Andean Mountain Bike Adventure 4

Apparently the self-adhesive patches I was sold are a waste of time. I gave up and put a new tube in. Earlier, Richard our bike mechanic had shown me how to adjust my disk brakes, which was good as he was long gone when I had to adjust the rear ones. Grrr. It was meant to be an afternoon off.
I went for a walk before dinner and it began with a BBQ chicken heart kebab – anticucho – from a street vendor. It was so good that after walking around the block, I bought another one. Hey! They’re only 20 cents each.

Dinner was at a reputable-looking place with tablecloths and cloth napkins. My medium-cooked Fillet Mignon was not. It was in fact a blue-cooked Scotch steak with mushroom sauce. Someone else with me ordered something different and got the same. How to make your menu look longer than it is.

Tonight I slept well until 2:10am when I woke with our 4th floor room shaking with music from a party in the basement. Midnight maybe, but 2am? I went downstairs dressed in no more than boxer shorts and a t-shirt and asked them to turn it down. After speaking to a few staff, I got the dad, who was throwing the party for his daughter’s 15th birthday. I explained the time and that there was a hotel full of people above who couldn’t sleep for the noise. He instructed the DJ to turn it down and I went back to bed. I could still hear the music but it was no longer intrusive.

Malcolm
photo: janin
(to be continued)

Look Like Dog Contest 3

We've all heard of the urban myth that dog owners tend to look like their dogs. Well after seeing these 20 pictures below we can correctly assume that is no longer a myth.
Part 

Look Like Dog Contest 2

We've all heard of the urban myth that dog owners tend to look like their dogs. Well after seeing these 20 pictures below we can correctly assume that is no longer a myth.
Part 2

Look Like Dog Contest 1

We've all heard of the urban myth that dog owners tend to look like their dogs. Well after seeing these 20 pictures below we can correctly assume that is no longer a myth.
Part 1

Eucalyptus forest bush camp to Abancay 3

I woke feeling much better. I have no idea what it was that made me feel crook. Today was a good profile, a day of two halves. How good are the mountain views?
We’d slept at 3500m and the day began with a 1700m nearly 40km unsealed road downhill ride to 1800m in the bottom of the valley. What was incredible was that from the top of the hill, you could see your day laid out in front of you with the down hill switch-backing to the bottom and then the road climbing up the other side of the valley to Abancay.
From the bottom of the valley it was a 15km climb to Abancay. I stopped at a car wash and used it at a bike wash. It was nice to de-mud my bike, ready for a service this arvo. Today was a short day, so we didn’t have a lunch stop, just soup and salad waiting for us at the hotel. I’m happy that our room is at the back, not facing the street. At 3pm, I went to the basement to do three things to my bike –
1) Change the tyres from off-road to road tyres
2) Clean the chain and sprockets and
3) Fit a new bottle holder.
All up the jobs should have taken no more than an hour. I was still there at 6pm in the dingy dungeon long after the last person had gone. Why? On pumping up the second tyre I could hear hissing air and sure enough, the tyre went flat. I took the tube out but could not find the hole, so put it back in the tyre, but it went flat again. I eventually found the hole, patched it but when I pumped up the tyre the patch leaked.
Malcolm
foto: janin
(to be continued)

Andahuaylas to bush camp 2

Today I stopped often, but it wasn’t for photos.
I began today normally, had breakfast and was looking forward to the ride. It began with a 1200m / 38km climb straight up from the 2900 we’d slept at in Andahuaylas to a pass at 4100m. Then a downhill, then another climb and another downhill to our camp in the eucalyptus forest at nearly 3600m. Should have been a tough day but a goodie. Should have been.
Not long after starting, I felt sick and the more I rode, the worse it got. I’d have to stop and put my head on the handlebars until the nausea passed. Then I’d keep riding. By now I was the last person. There are half a dozen people usually slower than me, but they’d all baulked at the climb and jumped in the truck to lunch at the top. I wanted to do this ride, so persevered. I think it’s good training for life not to jump in the life raft at the first sign of trouble. I don’t expect my business or my marriage to be hassle-free, but I’m not going to bail out.
At 26km, the second truck, which had stocked up on food for tonight, passed me. That was my chance to bail, but I stuck at it as I had to now. I was so late into lunch that they came back to see if I was okay, which was nice. I didn’t eat lunch, just continued. The downhill was fine as I didn’t have to pedal, but as soon as the second climb came, my nausea returned. I got through it and the last 15km, although unpaved, had spectacular views and was downhill. I didn’t take many photos as although the mountains were stunning for us being here, it was hazy and it meant that only the first range showed up – poorly – in a photo and the five behind it disappearing into the distance weren’t on the photo. I took this photo to show how the whole area is cropped.
I saw something different today. A horse with curly hair. As I passed, I wondered why the horse looked different. Curliness is a relatively common genetic mutation and we’ve captured it with certain varieties of domestic pets, I’ve just never seen a curly horse. How's this cute piglet?
Campsite tonight is lovely. It’s a small grassy clearing amongst small gum trees on all sides. The Aussie contingent of Bike Dreams feels right at home.
What a cold evening! As soon as the sun went down, the temperature plummeted. Still feeling unwell, I spent the time until dinner laying in my tent, wondering if I would have dinner. The fire engine’s siren indicated dinner time and I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did. Although I only had a small portion, Kirstin’s mushroom risotto with tender beef and stir-fried vegetables was delicious. Bush camps are usually AFDs for me and even with the red wine on the tables for Wilbert, the owner’s birthday, I was happy not to drink. I was on dinner dishes roster and it was so cold that I think we set a new record time and then dived into our tents. I had a warm night and a good sleep.
foto: janin
Malcolm
(to be continued)

Andahuaylas to Cusco

Lots of climbing, but spectacular mountains as a reward.
Rest day in Adahuaylas
What a noisy town. A hotel room with a balcony might also have a view, but it comes at a price. Noise. I was woken at 6:30 this morning with a truck going up and down the street honking it’s horn and ringing a loud bell. I thought, ‘What the?’ and stuck my head over the balcony to see what the commotion was all about. It was the rubbish truck letting people know it’s coming to collect the rubbish. Why not put it out the night before and sleep in peace? What about me? I don’t have any rubbish and I’m just trying to sleep! Unbelievable.
Mid-morning I set off wandering and before long, found the central plaza with the usual church on one side. From there I ended up at surprise, surprise – the markets. I bought a lovely mixed juice from a vendor there. 750ml of fresh juice for $1. I noticed on their menu – jugo con cervesa/juice with beer. On chatting to the juice ladies, they use a local stout and it’s popular. I told them that I like beer and I like juice, but I wish to keep them separate.
Lunch was at little eatery near the hotel and it was full of locals. Soup, main and dessert – a banana – and sweet tea and all for $2.50. The soup was delicious and didn’t have chicken feet in it.
My chicken main course came with a red vegetable on the side. Large chilli or small capsicum? Wow! Was it hot. It was worse than a chilli and it burnt my mouth for an hour.
This afternoon we had cake and drinks on the hotel top floor to celebrate Graeme and Suzanna’s birthdays today. Two different cakes, so of course we had to try both. I love the polar bear on top.
I had a different drink with dinner tonight. Chicha morada. It’s a sweet beverage made from the black corn you see in the markets. On a blind taste test, I’d have picked it as Ribena blackcurrant cordial. Nice though.
Malcolm
foto: janin 
(to be continued)