Day 54 Lake Titikaka Hotel to La Paz

This day for me was a DOUBLE WOW day!!  We were all still concerned about Martin but had heard reports that all was better than first thought, so we left our peaceful surroundings for the hustle and bustle of the highest capital city in the world - La Paz.
However, on our way we were to call into one of the 3 SOS Villages in Bolivia.  Part of all our holiday entry fees are donated to SOS and some of the riders are also sponsored, or are collecting, for SOS as well.  The village was off the main road and in the middle of the normal tumbled down environment that you get to see every day. The village is fenced off and once through the gates it was like entering another world where110 children live in well made bungalows with solar water heating, and enough space outside to play football and enjoy the few playground features.  Each bungalow is looked after by a house Mama and each house has it's own kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and dining/lounge area.  We were shown around and the kids enjoyed showing us their rooms and everything else, including schoolwork that they had done in the local schools which most of the older ones were just returning from.  We gave then rides on our bikes and they also enjoyed climbing all over one of the trucks which sounded it's fire horn and had it's flashing lights going.  After just over an hour we left to continue to La Paz with the kids happy cheers ringing in our ears.  I had been looking forward to this day and was not dissappointed, it was the first WOW ofthe day!!
We carried on through ever increasing traffic to reach La Paz, and we finally came to a viewing point where you could again just stand and say WOW!  It is easy to look at a picture and think somewhere looks big, but standing there and looking down into an enormous hole filled with buildings is something else.  It would take us another 11K from this point to reach the bottom and get to our hotel.  This place is vast!
Finally as mentioned in Day 53's report we were all delighted to see Martin walk into the hotel looking anazingly well, with some cuts, grazes and bruises but in one piece.  Another remarkable day had come to an end.

Two new friends in their lounge

The truck gets invaded!

The vast city of La Paz in a hole behind me

Day 53 Copacabana to Lake Titikaka Hotel

This was one of those days when you just had to say WOW!  We left Copacabana after only one night which would have been better if it had been two, because it was peaceful after some of the noisy places we had stayed at recently.  As we left the town we started climbing on a smooth tarmac road and we were on our way up to our first Bolivian summit greater than 4000 metres.  On our way up we were treated to many views of Lake Titikaka, which at 3812 metres is the highest lake in South America and the views sometimes make you think you are beside the sea it stretches so far into the distance!  After the summit we started the descent down to the little town of Tiquina which is the gateway to the Strait of Tiquina which connects the smaller and larger parts of the lake in Bolivia.  As we descended we came around a corner where you just had to stop and say WOW!  In the distance were magnificent snow capped mountains stretching from left to right.  When you stopped and realised that you were already standing at around 3900 metres you began to realise the size of these mountains, you are in The Andes!!
Continuing down to the village where we were all meeting for lunch, before catching the ferry across the strait, it was sad to hear that our German friend Martin had collided with a donkey on the descent!  He was in one of the trucks with Didier and the news did not seem good, and he was being taken off to La Paz immediately to get hospital treatment.  The day suddenly seemed a little overcast, but to give you the good news it was found that nothing was broken and we would all be re-united when we reached La Paz, see Day 54's report.  Just in case you are wondering - the donkey ran off with it's owner never to be seen again!!
The day continued for the rest of us with the ferry crossing and the remaining kilometres of undulating road around the lake to the Hotel Titikaka, which was even more peaceful than the hotel we had left in Copacabana.  The end of a day to remember.

On the ferry across  the Tiquina Strait

The mountains we saw earlier, now seen from hotel

Day 52 Puno to Copacabana

The plan was to leave Puno earlier than usual in the morning, but the accelerator pedal on one of the trucks had broken.  So we left just before 8 a.m. to travel to the border of our 3rd country - Bolivia.

We had our last Peruvian police escort out of town, and we were soon back on the Alti Plano road but today there were a few hills and this gave us some good views of Lake Titicaca.  Because of one of the trucks being out of action there was no organised lunch today, so it was a case of stopping at a shop on the way and grabbing some typeof snack.

Eventually arrived at the border after around 135K which was quite a quiet place and did not feel like you were going into a different country and time zone!  It only took about 20 minutes to get through before travelling the last 7 to 8K to the hotel on the side of the lake.  It was very peaceful and a shame that we would only be there for one night!  The 2nd truck arrived later in the afternoon having been fixed by some local garage on a Sunday for just a few dollars.

We came across the border near Copacabana

View from bedroom window of Copacabana beach

Day 51 Unscheduled Bushcamp to Puno

Saturday 25th September dawned with a hard frost, frozen water bottles and not a very inviting prospect of getting up at about 5:30am!  It had been decided that we get a start one hour earlier, 7am, so as to give us time for what was now going to be a 160K stage to Puno across the Alti Plano, on average 3800 metres above sea level, which is basically flat with just a few undulations and which we will be on for a few days yet.

