South America

Shortly after we returned from our cycle tour around Iceland (see the epistle from that trip below), Craig and I began looking at options for another big trip. The only real requirement was that our destination should involve more sun and less rain, so after 15 minutes of discussion we decided on South America. After a total of a couple of hours of planning over the next 8 months, we purchased plane tickets and figured we would figure out what to do when we got there.

In mid August I quit my job and 12 hrs later flew South to Lima where I joined up with Craig. The next morning we took a flight to Juliaca and the real journey began.

After assembling our bikes while the local police force bemusedly watched, we grabbed some food and headed about 50km south across the Altiplano to Puno, which is on Lake Titicaca. The riding for this section was almost perfectly flat, except for one bump before the descent into Puno.

We checked out Puno and the lake, bought some groceries, and quickly discovered that our Spanish skills were severely lacking. Oh well. We stayed in hotels while on the Altiplano since the nighttime temps were well below freezing. The next morning we started our real journey North, riding back through Juliaca (dreadful town) on our way toward the real mountains.

Riding on the altiplano was a great way to ease into the trip as the grades were the mildest of the entire by a large margin. Except for a night or two with mild headaches and a bit of extra puffing the altitude (~12,500ft) was not a issue.

There were thousands of stray dogs in Peru, but the dogs of southern Peru were surprisingly well behaved. Must have something to do with full stomachs.

After a couple of days of pleasant riding we climbed over our first high pass, from where we would drop down into Cuzco.

After descending off the pass, we down a valley to a undulating section of road that would take us to Cuzco. This sign was our first warning of the grades we would ride in the coming weeks, and turned out to not be much of an exaggeration.

Two days after crossing the pass, we fought our way into Cuzco. A few things made this entrance especially difficult:

1. The city is perched on a hill and we rode in from the bottom side.
2. We had no idea where we were going except a train station on our map that said "trains to Machu Picchu".
3. Traffic lights/signs/lines had absolutely no impact, leaving the streets in absolute mayhem.
4. The city is full of mini-vans with 14 yr old kids standing in the open doorways yelling that there is room for a 17th person. If a pedestrian motions the bus immediately dives for the shoulder, regardless of which lane they started in and whether or not there are other cars (or bicycles) in the way.

After two hours of fighting traffic, we discovered that our Machu Picchu train station didn't have trains to anywhere. At this point a couple of Peruvian people recognized true incompetence and offered to show us to a great hostel. They hopped in a cab and said follow us. We quickly realized that this was a terrible idea and followed. Turns out they weren't trying to mug us, and the hostel did end up being great, albeit full of expats who seemed more interested in talking about Peru than seeing Peru.

The next morning we did the typical tourist thing and went to Machu Picchu. After ditching our tour guide who was spouting ridiculous theories as gospel, we had a great time exploring the ruins and then climbing the hill above.

We were ready to get back on the road so after fueling up at a french bakery, we climbed out of Cuzco and after a short descent we climbed our second major pass of the trip and camped at the top (picture is from our campsite).

An early start the next morning dropped us down a killer ~7000ft descent into a valley. This was immediately followed by a ~7000ft climb, on which we spent the next full day suffering. Luckily this region was home to hordes of fresh mangos and avacados.

Throughout all of Peru, whenever we would descend below around 9,000 ft, we were eaten alive by little flies that didn't hurt much while they were biting but around 12 hours later the bites would swell up and itch like crazy. These bites took around 5-6 days to stop itching.

This climb took us over another high pass, followed by a stunning ~7000ft descent through the town of Abancay (Abancay is the town on the hill, we came from the ridge above it).

After passing through Abancay we began climbing up another monstrous ~7000ft climb to another 13000ft pass, this time on a rough/dusty gravel road. This climb was mentally difficult because we were climbing up switchbacks and seemingly not going anywhere (see pic of switchbacks below). This region was probably the most memorable of the trip, as it was just huge in every way. Incredible views and extremely difficult cycling.

