Finally a stage win. Loja to Catacocha. 94.4kms. Summit 2634 Metres. Climbed 3435 Metres.

A rest day and a great sleep can only be promising for the day ahead. We rolled out of the Hotel Podocarpus in drizzling rain. Not want I wanted for a 96 km ride.

Before I get into the day's ride I should mention it was Viv's birthday yesterday, and she got plenty of cake from Bike Dreams for her birthday. I took a slab of course, it was free.

The course map for today is below.

As we rolled out of town we had to keep on a rather rough road which took us straight up, how surprising is that? The first climb was 15 kms which we took as a group of about 8 riders in the rain. With lights on I felt pretty safe.

As we reached the summit we all stopped and put on the rain jackets for the descent down into the town of Catamayo. I followed Jorst and Patrick down the mountain in the rain and with my super slick tires on. I was really concerned going down the mountain in rain as these tires are notorious for slipping out under you. I followed their lines into and out of each corner and didn't want them to get too far ahead.

As we passed Catamayo and headed up the road to the next mountain, I couldn't see any of the other riders behind me. We caught James who's the hitter in the tour and rode with him to the base of the climb. I was feeling pretty good and decided to attack right from the start.  Patrick and Jorst dropped off and then James, I was now on my own about 50 kms from the finish.

I kept pushing on trying to put in as much distance between James and myself in case I crack on the climb. After about 5 kms I rounded a corner and their was the lunch truck.  I quickly took a couple of bananas, a food bar and filled up my bottles. I got back on the road and continued up the remaining 12 kms of the climb. I could see a long way back down the mountain, but couldn't see James or anyone else.

It is so hard to keep your head and legs concentrating on turning those pedals, knowing that soon you will be free to roar down the other side. As I crested the summit some respite for my tired legs. The temperature was getting hotter today and keeping up fluids was really important.

From the top of the climb I had about 20 kms to go to reach Catacocha. Still there was a lot of work to be done before I reached the finish line. There were never ending hills all the way and you wouldn't believe it, the town is on the side of a rather large hill, which means another bloody climb. Up the cobbles of a gradient of 25% to reach the town square.

I had so much sweat in my eyes I couldn't read my Garmin, so I had to pull out the sheet with the name of the hotel on it. A couple of school kids pointed me in the right direction of the hotel. Another 100 metres, around the corner and the big red fire engine waiting. Finally a stage win in the Andes Trail. Regardless of how the rest of the tour pans out, I can go home happy.

Our bags were already off the truck and we could get our key for the room straight away. I had the best shower and shave ever, washed my clothes and hung them out on the balcony. Yes, we have a balcony looking out over the street and into the local square.

 The photo above was taken from our balcony.

Barry took this amazing photo looking back over the mountains we had just ridden over. One has to question our sanity of days like today. 

I've had a great day, Barry came 3rd, we have a great room, plenty of time to rest, and now it's time to eat. Tomorrow is another surprise which will all unfold during our breakfast. This is when Robert hands out the sheet with the day's instructions and graph of all the climbing. 

I'm having such a great time and doing with it good people.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Rest day on Loja, eXsight Tandems, Brian Siamyeuka.

Today is a rest day in Loja located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country. Loja has a rich tradition in the arts, and for this reason is known as the Music Capital of Ecuador.  The city has a population of around 200,000 and is situated at 2100 metres above sea level. If you're in this neck of the woods, Loja is a great departure point for the Amazon Basin and the El Dorado region.

Now that's enough history about this city. Buck and I did a walk around early today and enjoyed watching Ecuadorean life slowly pass us bye. Today is a rest day and that's what's we're doing. Barry's still not 100% and is spending the day resting up in his room.

Now for something special from back home.