Packed away our wet tents, ready to dry out at the hotel in the evening, and set off to the rescheduled lunch stop at around 80K.  I got in with some of the fast guys and survived until around 70K when there was a slight incline on rough roads, after what had been smooth tarmac until then, and just could not get back on the back as the rough roads continued to lunch and I just could not maintain the speed!  Anyway I covered the first 80K in 2 hours 45 minutes which on a mountain bike, and at an altitude of least 3800 metres, pleased me and I got to lunch in 7th place, result!

After lunch it was just a case of surviving the boredom of flat straight roads until about 10K from the finish where we had a climb over about 5K which took us back up to in excess of 3900 metres before we dropped into Puno.  A police escort to the hotel was a treat that the 4 of us who were together at the time took with delight as we were ushered through the traffic to the hotel.  Just under 8 hours for the 158K and we were finally in Puno a day late with no rest day but ready to cross over the border to Bolivia tomorrow.

Some riders had taken one of the trucks earlier to visit the floating islands on Lake Titicaca, and some who arrived by bike in the afternoon also had the chance to do it.  I had been there a few years ago so just took the chance to relax!

Frost on tent and bike at 7 a.m.

Laundry time Peruvian style

Day 50 Raqchi Ruins to a New Bushcamp

We found out early this morning that there was a roadblock of a serious nature on our route out from the next town of Sicuani which was about 20K away.  So it was decided that the trucks try to find a way around the town by going up into the hills and using smaller not so commonly used roads, while we road to Sicuani and waited for news to see if the trucks had found a way around the town.  We spent 2.5 hours in the town's plaza resting, eating  and drinking to waste the time before the message that the trucks had got around the town and were on the road beyond the roadblock.
We then road through the roadblock which was littered with burnt out tyres, rocks and other means of blocking the road.  Once we were on the otherside of the serious roadblock stuff the queue of vehicles trying to come into town from the opposite direction was spread over about 4 to 5K.  We found Didier with the lunch truck at about 52K, due to the mornings problems he had minimal lunch provisions but they were gratefully accepted!
We then continued climbing up and over our last pass, in Peru, in excess of 4000 metres, 4338 metres in fact!  On the way down I ran into a rain/hail storm with a headwind quite close to the summit.  I sheltered for a while until it passed and then continued down, but a few K from the Unschedled Bushcamp I ran into another thunderstorm of rain and hail.  This time I just carried on through it and got to the bushcamp in the sunshine but soaking wet!!  The new bushacmp was at 110K which meant that today's stage and tomorrows were effectively swapped around because today's should have been 159K but with the delay it was greatly reduced.  Went to bed after dinner very cold and just got into my sleeping bag to get warm!  Fell to sleep but was awake by midnight and the noise of the trucks all night did not help and so I only had small naps until the morning.  An eventful and unscheduled day had taken over from the scheduled stage.

Blocked trucks, rocks and burnt out tyres in the road

Riders had to negotiate through total chaos!

Day 49 Cusco to Raqchi Ruins Bushcamp

Well at last on Thursday 23rd September after 3 rest days we leave Cusco, with a police escort for about 20K.  Unfortunately after about 8K there was a grid across the road with the slits running in the direction of the riders and wide enough for a narrow tyre to go down into!  Unfortunately that is exactly what happened to one rider and others came down as a result, luckily only slight damage to riders and bikes occured but it just showed that there are not many riders in Peru otherwise the grid would not have been designed that way.
So after the police escort waved us goodbye we continued up and down a few gentle climbs before we reached lunch at about 62K.  Didier had found another nice spot beside a river and we enjoyed our lunch in the sunshine.  After lunch we had the bonus of a tail wind as we continued to climb a total of about 500 metres spead over the many gently undulating climbs in the remaining 60K.
We made camp beside the village where the Raqchi Ruins are and some people visited the ruins and other just visited the village and the little market in the square.

Another riverside lunch spot, thanks Didier

Days 46, 47 & 48 Rest Days in Cusco

Well we were only supposed to have 2 rest days in Cusco but a 2 day national strike started on September 21st, our 2nd rest day.  So the plan now is that we do not have the scheduled rest day in Puno but do 6 days riding straight through to La Paz in Bolivia!  A number of the riders went to see the sights of Machu Pichu by starting on the 1st rest day and coming back on the 2nd one.  All would have been okay except that the public transport stopped on the strike days, so their visit was a mixture of a good visit to the sight but very disrupted travelling.
I have been before and was pleased not to have gone again as it gave me more time to rest my left knee which I hope is now good enough to get me through the rides that follow, it feels a lot better.  I did the usual things that you are now familiar with on rest days, but there was one bonus this time.  One of the guys spotted that Paddy's Bar in town had Bread & Butter Pudding with Custard on the menu!  He knows like most of them by now that I like my puddings, so I went there on the 3rd day and was not dissappointed!!  It was a real treat and I savoured every moment of it!!!
So it is early on September 23rd and we will leave at 9am for the first of two bushcamps on the way to Puno and then the border crossing to Bolivia.  Hope to get back to you all in Puno, but here's what my pudding looked like:-)

It tasted as good as it looks - Yum Yum!!

