Stage 32, Ayacucho
to Bushcamp, 82 kms, 100% paved, 1825 metres climbing, summit 4325
metres. No rest on these climbs.
I woke today at 6 am which
is far too early considering I don't have to be down for breakfast at
7.30 am. Sometimes people make too much noise in the morning. I went
downstairs and had some corn flakes, some cheese rolls and a coffee
to get myself primed for the hard day ahead.
After breakfast and
helping load the truck, same people help, same people do very little
to assist. We rolled out of the hotel and down into the square to
meet up with General Del Pueblo who is running for President
Regional. We got to have our photos taken and I got to stand right
next to him. He put his arm around me and tapped me on the chest
telling me I was a strong warrior to be riding through his country. I
didn't tell him I felt like a tired old man ready to lay down and go
back to bed. He was a charming politician who handed out some
t-shirts with his name on and a nice Peruvian head wear to keep my
big ears warm.
Once the fanfare was over,
he rode with us for about 2 kms and waved us on our way. It was
pretty cool to be sent off like this on a day that was going to sort
the men from the boys.
A beautiful sunny morning
leaving Ayacucho at 9am to start a 43 km climb from 2750 metres to
4325 metres, ending at our lunch truck.
I sat on the front of the
bunch for the first 25 kms taking it at a nice easy pace. We were
leaving a city behind and would not see another town for the rest of
the day. We were climbing high in nice weather which no doubt will
get very cold by the time we reach the summit.
As we climbed we could
once again see snow capped peaks around us, and 1 cyclist said they
rode past some snow on the side of the road. With about 10 kms to go
till the lunch stop I was getting tired, I didn't sleep that well and
was awoken far too early today. At this point Barry just rode off and
left me behind so I rode with Michelle for the rest of the climb. By
the time we reached the summit I was glad to get my ass off that seat
and take a well earned break. The lunch truck was just around the
corner, so it was time to eat and relax.
What I did notice was the
dramatic change in temperature, it was windy at the summit and cold.
I had to get my good jacket out of the truck to keep warm during
lunch. I ended up wearing it for the rest of the day.
Michelle, Francis and I
got back on the road and took our time riding to the bush camp. It
was with beautiful scenery that we made the final 40 kms to the end
of the day. The mountains in this region have very little vegetation,
and only twice did I see a Peruvian tending to their flock on the
sides of the mountains. I could not see anything that resembled a
home anywhere at this altitude. I had no idea where these ladies
would be sleeping tonight.
We were told that the last
15 kms would be unpaved but thankfully this was wrong. Pavement all
the way today.
As we made our way to our
destination the only traffic that past us were the police escorts.
Many years ago this part of Peru had a lot of trouble with dangerous
groups. This has now passed, but the Police were going to take any
chances with the gringos.
The rest of the day was
gentle undulations which were still exhausting due to riding at over
4000 metres. If you rode any of these roads at sea level you wouldn't
have a problem in the world. We kept pushing until we found our
campsite in a gravel pit. I quickly put up my tent, had a pommie
shower and headed for the tea and soup to freshen up.
Our campsite is situation
at around 4300 metres above sea level looking out over the amazing
Andean mountains. I took some photos of the scenery from the campsite
and was blown away at the beauty and silence at being in this part of
the world.
Dinner was at 5.30 pm and
once again Ellen did a fantastic job. By the time we finished dinner
the sun had set and the temperature had dropped to zero. It was
freezing, so I headed off to Tent Hilton, put on the thermals, typed
a story and did some reading.
Tomorrow is another
cracker of a day, so I need to get my sleep to be ready to thrash
myself once again.
Until tomorrow, safe
riding.
Stage 33, Bushcamp
Abra Tocctoccsa to Chincheros. 78 kms, 100% paved, summit 4200
metres, climbing 1010 metres. The best way to start a day is
downhill.
I must say that sleeping last night was difficult at
4200 metres, although we had the view which made us feel we were on
top of the world. Once I was inside Tent Hilton and in my goose down
sleeping bag I was warm as toast. A lot of people complain about
sleeping at this altitude and a lot of the cyclists have terrible
coughs. I forget to mention my good friend Buck Benson decided to
stay back in Ayacucho and try and get over his chest cold. It was a
wise decision not to ride to 4200 metres with a terrible cold. Buck
is going to rejoin the group on the next rest day which is the day
after tomorrow.