After another day of climbing we were once again on top of the world.

One campsite in this region was especially memorable as we were perched on top of a terrace above the road, with a wonderful view.

We were woken up the next morning by workers yelling at us from the hill above, it turned out that we had camped in a construction site and they were using picks to dislodge unstable rocks and debris from the hillside above. Good time to get back on the road.

Another day of cycling later and we were met with the pleasant surprise of pavement. We had been expecting to be on gravel for this entire ~300 mile section of road, but it turns out that this road is currently in the process of being paved.

Atop another pass.

Back on gravel road, we entered an area that was marked by nonstop road construction. The scale of the project was incredible, and for a ~100 mile stretch we probable never went a half a mile without passing a construction zone. In one spot we had to wait 3 hours for the road to be opened, and then this bulldozer had to get called in to try to make road more passable (the bus to our right had already tried to make it through and failed). 

After getting through this section of construction we rode into the night until we found a place to camp, which although not very level and quite noisy, had a great view. 

After passing through many more miles of construction (including active blasting zones that were able to watch), we got to the town of Ayacucho, where we got a shower (!) and did some laundry. We decided to hit the fast forward button here and bus through a section we knew would be slow and less interesting. 

Back on the bikes, we rode through a windy section of Peru that took us up over yet another pass.

 This pass was cold, but the grade was actually quite nice.

 Once atop the pass, we made it to the miserable town of Cerro De Pasco. This town (population 70k) is perched atop a mtn at 14,200ft, and was home to about two hotels and two restaurants. We had to resort to asking the police where to find a hotel as it was already below freezing and getting dark quick. Right smack dab in the middle of the town is this open pit mine of epic proportions.

After another bus shortcut to Huarez, we rode past the Cordillerra Blanca, which is even more impressive than its name suggests.

In central/northern Peru, the dogs were not nearly as accommodating as the southern dogs were. We were chased by hundreds if not thousands of dogs. Speeding up, screaming, kicking, and throwing rocks were all tools we exercised regularly (generally in that order). 

About 50 km later, the road deteriorated quickly, and we kept descending down a valley through something like 40 primitive tunnels (one of which can be seen in this picture). 

What followed was one of the most difficult sections of riding of the the entire trip. While the grade was slightly downhill following the river, there was a fierce headwind coming up this valley, and the road was complete washboard which led to a quite jarring ride. Just when we were beginning to feel sorry for ourselves, we passed through a gold mining district, where men work in the most awful conditions imaginable for very little compensation. I'll take a tough day on the bike. 

We camped one more night in Peru on our way to the Pacific coast where we would try to catch our final bus leg north into Ecuador. After running low on water and drinking some pretty brown water out of a irrigation ditch, we rode down to sea level and caught a bus from the town of Chimbote North into Ecuador for the final push into Quito. 

Once we got into Ecuador we quickly noticed that their roads are build much steeper than Peruvian roads. We guessed that the roads were designed to be paved, where the Peruvians built their roads so that a gravel surface could be navigated. Gone were the days of 7,000ft climbs followed by 7,000ft descents, but this was not easy cycling by any means. 

After a very challenging 3 days of steep grades we dropped into Volcano territory, and the first one was saw was this monstrosity (which is the highest point on earth) named Chimborazo.

We stopped in the town of Ambato to grab a quick lunch and each ordered a half a chicken, which took a bit to communicate to the restaurant owner because typically a 1/2 chicken is shared between two people. Apparently they were also running a special where you get 1/4 Chicken extra for free, so way too much food was consumed here.

We dove into the bushes right off of a busy freeway and found this gem of a campsite next to a stream, that had a great view of Cotapaxi. 

After a relatively easy 90km day we made our way into our final destination - Quito. It was an incredible trip marked by huge hills, great weather and stunning scenery. Final distance was somewhere in the 2300km range and we were on the road for ~4 weeks. 