During the 2014 Sydney to Surfers Charity bicycle ride, a tandem bike was used on a couple of days and later auctioned at the end of the tour. Cyclists in the tour are broken up into packs according to his/her own ability, and usually there are about 10 packs of 20 cyclists on tour. Barry Buckley (my mate on this tour) and Mark Morgan from back home were a part of the 2014 Sydney to Surfers bike ride and members of pack 4.  One of the cyclists from pack 4 Clive, suggested that they should put in a silent bid to buy the bike and donate it after the tour to eXsight Tandems of the Illawarra.

eXsight Tandems of the Illawarra is an organisation that takes vision impaired cyclists on tandems for ride rides around the Wollongong region on a daily basis. Barry and I donate Tuesday's to go for a tandem ride each week. I'm not sure who gets the biggest thrill out of the ride, me or my partner on the back.

To make this story short, Pack 4's bid was successful and the tandem was delivered to Geoff Stratton last weekend down in the mighty Wollongong. Several of the riders from pack 4 attended together with members of eXsight.

Delivery of the new tandem to eXsight. That's Geoff Stratton the president of the organisation on the tandem.

The photo above shows the names of the members of Pack 4 who so kindly donated a good sum of money to purchase the tandem. I hope to join pack 4 in 2015 and ride the Sydney to Surfers bike ride

The next topic I wanted to mention was the delivery of cycling jerseys to a good friend in Lusaka, Mr Brian Siamyeuka. During the 2011 Cairo to Capetown bicycle holiday, I met Brian in Lusaka and have kept in contact over the years. Brian is also a keen cyclist, so I decided with a couple of my friends to arrange around 20 jerseys to be delivered to him.  One of my son's friends Dr Dan was was travelling to Lusaka, so I arranged for Brian to meet Dan at the airport and do a handover. Everything went to plan and below are photos of jersey's being worn.

 Brian's the handsome chap on the right.

The photo above is Brian receiving his award for coming third in a big race recently.

With the support of many of my friends back home, the jerseys arrived with a big thanks to Dr Dan. To Clive, Barry, Mark and all the others of Pack 4 a very big thank you. 

There's no more to be said about the rest day other than I'm doing nothing until tomorrow morning.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

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.

Cuenca Rest Day. Not feeling 100%.

Finally we got the chance to take a well deserved day off the bikes, rest my legs and do nothing. The morning was spent on a tour of the city on one of those tourist double decker buses which was pretty good. For $5 dollars it was well worth it and went for about 1 & ½ hours. After that we went into the major cathedral and went and had some lunch. It was at this time I started to feel unwell in the stomach but still ate lunch.

After lunch I headed back to the hotel as I knew something was wrong. From 1pm to 4pm I laid on the bed until it hit me. It was just like last year in Kosovo when Peter and I got sick. I was hoping that that one visit to the toilet would end my problems.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the bed and not moving. I couldn't be bothered to eat dinner or go for a walk. I knew that riding tomorrow was off the cards. Of course we all like to ride every inch of the way, but in the scheme of things, I don't care. As long as I get better and not bust my arse, I'll reach the bottom of the world in one piece.

I should mention that in the afternoon one of the nice blokes on the tour 'Max' came in and dropped a plastic bag with something in it for me. I opened it up, and there was the coolest Ecuadorian cycling jersey I've seen. I will go out of my way to repay the kind gesture. I know what cycling jersey I'll be wearing when I get back on the bike.

  Whilst we were walking around Cuenca I got to see police parading for the minister for the interior. More pump and ceremony.

Although it's after midnight the story for yesterday isn't over. Around 12pm I heard Barry get up and go to the toilet and the rest is history. For the next couple of hours he was in pain going to and from the toilet. I felt really bad for him as I hoped like hell that by being in the same room I might have contributed in some way for him catching the virus that is going around many of the cyclists.

7am came around and both of us had decided it was time to take the truck. It was a simple decision as there was no way I would have made it up those climbs today.

This lady is not selling and cooking a banana, she is actually cooking a form of banana which at this point in time I can't remember the name.

 The photo above is of the Supreme Court of Cuenca. I tried to get in but they wouldn't allow it.

 The photo above is 1 of the 50 or more catholic churches in this town.

 More police prepared to quell any violence when the Minister for the Interior when he arrives.

And police standing to attending when the head honcho finally turns up. I waited for an hour and he decided to continue on looking around the city.

Now for Saturday 9^th August 2013.

Cuenca to Ona. Summit 3400 metres. 1817 metres of climbing.

