dreams trips. Seven of us went out to a nice dinner at a regular Peruvian restaurant, telling all the fun stories of tour life to Pip and John. After dinner I had a great time in the hotel bar until about midnight with Wytze, Bastiaan, Wim, Andrew and Martin. Pisco Sours and Maracuya Sours, really expensive here (20 soles each, the cost of a dinner) but so tasty. Hanging out with these guys is worth so much more. We’ve been though 28 amazing stages together, and we’re like a big family. I never expected it to be so great. We’ve completed 25% of the riding stages now. I can’t believe this goes on and on and on until December!

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh40088820073

Stages 21-24 of 109 Huaraz to Huanuco via 3 bushcamps, Days 29-32 of 142

• Stage 21 Huaraz to 4200m bushcamp: 56 km, 1,207m climb, 3:47, 13 km dirt
• Stage 22 Over 4883m pass: 84.6 km, 1,064m climb, 5:30, 42 km dirt
• Stage 23: 50.61 km, 913m climb, 3:37, 30 km dirt
• Stage 24 with craziest descent: 98.5km 1,224m, 6:04,  88 km dirt

Whew, what an intense few days of cycling and living! I was really happy to wake up on August 27 in Huaraz feeling pretty much full strength. After missing a day and a half of riding, it was SO good to get back on the bike. The route was pretty easy on paper, a quick 40 km up the valley on a nicely paved road, then lunch and 13 km of dirt climbing to camp. It turned out it was easy to lunch, but the rough, steep road and headwind made riding to our camp at 4,200m (13,780′) tough. We did make it though and camp was nice: flush toilets in the bathroom, a nice meadow for our tents, friendly alpacas and a 10+ view. Dinner was at 4:30 due to cold and I was in bed before dark, soon after 6 pm. This is the highest camp of the whole Andes Trail Tour.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39707958379

I slept long and hard and felt a little stronger and better in the morning. Breakfast was at 8 am and we didn’t start riding until 9:30. All night and all through breakfast the wind did not let up. It even snowed (frozen rain actually) for a while around 6 am. The sun was out when we headed up the rough dirt road, straight into the wind, steep for a long time. The first pass was 4,820m about 18 km in, and now there was frozen rain coming down instead of sunshine and it was very cold. I had on all four layers on top plus thick wool gloves. Didn’t stop for much there. Andrew and Jens get the iron man award for doing it bare-legged. Then down a ways and back up. Lunch was on the second climb, at one point we had ten of us in the truck cab with a giant blanket over all of us. There was an accident with our large sunshades blowing over the top of the truck, then we ate very fast, then the next 10 km or so of climbing to the high point of the whole Andes Trail Tour – 4,883m, a bit over 16,000′. It wasn’t as cold here so we regrouped and took photos – the view in all directions was stunning. Peaks everywhere. We were IN the Andes for sure now. Although this is not a high altitude compared to those peaks. After a few rough km of descent, we hit the paved road and cruised 40 km to camp. It was so nice to be back in the warm thick air at 3,300m (just under 11,000′). We camped by a loud river and had a great dinner. A sheep herder herded right through our camp and there were a few spectators but all in all a good place. Bed right after dinner, maybe 7 pm.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39707968240

On the 29th, we had another 8 am breakfast/9 am start which was nice. Still to this point we hadn’t had to pack up the tents wet. The sun turns on like a light around 7 am. We had a short ride down the same dirt road to a village, then turned up on a … paved road! It had been paved since the previous Andes Tour in 2016. It was a nice 350m climb up to a plateau. We had some flat cruising (first in a long time), passed the truck set up for lunch at 13 km, then rode to some Inca ruins. It didn’t look very great but we paid and walked in anyway and it turned out to be quite good. The old no-mortar style of building with quite large stones, all cut at non-square angles. Then back for lunch and the fun started. We headed up a dirt road, climbing climbing climbing back up to 4,000m, then down and down and down, the last part very rough – Simon was loving the full suspension bike he’s been dragging around. We ended at a gorgeous camp on the river. It was private and comfortable and after setting up tents, many of us went in for a swim – a wash really since we had just done three full dirty days with no washing to speak of. It was super cold of course and I couldn’t get deeper than about waist deep. My hands would freeze when I tried to put them in. Wytze solved it for me by starting a massive splash war against me. So I dove in and got clean. I didn’t shampoo like everyone else, but getting all the dust out was great. Dinner was at 6:30 and then I watched Netflix until 9 something and went to sleep listening to the river.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39815917425