Now for today. I rose around 6.30 am to a spectacular
sun rise over the Andean mountains. The cloud line in the distance
was well beneath us indicating just how high we really were. Once
again I find it hard to eat food at this altitude and my bowl of corn
flakes was difficult to digest. Some of the tents and bike seats had
ice an inch thick whilst others were just damp. Our good friend Max
explained the whole situation about ice and no ice on tents at this
altitude, so I must be full of hot air is what he was telling me.
The group rolled out of camp at 8 am for the 45 km
downhill run. It's not often you can find a place on the planet that
has a genuine 45 km run down into a valley below. We made our way
around sharp corner, long straights, stopping to take hundreds of
photos as our friends could be seen further down the twisting and
winding road below. The scenery was beautiful today as we kept
dropping and dropping into the valley.
I took the above photo today as we left the lunch stop in rain and freezing temperature. The next 50 kms was dirt, mud, dogs, cows, goats, pigs and some trucks, cars and motorcycles.
As we made it to the bottom of the gorge and across the
river I could see the fire engine parked off the side of the road. I
couldn't believe we had reached the lunch truck and it was only 9.30
am. I was not hungry at all but I knew we had a climb of 25 kms to
come so I had to eat something and refill the bottles. The
temperature was now 31 degrees C and only early in the day. This
means it's going to be a scorcher on the final climb into Chincheros.
After a sandwich and water top up, Barry and I hit the
road passing through small villages made of mud bricks, no power
supply, people washing their clothes in the river and appearing not
to have a worry in the world. And here we were complaining about the
next mountain we had to climb and how stinking hot it was.
As we rounded the final corner of the rolling hills we
could see the road going upwards. We put the bikes into a small gear
and started to tap away at a steady pace. I led the entire way up the
mountain with Barry close on my wheel. We knew we couldn't go too
hard because of the heat. We had a beautiful road to ride on with
very little traffic other than the police who constantly monitor our
progress throughout the day. We decided to take a good 15 minute
drink break ½ way up the mountain in the shade. It was 11.30 am and
the temperature was now 38 degrees C. Last night it dropped below
zero and now we are roasting. It's amazing how you feel after a
break.
Back on the bikes for the final 45 minute push to end
the day. The road was now gradually becoming easier to climb with a
gradient of 5-7 % all the way. This mountain was a 800 metre climb. I
said to Barry today as we were climbing the mountain, 'everyday we
have to climb a 25 km mountain, this is bullshit'. I can't wait to
get home and smash Mark Morgan and Anthony Leslie up Bald Hill. I'm
going to make them feel pain. Well I hope I do.
With a couple more bends to negotiate we came under the
monument marking the town of Chincheros. What a relief. About a km
later we came across the fire engines outside the hotel. We were
suppose to be camping but Bike Dreams changed their minds and put us
up in a hotel for the night. What a great decision.
Barry
and I were on the 4th
floor and dragging our bags up 4 flights is just agonising. We huffed
and puffed like 80 year old men carrying oxygen bottles with us. I
can tell you it was so nice to have a shower and wash my hair. I
leave the shaving for tomorrow.
We
went for a walk of the town which took about 10 minutes, stopped at a
new mini shopping centre and had bowl of soup and a fruit drink. I
think it cost us total about $2 AUS. We went back to the other hotel
up the road where the staff were staying an had a coffee and peanuts
to help the recovery process. I was pretty tired and went back to our
hotel and had a sleep for an hour. I was tired due to the bad sleep I
had last night.
The rest of the day will be spent eating, resting and
finally getting to watch the latest planet of the Apes movie.
Tomorrow we ride to Andahuaylas the capital of the
Andahuaylas Province which is known as 'pradera do los celajes', the
prairie of coloured clouds. It's approximate population is 34,000
inhabitants makes it the second largest city in their region after
the region's capital Abancay.
Now for interesting facts. My good friend Peter Felvus
told me that Inka Cola was not that nice to drink so I've stayed well
away from it so far. The current situation with market share in Peru
of soft drinks is as follows;
Inca Kola 31%
Coca Cola 26%
Kola Real 17 %
Pepsi 8%
Sprite 4%
Others 14%
In 2005 Jose R Lindley negotiated a deal to produce both
Coca Cola and Inca Cola thus having a combined market share of 60%.
To give you an idea of the mammoth task we are
undertaking riding the Andes, here are some more stats. The Andes are
the worlds longest continental mountain range. They lie as a
continuous chain of highland along the western coast of the South
America. The range is over 7000 km long, 200 km to 700 km wide, and
of an average height of about 4000 metres. No wonder I feel exhausted
all the time.
