Cycling in Cotopaxi National Park

---

I returned to Quito from Galapagos for two days to try and arrange a biking trip to Cotopaxi.

Luckily the Biking Dutchman had a small booking for Friday 7th. For the two days in Quito I made the mistake of staying at El Cafecito. From the outside it looks nice and the restaurant/cafe serves good, but pricey food, but the rooms need to be redecorated, the beds are probably the worst I´ve had to sleep in so far but for 7USD, you get what you pay for.

For the day of cycling, there were 4 of us in the group and were driven by Fernando, our guide for the day, to Cotopaxi National Park.
Entrance to the park was 10 USD (I believe a discount can be given for students or volunteers upon production of a the appropriate card). Fernando then drove us to the 1st refuge hut which was approx 30 mins drive inside the park from the entrance, approx 25km from the entrance.

Unfortunately, clouds were blocking a lot of the top of Cotopaxi. We didn´t hang around as it was cold and very windy at the refuge. As we were preparing the bikes, some people arrived at the same time as us and walked to the 2nd refuge ready to attempt a climb of the mountain early the next morning.

We set off on he bikes about 11:30 and cycled for approx 1.5 hours, about 15km, mostly downhill stopping for photos along the way. The terrain was fairly bumpy and a mixture of gravel and dust but nothing too technical - evan for somone with virtually no mountain biking experience. Thankfully no-one had an accident and the views were great despite the clouds covering most of Cotopaxi. We stopped for lunch supplied by Fernando.

The last part of the ride was approx 15 km with a couple of uphill sections, short but quite steep, and I certainly felt the effects of altitude on these parts we were still at around 3800m - I can´t remember the last time I gasped for air so much!


We finished the cycling and as I was heading south to Riobamba where I was going to spend the weekend, I was dropped off at the park entrance to wait for a bus.

I waited for approx 40mins for a bus to stop. The bus ride was approx 3 hours, cost 2.75 USD and I arrived in Riobamba at 5:30pm. I´d already booked ahead staying at the hotel El Libertador. This turned out to be a good choice. The hotel was modern, the rooms a good size, clean and the price was 15 USD but this didn´t include breakfast. I probably could have found something cheaper, but after the hovels I´d stayed in on Galapagos, I was happy to pay a bit more.

---

Photos

Cotopaxi
Taken on the drive up to the first refuge

Cotopaxi
very windy and cold.

Looking away from Cotopaxi
One of the many views we had whilst cycling down from the firts refuge.