Proper Days Mountain Biking (J)

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I love this. You never going to get it but heres a synopsys anyway. Scuse Spelling!

Done Puno, got hammered, back to hotel 4.30 am. After god knows what happened. Some funny shit! Anyway hit the road, awesome. First day of the trip as I was concerned. Felt acliamatised in more ways than one for the first time. Happy, bliss. Massive open space. Well hell of a hot, smoggy climb out of puno. then a few bends down and then straight. And I mean straight and flat. I also mean Flat. For miles. Railway. That alignment wouldnt take long! Id even volunteer to do the vertical! Bewtiful. So much space, kind of what I'd been looking for, nothing!!! x

Next day pretty much more of the same, althought think there were two bends. The Day of the dead, or two days. Nuts. Everybody in graveyards no body in villages. We wondered around one, to the amusement of the party localers. One even offered us beer, not quite sure if we were suppose to poor it on the grave or drink it. Either could be a fau paux if wrong. We drunk it, seemed ok but reckon we should have sprayed some somewhere first. Och well, Gringo´s, what do we know!

Still the next day, 3rd now! This was to be the big off road day. Reckoned it would be about 70km off road, 15 to turn off and stay in little place called Layos. Where according to excellent chicken sopa cheifess and boyfriend there'd be a place to stay. So easy 15km before mango. When some idjiot started racing me up the first hill. Feeling quite good that morning i took him on, beat him to the top of the hill but was so out of breadth he breesed passed on the flat. Never breathed like that in my life. Like hot soup that burns all the way down to your stomach but with air and lungs. Invigorating. I stayed with him but behind for 10min until I could breath again then on a little down hill used the superior gears to burn passed him at about 40kph, no chance! Anyway I was going to stop for Mango, maybe while ahead! As Dom whistled passed and suggested we wait for turn off. The race was now on, 15 bloddy km. Dom and this chappy well in front now, at each other. Managed to catch them up, Dom and i had a good little spat thinking we left the other dude miles back. Thinking I'd finally seen off dom just before the turnoff, this bike absolutely storms past, it was this other chappy. Managed to retake him just, and collapsed at junction to tuck into the Mango. Excellent fun, first real taste of bike racing tactics etc, thought of you Mr Ross! Yummy mango.

This dude was some PE teacher that was out on the bankholiday for a fitness cycle. He accompanied us down the really irratating non road road to the final village before the real biking started. Flat, perhaps used to be tarmaced but really annoying bumpity bumps. 20km seemed longer. Then in the middle of no where, a perfect single streach of tarmac that ran through the center of the otherwise mud streeted village. No restaurants but find lady on square with trolly of food, fairly standard.

In a local shop we explain where we are planning to go. They go nuts. Loads of spanish, concerned faces, actions. Guns, daggers, noises all sorts. Another dude at the turn off did mention we'd have to walk sections of it. This seemed to be confirmed. 11.30. There is no way we were goign back along that annoying road. We soon decided to take the warning seriosuly and kip the night in this village so as to have a full day for the mission. Just as well!

Our PE teacher took us to the School saying it was a little hotel! Much discussion between the staff and in the end some accomodation seemed to be sorted. Luis cycled of home only to return a bit later and then took us back to his a bit later again. A lovely room, even with telly, had been prepared. Walk around the hills for a bit. PE teacher goes home with Dom's football shirt for his. Note change of colour in pictures!

The most wonderful familly, two daugters whose room we've just taken. Luis and lovely wife. Good meal. Good breakfast, chicken bit and rice, jammy hot drink, bread and cheese. Potatoes and cheese for packed lunch. Thankyou, bonza!

So we set off by about 9. Told 30 horrendous km up before it levels and then down. First 15 relatively flat, 1 or 2%. nice enough road. Much less cars so less irratating pulsating bumps. Into stunning pretty much untouched valley. A few single houses here and there. Water. Water in the rivers pretty much for the first time. Green. Trees, proper trees. Stop for an orange and water still looking for the start of the serious climb. Know we have 700 odd meters to make. Quite tough off road. Get to a village just at start of steeper hill. A gentle rain, hail starts. Dom suggestes sticking it out in the village. Me concerned at sdhedule, new gortex jacket and Scottish blood suggest we continue. Jacket over t-shirt. Overshoes, or fingered gloves I decide not. Woops. The gentle soon becomes hard, the hard soon, torrential. Here are the daggers. I have little holes in my fingerless gloves, got really burnt less than a week ago, just peeling. Now I have ice cold, knives pumbling the same spots. Thunder.

Quite enjoying it, but it is freezing, solid and now up to 2 inches of hail that needs to be cycled through. Certainly evens up the bumps, no care now in picking the best route. Everything just white. Figure its pretty good actupunture. With just a tshirt and thin jacket you can feel every one of the thousand of hail per second on your back. Perhaps an Inca test. As we get to the top massive thunder, begining to wonder how wise it is to be on the top of a hill on a metal bike in thunderstorm. As it levels off the hail stops and rain starts seems to be colder. higher I guess. Shelter for 10 min in a cow shitty half enclosed barn. Try and warm hands, swap gloves. The rain subsides so decide against overshoes again. Silly.

Meet acouple of people up there that come and see what the hell we're doing. Again lots of amusement and concerned spansih saying we cant possibly go to Layos. Frio, Frio. And it was freezing.

Set off as the rain starts, again insist we get out of there, rather than wait for what might never clear. Not the top, just the top of the hail valley. We're now in the freezing rain upper valley. Road goes on and on, around a corner to reveal another entire streatch etc etc. Eventually reach the top, or atleast the level. Stop for a couple of oranges. Both freezing, mainly hands and feet and out of energy. Set off soon as in an attempt to reach sun. It has alwasy been just infront of us.The next valley is always in Sun, but retreats as we close.