The 24th stage didn’t look too bad on paper: bit of an 800m climb, but spread out over 40 km. Then a 60 km descent which was paved in 2012 or 2014. Rob said it might be a little not so good though. The king of understatement. Breakfast at 7, wet tents, depart at 8:15. The climb back to 4,000m again was beautiful with steep parts but generally ok since we are acclimated well now, and some of it was paved. I saw the cutest piglets ever and rode once with sheep touching both legs at the same time. But the whole 60 km long 2,100m (almost 7,000′) descent was a non-stop construction zone, crazy rough dirt, sometimes that deep powder stuff that is really crappy to ride. I didn’t find out until later but they closed the road soon after Andrew and I started down so others had to take an even worse route with 200m of extra bonus climbing. Our route was pretty horrendous but Andrew kept the pace perfect and we had done close to 1/3 of it when Miranda/Martin/Karin came cruising by, going faster on their wider tires. I made the mistake of following them and crashed a few km later – slippery, tricky, deep powder over rocks. Karin helped me and I was super happy it was just some scratches and no bike damage at all. I love my bike now so much. I rode down with Andrew and we caught them later having drinks at a little shop. I sat down and soon a gorgeous young woman noticed my knee. She brought water, cotton swabs, alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and started doctoring me. Her mother (I think) was watching closely. She was so competent and perfect – it was really amazing. Miranda donated a bandage and soon I was fixed up. They wouldn’t take any money and when I asked for a photo, it took several minutes for her to fix her already absolutely perfect hair. It’s just amazing where they live, basically halfway up a truly hellish road, very far from town. I can’t imagine it. And they are SUCH friendly, helpful and wonderful people. Andrew said it was going to extremes but it was almost worth crashing.

From there we still had over 30 km to go and it was a ride from hell. First we came upon Karin, down. She had fallen and broken or dislocated her shoulder. She was in massive pain. We worked with a highway guy and got a taxi to take her with Miranda to the hospital. She will have to return to Holland for surgery – I am so so sorry for her – she’s been a fantastic part of our tour family. Wim and Martin did the hero’s job of waiting for the van – very long time – to get their bikes loaded. We continued down and soon were in long lines of trucks and cars trying to get by landslides and construction areas. It was a total zoo. We even found and passed our first van and told them about the accident. Then we met Big Chris fixing a flat with Jens. And David caught us so we all continued together to Huanuco. After forever, we finally hit pavement and that was a fantastic moment. Then Chris pumped up to I don’t know how fast but he held it even on the short uphills. The last part was a blur, and we got through town and finally spotted the Hotel Real, right on a big square. It was just past 4 pm. But how does Wytze do it? He was sitting on a chaise lounge by the pool, sipping a beer, seemingly not dirty or anything. There were no bags or rooms yet so he couldn’t’ve showered. He and Niek had taken the longer way and they took 5:35 elapsed (5:05 riding) arriving before 2pm. We took 7:50 and others finished hours after us, in the dark. Anyway, we had our beers, got rooms and luggage, barely lukewarm showers, then bought beers for more riders arriving. We heard more sad news: Marc had crashed hard on his face and was also at the hospital. Three or four others besides me had non-serious crashes – best one was Joan who fell over at 0 kph and skinned her knee. Later, we took Martin out for a pizza dinner with a bottle of Peruvian wine, then Pisco Sours (Maracuya for me) at a bar. What an epic day! We thought the big day riding to 4,883m was epic, but the scale got reset today. I hope it doesn’t reset again although I think it might…Stage 25 on paper looks harder than anything we’ve done yet…

https://www.relive.cc/view/r10007946339

Andes Trail days 22-23 of 142, Aug 20-21, 2019

After seven straight cycling days, where we covered over 750 km, it felt so great to arrive in the beach town of Huanchaco knowing we had two full days to relax. The beach almost looks like California, complete with a pier that sticks out into the Pacific and a bunch of surfers and “Escuela de Surf” places. There are tons of restaurants all along the beach, and they seem to be hungry for customers as it is low season here (winter).

