The Andes Trail

The Andes Trail
The Route

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Two days to take-off!

The bike and most of my requirements for over 4 months are now packed - and amazingly not excessively heavy!  Just had a lot of very good friends up to wish me well on my adventure which was a very good way to spend a Thursday afternoon.  Only two whole days left to go before take-off on Sunday August 1st and the chance to finally meet up with not only the organisers of the trip but many of the participants who will be starting off with me at Quito.  The waiting is nearly over and "The Andes Trail" will soon begin, a few days of acclimatisation and then the reality will kick in as we hit the road in a southerly direction!

Monday, 19 July 2010

The packing has started!

Less than 2 weeks to take off and the packing has started!  I am not normally so concerned about packing this far from a holiday but this one is a bit different being over 4 months long.  Luckily cycle clothing does not weigh very much but there still seems quite a bit to find space for.  Packing the tent and camping stuff in with the bike will save carrying two cases hopefully, but it is still an interesting logistical problem.
The weather here has taken it's usual turn for the worst in July with what seems to be a constant procession of showers and cooler temperatures.  It all started off so well until the 11th but now seems to be like the July conditions of the last 2 years.  Still keeping fit down at the gym and getting out on the bike when I can, luckily the base miles have been done.  Just want to get out to Quito, meet everyone and get going.  The excitement and nerves are really buzzing now, roll on August 1st and take off, then August 6th and the start.

Monday, 12 July 2010

The countdown continues!

The New Machine!
The countdown continues and I am getting more excited and nervous by the day.  Training has been a bit less recently as various commitments have had to take priority, but it should resume today if the rain goes away.  I normally ride on a road bike but this year have only ridden on a mountain bike to get more accustomed to the different riding style.  I have also invested in a new one, see above, which I have found really comfortable and very responsive.  So far since April I have covered about 4,000K of which  about 2,500K have been on the new machine.  Not doing such long rides now, just keeping the legs turning and riding the local 10K hill as practice for the longer ones on the trip.  It would be helpful if I lived a bit higher up than 280 metres, not exactly High Altitude - Quito being 10 times higher!!

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

The Journey ahead!

On August 1st I fly out to Quito in Ecuador to acclimatise for the ride down The Andes.

It will start on August 6th at The Equator - "The Middle of the World" and go south to Ushuaia - "The End of the World". Ushuaia in Argentina being the most southerly city on the globe!

The ride is organised by a Dutch group called Bike-Dreams whose web-site is www.bike-dreams.com and I will be joined by several other riders from across the world for all or part of the route through The Andes Mountain Range.