Australia

I've been wanting to give solo bicycle touring a try for a while now, primarily to see if I could do it without going crazy. My girlfriend Sarah's sister lives in Sydney, and since we were planning to visit her and her husband I thought it would be a good idea to fly solo to Melbourne a week earlier than Sarah, and cycle to Sydney. My objective was to follow a 750 mile route through the mountains and arrive in Sydney on the same day as Sarah. This seemed like a pretty solid plan so plane tickets were purchased and almost no preparation was done. A couple of 30 mile rides to work the week prior to departure would have to suffice as training since winter cycling in New Hampshire sort of sucks. 

After approximately 30 hrs of traveling, I arrived in the Melbourne airport to (somewhat surprisingly) find all my bags intact. During the killer long flight I met a great couple named Ron and Glenda who have spent a lot of time in Australia and were able to provide me with some information that helped out greatly with logistics. Thanks to Glenda's ankle injury we were also whisked through immigration and customs! A shared cab ride later and I was at my hotel in downtown Melbourne. I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening building my bike and purchasing supplies for the journey. Since I more or less live in hotels I was upgraded to a top floor suite with an acceptable view of downtown Melbourne.

Day 1: 

After eating as much as I could at the breakfast buffet I hit the cycle path that follows the Yarra river to get out of Melbourne. This was great riding for 20km or so, until somehow I made a wrong turn onto a different path and got dumped in some suburban housing development. I pulled out my iPhone to navigate with and found out that it could take up to 2 days for the pay-as-you-go SIM card to be activated! Since my map of the entire eastern side of Australia was of no use, and I had no idea how far I had traveled before making the wrong turn, I decided just to head for the sun which I figured should take me roughly northeast. This precision navigation technique worked and I made it to a small suburb city that was on my map. I also quickly learned that if a heinous car/truck morph such as this one is spotted on the road: 

Your best bet is probably to hit the ditch, as the driver is unquestionably a jerk and will likely do his/her best to run you off the road. 

Another couple hours of cycling through wine country put me climbing my first mountain pass of the trip. 

A few dead kangaroos and snakes later I hopped on a rail trail which made for a break from the traffic on the roads. At the top of a small pass there was this cool tunnel to ride through: 

Once the sun went down I thought some sleep sounded nice so I pulled off to the side of the rail trail to camp. Day 1 distance: 164km 

Day 2: 

After a pretty sleepless night due to jet lag and a punctured sleeping pad I got up an hour before sunrise to pack up, give the bike a few quick adjustments and hit the trail.

Another few km of rail trail and a few hours of relatively easy riding put me over this bridge on my to the town of Mansfield. 

I changed my route past Mansfield as it was recommended that I take an especially scenic route through the mountains. Following a somewhat challenging climb to around 3000 ft elevation, I was hoping for a nice descent into Wangratta, my destination for the night. However, this torturous section of road had other plans, with countless short descents followed by climbs right back up. Finally there was a real descent down to the town of Whitfield. After battling a headwind for another 3 hours I made it to Wangratta early - where I was able to find a real campground with a shower. Day 2 distance: 167 km 

Day 3: 

Day 3 started off a bit late as I slept in until the sun woke me up. I rode on the Hume freeway for the first 60 km, which was not difficult riding but I felt under nourished and tired. After a pit stop for a sandwich and some Gatorade in Wodonga, I headed out to ride along the coast of Lake Hume for the remainder of the day. 

At first I was in very low spirits as the road was constantly undulating with steep ascents followed by steep descents, and I could get into absolutely no rythm. I considered backtracking 25km to a rail trail that I knew headed roughly in the right direction but didn't want to waste 2 hours of daylight to do so. Thankfully either the road leveled out or my motivation returned but this turned out to be one of the most impressive sections of the entire trip. 