We woke up on the 20th and walked a few meters down to the “Otras Cosas” vegetarian restaurant for breakfast. Crepes, fruit salad, juice – delicious. It was still cloudy and gray in the morning. Andrew and I had a walk all through town but it didn’t look great. After noon, the clouds were actually lifting so we went out again, with Martin, and found a nice Ceviche restaurant that had a 3rd floor dining room with a view. While we ate, the clouds lifted so afterward we walked out to the end of the pier (cost of 1 sol, about $.30). We kind of frittered away the rest of the afternoon then went out to dinner with a big group of ten. The place we found looked good but everyone agreed the food was a little sub-par. On the plus side I used my credit card to pay the whole bill netting me over 300 soles including a bunch of small bills which are much more valuable than 50s or 100s.

On the 21st, Martin and I were hankering for French Toast (he calls it eggy bread), so we headed to the place we had seen the day before that advertised French Toast. Alas it was closed but a little further, we found Cafe Chocolate which looked good and had great French Toast with honey and fruit. James from NZ joined us, with his bike packed and ready for touring. He had only ridden 500m when he decided to hang out with us for an hour. Totally low-pressure touring I guess! He did this part of the Andes Trail with Bike Dreams back in 2012.

From there we caught the bus to Trujillo (only 2 soles, amazing deal) and rode past the archaeological site of Chan Chan (most extensive pre-Columbian site in South America). But it didn’t look exciting enough so we rolled on by and got off downtown. Trujillo is Peru’s 3rd biggest city with over 800,000 people and we headed for the center where there is a nice square, a beautiful church and a fun walking street. Martin and Andrew bought Peru SIM cards and Wim and I hung out at a coffee shop after seeing the sights a bit. We split up and headed back separately, Wim and I immediately went out to lunch at Otras Cosas again where we made a big discovery: I was right – I did recognize Wim from the late 80s in California. We finally connected the mutual friend and realized we had met and climbed together and probably had ridden together, in another life, over 30 years ago! Small world. Alan McEwen, if you’re reading this, Wim says HI!

In the afternoon, it seemed like nothing really needed doing so we passed the time chatting and drinking beer looking at the Pacific. Then it was dinner time and we went back to Otras Cosas and had another great meal. Life is good. And I’m even looking forward to cycling again tomorrow morning!

Stage 16 of 109 Pacasmayo to Huanchaco, Day 21 of 142

112.7 km, 290m climbing, 4:45, 34.5 kph max

Description	Distance	Dirt	Climb	EFI
South America	1,767	50	22,071
Andes Trail	1,485	41	18,461
Ecuador	912	30	16,265	✓
Peru	572	11	2,196

We got started a half hour later than normal which was nice. After breakfast we all headed out at 8:50 am. It was gray gray gray. You could barely tell the sky from the sea looking out to the west. And all through the ride, the sky never changed. The good side of this was that the temperature was absolutely perfect for cycling. Some people even wore jackets or arm/leg warmers. But it was perfect in shorts and short sleeves, no sweating!

The scenery was pretty much nothing to talk about. We laughed when someone said, “Look, a curve in the road” or “Look, a sign”. It was dunes and garbage and not much else. I rode in the main group today, slower and more relaxed than usual. I took a long turn at the front into the gentle headwind with Marc. Then rode at the back, chatting lots. We stopped at 40 km in the middle of nowhere, then at 66 km for lunch. It was setup inside an amazing indoor/outdoor large restaurant. Food was very welcome and we had a nice time.