Day 45 Limatambo to Cusco

The last day before we get 2 rest days!!  Unfortunately my left knee was feeling a bit painful, maybe as a result of the hard day yesterday.  Anyway, my intention to do all the kilometres between the Middle and the End of the world meant that I had to press on.  Not such a hard day as yesterday but it still started with a further climb of 27K and the weather was warm again.  It is quite amazing to think that you are already over a mile above sea level and with these climbs you are going up to over 2 miles or more!!  Looking back down you can see the road you have climbed getting smaller and smaller while there is still more to come.  I just wish I still had my camera, but I know some of the other riders have some photos I can copy.  Hopefully I will be able to get a new camera in Cusco.
Anyway, after the top we dropped down about 10K to the lunch truck which was at a village square so again the locals looked on at these people from the planet Zob who had arrived in their village!  After lunch we continued to drop fo about a further 15 to 20K before we had to climb up to over 3500 metres for the second time today and then drop down into Cusco.  We are staying at a hotel that Avril and I stayed at when we visited Peru some years ago, quite a coincedence.  So 2 days of rest and hopefully my knee will recover!

Day 44 Abancay to Limatambo

This was one of the hardest days in the entire trip so far, with over 2500 metres of climbing in only 116K.  The weather was fine as we left Abancay but we immediately started climbing and it lasted just over 35K reaching a height of over 4000 metres again.  We are going over 4000 metres quite a lot and it gets a bit cold up there!  Lunch was at the top and I had caught quite a lot of people on the way up who had started a bit earlier than 8am, which pleased me as it indicates that my climbing has improved.  My waist size has certainly gone down so I am sure that I have lost some weight which means less of me to get up these climbs!
After lunch there was a descent of about 55K which was on smooth tarmac so made it much easier than the recent days on un-paved.  However, the famous Murphy's Law came into play as there was a headwind all the way down, it's just not fair to have to pedal downhil!!
The last 20K or so was lumpy with a few un-paved roadwork bits and a short sharp climb up to the finish which was camping in the grounds of a hostal.  It had taken 7 hours 45 minutes for the day but I was pleased to get it over with so quickly and to get in ahead of quite a few riders.

Day 43 Eucalyptus Bushcamp to Abancay

A short day, only around 60K but with at last the prospect of getting back onto smooth tarmac roads! First of all we had to climb a bit more before starting another long un-paved descent down to a river. Imagine a ribbon of road made up of a stone base covered with a mixture of loose gravel, grit, stones up to fist size and the famous dust that resembles talcum powder. Add in numerous bends, gentle to tight hairpins, and drape this over the mountain such that you travel about 40K and loose more than about 2000 metres in height. Right now you have the picture you can imagine the prospect of getting down to the river a bit more. Oh, I forgot there is the usual traffic of trucks, including our two, coaches, mini-buses and all sorts of other vehicles. The top of the descent was also misty and a bit cold until we got further down. It took about 1.5 hours to get to the river, but what a journey! I know that with age I have become even more aware of my mortality and so I descend just a bit slower than I used to do, but it was still an real challenge. One guy had a tumble, but escaped with a cut to the chin and a few bruises but was lucky.
After the river we were back on smooth tarmac for the 20K along the river and climb up to the hotel. A short but interesting day and a well earned bonus of a half day off!

Day 42 Andahuaylas to Eucalyptus Bushcamp

Yet again we awoke to another fine day on Thursday 16th September. A climb again straight from the start, still on un-paved roads and with the water spraying trucks out in force to keep the dust down, what did I say about cleaning my bike being a waste of time!! 40K found us at the lunch truck and after lunch there was a brief drop down a gritty road before we had another 10K climb. After this we started the final drop of the day down to the bushcamp. This descent was not too bad to start with but soon had large areas of deep talcum powder type dust which made some of the corners tricky. The bushcamp was just off the road in a small wood of Eucalyptus trees, which was quite a pleasant place to end the day. Once again being well over 3000 metres up it did not take long for the temperature to drop as the sun went down, and again soon after dinner most people scurried off to their tents to get warm.

Day 41 Rest day in Andahuaylas

Rest days come and go, and they never really have any highlights, this one was no exception. I decided I really should clean my bike, although you sense that it Will be a waste of time with more un-paved days to come! Not the most exciting place to walk around and the only exception to this rest day was that I went to an Internet café to let people know on my Blog that I was still in business. My room mate Peter also did the same thing.