A few snakes later and I pressed on past dark to get to the (not) bustling metropolis of Walwa, which turned out to have 1 closed campground and 1 hotel which offered $35.00 rooms. That made for an easy decision so I wolfed down a plate of lasagna and whatever other leftovers they were willing to give me from their closed kitchen. Day 3 distance: 189 km 

Day 4: 

I discussed my plans to ride over the infamous "Alpine Way" with the hotel proprietor, who strongly advised that I ride to the gateway town of Khancoban which was 70km away, and attempt the pass the following morning. I didn't think this fit with my schedule of getting to Sydney in 7 days so I headed out from Walwa at around 7:30 am with the delusional idea that I would try to make it over the pass that day. A couple of hours later I saw this sign, an indicator that I was making progress. 

A few hours and a frustrating wrong turn later I arrived in Khancoban somewhat worn out, unsure if I had it in me to continue on. Luckily after I downed a steak sandwich and a candy bar I felt much more up to the task, and headed out at around 2 pm. I made it around 0.5 km before the grade turned viscious. 

Luckily, the weather was absolutely ideal for the challenge and was mostly cloudy with a few light sprinkles. After climbing for a couple of hours I was rewarded with an exhilarating descent down to a camp area in a valley. When I say exhilarating I actually mean excruciating because I knew I was giving up precious altitude that I would have to immediately climb back up, and then some. This cycle repeated itself once again, during which I made a deal with myself that if I made it to the "Tom Groggins" camp area before 6 pm (~17km from "Dead Horse Gap"), I would press on. At 5:30 I rode past the camp so my goal seemed to be within reach. After an hour of gut busting climbing in my lowest gear at around 5 km/h (3 mph?) I stopped here to grab a quick break, and a passing motorcyclist pulled over to ask me if I was ok, and where was my engine? I didn't know how to answer either question.  

10 km later it was completely dark, I had run out of water, my supply of candy bars was long gone, and the road was still climbing as steep as ever. Prospects didn't look good, and I was nearly at the end of my rope. I began looking around for places to set up camp but unless I wanted to crash in the forest with all the cute Australian animals, I was out of luck. I had heard conflicting reports of the distance between Tom Groggins and the summit, varying between 16 and 23. I was at 16 km and there was no way I could ride another 7 km of that grade. Thankfully the grade finally eased up a bit and after another relatively easy 10 minutes of pedaling, I made it to Dead Horse Gap and found this sign: 

A 10 minute descent later I was in the town of Thredbo, which provided dinner and an overpriced hotel room, but I was just happy I didn't have to sleep up on that mountain pass with no idea how much farther it was to the top. Day 4 distance: 144km  Elevation gain: ~14,000 ft. 

Day 5: 

After the previous day's efforts I rewarded myself with a huge breakfast and a late start (9 am). I left Thredbo in beautiful weather and with a decent tailwind. 

After a few dead kangaroos, some great scenery, and a lot of pedaling, the tailwind had long since turned into a headwind and I was ready to crash for the night. A rest area with a sign advertising "Revive, Survive" was also home to this sign forbidding camping, which I promptly ignored. 

A couple from the Czech Republic ended up joining me in my outlaw endeavors, and they provided solid conversation and entertainment until well past bedtime. Day 5 distance: 149km 

Day 6: 

Following the relatively easy previous day, I needed to put some serious time in the saddle if I intended to make it the 400 km remaining to Sydney in just two days. I was on the road shortly after sunrise and pedaled with a renewed vigor, as the end seemed to be within reach. I passed through the towns of Queyanbeyan and Goulburn, riding on roads that varied in quality but typically had very narrow or non-existent shoulders and sporadically heavy traffic. Once I hit Goulburn I hopped back on the Hume Freeway to speed on towards Moss Vale, keeping my eyes open for any potential camping opportunities. 