Then back at it for the afternoon session. Now we had Rob leading and it was more interesting as we turned off the Pan Am Highway right away and did some unpaved (and super crappily paved) side roads. It turned out the whole last 50 km was off the main highway and the last bit was along the coast. So we could watch the waves, but everything was still a uniform gray.

After one stop for refreshments/butt relief, we headed the final km and made it to Huanchaco, our home for the next three nights. The hostal where we are staying is really nice. We have a triple room with a shower so hot you have to add cold water (a first in a very long time), internet that kind of works, a big garden with hammocks, and a nice deck right by the rooms. We had another great soup and snacks session, then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Around 6, we went out for dinner and decided on the vegetarian restaurant right near the hostal. I had the daily menu (soup, rice, lentil curry and salad) with a beer and a pisco sour. What a great place! It’s owned by a Dutch man who’s been here 11 years. Dinner was great and I’m planning to go back for breakfast. We met a Kiwi who has been on some Bike Dreams trips before and may ride with us for a few days leaving Huanchaco. After we went for drinks at a local bar – Bastiaan and I had Maracuya Sours – quite tasty. Then it was only 9:30 but time for bed.

Andes Trail Stage 15 of 109 Lambayeque to Pacasmayo, Day 20 of 142

117.4 km, 347m climb, 4:40, 40.3 kph max

I was really not feeling like a full day of riding in the morning. Breakfast was ok and we met a local rider outside as we were preparing. We all left at 8:13, slow, in a big group. As we left town I got warmed up and even though the sky was as gray as the trash piles everywhere along the road, I started to feel better. This part of Peru is not pretty.

But 13 km in, our first real disaster struck. Carol suddenly crashed, and hit her face on the road. She was knocked out but came to after a few minutes and got to the side of the road. It looked bad and we did all we could for her, wrapped a space blanket around her, blocked traffic and a local called an ambulance. Bill, our doctor, stayed with her and most of us pedaled away with heavy hearts. She was taken to the big hospital we had just passed in a pickup truck ambulance and will be kept at least until tonight for observation. [Update: Carol is back with us, broken little finger, sore and bruised but in good spirits. I’m so relieved!]

We were in a group of eight I think and cruised to lunch that was at just over 60. The sun had come out and the scenery was amazing, amazingly boring that is. Perfect scenery for making a post-apocalyptic movie I guess. Km after unchanging km. “Zona Militar Ingreso Prohibido” signs, lots.

After lunch, nine of us took off and cranked away. Around 105, Kees somehow talked Chris into stopping at a roadside place and we inhaled 4L of Inca Kola, the standard yellow type. Burps after were interesting.

The last 10 km should’ve been easy but a vicious head/side wind came from nowhere and it was hard. But we came to Pacasmayo and soon I saw a weird color on my Garmin map: bright blue! We were at the sea coast and pulled into the hotel which looked like it could’ve been on the coast of Portugal!

Hot showers, first time in a few days! Wow was that great! No soup but tons of snacks. WiFi is crap but my phone works so well in Peru, it doesn’t matter. Google Fi FTW!

I took a short power nap in the afternoon then we had the luxury of eating a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant! I went for Spaghetti Frutti de Mar and it was great. Lots of octopus and shrimps. Washed down perfectly by a large Cristal Cerveza. It was a truly great dinner, talking mainly about travel. This group of amazing individuals has been everywhere! And they’re great storytellers.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39177756517

Andes Trail Stage 14 of 109 Motupe bushcamp to Lambayeque, Day 19 of 142

72km, 36m climbing, 2:28, 37.7 kph max

Wow what a great night! I slept over ten hours in my little tent and it was perfect. There were about 18,000 roosters in the morning but not very close so no problem. Breakfast was very nice, outside but oh so civilized, and at 7:30 since today is sort of a half day.

We left camp at 8:40, in a pretty big group. The speed slowly ramped up to 34, at which point I noticed no one was behind me! We had dropped everyone so just Chris, Niek, Jens, Andrew and I cranked out 72 km non-stop to Lambayque. Most of the road was very smooth and nice. There was some construction and narrow one-way places with speed bumps where you had to be careful. Feet went down once for a few seconds at a one-way construction zone.