So tomorrow will bring us another hard ride to take us
to our rest day. I'll be able to catch up with Buck Benson and see
how he's going.
Until tomorrow, safe riding.
Stage 34, Chincheros to Andahuaylas, 75 kms, summit 3900 metres, climbing 1600 metres. Today was fantastic and a visit to the local school.
Now to get up to date. Thursday 11th Sept 2014. Stage 34.
Firstly I should mention the fantastic movie I watched last night, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Great movie and it kept me up til 10 pm. I woke at 6 am due to everyone opening and shutting the communal toilet right outside our bedroom. There was no way I was going to get back to sleep now, so it was time to pack the bag and head on up to the other hotel for breakfast.
After breakfast we started the 20 km ride to lunch. The reason the lunch truck was so soon was that this was the junction where cyclists had to decide whether they ride the dirt or continue onto Andahuaylas. So off we headed once again up another mountain. The climb from the hotel, which was on the side of the mountain, started immediately.
We started the morning at 2800 metres and finished at the lunch stop at 3700 metres and 20 kms of riding. There wasn't much to see on the paved road other than small homes, more pigs, dogs and cows. The whole of idea of this morning was to keep a steady pace and just get to the lunch truck.
We made it to the lunch truck by 10 am in drizzling rain and wind. I was freezing and immediately got my weather jacket and gloves out of the truck and put them on. What did annoy me was that I forgot to bring my leg warmers with me. I wasn't keen on sitting around and eating lunch now in this weather and wanted to head off on the dirt road for some excitement. Within 10 minutes we were on the dirt section which would follow us the rest of the day. Wilbert the boss had said earlier that this section was one of his favourites on the tour and that we should have some spectacular scenery to enjoy.
It was pretty hard to get any enjoyment riding down a muddy, wet, slippery road with little visibility. The clouds were setting in and at stages we couldn't see 20 metres in front of us. I did know what was off the side of the road if we got it wrong, a huge drop into the valley below.
After 10 kms of downhill we stopped to take some photos of the beautiful scenery. It was at this time that a group of school kids and a teacher came out and invited us in to see their school. Barry and I took the opportunity to get out of the rain and get warm. They took us to this small room which had a fire place to sit around. They gave us a cup of coffee and biscuits and the children tried to cram into the room to see these stupid gringos in their cycling gear full of mud. We communicated slightly with the school teacher and invited to play a game of football with the children. Now if you ever read my last story about playing soccer against 2 10 years old boys in Eastern Europe last year, you will remember the amazing goal I scored. I know Peter Felvus will remember that goal forever. It was a beauty.
During the afternoon ride we ride through this small village that looked like no one lived their. This is the typical village we pass out on these mountain roads.
Now for the football match.
I played up in front and Barry played at the rear his favourite position. We played on the girls team because we wanted them to win. The boys got off to a flying start and scored immediately. Barry was slipping and sliding all over the place in his riding shoes and I was up front waiting for that million dollar pass. Well it came, and I dribbled the ball past a couple of boys and slammed the ball into the back of the net. The wonderful thing about the goal was that both the boys and girls cheered me. This wasn't a match about winning or losing, it was a match about people getting together and having some fun.
After the match we went back into the classroom for while, wrote our names on the board and exchanged email addresses. We had a fantastic hour at the school and all of us have been enriched by the experience.
It was time to get back on the bike and hit the muddy road. The next 30 kms was in drizzling rain making it hard to see across the mountains. It didn't matter that much because we were still on a high after spending time at school. By the time we reached the road 10 kms from Andahuaylas both our bikes and ourselves were covered in mud. I got a slow leak in the rear tyre and had to pump it up about 3 times to get me to our destination.
We found our hotel and got our bags and dropped everything in our room and headed for level 6 for a bowl of soup and a cup of coffee. I was hungry and thirsty after a long day and the fact I had run out of food and one of my water bottles had broken. It didn't matter I had all afternoon to full up the stomach and drink heaps of fluids.
We got our dirty clothes together and dropped them off at the laundromat, ready to be picked up tomorrow afternoon. All we have to do tomorrow is clean the bikes, changed the tube, and eat, drink and sleep.
Now it's 8.30 pm and I'm stuffed and ready to hit the sack.
Until tomorrow, safe riding.
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