Day 2... Guided tour
When I got up this morning it was after a full 4 hours sleep... so I didn't feel the best and I am going to use that as the excuse for the following little temper tantrum.
My room was pretty small but despite the offer to keep my bike downstairs in the garage bit of the hotel I hauled it up the stairs and crammed it into the room. I was now faced with putting it back together in an exceedingly small space.
At least when I pulled it all out of the box, it all appeared to be unbroken... including the rear mech which I had been a bit worried about as it had been crammed up against the back of the bag.
When putting a bike back together in this fashion, one must be careful not to lose any bits. So whilst balancing the front forks with one hand and trying to put the handlebars back on with the other, only to have the forks fall down and the spacers ping across the room was a little frustrating... the first time. By the third time I was almost having a shit fit, averted when the handlebars finally went on and I managed to tighten it all up without any more flying spacers. All this was extremely ironic as I had said to Rob of AW Cycles that handlebars werent a problem!
Then the wheels went on, the back wheel easily slotting in... the front not so much. The brake pads were preventing the disc brake slipping in so I had to prise them open to allow the wheel in, fine but it wasn't turning much. I left that problem for a second, and went to pump up my tyres.... hmmm broken pump... can a muy cansado (very tired... that one is for Theresa) cyclista get a break around here???
I hadn't deflated my tyres a huge amount for the plane so they aren't to bad and I found a bike shop in Tulcan which hopefully will have one. I hauled my kit downstairs and went out searching for an item to correct my first 'stoopid mistake' ... I brought the wrong plug connector.
The search was not fruitful (sunday not good day for open shops) but my first small taste of Quito left me feeling quite impressed. Clean streets (at least the bit I saw) beautiful views of the mountains around, bathed in sunshine and loads of cyclists!! There was a whole load in a square getting water from a stand so I presume they were in a club outing or something but it was good to see.
When I wandered back I still had half an hour before my taxi turned up so I tried to fix my front wheel.... prised open the brake pads, reset the wheel... it ran ok but I could still hear brake rubbing. I reset them like Rob had taught me... still there and then as I glanced at the spinning wheel, I realised the wheel wasn't running straight... huge wobble. So I decided that could wait till tomorrow!
Then Alex taxi arrived, with Marcia also coming along for the ride... 6 hours of it. Did he speak any english, I asked in faltering Spanish.... muy poco (little)... prob beat my few words of Spanish though. Never mind... google translate will help.
Off we went through the empty streets of Quito and in approx 2 mins our conversation had used up all the known words in either language... only another 5 hrs and 58 minutes to make conversation with no words.
That said, somehow we managed to communicate... google translate is great for the odd word but conversations it doesn't do so well. I picked up words, looking around on billboards and shops and with some miming Alex was able to get me to understand his Spanish words and actually I think my vocab has expanded 5 fold in those 6 hours.
Alex was a great guide... as we wound our way up mountain roads (still fantastic quality roads) he told me about the different areas and what they were known for. We saw Cotopaxi, the volcano that I am going to climb... apparently we were lucky to see the top as normally it is covered in cloud... (yes I managed to translate that #proud)
When we went through Cayambe he pointed out their local produce, biscochos which funnily enough are a type of biscuit. They were everywhere. Sign advertising them on both sides of the roads... competition must be a bitch!!
Alex took a quick u turn and pulled up at one little booth. We hopped out and Marcia explained to them what I was doing (at least from what I understood) and then in my hands was placed a couple of biscochos and I was invited to try the three local dips that go with it, something made from milk, and 2 fruit type things. Actually all very nice. Better still was the cheese (another speciality of Cayambe) wrapped in a leaf... better still was the black coffee!!!
A bit later another stop, this time for a bit of pork, I think, mainly from the pig hanging upside down next to the place we had stopped. Also good. I have decided I'm not going to starve here. Then an introduction to tostadas that I had heard about, essentially toasted corn, not too bad!
Back in the car again, we wound our way north. By wound, I mean up and round, or down and round... no flat anywhere in this country!! We went through the more touristy Otovalo and I was looking to the mountains on the left from where I will drop down into Otovalo... pretty harsh terrain all round coming up.