Day 40 Chincheros to Andahuaylas

Another fine day greeted us and we were still on un-paved roads and immediately started climbing from the town. 40K of climbing awaited us but it was made worse today as we had to pass through large amounts of road workings. As we climbed there were trucks going up and down to the main road works, which meant you were almost always in a fog of dust and exhaust fumes. The end of these un-paved days made you think your nose had become a brick production factory!! Luckily after about 2/3rds of the climb the main workings were over and it was a bit more pleasant to complete the climb to lunch. The road surface had varied between fairly smooth compacted dirt to gravel, sand, dust and mud in any combination!
After lunch we expected a reasonable descent to the hotel, wrong!! It was full of road works, deviations and people with Stop/Go boards making progress as slow as possible. It was a rubbish descent, and we are all convinced that between us we found about 5 different ways down to the hotel which was going to be our home for another rest day.

Day 39 Abra Huamina Bushcamp to Chincheros

The night had been cold, thermals, long socks, woollen hat needed to keep warm. We awoke to frost on the ground, frozen water bottles, but a sun rising to warm things up a bit. After breakfast we set off and I was feeling much better than yesterday. There was a bit further to climb before we started on a long drop of just over 50K! It was still un-paved but I was really enjoying it, catching people up and having a great time. Unfortunately as I came around one corner a Dutch Guy who I had made good friends with was on the road with others frantically waving at the road side. They were trying to attract the attention of the luggage truck a few hairpins down. I said I would carry on and try to get help. Another guy and I carried on and caught the truck up about 5K further down at a garage. They went back up as we carried on down the rest of the hill to tell Didier, our nurse at the lunch truck about the accident. The end of the story is that Dolf had broken his right arm and was out of the ride. I rode the 30K to the hotel realising how lucky I had been to have enjoyed the downhill and not have come to any harm, bike riding can be fun but you should always be aware of the possible problems that can occur. A good day for me but for Dolf the beginning of an early trip home.

Day 38 Ayacucho to Abra Huamina Bushcamp

Sunday 12th September and as you can imagine after the burglary I did not sleep very well and was not really in the mood for cycling! The weather was fine and warm but we were off road for almost all of the day. I have to admit that the 40K uphill to lunch took me 5 hours!! I was close to giving up, but one of the others rode with me for the last 10K and would not let me abandon. After lunch I felt a bit better and made myself get on with the job. I got to the finish and was pleased I had gone on. Some of the guys had pitched my tent for me and I was really qrateful for that. Our dinner was accompanied by a thuderstorm which was fun! We were over 4000 metres and it was getting very cold so after dinner almost everyone took to their tents to get warm. The end of the day and I was glad to get to bed!

Day 37 Rest day at Ayacucho

Well another rest day, but one with a twist!!  Ayacucho is quite a nice town and we were all enjoying a sunny day off.  I was not going to clean my bike with 3 days of un-paved ahead, just give my chain some lubrication.  Good job I was going to do only that as I discovered a large thorn in my rear tyre, so that required attention too.  Otherwise I did not do much else but update my blog etc.
Now the twist, if you have not already seen my son´s comment on day 36.  A man booked into our hotel in the morning and happened to be in the room opposite me and my 2 room mates.  He tried twice to enter our room during the day by just walking in, and apologising each time as if he had made a mistake and come into the wrong room.  Each time one of my room mates was in, and on one occasion Peter was on his laptop.  Maybe he also saw me in reception on my laptop.  The evening arrives and we all gathered  to go for a meal as usual.  About 45 minutes later Wilbert, of Bike Dreams, comes and finds Peter and I to give us the bad news.  Leaving half our dinner un-touched we retrurned to the hotel and found the door of our room jemmied open and the room in a mess!  We both lost our laptops and cameras, and I also lost my backup disc and Ipod as well as other bits and pieces. So apart from my pictures on Picasa website I have lost them all.  Luckily there are loads of other peoples that we can take copies of but there are some I know are not replacable.  We spent the rest of the night with the police, who looked in his room and found a lot of crumpled up newspapers!  Seems he booked in with a bag of newspapers and left with our goodies insttead!!!!
I will endevour to keep my blog going as I know there are a lot of you looking in, but be patient as we are soon going to be at fewer hotels and either bushcamping or at official campsites.  I plan to get another camera in one of the bigger cities as I feel lost not being able to take pictures, but will make do with internet cafes and my friends laptops, when they are not using them, to update my blog.
I am sure you can imagine my reaction to all this but more about that when I catch up on the following days reports.  I am now more calm and and still setting the whole trip as my major target, there are less than 8000K to go!  Keep in touch please!

