Ona to Loja. 106kms, 2471 metres of climbing. Summit 3100 metres. Stuffed.

After resting up all day yesterday on the truck and getting a good sleep last night, it was time for both Barry and I to get back on the road and do it all again. Today's stage was listed as the hardest so far on the tour and there's no better day to do it, and that's after you've been unwell.

The photo above is of today's stage. A real tough day in the saddle.

We rolled out of the hotel around 8.15am and went down hill for about 1 km and then the fun  began. Up the road went and once again into the cloud line for 15 kms. There was no reprieve and the gradient was 10-12% all the way. I tapped away with Patrick and never really forced the pace as I knew I had a long way to go, and considering how I felt yesterday, the goal was to get to the end and nothing more.

I wasn't feeling too bad when we reached the summit so we stopped to put the wind jackets on and took off down the mountain to get ready for the next climb.

The next climb was 12 kms long and was a similar gradient. These mountains just go on for ever. We don't get any rest and we have to keep turning those pedals no matter how painful it is. It's so hard to explain the difference of riding at altitude compared to riding at sea level, there's just no comparison. With the 2nd summit in reach, I was starting to feel exhaustion setting in. Along the top of the mountain we went and onto the lunch stop at 45 kms. It felt so good to get off that seat and sit down and eat, rest and drink. A couple of other cyclists were already there, but I couldn't give a damn who was in front of me today, I was just riding to survive. My stomach was still all over the place, but come hell or high water, I was going to the finish line in Loja.

Barry and I left the lunch stop at 12 pm and took on the final 60 kms to end our day of pain. About 1 km down the hill we turned off to check out a small village. We had to buy some water because Barry left his water bottles back at the lunch stop. It's these diversions in the tour that can have the best moments on tour.

We came across 2 gorgeous children who had such a beautiful smile that I had to take their photos. If you never venture off the main track in life, you will miss so much.

 The photo above is Barry and the 2 children.

 In the same village I went into a small shop to have a look at the clothing, but didn't find much other than one of the men playing the pan flute. See above.  It was just an amazing experience and so out of the blue encounter.

We had to push on, we still had 60 kms to go and 2 more climbs to get over before the roll into Loja. The first climb was 4 kms which wasn't too bad, but the 2nd climb was brutal. With legs now screaming and no more energy left at all, we both clawed our way up the final climb of 10 kms to be greeted with the view of Loja in the distance.

The roll down into town had a couple of little climbs along the way, but we were both spent. Should we have had anther day off the bike, well there are some that would say YES, and there's me who said, 'in for a penny, in for pound'.  I did it.

We made our way into the hotel around 3 pm, got our room, had a shower, soup, cup of tea, and laid on the bed.  I was just empty.

Tomorrow is another rest day and I'm so looking forward to it.  I've got some good news on eXsight Tandems and what Barry and his mates achieved which will be posted tomorrow. Also I'll be adding a story on my good friend from Lusaka on the delivery of jerseys by Dr Dan.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.