2 rest days in Huanchaco. On the mend and ready to start tomorrow.

Firstly, I'm not a good patient and in fact I hate being ill. For the past 2 days I went into the main city of Trujillo to do some looking around with Buck and James, got a hair cut, went to a couple of churches, caught the local bus, a couple of taxis, and rested up.

Last night we went to Lupcho's house for a party and a majority of the cyclists attended the event. His family had gone to great lengths in ensuring he night was a success. They had strobe lighting, enough lights to light up the Sydney Football Stadium and loud Peruvian music. It was a great night and a special event on tour. Buck and I left the party close to 10 pm, as I was still tired and working hard on getting over this damn stomach bug. I would say I'm about 90% and I'm really looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow.

 We took the local Peruvian bus into Trujillo today, would have been a lot quicker to catch the taxi.

 The photo above is of yet another Cathedral. This Cathedral is the Basilica Nemar which is quite spectacular inside.

 That's James in the barber's chair. Myself and Buck also got a hair cut but you won't be seeing any photos of my head until it's a bit longer. It cost 3 Sol each which is about $1.15 Australian, and to my 2 cycling buddies, NO, I didn't try and get it cheaper. Actually I was given a chocolate for being so good whilst I got my haircut, and out of the goodness in my heart I gave it to the young girl who cut my hair.

 The roof inside the Basilica was painted beautifully. The iPhone doesn't do the painted justice.

 More of the amazing ceiling inside Basilica Nemar, Trujillo.

It's a real shame I didn't go and eat at Restaurant Jesus the previous day, I might'n have ended up sick. Found the restaurant at the end of today's walk. 

Today we only went for a walk up town and bought another T-Shirt to add to my collection, or might even given one away when I get home. I had to change the tires on my bike from road tires to dirt tyres as from now on we're going to be spending a lot of time in the mountains and on dirt. This is the part I really enjoy.

This afternoon I'm spending it laying on the bed, listening to some music and doing nothing. Tomorrow is the start of a 4 day leg to the city of Huaraz where I have some interesting stuff arranged. Since we'll be bush camping for the next 2 nights, no blogs until the next hotel in 3 days. 

As you workers are slowly dragging your lazy butts out of bed and getting ready for work, I'm going to sleep to get ready to attack the dirt and no shower for the next 3 days. Bring it on.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Pacasmayo to Huanchaco on the truck. 112 kms.

When I got up this morning I got dressed in my lycra and went down for breakfast. As the seconds ticked away I knew that I was not feeling well and riding another 112 kms feeling shit but just down right stupid. I told Barry that I had to go back to the room and change into my normal clothes and that I was going to take the truck.

There are some riders, just like those in the Cairo to Capetown ride that would rather ride with terrible sickness than to ride the truck, just for the sake of riding every inch of the trip regardless of the damage it may cause to them.  Me, I don't care, I'm on a holiday.

I loaded the bike onto the truck and headed off to Huanchaco. We arrived in town around 11 am and quickly on loaded all the bags  from the truck, got my room and went to bed. I was stuffed.

The riders arrived around 1 pm and I joined in for a bowl of soup. I wasn't eating and just thinking about eating bread and jam made me ill. I went back and laid down all afternoon. Just before dinner as the sun was setting Buck, James and I walked along the beach front to check out the scenery. Didn't see anyone swimming, probably because the water was freezing, but we did see people tending their fishing nets and getting ready to go out and catch a boat load.

I did take some Norfloxacin Sandoz which was given to me by Michelle which seem to have done the job on my stomach. Dinner last night was a disgusting, a piece of rubber fish which was inedible and a hand full of potato chips. I left early and went back to the hotel to lay down, I was stuffed.

When I did get back to the hotel I was met by David and Susan, 2 extremely nice people from England who are also taking part in the tour. Dave had just been bitten by a dog and the skin had been broken. I heard later on that he went to about 3 hospitals and none of them had the vaccination shot he needed. Looks like he'll have to do some more searching tomorrow.

 The photo above was taken walking along the beach at Huanchaco.

 These Pelicans are everywhere on the beach and they don't move for you. You have to walk around them.