I rolled down for breakfast and ate a dry bread roll with jam and a cup of tea, that's it. Went back upstairs go my gear together, put it in the truck, put the bike up on the roof and got ready for the 109km trip to the town of Ona. By the time we reached Ona I was glad of my decision not to ride. The hills, rain, wind, cloud, would have put me back days.

We rolled into Ona this very small village of about 20 shops and to a pretty cool hotel where we're staying tonight.

We got our room and by 12pm Barry and I were fast asleep. I woke at 1.30pm and Barry slept till 4.30pm. I felt a lot better but I won't know how much better until I've had something to eat.

I walked down to the corner junction to meet the rider coming in and laid on the bus stop bench in the sun nodding off again. The town's people must be thinking, 'where did this gringo come from'. I made my way back up to the hotel and hit the sack again, I wasn't in the mood for mingling so Buck and I sat on the verandah looking over the valley and mountain region of the Andes Mountains. It was so spectacular and it's at these times I wish I had my digital camera. Oh well, it doesn't matter.

The truck blew it's horn at 6pm signalling dinner was ready. We walked down to the small shop which had opened up for all the cyclists. The ladies of the shop had put on chicken soup, lamb stew with rice and potato’s for $5 dollars. It was the best money spent so far on the holiday. If it stays done, I'm ready to thrash myself tomorrow.

Until tomorrow, safe riding. 

Ingapirca to Cuenca. 78Kms. 1055 metres of climbing. Summit reached at 3500 metres.

I managed to sleep part of the night, and certainly not as much as I would have liked. The problem with staying in any motel or hotel is noise, and when you put 40 cyclists in a place you're bound to hear everything during the night. At least breakfast was excellent and a good start for the day.

Today's stage was a lot easier than yesterday's feeling of being brutalised on all the climbs. We left town and then dropped down into the valley, and once at the bottom the fun began. The tour only raced till the 40km mark which where lunch was waiting for us. It was far too dangerous to ride the remaining 37kms into the busy city of Cuenca.

Like usual I thought I would see how my legs were feeling after yesterday so I put in hard turn at the bottom of the climb and then found myself on my own. This was short lived as Rein and Dietrich caught and passed me about 2kms up the climb. No matter how hard I pushed I couldn't stick with them. James was behind me and so I pressed on and ride the 10km climb with James. Barry and Jerg was only a short distance behind and I was hoping they would come across to us.

By the top of the mountain I couldn't see the 2 guys in front so I thought today was not going to be my day for the win. I think I left everything on the road yesterday. We roared down the mountain heading for the village of Biblian to our lunch stop. The 'Bike Dreams' flag was on the side of the road indicating the lunch truck was nearby.

James and I had our time ticked us and we lost about 5 minutes on the leaders. Not sure how I'm placed at this stage. Barry and Jerg arrived about 8 minutes behind us. After lunch we had to put our warm weather gear back on before we took on the final 37kms into Cuenca.

We are staying at the Hotel Espana which is really nice. Our bike are located in the courtyard of the hotel and Barry and I have a twin room. Some of the other cyclists have 3 to a room. We're special. After a nice hot shower, first in 2 days, a shave and putting on sort of clean clothes we were ready to walk the streets.

We headed for the small square a couple of blokes from the hotel to try and get our clothes washed. The first 2 we came across had closed down, so Barry went into a hostel and they agreed to wash our clothes for $1 US per pound. We got all our clothes washed for $5.50. I didn't even consider bargaining at that price.

There was one funny thing that happened today and I should mention I do love dogs. Now I've mentioned how bad the dogs are in this part of the world, well, this one dog was chasing the 4 of us along the grass verge, barking and showing off it's teeth like it wanted to eat us when it went bang head first into a pole. You should have seen this dog get cleaned up. I don't think we laughed so much in a long time. This dog went head first, flat out into a pole. Teach the mongrel from chasing Terry Wall.

Ingapirca to Cuenca. 78Kms. 1055 metres of climbing. Summit reached at 3500 metres.

Just a photo of one of the may churches in the city of Cuenca.