Overall it was boring scenery but the pace was fast (for me) so that kept me fully engaged. Entering Lambayeque … it looked like a war zone. We went the wrong way down a one-way street for a while to the hotel. It is surprisingly nice, with an inner courtyard for bikes and nice rooms. The wifi works well most of the time. The shower is a good Spanish lesson: F stands for Frio (cold) and C stands for Cold (also cold). We’re not complaining though, the water felt great and I did laundry too.

Lunch was combined with soup today, a big, full meal. Next some of us walked over to the famous museum, Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán. It was pretty interesting although some of us were flagging by the time we got out. Then we went to a bank (which was in the back of an appliance store) and Martin tried to change his $ to Soles. He was partially successful but it took a long time. They really only accept new looking bills. Bills with writing on them are right out. I had a nice video chat with Beau in SF and Grace at home.

We walked out for dinner past the church next door and there was a huge fancy wedding going. Must’ve been a military family as many officers with swords and lower level soldiers where watching. A Phantom 3 was filming from the air. The street had chicken restaurant after chicken restaurant and we eventually picked one. I had a great salad and some fries with plantains. Not the best but it was a fun, family place. Beers were expensive at S7.50 each (about $2.20). Now it’s time to recharge the leg batteries for tomorrow’s 119 km ride to Pacasmayo.

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh39118611724

Andes Trail Stage 11 of 109 Catacocha to Macará, Day 16 of 142

91.7 km, 1,428m climb, 4:09, 69.8 kph max

10% of the Andes Trail riding days are done!

• 911 km done out of 10,943, that’s only 8.3% – so we’ll have longer days ahead.
• 16,265 m climbed out of 110,971, 14.7% – luckily our altitude balance is positive.
• We’re 99.6% done with riding in Ecuador, Peru here we come tomorrow morning.

If anyone wants to know what I carry everyday, here it is…

On the bike including under the seat bag and top tube bag:

• Three 750 ml water bottles, only two normally filled. Can add a 4th, if needed
• Pump, Spare tube, tire irons, dynaplug (tubeless tire repair kit)
• Garmin Edge 530
• Handlebar mounted bell
• On seat tube: Rear red LED light, run flashing all the time – Cygolite Hotrod 50
• On front shock: Pair of front white LED lights – Cygolite Hotrod 110
• Ass-savers rain/mud guards, front and rear (the small ones)
• My Bike Dreams name card is also working as a rear rain/mud guard
• Set of hexes/torxes
• Wallet in plastic bag
• Wide angle and telephoto lenses for my cell phone camera
• A couple of bars
• The printed instructions for the day, including the all-important hotel name.

In my handlebar bag:

• Rain jacket – Showers Pass Men’s Elite 2.1 – awesome!
• Thick leg warmers
• Thin arm warmers (plan to use for anti-sun on super hot days)
• Full finger gloves
• Waterproof shoe covers
• A long sleeve shirt
• Glasses.

Jersey pockets:

• Cell phone – Pixel 3
• Banana(s) and bars
• Sunglasses when not wearing.

Breakfast this morning was up the hill in the garage where we parked our bikes for the night. Since we had an easier day I passed on eggs and just had muesli and yogurt. We packed up and took off at 8:18. The profile showed it but I think most people didn’t realize how the awesome descent started pretty much right in town! It lasted 15 km and dropped us down 1,000m to our lowest point yet, just under 1,000m altitude. It was truly a gorgeous descent. Not a single car came by while I rode. I was out with Kees, passing each other over and over, with giant grins. At one point we even took the lead by somehow passing Niek, but he has a massive gear and knows how to use it so we never saw him again during the ride.

From where we had to start pedaling it was up and down to lunch, about 40 km. Gorgeous riding and I finally got to pass one of the Bike Dreams trucks – like it was standing still on another awesome descent. We pulled off and rode down a sandy dirt road to a river where the lunch truck was parked. We got there early so there was time for swimming and relaxing. Only a couple of people went in but the water looked pretty good. There were lots of sandflies though which was the only downer. Eventually an awesome lunch was ready and we ate hard. The flies were bad though so I took off right after.