Day 36 Mayocc Bushcamp to Ayacucho

Another fine day and only the sandflies to get angry with at breakfast and while taking down the tent, I have given up counting the bites per leg, more like the bites per square inch per leg!!  On top of this I have a very tight lower back which is making life difficult.
After setting off I realise this is going to be a long day, my back is feeling every bump in the un-paved road and there is 30K to go before the smooth paved section starts.  Also within about 500 metres there is a drag up of around 11%, not what I want so early when the legs are still waking up.  The countryside this side of the river is more dominated by the Saguaro type of cactus along with the Prickly Pear and others.  The road is un-paved but flatter and soon there are more in the way of agricultural fields on each side growing maize and other types of cultivated crop.
Eventually I get to the paved section and the relief on my back is good, but I still feel any bumps.  The lunch stop is around 40K in the centre of a village where as usual the kids gather around us.  Didier gives me an Ibuprofen tablet to ease my back pain which works after a few more K on the road.  Sadly, about 10K from the finish a double dog attack takes place and by the time I have safely out-ridden them my back has cramped up again.  I was relieved to get to the finish and a rest day in Ayacucho, I hope my back gets better with the rest.  Just about 80K and about 1000 metres of climbing have taken place today, and if my back had been in good condition it would have been a pleasant day, but I don't want to admit how long it had taken today!!

Saguaro type cactus dominate.

Fascinated kids look on at lunchtime.

Day 35 La Esmeralda Bushcamp to Mayocc Bushcamp

Another sunny day!  After breakfast we leave along the same un-paved road and continue to follow the river downstream.  The river looks calmer and the reason is soon clear, a dam exists to provide hydro power.  After the dam the road continues up and down alongside the now trickling river.  There are many twists, turns, climbs and drops along the road  today and my off-road skills are improving by the minute!  On some corners the gravel and dust give the pulse rate a quick jolt as the edge of the road seems to approach too quickly!!  Another feature along the way is the water-splash, as the road crosses a stream dropping down from the hills and usually flowing across the road at a hairpin.  These may be only inches deep, where you can see the bottom and pick your root through, or much deeper and wider where you hit the water and hope you come out the other side without falling off!!  They also provide you and your bike with a quick wash before even more dust clings on to your legs and bike.  Later in the day you also realise that the water and dust is clearing off any lubrication to your chain.
After about 50K we reach the village of La Esmeralda for lunch.  There is a festival going on as well and we get involved in the dancing.  As usual many kids and adults surround us and the lunch truck convinced that we have just beamed in from the planet Zob!!  They are fascinated by everything we do and are always curious as to why we are here, sometimes we wonder ourselves!
After lunch there are about 35K more to do before bushcamp.  The areas beside the road are becoming more and desert like with thousands of Aloe Vera plants, Prickly Pear Cacti and quite a varied selection of other Cacti too.  About 90K of un-paved road with almost 900 metres of climbing, stunning scenery and good weather have passed before we are arrive at the bushcamp beside the river which looks quite picturesque, but it harbours one unseen problem - we are entering into the private world of a zillion sandflies!!!  My legs have only just recovered from the last onslaught but are not prepared for what awaits in the next 12 hours!!

Another bend on a downhill stretch.

Bushcamp in Sandfly territory!

Day 34 Huancayo to La Esmeralda Bushcamp

At last we awake to a blue sky and it's warm again.  I feel good after the rest day and we set of a couple of hours late as one of the trucks needed a new tyre and it had to come from Lima.  The police lead us out of town but unfortunately slightly wrong, which needed an unscheduled off-road bit to get us back on course!
We soon started climbing on a well surfaced road for about 20K.  We later turned off towards Izcuchaca, the village where the lunch would be.  It was not long after the turn we had a really great descent down into the valley which was smooth and a mixture of fast and testing.  The scenery today was beginning to unfold and quite a few photo opportunities were taken.  Lunch was reached and Didier had set it up on an old bridge near the start of the town.
After lunch we immediately went onto the un-paved road that followed the river along it's course.  The surface was not too bad and after around 30K we say the flag indicating the bushcamp site which was in a glade just off the road.  The usual pitch tent, get changed routine before a slightly later dinner due to the later start.  A small campfire was lit and enjoyed after a day of around 100K and a day where we had climbed quite a lot but had dropped in real terms from around 3200 metres to around 2800 metres.

Calcification as the water drops into the river.

Lunch stop on the Old Bridge.

Day 33 Rest day in Huancayo

Well another rest day over, we are leaving a bit later today for a bushcamp, one of two in a row.  The delay is because one of the trucks had a blow out on a front wheel as we were coming here two days ago.  Needless to say no new tyres here, so replacement coming from Lima which should be here in time for us to start the day at 10am.
We have been spoilt here in the hotel with buffet breakfasts, I'm sure that any profit they normally make from their guests has been totally wiped out with 30 or so hungry cyclists grazing for over an hour each morning!!  Also last night we went to a shopping mall here with about 15 fast food outlets, another grazing contest took place there too, what exciting lives we are living!  Now it is back to reality of life on the road again, but that is what we are here for.
My cold is getting better so after a generally lazy day here I am feeling better.  I cleaned my bike and that is about as much hard work as I did.  Will catch you all up with the news at the next hotel, wifi being available.  Keep your comments coming they give me a boost, and as I have said before - Thanks to you all!!