That's Barry and his good friend Max down in the courtyard of the hotel. When the cyclists come to town they certainly take over the place.

The rest of the day was chilling out, going for dinner for more chicken, and working out what we will do on our rest day. Tomorrow is our first rest day of the tour, and I need it.

Until tomorrow, safe riding. 

Chunchi to Ingapirca. 72Kms, summit 3150 metres. 2050 metres of climbing. What a cracker of a day.

It doesn't matter how long I slept last night as it was not going to prepare me for the hiding we copped today. Firstly the Imperial Hotel in Chunchi was excellent and had all the amenities one would want for an overnight stopover.

After breakfast the group rolled out of town and into the mountains. I was riding with Barry, Jerg, Buck, Rein and James. The first climb went from 2300 metes to 3100 metres over a distance of 35kms. The problem was that as we climbed 300 metres we dropped down again into a small village and had to climb back up the next mountain pass.

The scenery was just as spectacular as yesterday, with lush green valleys, clouds in the distance and a chilly breeze to meet us at the top of each climb. When we started out of town today I tried to sit with Rein who is very strong and pulled away from my usual group. I think I took on more than I could handle. Rein dropped me towards the top and eventually James caught up with me. We rode together up climb after climb and then headed downhill towards the lunch truck at 10.30am. I pulled over for lunch but James continued on. Rein was already ahead of us making real good time. I had a roll and some fruit and got back on the bike for the final 30kms to Ingapirca.

At this stage I had already climbed over 1200 metres and was feeling very tired. I didn't think I would see James again but I did. As I roared down into the town of El Tambo at the 61km mark I missed the turn off to Ingapirca historical site because I was sitting behind a truck to avoid all the dogs trying to attack me. I have never had so many dogs try and bite me today than I have in my whole life. And after the crash I had back in 2011 when I dog attack caused me to go across the road and into window of a car coming the other way, I was a little nervous on bike today.

I continued on through the town and then my Garmin 1000 showed I was off course. I turned around and rode back into town and and found the sign for Ingapirca. From here to the end of the day was 9kms of climbing. It was about 5kms from the finish that James came up from behind and told me he also failed to see the sign but he went a little further. We rode the last 5kms together, yelling and screaming at dogs, battling horrendous headwinds up hill with legs that felt they were on fire.

At the base of the last climb I couldn't go any harder and was dropped by James. I followed him about 100 metres behind right up the steep climb and onto the finish line. I was stuffed. I arrived at the hotel at 12.30pm and had nothing left in the tank. We finished the climb at 3150 metres. Our accommdation is an old hostel which is just fine for one night. Although it doesn't have Wifi, Barry and I have managed to get a room with 2 beds, others have 3 to a room.

When I arrived at the hotel there was no running water, so out came the face cloth and a bottle of water to wash myself. I felt like a new man. After a short wait for everyone to arrive and get cleaned up we went for a walk up the road to the famous Ingapirca ruins.

The ruins are the largest Incan ruins in Ecuador. The most significant building is the temple of the sun, an elliptical shaped building constructed around a large rock. The building is constructed in the Incan way without mortar. The stones were simply chiselled and fashioned to fit together perfectly. The temple of the sun was positioned so that on the solstices, at exactly the right time of day, sunlight would fall through the centre of the doorway of the small chamber at the top of the temple.

The 200 metre walk up the entrance of the ruins was all uphill, just like my ride today. The ruins costs $6 per adult and you get an English speaking guide if one is available. Today we only had the pamphlet to guide us along the path. The ruins were certainly worth the effort although we were freezing and the wind was still howling through our bones. The way the Incan people built the entire complex with water systems, food storage, agriculture, and even a place for virgins was pretty impressive.

We made our way back to the hotel and laid on the bed relaxing and waiting for dinner to be served.

Barry and I have the best room by far. Barry has this blue tooth speaker for his Iphone and every day we play music so everyone else can hear, whether they like our chose or not.

With dinner devoured and desert for good measure, it was far too cold to be anywhere other than bed. Bed is at 7.30pm tonight and with a good sleep we'll be ready for more mountains and more pain. No internet at the hotel, will post 2 days tomorrow, Thursday 7^th August 2014.