The second half of the ride had more climbing including one 8 km long climb that was over 10% for the first half and under for the second. It was pretty warm but not too hot – luckily the clouds stayed all day. Occasionally a couple of rain drops and occasionally some sun. Once we got up that climb we had another 20 km of cruising, mostly down, some awesome, to town. We’re only 4 km from the Peru border and it will be exciting to cross tomorrow morning.

The hotel in Macará is down at 500m altitude and was billed as a hostal but is actually a pretty nice real hotel. I have a big airy triple with Andrew and Martin, the shower offers unlimited hot water, and the internet is surprisingly fast and solid. What more do you want? To top it off, the soup was ready after my shower, a super hearty bean soup – delicious.

We went out for a sort of early dinner at a pizza place downtown. Again, no cerveza, but we bought most of the supply from the nearby ice cream shop so all was well. The pizzas were great – we had a grande and a media between three people which looked ridiculously big but were all finished of course. Back at the hotel we got to set the alarm for later having drawn second breakfast shift – clean living!

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh38972022110

Andes Trail Stage 10 of 109 Loja to Catacocha, Day 15 of 142

93.6 km, 2,294m climb, 5:13, 76.9 kph max

It was really nice to have a rest day and Loja was a great place for it. I think pretty much everyone spent some time cleaning their bike. The 30 km dirt section left lots of grit all over the bikes. Our mechanic Lucho fixed my slight shifting problem too which was great. The contrast in Loja from the super quiet Sunday night to the business of a Monday was huge. People everywhere, and the place looks prosperous and nice. A few of us went to lunch at a hole-in-the-wall place; some had tigrillo, a local brunch stew of plantains and cheese (and maybe some other stuff) with an egg on top. They didn’t have enough for all of us so some had Mote Pillo, another local specialty, hominy also with eggs. We went to a bike shop and bought a few things (mostly warmer gloves). We had a relaxing afternoon then I looked up “Brewery” on Google maps and we walked 1.6 km to the Zarza Brewing Company with six people. We walked in to Black Sabbath and a very nice looking place. It’s owned by a Texan so there are giant longhorn horns over the bar. We had a couple of their beers (IPA was good!) and nachos and burgers. Tasty and filling. The rain had stopped when we were done so we walked back. Andrew and I tried to go to the Symphony practice at the Teatro Simón Bolivar, but no luck. No matter, we got to bed earlier.

In the morning, breakfast was a half hour late at 7:30 so that was great. The forecast rain did NOT appear at all, in fact I hardly felt a drop all day. We started out together although Carol’s tire blew completely off the rim right away. The first climb of the day was a bit over 600m and pretty much started right away.

We climbed to a very windy ridge with 16.5 MW of wind turbines cranking away at full speed. I think eight turbines – video of riding by them. This was all on a little-used old road with some rough spots. But near the top of the descent we rejoined the Pan American Highway and this part had the best pavement yet. I got to pass a truck using the left lane and had a great time until maybe 3/4 of the way down when a bunch of us got bottle-necked behind a slow truck. It was nearly a 1,400m descent though, very fun.

We didn’t stop in the town below but headed though and started the second big climb of the day, this one 1,100m. It was somewhat a grind with more traffic, but pretty quickly we hit lunch at a little coffee/chocolate house by the side of the road. The PB was nearly empty but when I went back for seconds it was replaced and full! Awesome! Powered up, we started again, with 800m to climb. Andrew had a flat but we got up pretty easily – the tailwinds at the top were strong enough to blow us up the hill!

From that summit to Catacocha was something like 40 km, trending down but with quite a few little climbs. Soon enough we were doing the last one up to town, about 250m. And then we entered the town and the road went up SO steeply it was almost funny. I was thinking 22-25% but others thought 30%. It was rideable but I was panting at the top. We didn’t really find the hotel but found the fast guys at an ice cream shop. Fortified, we eventually rode up another 20% grade to the hotel where soup was set up. Tasty broccoli soup and extras, then we walked back downtown to our hotel. It has hard beds but hot showers so we’ll take that as a win! I was not passing the stairs test on the way up to the 4th floor.