 We came across some kids diving for these small crabs near the pier.

The photo above is of Buck's breakfast today.

I know I'm late with this post but when you're unwell you just couldn't be bothered to do anything other than to lay down and rest. I went through the same thing when I was in Kosovo last year with my good friend Peter Felvus. Damn we were sick in that place.

Tomorrow will be another easy day and perhaps I'll go into Trujillo to look around the shops. Do some shopping and might even get an airport.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Lambayeque to Pacasmayo. 119 kms. 363 metres of climbing. Still not 100%.

Once again I'm being troubled by an upset stomach. Even during the night I could feel something wasn't right. I'm putting it down to eating white bread. See I don't eat white bread at home and it's much harder to digest than brown bread. My goal is to back off completely and see what else I can eat to replace bread during the day. I have to ride 119 kms on mainly flat roads with an upset stomach, so another tough day to drag my ass through.

You've already heard me complain about my sleep last night, well breakfast was a bit of a non event.Now this has nothing to do with Bike Dreams but the hotel only provided a couple of bread rolls with jam, and that's it. That's just made my day even harder.

The group rolled out of the hotel and I was last one out. This meant I had to chase the group for 5 kms before I got on the back. I managed to do a 10 minute turn on the front, but it just wasn't working for me. I sat on the back of the bunch again till lunch and I'll see what happens with a rest.

 The photo above are a kind of vulcher that scavengers all around this desolate countryside. The sands go from the roadside off into the distance for miles and miles. This is the terrain we've been riding in for days.

Lunch stop was fine in a sandy patch off the side of the road.

Back on the road for the final push to Pacasmayo, some 55 kms. I went to the front with Max straight away for a 10 minute run and then went back to the back of the pack for the rest of the afternoon. I was just so tired from poor sleeping and the upset stomach.

It was a very baron road with crazy truck and bus drivers all day avoiding head on collisions. I'm amazed how close they came to each other time after time.

We rolled into Pacasmayo around 1 pm and were greeted to a really nice hotel right on the beach. 

That's me on the left, Barry in the middle and Tim Dowling on the right standing on the balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful view and perfect weather.

 The beach front avenue outside our hotel.

The photo above was taken on the beach front looking out to the pier that runs out about 200 metres from the shore.

I went for a walk with Jurg, Barry and Buck around the town and bought some yogurt to calm my stomach down for the evening. I can now hear the water lapping on the shore and the band has just started playing. Dinner is just around the corner, shortly followed by bed. It's just the way it is on tour.

I hope everyone is enjoying the ride as much as I am.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Bush camp Motupe to Lambayeque. 72 kms, 64 metres of climbing. A nice early day.

After sleeping in my new tent for the first time, and first time on tour, it wasn't that bad. I crashed out at 8 pm and woke around 6 am. Putting the tent up was pretty straight forward last night and packing it away took about 5 minutes. I need to get the construction and demolition of the tent down to an art, because when we get further south and the weather is horrendous, I need to be able to do it quickly.

The group rolled out of Motupe around 8.15 am. By the time I got along the dirt track and up onto the main road, cyclists were all ahead of me. Barry and Lupcho had raced up the road to catch Jorst and James, but didn't catch them. I was glad to ride with the bunch of about 15 riders, and today I felt better so did some turns on the front. Now that has to please some my bike riding friends back home.

We rode along a dead flat road, with the usual kids calling out 'Gringo, Gringo'. We just waved at them and continued on. Today was a really pleasant day of perfect temperature and the headwind wasn't that bad. Once again the very small towns we rode through were of the mud type and tin roofs. Every bridge we rode across showed no water in the rivers below. This place is so dry right now it's amazing. I'm not sure when the rain comes in this part of the world.

We continued on into Lambayeque at around 11.40 am to find James and Jorst's bikes but not Barry and Lupcho. By the time I had a shower, shave and washed my clothes for the next 2 day's of riding. Barry and Lupcho arrived some time later are having gone the wrong way. At the end of the day it doesn't matter one bit what your time is, as long as you arrive at your destination in one piece.

