Category: South American epic
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Section 7, part 1: Cycling the Salt Flats
Day 67: La Paz to Patacamaya, 92k I couldn’t wait to get out of town, I was over the chaotic cars and thousands of people. We left the hotel and rode up a hill to the cable car station. We must be getting better at city riding, because Bruce and I traversed the traffic with…
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Section 5, part 2: Incan Highlands
Day 63: Puno to Juli, 83k Rob and I decided to take it slow today since we are still recovering from the excitement a few days ago. We rode the bus to lunch which was around 53k. Bruce rode from the hotel and we waited for him to arrive at lunch to start our day.…
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Section 5, Part 1: Incan Highlands
Cusco Three whole days in Cusco to rest, but resting is for suckers! My brother, Rob, flew in from Ohio to join us for the next section of cycling. He just started road riding this year and has never been at altitude, YOLO! We spent most of our time in Cusco eating and drinking, like…
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Section 4, part 3: Gringo Trail
Day 55: Puquio to lake camp, 56k Our hotel did not offer breakfast so the staff set up breakfast in the plaza. The locals, mostly school children, gathered around watching us. A few brave children asked questions about what we were doing. Another day of climbing! We started at 3300m/9,900ft and had approximately 1450m/ft of…
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Section 4, Part 2: The Gringo Trail
Day 53: Nazca to Bush camp, 62k This day has been discussed and fretted about by the tour staff since we began the tour. On the transit to Cartagena with the the tour vehicles one of the staff said that he didn’t see how it was possible for a person to do the climb on…
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Section 3, part 5: Volcano Alley
Day 43: Trujillo to Guadalupito, 113k We convoyed out of Trujillo, which I was thankful to have a guide through the traffic and many turns. We continued onto the Pan Americana Highway all day. The road was busy as we went through the suburbs and industrial plants of Trujillo. After 10k we had a tiny…
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Section 3, Part 4: Volcano Alley
Chiclayo The roads are overrun with motor taxis, vans packed with passengers, cars, and semi trucks. Intersections are an organized chaos of vehicles following traffic lights and those trying to run over pedestrians so they can get where they need to be. There are many shops and restaurants, but nothing above average. It’s just another…
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Section 3, part 3: Volcano Alley
Day 36: Loja to Catacocha, 95k Our day started by climbing out of Loja. We started before the city woke up, quiet streets and barely any traffic. Once out the city limits the road turned to beautifully greenery lined highway with wild flowers, pine trees and eucalyptus trees. The air was cold and the fog…
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Section 3, part 2: Volcano Alley
Day 31: Puyo to Macas, 130k We must be getting stronger because today was not a difficult riding day. Mostly rolling hills with a climb after lunch, but we made it through. We rode along highway 45 or the Troncal Amazonia. At about 25k there was a look out point, Mirador. It cost $.50 per…
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Section 3, part 1: Volcano Alley
Day 28: Quito to Papallacta, 75k I decided not to ride today to give my saddle sores another day of rest. I rode the bus and talked food with the tour chef. 6:30am on a Saturday of a holiday weekend made for an easy ride out of Quito. The ride was basically a long ascent…
The Nations Abroad 