We took a walk around town and settled ourselves in a little restaurant, again without beer. But this time Martin zipped out to the corner and returned with four “1 litro” bottles which Andrew reckons lasted the five of us less than 20 minutes. There were two choices for dinner, the chicken dinner or the sausage dinner. After asking a few times what else she could make, I gave up and asked for a sausage dinner without the sausage. That was a total no-go so (to everyone’s delight) I ordered a regular sausage dinner and just gave away the sausage. But the food was fine and she brought us glasses to enjoy our beer…

We managed our biggest climb yet and have only 99 more riding days to Ushuaia!

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh38927487495

Andes Trail Stage 9 of 109 Oña to Loja, Day 13 of 142

98 km, 2,014m, 5:34, 71.8 kph max

Where	Distance	Dirt km	Climb
South America	1,007	39	16,256
Andes Trail	725	30	12,543

When I woke up a bit after 6 am, I sure didn’t think this would be the best day of the tour yet. I was feeling slow and tired even though I got over eight hours of quality sleep (unlike those on the other side of the building that faced the town – the music went on until 4 am). Breakfast was so-so, just muesli and yogurt and hot chocolate for me.

The 1 km downhill warmup when we started at 8:09 am didn’t help and then a long 800m ascent started. Rob and Wytze passed early on (Wytze’s advice to me was “GET IT!”). I kept cranking and did catch up with Rob eventually. We rode together a while then it started raining. We did part of the descent together too, both with shit-eating grins going fast. But right at the bottom, a 700m climb started. Lunch was supposed to be a little ways up in a village but no sign of the truck so we kept climbing, raining on and off.

Finally near the top we pulled over and lunch was setup at a restaurant. It was great because:

• We got to eat inside, in front of a nice warm wood fire.
• I discovered there was Peanut Butter! Take some of the big crackers, smear thickly with PB, then embed as many roasted almonds as can fit. Repeat until done (after eating some power burritos). That is a Power Lunch.
• When we started up again there was only 100m or so to climb.

It started raining soon after I started up again and the descent was challenging – the rain drops felt like needles on the exposed parts of my face. I couldn’t feel anything on my legs. Around km 58, it all got better. We turned off the Pan-American Highway onto an unmarked dirt road which is a genius move from Rob: this road cuts off about 12 km and saves something like 500m of climbing to Loja! Also it’s got little traffic and is SUPER scenic, and IT’S DIRT for 30 km! It was still raining and somewhat muddy but that did not detract. The mud was actually packed by vehicle tires in a great way – it was very secure and you could go fast.

It was mostly down, and I got a ways out in front then stopped for photos and the rest of the guys caught up. But Chris had another flat. A little piece of glass had wedged in his tire – Wytze found it and that should be the end of those flats for him. We continued down, the rain stopped and it was just awesome. Eventually we did some climbing and the road dried out and we ended up going up a river rather than down which seemed strange. A few full-sized buses passed by which also seemed strange. There were giant puddles, lots of animals and people by the side. I saw everyone else had a trail of mud up their bum and back but when I looked at my jacket it was clean. Ass-savers for the win!

We ended up doing the last 10 km of the dirt plus the final 9 km through town in a group of five, nicely spinning fast and made it to the hotel at 3:15. We have a great triple room with Martin with a beautiful shower. We did laundry then went down for soup and it was the thickest and best yet. I’m really loving having four meals a day. Martin came in a bit later super enthused – he also had had a fantastic day. I think we are all glad tomorrow’s another rest day though!

About ten of us went out for dinner and relearned how hard that is on Sunday night in Ecuador. Google said that just about every restaurant was closed, but we walked seven blocks to the one that it said wasn’t and it was. We finally found the one place open in town, a ice cream shop that also made hamburgers and pizzas. I think they were a bit overwhelmed when we all walked in. My first question was “¿Tienes cervezas?” The answer was “¡No!” but that didn’t stop us. We had Jens and he found 3 one liter bottles plus about eight more of the smaller 625 ml ones. So we had plenty of beer while we waited and eventually all had dinner. Mora ice cream cones or tiramisu for dessert – great for about $6 per person. It turned out to be a fun ending to a fabulous day. Now it’s time for sleep. 100 stages to go!