Alex pointed out the fires in the countryside, started by bad people apparently... plumes of smoke obvious for miles. We passed lots of cyclists going very slowly up the hills... tried not to laugh as that will be me tomorrow. The sun by now was pretty intense... I had thought that it would be warm.... but not this hot. It was beating down, making me wish I had more water carrying ability on my bike. No shade in the hills around and the vegetation sparse. Cacti growing on the side of the road indicated that this was a generally very dry landscape. This ride... not going to be easy.
The views were magnificent and the mountains provided a lovely backdrop to the small towns. The Volcanos standing proudly above.
Vulcan Cayambe was covered in a bit of cloud, not surprising given its altitude. Technically, given the curvature of the earth, Cayambe is actually closer to the sun than Everest... it also stands pretty much on the equator.... the ACTUAL equator, not the one that the monument just north of Quito marks... they got that slightly wrong!
Again we pulled in... for $2 I could go see the REAL equator monument. Great, wasn't sure I'd get to see this as it would have been a diversion off route (and anyone who has read my Route66 book will know they aren't always worth the effort taken to get there!)
So in we went and a guide told me about how the monument is a big sundial that marks the months and the hours, clever stuff really. Even more clever was the fact that all the archeological sites are in line with this, from before the Incas, people had worked these things out... it was pretty impressive. And of course I got the picture of me lying on the equator... tourist shot!
On the road again and we were now in the last bit of the journey up to Tulcàn. Essentially my ride would be to the left of us and I looked over there. As we went up, the area became greener, all became a little cooler. The hills here didn't look so bad, like a slightly lumpier Brecon, until I remembered that it was up at nearly 10,000ft! We drove past a monument to cycling and Alex kindly stopped to get a picture. There was also a crowd at the top of this hill looking downwards on a motorcross event. The cycling monument was in tribute to Richard Carapaz, this year's Giro D'Italia winner, who happened to grow up in Tulcàn. Pics taken, we went and looked at the motorbikes throwing themselves down the hill for a few minutes, obviously a popular sport here as there were loads of people there. Of course from this point on, every cyclist we saw was Carapaz. It became a bit of an in joke, with two people that dont speak the language of the other.
In this area, close to the Columbian border, we saw quite a few people walking with families and suitcases. Alex informed me that they were migrants, on their way to Peru or Argentina... on foot. Wow. It was pretty sad to see this with my own eyes but also put my little journey in total perspective, something I will try to remember as I am sweating up the climbs... this is my holiday... that is their life.
Our final part of the journey into Tulcàn passed quickly and before I knew it we were drawing up at the hotel. Alex kindly hauled my bike up to my room.
I had enjoyed the journey today immensely. It had given me an idea of the challenges ahead, given me more confidence in my meagre spanish (with the help of google translate), shown me the kinda food I could expect and already had given me a love for this country...
The taxi, compared to a bus had been an expensive way to get to Tulcàn, but it meant I had got there quickly and easily. The hard work will start tomorrow.
As you might have worked out, I fell asleep before I finished this blog. The evening consisted of wandering up the street to find food, only to find that most were closed. I ended up buying some meat, corn, potato mix from a street stall. The meat was really just fat so that went in a bin but the rest was pretty good, I may well be veggie here!
I went back to my room with the intention of sorting stuff but my body had other ideas and I crashed, leaving me to finish the blog and pack up this morning. Day 3... and I can feel the nerves bubbling in the pit of my stomach. My plan is to pack up, try and sort my wheel, have breakfast, then go to the bike shop up the road, to buy a pump and if my wheel isn't sorted, see if they can. Then all I have left to do is switch on the GPX and start to follow the track.
My room was pretty small but despite the offer to keep my bike downstairs in the garage bit of the hotel I hauled it up the stairs and crammed it into the room. I was now faced with putting it back together in an exceedingly small space.
At least when I pulled it all out of the box, it all appeared to be unbroken... including the rear mech which I had been a bit worried about as it had been crammed up against the back of the bag.
When putting a bike back together in this fashion, one must be careful not to lose any bits. So whilst balancing the front forks with one hand and trying to put the handlebars back on with the other, only to have the forks fall down and the spacers ping across the room was a little frustrating... the first time. By the third time I was almost having a shit fit, averted when the handlebars finally went on and I managed to tighten it all up without any more flying spacers. All this was extremely ironic as I had said to Rob of AW Cycles that handlebars werent a problem!
Then the wheels went on, the back wheel easily slotting in... the front not so much. The brake pads were preventing the disc brake slipping in so I had to prise them open to allow the wheel in, fine but it wasn't turning much. I left that problem for a second, and went to pump up my tyres.... hmmm broken pump... can a muy cansado (very tired... that one is for Theresa) cyclista get a break around here???