Day 32 La Oroya to Huancayo

Well I again managed to sleep quite well even though my room was right by the main road.  I stayed awake until about 11pm and slept until about 5am when the noises outside started to get louder.
After the usual breakfast we were ready to set off and follow the river downstream for about 85K before turning onto another road into Huancayo.
The weather was still dull, quite cool and a few spots of rain in the air.  I was feeling a bit better, my cold seemed to be going away - I thought!  It was good having quite a lot of downhill alongside the river for about 20K, with the occasional rise as you often find with roads following rivers.  I was with 3 others and felt good but after about 20K there was a rise too many and I realised that my chest had not completely recovered and my breathing was not good.  We were still well above 3000 metres at this point so breathing with a chest cold gets even more difficult!  Anyway, the lunch truck was at 70K today, in a field by the river and in the sunshine, which after numerous showers earlier on was a pleasant change.
Leaving the lunch stop it was still mainly downhill but as it had been all day the wind was still against us, but when we turned onto the other road at about 85K the wind was a bit stronger and the road was flatter.  I was now beginning to realise I had been a bit rash earlier on and my earlier pace was now getting its own back.  I just decided to plod on as well as I could to get to the hotel.  My spirits were somewhat raised as I entered town, with one of the others, as a young attractive police woman on a motorbike came up alongside me and asked if I was going to the hotel we were staying at in town.  I said "yes" and off she went in front of us clearing all the traffic aside along with another young attractive police woman who joined us.  At junctions and sets of traffic lights we were ushered through as point duty police stopped the traffic, and eventually we were guided right to the front door of the hotel, wow what a finish to the day!  We had done just over 126K and dropped down to 3200 metres, but after feeling a bit jaded the end was good and the hotel is the best we have stayed in all trip too!!

The real world over here, not a display in a Country Fair!

Day 31 Cerro de Pasco to La Oroya

I had not slept very well with a lot of noise outside the room until at least midnight and starting again at 5.30am.  Yesterday had been the third test in a week of riding at altitudes over 4000 metres and I had been lucky each time not to suffer from Altitude Sickness.  Sadly some of the others had, and had either given up at the lunch stop or in the most frustrating case get in the truck, that had gone back out about 1 hour before dark, with only 10K to go to the finish!
So all the riders left this morning feeling very tired from the day before but relieved that this days route would actually end with us being down at about 3700 metres.  We had to climb back out of the town and continue on the road we had left yesterday to get to Cerro de Pasco.  We then started to drop down about 200 hundred metres but this time the rain came early after about 10K and gave us a really good soaking for at least 10 minutes!!  So now cold and wet we continued on a gentle drop until we crossed a plateau at around 4100 metres for 50K.  It was also made harder, apart from our tired legs, by a nagging headwind and also the fact that at these altitudes even taking a drink takes all your breath away!  The lunch truck was a bit before halfway and had parked up in a roadside cafe carpark, the owner happy to have the potential of supplying hungry cyclists with extras to what we would already get from the truck.  It was also a good place to shelter from the cool wind blowing outside.
After lunch we had to gently climb 100 metres before we finally dropped 500 metres in 30K to our destination.  This would have been so much more pleasant if the wind had dropped or become a tailwind, instead we had to pedal downhill most of the time which is something that really annoys cyclists.  I managed on a really long steepish stretch to get up to 67kph, but that would have been much higher without the headwind.  So we had covered just over 132K and were now back down at 3760 metres.

Day 30 Huanuco to Cerro de Pasco

We were all nervous about this day, especially after a rest day.  It was only scheduled as 120K but had a scheduled 2615 metres of climbing, and we were already at 1899 metres, so the climbing to distance ratio was high but more problematic was the altitude increase!
So on September 4th at 8am we set off in not very warm conditions and it was not long before we started to climb at a fairly steady rate.  At about 20K I came across a traffic jam and soon realised both our trucks were in it.  I was soon at the "lunch" truck where I was told that road works meant the road was to be closed until mid-day, it was now about 10am.  Susanna, our translator, was negotiating with the police to try and get us through in convoy because of the daylight problems the riders would face if they had to wait until mid-day.  It looked promising as the trucks were asked to move to the front by the barriers, but it failed and we were still waiting.
Eventually some of the riders decided that they could get through even if they had to walk when they reached the road works.  Stalemate was broken and after we had all walked or slowly cycled a police car came along and escorted us through, but the trucks had to wait until mid-day!  So we were on our way again having lost valuable time on this time critical day.
The trucks overtook us eventually and the lunch truck set up at around 70K where I had a quick lunch and got on my way because there was still a lot of climbing to go in the last 40K.  Shortly after there was a stretch of unmade road which was very bumpy and slowed the pace down as well as getting you covered in dust as all the heavy stuff overtook.  Then, the last thing to give problems on this hard day was a thunderstorm!  It was not actually overhead but close enough to give you a good soaking, make you cold and soak the roads for a few K.
Finally after the last hard kilometres with much steeper gradients I arrived at the hotel with 7 minutes to spare before it got dark.  The hotel was not the best we have stayed in but after my soup, a couple of rolls and a cup of tea I decided to go to bed and get warm.  It had been a long day, 9Hrs 45Mins for 118K with the final altitude we would be sleeping at a moderate 4417 metres.  I like most of the others was shattered!