My home more commonly known as 'Tent Hilton'. Named after my very good friend Mr Rodney Sanders. 

 You can see we camped in a dust bowl last night, but I'm not complaining as there's another 70 more nights of these coming up.

 I took some photos in the local market in Lambayeque. They all wanted to show off their catch.

 More fishing moments.

 And boy hasn't she got a big one.

I took the above photo during our trip to the Museum in Lambayeque. It's amazing how these bodies are preserved so well after all these years.

Once we had lunch at the Hotel Santa Lucia, Buck, Max and myself went for a walk of the markets and tried to locate a shop that would sell up a 'Claro' sim card. We were told that the town wasn't big enough to have an agent, meaning we would have to wait 2 more days until we have our rest day.

Max left us, so Buck and I went and visited the famous Bruning Museum. The museum was established in the early 1900's, contains hundreds of gold and silver pieces, as well as textiles and ceramics from the Vicus, Chimu, Moche, Inca and Lambayeque cultures. For a bit of useless trivia, Lambayeque is the home of King Kong milky candy, a popular dessert with filling made of fresh milk, pineapple sweet5s and sometimes peanut. This part of Peru is also famous for their Alfajores.

Buck and I had had enough walking around so went back to the hotel to rest up. When I got back Barry, Lupcho and Franz were going to the town of Chiclayo to check out some bicycle shops. I thought what the hell, I'll go to bed early and catch up on the hours of sleep I've already missed this holiday.

The taxi was about $5 US for the 15 minutes trip for the 4 of us one way. A pretty good bargain. Once in town we looked at several bicycle stores, none having Peru cycling jerseys, and a couple of clothing stores, all to no avail. I was told Lupcho our mechanic on the tour has a bicycle store in Huanchaco, the town where we're having our 2 rest days. We should be able to get a cycling jersey for sure.

As we were catching the taxi back to Lambayeque, we came across a serious motor vehicle accident with the car on it's roof in the middle of the road. How crazy is this? It was one of the mad taxi drivers from this part of the world. The drivers in this town drive exactly like the idiots in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and the list goes on and on.

Tonight will be another quiet night, no dancing girls or loud music. A nice meal and do some reading.

Tomorrow we head towards the city of Pacasmayo. Not sure what awaits us. I do know it's not a bush camp.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Chulucanas to Motupe bush camp. 147 kms. 811 metres climbing. I sat on the whole way.

The room we had last night was on the corner of the hotel on the ground floor. This meant that everytime a car or motor cycle pulled up at the corner we would hear them rev off. This happened all evening and all morning. I don't think I got much sleep at all. I was just as tired this morning as I was last night. Not a good start to a 147 km ride.

 The photo above is of our police escort for the day.

 My first bush camp for the trip. Another tent 'Hilton' experience.

The campsite in northern Peru is very baron, hot and dusty land. 

I'm finding it difficult to stomach the breakfast of cereal and bananas. I have to force myself into eating it.

We all rolled out of the hotel as a group and James did the usual thing by riding out in front on his own the whole day. I sat at the back of the bunch because my stomach was not 100% and I was dead tired. The group was about 20 strong to the lunch break which was off the main road and up a dirt track next to a couple of homes. These homes are just about falling down. Very little is going on around this part of the country. Dry, hot, baron land is all it is. Probably best described as a hot dust bowl.

I ate more than usual for lunch because I didn't want to suffer in the afternoon like I did yesterday. Barry and Tim are going really strong right now and doing the majority of the work on the front of the bunch. I just wanted to get the day over with.

Like usual we had the police escorted us until about 30 kms from the bush camp. At least the weather was cooler than yesterday. As we rode through some very small towns the children would come out and yell out 'Gringos' to us, we would just wave at them and continue on.

With the Bike Dreams sign on the side of the road, it was time to turn off and take the dusty road up to a football field where the trucks were located. I had a problem with my camping bag, I couldn't find the key for the lock. This is where Robert the boss came into action and broke the lock. Now my tent is up and I'm ready to relax, eat, drink and more relaxation.