The weather quickly deteriorated and thunderstorms appeared overhead. I had a nerve-wracking few minutes where the entire shoulder was closed due to construction, and I had to ride in the middle of a lane of traffic of one of the busiest freeways in Australia in the dark. This involved pedaling as hard as I possibly could while continually checking my rearview mirror to see if death was imminent. Thankfully I made it through the gauntlet and rode into a glorified truck stop called Marulan, where the rain was intensifying. I grabbed a crappy motel room, and was instantly pleased with my choice as the rain started coming down as hard as I have ever seen.  Day 6 distance: 187 km 

Day 7:

I awoke with a high level of excitement as my destination was finally within reach. I decided to ride along the Hume Freeway a bit farther as I had a marvelous tailwind and was making much better progress than I would be able to make on the winding backroads. After about 40km, I turned off to ride through Moss Vale, which seemed to be sort of a dreary town. Or maybe it was just the weather that made it appear as such. 

After a stunning descent into Wollongong, and an uninspiring ride on the freeway for 50km, I rode to the entrance of the Royal National Park, which is just south of Sydney (view looking South from the park entrance). 

The park turned out to be much larger than it looked on the map, but I eventually popped out the other side, and then as traffic increased I crossed a bridge and got my first view of Sydney off in the distance. 

After a bit of fighting the evening traffic and one crash into the curb I arrived at my destination 6 days and 11 hours after I departed Melbourne. A shower and ravenous eating ensued.  Day 7 distance: 218 km. Total trip distance: 1218 km (756 Miles)

The next week before returning to the USA was spent touring Sydney and the surrounding area with Sarah and her relatives.

Reality Check

Since the weather is currently unusually mild for February in New England (39 F and 20-30 mph winds), I decided to go for a ride today. This ride served three critical purposes:

1. I needed to do something besides sit in my hotel room all weekend

2. As I've been tossing around the idea of cycle-commuting to work when possible, I wanted to scout out a route that avoids freeways 

3. The great Australian cycle tour starts in 2 weeks and I haven't been on a bike in almost two months - yikes

I headed out into a brisk headwind, consulting the Iphone regularly as every New Hampshire back road looks exactly the same and they all seem to meander along in no particular direction. After 80 minutes I arrived at New Boston Air Force Station, where I am currently spending a quite a bit of time working.  

Since this took longer than expected, I am doubting that it is realistic for a daily commute. Time to turn around and see how long it takes with the winds in a more favorable direction. After approximately 40 minutes, I am at a spot where I wanted to scout out a railroad bridge that if passable, would remove about 2.5 miles from the route. Success! The bridge is passable and there are no signs prohibiting transit. 

The total return trip utilizing the shortcut took under 55 minutes, which is much more realistic for a daily commute. If the weather is good this week I will have to give it a shot. I arrive back at my hotel feeling much more worn out than a 45 km ride should leave me feeling. Crap. I am going to need to do some serious spinning over the next couple of weeks or the 700 miles of Australian backcountry in 7 days is going to be absolutely brutal. 

Pikes Peak or Bust!

Saturday 10/1/11: 


0430 hrs: Alarm goes off - "Why am I waking up this early on the weekend?"
0530 hrs: Front tire hits the trail (switchbacks), pain ensues - "Uhh, Is this a good idea?"
0600 hrs: Grinding uphill in the dark - "What in the hell am I doing?"
0640 hrs: Sunrise over Colorado Springs - Stunning! 
0700 hrs: Grade eases up, I realize I have a seat on my bike - "Killer" 
0730 hrs: Trail gets rockier and steeper, I'm walking more than riding 
1030 hrs: Summit - 5 hrs and 7500 vertical feet later I am there; coffee and donuts hit the spot 

Obligatory picture proof: 



I have heard people say that only idiots do this ride since there is obviously a lot of time off the bike involved towards the top, but I had a killer time, and the trail traffic didn't result in any conflict or negative experiences whatsoever. 

I was expecting a painful descent on the fully rigid frame, but this ride made me fall in love with the wagon wheels all over again. This was one of the most fun descents I have ever had (and yes I've done resort riding with real suspension). 

Stopped at the camp on the way down to chat with a great couple who gave me exact trail directions. Then hit up the experimental forest route on the way back (longhorn ranch road to ute somethin or other?). This enabled me to skip the hordes of people who like stairs.