 That's our hotel in Ingapirca. Although the shower was cold, I didn't care as I was stuffed and all I wanted was some food and a good night's sleep..

The photo was taken during our walk of the Ingapirca ruins. The ruins date back as far as the 5th Century.

 The photo above is of the Sun Temple inside the ruins. It's amazing walking in the ruins of history and what they were used for all those years ago.

You will notice a ring in, in the photo above. This young Ecuadorean lady wanted to have her photograph taken with the cyclists from the tour. I'm the one wearing the black hat.

The photo above is part of the instructions we receive each day before we head off.  Today was one of those days that nearly broke me. 

Tomorrow will be a lot easier, hopefully.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Alausi to Chunchi. 34.9kms, 1744 metres climbing. Summit 2731 metres.

I managed to get to bed at 8.30pm last night because I was dead tired. I had a great sleep thanks to Terry No.1's (that's Terry Sandford from back home) ear plugs I slept like a bear. Probably snored like one too, but, who gives a toss.

Today is a 35km day to the town of Chunchi in the Canton region. We left the hotel as a group just before 8am. Because Alausi is situated in a bowl, that means we started climbing right from the start of the day. There was no use in going crazy on the climb as we intended on stopping as soon as we reached the summit at 2731 metres in 6kms. Although it's hard to get your legs going so early into the ride, I'm starting to get use to on this trip, as all roads seem to go to heaven. The photo below are some more cyclists arriving at the end of the day. The tables below is where we'll be eating our breakfast tomorrow. The Imperial hotel has all the amenities you need for a stopover.

That's Barry and I ready to take on the mountains.

As we reached the summit of the first climb we took a rest and took out the iPhone for some photos of the countryside. The view across the mountains to where we were heading and also looking back down into the town we just climbed out of was just breath taking. A photo sometimes does not capture the pure brilliance of the Andes Mountains.

The above photo was taken just around the corner from the summit. We were heading in the directions of the clouds in the distance. It might not be evident, but we were actually higher than the clouds.

We took the above photo after reaching the summit of the first climb looking back down into the town of Alausi. For those history buffs, the town of Chunchi is located in the Canton province of Ecuador.  The next 11kms were all downhill into yet another valley. Screaming down the mountain at 70kph is such a buzz. Today Barry and I stopped with the group and took as many photos as possible. Beautiful mountains followed us to the next climb. 

The photo above taken during the last climb up into the mist that shrouded the top of the summit.

The next climb was 10kms which took us to the point where we could see Chunchi in the valley below. We rode the last part of the day with Patrick, Jorst, Tim from Young, Australia and me old mate Barry. Once in town we found the 2 red fire engines parked out the front of the hotel and people unloading our bags. Barry and I got our room and went upstairs to find a double bed and a single bed. Well, you know who got the double bed, ME. I deserve it more than him. 

Once stripped down I turned on the shower to warm up and wash some of the dirt off me. Well I nearly froze my, you know the rest, the water was freezing and stayed that way for the 30 seconds it took me to have a shower. Once clean and dressed in 3 day old clothes it was time to go for a walk of the city. I did manage to come across the church and went inside to check it out.  The photo below is of the main worshiping site in Chunchi. 

Whilst sitting in the main square I spoke to a lady who said I should go and visit the church built on the rock, just down the road and built into the rock wall. Buck and I walked back to the edge of the valley and there it was, a little chapel where the local go to pray peacefully instead of the main church in the centre of town. What a spectacular view the worshipers would have looking out from this holy place. The photo below is of that church.

Not being one for sitting around too long, we went back up town to see if we could find somewhere nice for dinner tonight. Being in a extremely small village nestled on the side of the Andean mountains would be a challenge, but we did manage to find a couple of the cyclists having a beer in this cafe with all the locals. Look like we found our place for dinner.

As we made our way back to the hotel the mist started to cover the town and would stay like this for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow we have about 70kms which will be similar to today. I felt really good today and hope to feel like this for the next 2 days. We finally get to have a day off in 2 days when we reach the city of Cuenca. 

Until tomorrow, safe riding.