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh38821863869

Andes Trail Stage 8 of 109 Cuenca to Oña, Day 12 of 142

106.9 km, 1,683m climbing, 5:24, 66.9 kph max

Our rest day yesterday in Cuenca was really nice after seven straight days of cycling. Breakfast was surprisingly good for just a hotel breakfast, then I did two hours of Garmin loading. Many people needed the recently received courses for Peru and Bolivia put on their Garmins and some still needed the detailed maps. It was interesting seeing so many different models but in the end all but one were updated and the one just needed another factory reset and it was good too. Andrew and I walked downtown to the Cathedral which was quite cool. There’s a good view from “the Terraces”, about 100 stairs up. We looked around more, then did some shopping on the way back to the hotel. I bought a duffel bag for simpler packing and clothespins and toilet paper. We had lunch at another place recommended by Beau, Café de Ñucallacta, which did not disappoint at all. There were people in there working on laptops so I could really imagine Beau there doing the same last summer.

Andrew went pedal shopping while I hung out at the hotel until it was time to go out for beers. 4 of us headed down to La Compañia. We scored a great table and had nachos and snacks with our beers. The sizes are 500, 650, 750, 1000ml – we went for 500. Andrew and I had the IPA which was supposedly 9.6% – tasty too. Then we walked over to the Bar Far Out Cervezeria German place and we had to try every single beer they had to find one we could stand. We shared a 1.5 liter pitcher of some Golden Ale that was about a 2 out of 10. But the bartender was quite funny and the music was great. Dinner was at the Moliendo Cafe, also recommended by Beau. I had the veggie dinner of the day, $3.50 for rice and a lentil patty and veggies and delicious guava juice. 1/10 the price of the previous night’s dinner. What a nice relaxing rest day!

Finally, I slept soundly for over eight hours! The alarm went off at 6:30 as usual and breakfast was the same and good. We packed up (the new duffel worked great) and left in a giant group at 8:07. We rode through the cobblestone streets for a few km with a couple of motorcycle police officers escorting us ensuring we didn’t have to stop for pesky red lights of which there were about a million. We just kept cruising for over 30 km, mostly together, gently climbing but mostly just nice flat cruising.

Finally the first big hill started and went on for over 10 km, climbing 800m or so. It was a grind, with headwind and rain, and it got colder and colder as we climbed. I had to stop before the top to put on warm gloves, a jacket and warm legs. We were riding through the mist and rain and the descent was quite cold. I don’t usually even say something was cold but this was pretty much “quite cold”. Lunch was a couple hundred meters down, sort of sheltered, and there was much shivering and adding more clothes. It was great to power up and it felt good to be off the bike for a little while. I took off with Wim, expecting more downhill, but there was still some up before we got to a viewpoint just over 3,000m and looked down to the bridge we’d soon be crossing almost 1,200m below. The descent wasn’t that great since the winds were strong and I couldn’t get that much speed up. But boy was the temperature increase good! At the bridge we stripped down to normal shorts and short sleeves and fingerless gloves etc. Then we had a 5.6 km climb up 440m which I powered up with Andrew at a perfect and consistent speed (not fast). At the top we had only a few km more to Oña and found the little dirt road that led to our hostals.

Again we didn’t all fit in one place, and this time, we got the crappy one with no bathrooms, no wifi, etc. That’s fair since we have had great luck at the other places. We locked up our bikes and soon were enjoying delicious soup and snacks, listening to Radar Love again, sharing videos, and feeling great to be warm and done with the ride. We invaded the other hostal for showers then hung out on a very nice deck writing and relaxing. Tomorrow’s ride is a little longer with a bit more climbing. Time to get tough!

https://www.relive.cc/view/gh38769898791