Day 29 Rest day in Huanuco

Well another rest day and the usual sort of pattern, get up when you feel like, go find some breakfast, do some computer stuff, go find some lunch, more computer stuff, have a nap, watch the tuk-tuks, go find some dinner and come back write blog before going to bed.  Notice anything different?
Yes, I did not clean my bike, in fact I did not even look at it today, all I will do is lubricate the chain in the morning - I just wanted a complete day away from the bike!
Oh and the other difference, the tuk-tuks!  Peru has a lot of them but outside our hotel the roads are quite narrow and there is a crossroads a few metres away.  Dodgem cars at the fair, banger racing and karting are just a foretaste of these guys here.  Put in sets of traffic lights and you have a mixture of sheer entertainment for a few minutes of unadulterated chaos to watch!

Red car surrounded by Tuk-Tuks!

This is a one-way street but watch the 2nd red Tuk-Tuk!

Yes, he's trying to get on past the pick-up, just a pedestrian to miss!

Day 28 Bushcamp to Huanuco

The rain the evening before and the spitting rain at breakfast did nothing to increase my enthusiasm for the day ahead, even though we had learned last night that the planned 110K of un-paved route was in fact now paved!  The Peruvian road workers had in the last 2 years since Bike Dreams were last here tarmaced the whole twisty route between Quivilla and Huanuco, maybe not very thickly but it was at least smooth.  Whether it will be in as good a condition in two years time remains to be seen, but for us it meant an easier ride than we had expected.
Anyway, packing away our wet tents we got ready to start another day of climbing.  We have in fact changed sides of The Andes since yesterday, in other words rivers on this side will eventually empty into the Atlantic not the Pacific.
It wasn't long before we started to climb, up and down at first, slowly gaining altitude.  On the way up at Chavinillo we came across an impromptu dance in the road, on a Thursday morning?  We joined in before the traffic holdup put an end to it, bizarre!  The lunch truck was to be at the top of the day's climb at about 50K.  It took 4 hours to reach 50K which considering how I felt was not too bad, and also the fact that the summit was at 3990 metres.  Shortly after the summit, which was clouded in mist, I saw Didier driving towards me through the mist, on a mission to see if anyone needed help as the conditions were worsening, luckily all were okay.  The lunch stop had got hot drinks today!  Didier and Filip had asked some locals where they could park the truck and if anyone could supply some hot water, this was something they jumped at with relish!  What the hell were these stupid gringos doing on their bikes in weather like this in their village?  We all asked ourselves the same question!  Anyway during some hard rain we sheltered in the "local shop" and ate our food with hot drinks while the perplexed locals looked on!!
Eventually we started the remaining 53K drop down towards Huanuco, what a ride that turned out to be, almost completely downhill, just about 200 metres which actually went back up a little, no armco barriers and drops that could have been 1 to 1000 metres from the side of the road!!  It was wet  and misty to start with but as we continued dropping it got warmer and drier.  The total altitude lost was as near as makes no difference 2000 metres taking us down to about 1800 metres in Huanuco.  The downhill took about 1Hr 45Mins to do because there were so many twists, turns and hairpins that speeds of just over 50kph were as good as you could expect, but it was great fun and made the end to my day really enjoyable.
Drying our tents out in the hotel car park whilst having our soup was only marred by one thing - sabre toothed sand flies eating away at my legs, which now have about 20 bites each below the knees, ouch!

Impromptu dance at Chavinillo!

