Day 1.. Sometimes Adventure finds you....

Its been a hectic week working right up to the very last minute (well almost...Thanks Kirsty!), with a well planned last day at work where getting up at 4:50am to start work at 6am was a good idea, until I actually had to do it. Fortunately that meant I got to disappear off at 6pm, leaving a few hours for a last minute baff and typical last minute panics.

The fact that I was working right up to the last meant that I haven't had time to contemplate too much on this CraZy undertaking ... so it was only really when my kit was packed in my dad's car and I had pulled the seatbelt across, that it kinda hit me. You would think I would be used to this now .. right? Yet the familiar anxiety emerged.... would my bike arrive at the same time as I did... would it be it more pieces than it should be... would my rear mech be bent??? ok so most of my anxiety is directed towards my bike's safety... but it is a lovely bike ( Thank you AW Cycles and Whyte bikes!!)

So what is the CraZy this time?
It involves about 800 miles of dirt roads through the Andes, of course known for the flat nature of the roads, the shallow gradient of the rare climbs and the kind nature of the totally predictable mountain weather.... if that goes ok, I will add on another 200 miles of beautiful, totally manageable singletrack, where I won't once have to carry or push my bike up a wall of impenetrableness (maybe not an actual word)... and because I haven't broken a sweat by that point, I will then add on a nice little jaunt up a small peak that in no way will cause me to loose every last calorie I might have left in my body.......

If you believed any of that I'm surprised you are still reading this blog... that wouldn't be any fun at all for you to watch!!

Frankly... I have a feeling that this one is going to be the most painful of all!

Which, as me and my best mate discussed last night, is why she is going to sponsor me only if she feels I have suffered enough on that particular day...

Day 3... well done Lid... bitten by a dog, a 10 000 ft climb (only exaggerating slightly) and crossing a raging torrent of a river.... have £3 today...

Day 5.. naah ... only 9000ft today, you were only chased, not bitten and the stream you waded across wasn't dangerous enough... only £1 today!

Still in my favour... on the first cycling day (monday) I will be so high up and not had enough time to acclimate, that climbing up the treacherous gradient of a speed bump might be enough to make me pass out, thereby earning a few quid!

All jokes aside, I'm 5 hours into the flight and I'm already starting to calculate mileage, time, gradients in my head... a sign of things to come.... that and watching Men In Black.

We are currently flying over the Atlantic Ocean... as we have been for the last 4 hours and 55 minutes, which makes me realise just how big it is... so big that the flight tracker shows nothing but ocean... it is a vast world out there with so much to see (except for this point in time, where a bad seat choice means all I can see is the wing of the plane from my window seat).

Whilst I am still at the beginning of this journey and certainly before any of the suffering begins when all I can feel is the aching of every bone in my body and my sore arse (yup there is going to be a fair few discussions about the state of my arse), I feel now is a good time to try and explain why I do this and what I hope to achieve by doing these CraZy rides....

Aside from raising money for the charity (Love Hope Strength Foundation), and yes that is your first of many (gentle) reminders that I am suffering for sponsorship... I hope that by doing these things, I can show people that you don't have to be a sponsored professional athlete ... anyone can go and explore, find their new limits, experience the peace and solitude that nature can provide... if I can ... so can you!

Anyway so nearly 2 films later and it still all seems a little surreal... a year of planning and dreaming... and now all I have left is to actually go and do this thing. In some ways I know what is ahead, but in a different landscapes and culture and language than I have experienced before and therin lies the uncertainty.

The rest of the flight passed quickly enough... though I was absolutely freezing... wearing shorts on a plane never a good idea. A slightly bumpy landing and I now technically have visited another state... 

Miami airport... maze. Fortunately my bag and bike were checked straight through so I didn't have the stress of baggage claim and then re-checking it all in but I whether correctly or not, I followed signs, wandered around, went through customs and then had to go back through security... given that in Heathrow they made me pull out all my electrical kit and then swabbed them, I assumed I looked dodgy and would probably get the same treatment in Miami security. But no ... they waved me through with a smile!

Having had some experience of large American airports, when I saw a sign for the sky train, I knew it would be that or a very very long walk, so I hopped on board and 5 mins later was dropped 'near' my gate. No sooner had I found the correct place to park my arse, it flashed up that the flight was delayed for 2 hours. Needn't have rushed then!!

So I'm now sitting here in the airport having successfully worked out how to use the world sim for my phone and hoping (after a hastily sent email) that the hotel would still be there to pick me up.... otherwise that really would be a baptism of fire.

I do however love this part, watching the hustling and bustling and thinking of the adventures yet to come...  but that got old after 2 hours of sitting there with another 2 hours to go. After what seemed like a very long time, we finally boarded.

Ironically, having left behind my job (neonatal nurse practitioner for those that don’t know), I was seated in between a breastfeeding mother and a kid of about 8. The bonus was that the 8 year old was asleep most of the time... and the 2 month old was cute as hell. He made my day with the face he pulled when the engines roared to life and we charged down the runway... eyes wide open in a mix of utter horror and surprise, it reminded me of a cartoon with eyes popping out on stalks.

So with 1 hour still to go on this flight, I gave my blanket to the 8 year old as he was literally shivering... I probably have to get used to being a bit cold. That said... at 8pm Quito was a balmy 24 degrees C!!

When we land my tasks are to find my bike, find my taxi, get to the hotel and if I can stay awake, put my bike together tonight.  I have been up already for close to 24 hours so I will sign off, ready to post when I crash into my room. 

I’m getting excited ... once I have my bike it will be time to go in search of that adventure

LHS

Addendum... my bike got here... I got here...
feels a bit surreal.. like I'm tripping but maybe that's the lack of sleep and the altitude combined.

Quito is massive... the Cathedral looks stunning from a distance ... the roads were incredibly smooth and traffic free. 1st impressions are pretty good. But no time to explore yet.... got to get to Tulcan tomorrow