Stunning although largely various shades of dark greys (clouds and mountain ranges) views often on both sides as we cycle the ridge. highest I've ever been. 4600m I think something like that. Cold tho, did I mention that.

Then the down hill! Not that fast. 20, 22 sometimes 25 kpm. But fantastic. What trails. No cars have passed here for years. We went 45min with no man made anything but the track, 35min no people, 25 no living thing! The track has everything, puddles (deep enough to cover you feet entirely),loose rocks, large rocks, sharp rocks, cracks, scree, mud, clay. Water 'drains' on corners, lots of corners. Zig zaging up and down, mainly down, the side of the slope. We can see the Largo of our destination but for hours get no closer. Not even cycling towards it most of the time. So cold don't want to stop. Cant take pictures, would have loved a short video! intense concentration needed. No feeling in toes or fingers.

I love it, perfect example of my thing of the last few years. To maintain control of the bike you have to on numerous occasions release control. e.g. you set a course so you think, but the bike suddenly does something totally different. Slips, skids, slides. To remain rigid and stuck to your plan and you are screwed. You have to give the control to the bike, or rather take control from the bike. Always adjust to its balance not your preferance. Real buz, so close to stacking it on a number of occasions, really close once. Thought i had, both feet came off pedals. Fortunately I still had handlebars to my suprise so could return my feet first to the pedals then to the clips.

Dogs. Bloody dogs. S. American dogs have been pretty good here on the mainroad. Figure the ones that arn{t are dead on the main roads, seen some of them! But on this road, little buggers. As we lower back down into the new valley loads of dogs. chase. Adreline rush, slightly warming. Really makes you push the track to the limit. One followed me for nearly two k at 23kph up and down hill. Jumping in and out of my path like an possessed obsessed beast. About three hours, solid, after the start of the down hill we reach the village. Soaked through, freezing limb extremities although slightly warmer now beloww 4000m again. Covered in mud. The people in the village are just amazed! In shock. They dont expect Gringos in the village anyway, and to come from the direction we did was just beoyned belief. The fact that we were head to toe in mud and soaked through, and in shorts was more than enough for them. As we explained we still wanted to get to Sicuani they virtually begged us to take the bus. Which kept pulling up just opposite from where we had collapsed. A biscuit from the shop, another orange and the potatoes and cheese. A rest, 3:30 now I think.

The other thing the PE teacher had told us was some sort of cocaine bandits just beoyned the village. No stop there, bang bang hed gone on about. So we set off again, a little warmer. Actually Id put on my water proof socks now so although shoes soaked feet now dry.

20km along the lake, stunning but again to much of a mission left to stop and take pics. The road is kind of clay and with the rain its sticky and hard work. Dont see any gansters, the ususal olas and buenas tardes seemd ok!!! Stop at the next village at the foot of the lake, still pissing it down. Wait under a ledge to regroup, set off as soon as Dom arives. Up hill down, same sticky clay, back on well used roads (cars etc) so annoying bumpyness returned abit. Reach junction where a Canadian and a bike no panniers but a trailer is talking to local Andean. ask him where hes come from, says where we{re going. I was hoping it was 10km away. He reckons it{ll take us 2hours just to reach the slightly major road. Never make it before dark he says. I wonder wether he wants some nice Gringo flesh to keep him warm in his tent. He asks is there were any hotels where we came from, fat chance!! We hurry on, leave him confusly looking at the map. He also said it aint mainly up or down but across. Damn. The next bit is mainly down and must have been hell to come up on. Clay really sticky now. Carry on, apparently no way out of valley. Surrounded by hills. Really dont want to have to go over another ridge. Is getting dark with the weather now 5ish.

Find two very drunk tall lads in house. Check we're on the right route. Very jollyly assure us we are. Also are convinced its all down hill only 15km, 45 min. so convinced were not sure how much the beer is talking. Still were not going back up so on our way. It is down hill. Big road but crap surface, very bumpy, big sections taken out by water flow. Much faster than traffic, overtake mini bus when I can, having followed for a good few mins. This is the other type of down hill, faster, broader road, less surface loseness. More like those in india. Steep drop one side, steep cliff the other. S bends along the side of the valley. Lovely rolling chicane curves back to back, 40 50 click. Easy k's!

Then suddenly turns to brand new tarmac, super smooth. Our hands, thumbs are glad for it. Glide down, easy, no peddeling pretty much all the way into town. Get to the two 7.30. 7 hours 20mins on the bike that day i think. Cant do much more than that, poor arses!

Go to two or three hostels really just looking for shower. None quite take our fancy, after a couple laps find a guy that takes us to a sound enough hotel. Caked in mud, much amusement. Glad they let us in. Thought they might insist on hoseing us down first.

Reasonably warm showers, clean! Feel great. find good food place over looking square. Eat lots, cheeky beer. Bed. Thats a day and a half. Sure its fairly dull in writing but I can show you on a map and you can come do it yourselves!

Sorry for the lack of photos. I did stop at the top to take some depite the cold before the track deteriorated, but wasnt about to on the way down, as warmth promised. Wicked. Just couldn{t do it on a tourer. Bikes stood up very well. Gears didnt work by the time we reached the town, but that was just mud. My pedal noww clicks which is rite pain but not show stopper. Well down Giant and Trek, good machines.

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Photos

The Race
Nearing the end

The Race
Nearing the end

The warm and flat
Starts so calm!

Serene
Lovely, Ahhh.

Post Hail
Getting Brrr

Post Hail
Getting Brrr

Cold
Dont really want to sit

The top
Cold but oranges

Greys
A spot of Sun would make all the difference!

Arrival in Layos
Good lad, frozen but smiling!

Dom
Good lad, frozen but smiling!

Me
!