Day 27 Bushcamp nr. Huallanca to Bushcamp nr. Quivalla

Well I suppose I should not be surprised, even though I felt good the last two days, and they were really tough, I did not sleep well last night!  So the 1st day of September was not such a good day, it was not going to be a long distance and there was not much climbing but I was not going well.
We started by going through a quite spectacular gorge before we travelled through farming type scenery and we began to climb quite high up above the river that got smaller and smaller below us.  The hill was not very steep, and was well paved but I just seemed to crawl up it.  Maybe I had got a chill yesterday as I dropped down from the top of the big pass, through the cold mist.  I had put my racing cape on to protect my chest from the cold blast but I did feel my head getting cold.  Anyway, the top of this climb of about 450 metres was reached before staying at that height for a while before dropping down to the bushcamp which was in a field beside a river.
I pitched my tent, had some soup, and just lay in my tent listening to my Ipod for an hour or so.  I had a small nap but really I just tried to relax before it got too hot in the tent, so I got changed and came out and walked into the village over the bridge.  I met some of the others, had a Coke, bought some crisps and a yoghurt, came back and sat down doing a quizword.
After the evening meal I went to the tent updated my laptop and lay listening to music until gone 10pm hoping that I would have a good sleep.  Sadly, at 1am it started raining hard and I lay awake most of the next 4 hours listening to it.  The best laid plans don't always work I guess!  But at least I had maintained a full record of all the kilometres completed so far!!

Wilbert, Bike Dreams Organiser, comes through the Gorge.

Day 26 Bushcamp NP to Bushcamp near Huallanca

We awake to skies not as nice as the day before, overcast and cool.  One problem we also face while we are still relatively near the Equator is that the days and nights are about 12 hours each and the nights are much colder.  This is a nightmare for someone like me, I don't do long sleeps!  So last night was quite amazing, I went to my tent about 7pm, wrote my daily log, uploaded my photos onto my laptop and still managed to sleep for about 9 hours!
After breakfast we set off for the highest pass of the trip.  Today is also a day for taking lots of pictures as well as tackling the 41K on un-paved track whilst climbing over two peaks of 4800 metres plus!  Not long after we leave camp we see our first Puya, a strange plant native to only Peru and Bolivia.  It takes about 30 years to grow and "bloom" and its "leaves" are more like wood than normal leaf texture.  See the picture to get an idea of how tall they are!  The other thing we start to see and get close to are some quite large glaciers, see another picture.
However, the main thing is to get up over the first pass and get to the lunch stop.  This one is only 4805 metres and just a few K before lunch.  As I approach lunch Didier is driving the truck back towards me, some of the riders are experiencing headaches and he goes to check them out.  I am feeling okay and stop briefly as it is quite cold and the sun is still not happy enough to come out to play today!!
In about 12K I reach the second summit of 4865 metres and know that it is now all downhill to the end.  One other thing about being up so high and on a rough road is you have to stop to take a drink from your bottle!  There is no way that you can steer, and have enough breath to even think of it even on a flat or slightly downhill stretch!  Dirt track continues until about 20K from the end we join a main road and apart from it being cold, damp and windy to start with it is great to be on paved road again.  One serious attempt by 2 dogs to get me going downhill into a hairpin fails, luckily, and soon the temperature rises as I get down towards the end at just over 3500 metres.  Unfortunately it's another bushcamp, the hotel had booked a load of road workers in, so we had to make do with a bushcamp just outside town.  Baby wipes come into their own again as you try to keep yourself clean after another hard day!!  Altitude sickness had let me off, thankfully, and Francine was almost back to feeling normal again.  The two faces of what can happen at these seriously high altitudes whilst trying to do something as simple as riding a bike for 70K and climb 1330 metres in the day!

My bike at the base of the right-hand Puya!

A Glacier on the way down after second summit.

Day 25 Huaraz to Bushcamp

We are all nervous about today & tomorrow as we are into serious Altitude Sickness territory!  We leave Haraz  and proceed on paved roads towards the entrance to National Park Huascaran where we will set up another bushcamp.  The stage is only just under 56K but we are climbing from just over 3000 to a shade under 4200 metres.  Didier sets up the lunch stop opposite to the turn off to the NP just so we don't miss it, it's a dirt track of around 13K to camp!
There is some quite nice scenery before lunch, but after lunch it changes.  We are now on a gravel path across open fields with mountains all around.  The progress is slow as the gravel makes following a straight line impossible, plus there are small climbs of up to 10% just to add to the pleasure!  I decide to just tackle this head on and do not stop until bushcamp is reached which takes me about 1Hr 30Mins to do the 13K.  I make it and set up my tent so I can get changed and have a rest while I drink my soup that is waiting for us!
I have felt alright, no signs of altitude sickness, but Francine our main cook is hit very badly!  I see her not long after I have arrived and she looks so different to just a few hours before, and she retires to her tent very quickly with a serious headache and nausea.  A few hours later she has to be taken back down to a village about 800 metres lower  where Didier, our nurse, stays with her overnight.  Altitude sickness can hit anyone at anytime, and she had been in a truck all day, we had just climbed about 1200 metres on our bikes.  Scary stuff!

Two rivers meet!

Didier meets some locals at lunch stop.

A few K to go to bushcamp, taken by Geert Jan.

Bushcamp at 4200 metres!