Dinner was perfect, a birthday cake for Alec and I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is roughly 75kms and dead flat. How cool is that. '

Until tomorrow, safe riding. 

Macara, Ecuador to Chulucanas, Peru. 127kms, 764 metres climbing. Hot afternoon.

Today's the day we leave Ecuador and enter Peru.  The group rolled out of the hotel around 8.15am and headed the 4 kms down to the border. At first we were all waved through the Ecuadorian check point only to be turned around and told to go back. We had to fill out more forms, and then cross over the bridge and into Peru.

Once we got our passports stamped and another form to complete it was time to start the real riding. It took close to 1 hr and 30 minutes to be processed across both border points.

It was now 10 am and we still had 120 kms to go, and the temperature was now 28 degrees C. The first thing that immediately hit us was the poverty, housing, dryness of the countryside and the pollution thrown on either side of the roadway.

As soon as we left the checkpoint we had a police escort all the way to the 65 km lunch stop. He pulled in with us and had a drink and some chips whilst we sat down and had some tasty bread rolls. We still had 60 kms to go and now the heat was 35 degrees C.

Back on the silky smooth road with the police officer right beside us. He would move on to the intersections an stop the traffic as we rode through. The little towns we rode through look like they are rapidly dying. Very little is going on, and plenty of people lying in their hammocks keeping out of the heat.

Many of the small villages consisted of no shops and mud/cane buildings. This reminded me so much of Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Very poor nation. They say 36% of the people live below the poverty line.

As the afternoon went on the heat was affecting me again, just like yesterday. I had put in some hard work up until the 90 km mark, but the last 30 kms I just hung in there and never saw the front of the bunch again. Barry and Tim were going really well today.

As we got closer to Chulucanas, I got to see hundreds of motor bike trikes, just like they use in Thailand. A lot of school children being driven home and others had goods from the local market.

The major town before the finish was Tambo Grande. It's at this town we had to take a detour along a sandy track and through the back of the village, avoiding mongrel dogs and not falling in the sand. Just outside of the town we stopped to get out of the heat and buy some drinks.

When we stop, our police escort stops.

We got going again for the final 15 kms into town. No hills, but Barry and Tim were causing me a great deal of pain on the front of the bunch. We made in into town around 3 pm and immediately went to the bank to get some local currency. Back to the hotel for the an amazing cool shower. There was no way you could have a warm shower considering how I was feeling. I was cooked.

The rest of the afternoon was sitting down in the square and then going for dinner. I'm sure I'll sleep like a bear tonight.

Tomorrow is 147 kms of the same, but we get to use our tents for the first time, bush camping. Due to the slow wifi, no photographs today.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Catacocha to Macara. 94kms, Summit 1900 Metres. 1417 metres climbed.

Today was a day of 2 stages, 1 before lunch was downhill and the 2nd stage was after lunch, absolutely stinking hot, and hills.We got away from our nice hotel in Catacocha and immediately went downhill for  15kms. What a good change to start the day compared to others which is usually leave town and start climbing.

Since today was not timed we rolled along as a group and had a nice morning of easy riding. Lunch stop was at 55 kms, and the photo below was taken at our lunch stop on the shores of the river.

 Now if you look at the above photo, it appears that Elizabeth is taking a photo of Patrick's ass. I'm not sure.

After lunch this is the when the weather really affected me. It was stifling hot and an no shade as we climbed the final 10 km mountain. I had to stop twice and couldn't stay with Barry and Jerg on the climb. I was stuffed. I took a couple of breaks and eventually reached the summit with the boys nowhere in sight.

After rolling down the hill for a km or 2, I met up with them at a small roadside shop. A nice cold Pepsi to refresh and I was feeling much better. I think the effects of yesterday and the heat of today were telling my body to rest up.

We rolled into the town of Macara around 1.15pm and got a huge room. I'm washed, my clothes are washed and hung out, and now it's time for a cup of soup.

I'm doing nothing for the rest of the day.

The photo above was taken at the small roadside stand 1/2 way down the mountain.

Tomorrow we have a big ride and also leave Ecuador and enter Peru. 

Until tomorrow, safe riding.