Time Trial on the Salt Pans. Rest day Uyuni.

Sunday 5^th October 2014. Stage 51, Salar de Uyuni to Uyuni. 35 kms, 7 km individual time trial along the salt plains. I think I coughed up the inside of my lungs in this race.

I slept so well last night that when I woke at 7.30 am the other two guys in my room had made their beds, got dressed and left the room. I didn't hear a thing I was so out of it. Today was the last day on the salt plains of Salar de Uyuni. I did want to get up early and watch the sun rise but missed that completely by about 1 & ½ hours. Breakfast was the usual cereal, eggs, tea and coffee. I was really looking forward today as we had a 7 km individual time trial along the salt plain, the only problem was that we had a head wind to worry about.

 Lunch stop on the Salar de Uyuni. The largest salt plains in the world.

 We took this photo sitting on top of the Isla de Pescado. The island in the centre of the salt plains. From the top we could see the cyclists heading off into the distance.

 The photo above is of Elizabeth at the train museum.

 The photo above shows the hotel we stayed we stayed in last night. The hotel is the area for the starting point of the world famous Dakar Rally.

 The photo above is of our first glimpse of the salt plains.

 The photo above is of the kids who came out to check out the bikes. They come from the village where the lady was killed 2 days ago during the violent storm that hit our camp.

 Barry and Dave taking one of their many breaks during the day.

The photo above gives a good impression of the salt plains that we rode on for 2 days. 2 days of the best riding in the world.

All the riders set off at 1 minute intervals and I was 2^nd last to leave. To cut this race to a short story it goes like this;

I started off hard and within a minute I was just about hyperventilating and got a head ache. When you push yourself to the limit at 3500 metres altitude you realise very quickly how your body goes into the red zone. I backed off immediately and tried to hold a speed of 32 kph for the rest of the ride. It was just painful and so hard to keep your breathing at a regular rate. My heart rate was through the roof and my breathing was an effort for the entire 7 kms, and I had to contend with the rough surface and headwind. By the time I finished the race I was stuffed. I must have coughed a million times after I finished and sat down on the salt. I looked around and could see the other riders in a similar condition. I know it was stupid to push myself so hard, but I'm a male and we do this stuff to our bodies.

After getting my act together I got back on the bike and rode into the town of Uyuni where we will have a rest day tomorrow. After 7 long and hard days with some incredible experiences, it's time to relax and smell the roses. But before I can do that myself, Dave and Elizabeth decided to go to the old train museum 3 kms away of our hotel. We went straight to the hotel put our bags in our rooms and headed out to the train museum.

The ride was along the train tracks that lead to La Paz and down to Salta where we're heading in the next 7 days. Once we got to the train site we came across old steam engines that were rusted out and stripped of any valuable metal. I got to climb over a couple of them and got some great photos, also tried to find the one that supposedly was robbed by 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Unfortunately they're no signs anywhere that could tell us anything about the history of this train wreckage site. It was still worth the visit.

It was back to town and find a place to eat. I was starving and we found a cafe for some soup, meat, rice, egg, salad and banana drink. Now for the best part of the last 7 days, back to the hotel for a hot shower and clean clothes. It's so good to feel and smell clean. The afternoon was spent walking around the small market area of town trying to find something to buy. I'll have a better look tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be a nice day walking around the town and trying to plan some activities for the rest days ahead. I'm going to stay in a hotel at Salta next week to have some time out from the tour. We have 2 rest days in Salta and would like to do some tours and enjoy what is suppose to be an amazing part of Argentina.

My post for today 6^th October 2014 is REST DAY.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.