Day before the tour commences. Quito.

After a fantastic sleep we were up for a breakfast which consisted of 2 bread rolls, a slice of cheese and a slice of ham. Now, I'm not complaining about what we had, and actually it was quite nice. Washed down with a nice fruit drink and a couple of cups of coffee.

Barry and I had planned to meet Jurg from Switzerland ( and he knows my friend Scott Chipperfield who use to play for Australia and one of the big football teams in Europe) at 9 am to go for a ride to the Parque Metropolitano about 5 kms away. The parque has big climb which Dermot rode yesterday, and like all crazy cyclists, we had to take on the challenge today.

We rode the cycleway for the majority of the way, took a quick right and up we climbed. The climb was at around 12% and didn't really let up until we reached  the summit at around 2850 metres. I'm not sure how accurate the altitude reading is on my watch. Tomorrow I'll be able to compare with my new Garmin 1000 with the reading.

The view from the summit over the city and down to the new airport was very impressive. Jurg pointed out in the distance the famous Cotopaxi mountain. Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 50kms south of Quito, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in the country and reaching a height of 5,897 metres above sea level. Some consider it the world's highest active volcano, while others give this status to the considerably higher Llullaillaco, which most recently erupted in 1877.

Since 1738, Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys formed by lahars (mud-flows) around the volcano.

From the top of the park we managed to get a view of the top of Cotopaxi which is covered with snow. The photo below is not that great of the mountain, but one can see the snow covered peak.

Back on the bike for some more riding of the park. We came across some Lamas and of course had to get a photo standing near one. And to my friends back home, they didn't shake when I came close.

 Back down the hill and out of the park and into the city below. We entered another park and wanted to see why there were so many people wearing Coca Cola clothing and walking around the place. There must have been about 50 people riding bikes and carts depicted in the photo below handing out free bottles. Now I'm always up for freebies.

So when this young lady came up to me and handed me a bottle of coke and insisted on having her photograph taken with me, I had to oblige. Now I can understand why she wanted the photo. I couldn't talk any longer with her and told her I had to continue, as I was on a mission. We rode around the park which was full of children playing football, basketball and having a lot of fun. I think the children must be on school holidays.

In Quito we noticed the cyclists riding in the bus trolley lanes. Barry and I hopped into the lane and rode behind the bus all the way to the 'Old City' where we had been yesterday. Once in the city we made a U turn and latched onto another trolley bus and rode back to the new town where we were staying. The photo below is Barry behind the bus in the trolley lane. Actually it is the safest I've felt riding around Quito thus far on holidays.

Once in town we went back to the Plaza Hotel to pack up some gear and get ready for the first meeting of the tour at 4pm. Bike went well and everything looks in order for tomorrow. I'm now starting to get excited about getting underway. It's time to leave Quito. I'll update you tomorrow on the meeting and how our first ride which is to the equator and back goes tomorrow.

Last night at dinner this young lad came up to us and asked if he could clean our boots. I had sandals on and Barry had boots which don't take polish. Barry ended up giving the boy a couple of coins and I took a really nice photo. Below is the photo.

Now all the work has been done, thousands of kms ridden back home, a bike which is built to take on almost anything. All I have to do is 'just do it'. The photo below is the helmet that's going to protect me over the next 11,000 kms. I'm also filming a lot of the tour thanks to my son's birthday present. Thanks Josh.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.