Bush camp PN Huascaran. 62
kms, Paved 33%, 982 metres climbing, summit 4845 metres. Not a good
day.
I didn't sleep that well
last night, but at least I was warm in my tent. Breakfast was at 8am
to avoid the chill of the morning. I took some nice photos of the
surrounding countryside before we headed off at 9am. As soon as we
left I knew something was wrong. I had no power in my legs and my
heart rate was at 133 Bpm. I think the altitude was taking it's toll
on me.
No matter how much I
struggled, people were passing me in droves. I was the last person on
the road and I couldn't go any further. I decided to stop a vehicle
on one of the climbs and he allowed me put my bike in the ute and get
a lift to the turn off. I thanked his so much for helping me out. I
then took the road to lunch and still had one more climb that would
take me to over 4800 metres. I just couldn't understand how bad I was
going. I had a dull headache all morning.
The photo above is of an ancient Inca ruins located high in the Andean mountains.
When I reached lunch I
decided to pull the pin on the rest of the ride. It's stupid to push
yourself for no good reason.
The cyclists started
arriving for lunch and I sat in the truck to try and keep warm. I was
freezing cold and shaking. After everyone had their lunch and headed
off, we started to drive towards the finish line. We had to stop many
times to see if the riders were happy to continue or get on the
truck. By the time we reached the summit it was snowing. I'm so happy
with my decision to call it quits at the lunch stop.
Shortly after the summit
we hit the pavement for the final 25 kms to the bush camp. It was
raining and miserable and I could see the cyclists were freezing and
wet. We stopped at a road side workers compound because we saw 2
bikes which was rather odd. We found out it was Jeanette and Dermot.
Jeanette was suffering from the coldness and could go no further. We
put some more bikes on the roof of the fire engine and headed for
camp.
We arrived at camp around
4.30 pm where I quickly went about putting up the tent and getting
warm. Today I got to see some amazing mountains and incredible roads
to ride on, unfortunately the altitude was not kind to me. Tomorrow
we are going to do it all again.
Until tomorrow, safe
riding.
Huallanca to Bush camp
Jivia. 70 kms, 39% paved, 1100 metres climbing, summit 4000 metres. A
day to ride the truck.
I don't know what's wrong
with me but last night I slept in a way that can only be described as
'shit'. I tossed and turned all night and no matter what position I
was in, I couldn't nod off. I woke up like I just went 12 rounds with
Muhammad Ali, and lost.
I went and saw the Dr on
the tour and spoke about a couple of issues with her and she decided
that I should take the next 2 days off and enjoy the rest day on
Saturday. I'm not eating well, not sleeping well, and feeling
stuffed. So it's riding the fire engine today.
We rolled out of camp at
8.30 am and the first part travelled along a beautiful river running
over rocks and meandering through old villages made of mud and
sticks. The people wear beautiful coloured clothing and fancy hats.
They walk with their donkeys in tow and even the pigs walk behind
their masters. They certainly breed them different in this part of
the world. I also noticed as we drove along the top of the mountain
how friendly the locals are in these small villages, waving to us and
saying, 'Hola', which is hello of course in English. I'm learning
Spanish very slowly.
Just a photo of the roads we've been riding on over the past few days.
We made it to the lunch
stop and Robert the driver decided to take a side track to see the
Huanuca Pampa and old Inca ruin. This may not be as flash as the
might Machu Picchu we are going to see in 3 weeks, but it certianly is
spectacular. We were told not many people get to see this site
because it's located so far off the beaten track. The road we
travelled along today was another day of Andean magic. We could see
over the crests of mountains reaching over 5000 metres. With their
snow capped peaks, sharp rock faces, colours that kept changing as
we got higher and higher in the afternoon sun.
Yeh, it would have been
better in the truck riding this section, but this old body says rest,
and then rest it will be.
We rolled into a small
town of Jivia and found a nice campsite near the river. I got the
best campsite and made sure my good mates, Barry, Buck and Jurg got
to camp nearby. I'm right next to an old house which I told the boys
was listed under UNESCO, so you can't move the rocks. They didn't
listen to me, and the photo shows the 4 old men doing nothing like
usual.
I'm riding the truck again
tomorrow, as we head for the town Huanuco, a distance of 102 kms. A
hotel awaits us.
Until tomorrow, safe
riding.
I did get a good night's sleep and ate a descent breakfast, the first for about a week. I went to see the Dr and did a quick test which she was happy with and said take the day off and enjoy the rest day tomorrow. I was happy with that. So I am going to ride the truck all day to the town of Huanuco.
Our ride today would take us from the central Andes up to nearly 4000 metres on a road that can only be described as breathtaking and downright terrifying. As we made our way past the cyclists clawing their way up the dirt road I kept looking down into the valley below, being silently terrified about the drop if Robert our driver got it wrong. Our truck driver Robert is just brilliant, never takes a risk and is willing to stop to allow us to take photos. Today we had Alec, Honey, David and myself as non starters.
We had to stop a couple of times due to landslides, goats, donkey's, pigs and sheep blocking our way. We eventually turned onto the tar road around the 40 km mark. Sitting in the fire engine and riding the bumps all day is not fun at all.
As we crested the summit at close to 4000 metres we came across a small village who were having some type of celebration. Of course we all jumped out of the truck and took some photos. I downloaded a quick video clip of the parade and photos from today. Video clip will follow tomorrow.
One of the colourful characters in the parade today on our way to Huanuco.
The young girls all dressed up seem to be having the time of their lives, singing and dancing in the small village nestled high in the Andean mountains.
The photo above show an old beat up vehicle. Actually it shows 2 sheep on the roof, a couple of sheep in the boot, and whatever they are doing in the boot is leaking onto the road. When I walked past I was scarred to pieces when I heard the screaming noise coming from the boot.
I sat on the hill watching the parade and David got the chance to snap a photo of myself with one of the elderly ladies of the village.
Regardless of riding the truck today, I got to see things that the cyclists would not have seen. I got to see the sides of mountains which I thought the truck was going to roll off, and then went down a 50 km hill into the madness of Huanuco. We arrived in town around 2 pm safe and sound at Hotel Royal, and pretty flash indeed.
Barry arrived about an hour after we did because we can't go fast downhill in the truck and we got caught up at 3 police checks. Now that's a story in itself which I'll leave for another time. With my room allocated it was time for a cold shower and shave and put some clean clothes on. It's only when you strip right off you realise that you have a rather strange odour after not showering for 4 days. That's life I guess.
Tomorrow is our rest day and I'm ready for a good walk of the town. For once on the trip I feel good and not tired.
I'll provide an update up my visit to the prison and other matters that happened over the past 4 days.
Until tomorrow, safe riding.
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