I hadn't deflated my tyres a huge amount for the plane so they aren't to bad and I found a bike shop in Tulcan which hopefully will have one. I hauled my kit downstairs and went out searching for an item to correct my first 'stoopid mistake' ... I brought the wrong plug connector.
The search was not fruitful (sunday not good day for open shops) but my first small taste of Quito left me feeling quite impressed. Clean streets (at least the bit I saw) beautiful views of the mountains around, bathed in sunshine and loads of cyclists!! There was a whole load in a square getting water from a stand so I presume they were in a club outing or something but it was good to see.
When I wandered back I still had half an hour before my taxi turned up so I tried to fix my front wheel.... prised open the brake pads, reset the wheel... it ran ok but I could still hear brake rubbing. I reset them like Rob had taught me... still there and then as I glanced at the spinning wheel, I realised the wheel wasn't running straight... huge wobble. So I decided that could wait till tomorrow!
Then Alex taxi arrived, with Marcia also coming along for the ride... 6 hours of it. Did he speak any english, I asked in faltering Spanish.... muy poco (little)... prob beat my few words of Spanish though. Never mind... google translate will help.
Off we went through the empty streets of Quito and in approx 2 mins our conversation had used up all the known words in either language... only another 5 hrs and 58 minutes to make conversation with no words.
That said, somehow we managed to communicate... google translate is great for the odd word but conversations it doesn't do so well. I picked up words, looking around on billboards and shops and with some miming Alex was able to get me to understand his Spanish words and actually I think my vocab has expanded 5 fold in those 6 hours.
Alex was a great guide... as we wound our way up mountain roads (still fantastic quality roads) he told me about the different areas and what they were known for. We saw Cotopaxi, the volcano that I am going to climb... apparently we were lucky to see the top as normally it is covered in cloud... (yes I managed to translate that #proud)
When we went through Cayambe he pointed out their local produce, biscochos which funnily enough are a type of biscuit. They were everywhere. Sign advertising them on both sides of the roads... competition must be a bitch!!
Alex took a quick u turn and pulled up at one little booth. We hopped out and Marcia explained to them what I was doing (at least from what I understood) and then in my hands was placed a couple of biscochos and I was invited to try the three local dips that go with it, something made from milk, and 2 fruit type things. Actually all very nice. Better still was the cheese (another speciality of Cayambe) wrapped in a leaf... better still was the black coffee!!!
A bit later another stop, this time for a bit of pork, I think, mainly from the pig hanging upside down next to the place we had stopped. Also good. I have decided I'm not going to starve here. Then an introduction to tostadas that I had heard about, essentially toasted corn, not too bad!
Back in the car again, we wound our way north. By wound, I mean up and round, or down and round... no flat anywhere in this country!! We went through the more touristy Otovalo and I was looking to the mountains on the left from where I will drop down into Otovalo... pretty harsh terrain all round coming up.
Alex pointed out the fires in the countryside, started by bad people apparently... plumes of smoke obvious for miles. We passed lots of cyclists going very slowly up the hills... tried not to laugh as that will be me tomorrow. The sun by now was pretty intense... I had thought that it would be warm.... but not this hot. It was beating down, making me wish I had more water carrying ability on my bike. No shade in the hills around and the vegetation sparse. Cacti growing on the side of the road indicated that this was a generally very dry landscape. This ride... not going to be easy.
The views were magnificent and the mountains provided a lovely backdrop to the small towns. The Volcanos standing proudly above.
Vulcan Cayambe was covered in a bit of cloud, not surprising given its altitude. Technically, given the curvature of the earth, Cayambe is actually closer to the sun than Everest... it also stands pretty much on the equator.... the ACTUAL equator, not the one that the monument just north of Quito marks... they got that slightly wrong!
Again we pulled in... for $2 I could go see the REAL equator monument. Great, wasn't sure I'd get to see this as it would have been a diversion off route (and anyone who has read my Route66 book will know they aren't always worth the effort taken to get there!)
So in we went and a guide told me about how the monument is a big sundial that marks the months and the hours, clever stuff really. Even more clever was the fact that all the archeological sites are in line with this, from before the Incas, people had worked these things out... it was pretty impressive. And of course I got the picture of me lying on the equator... tourist shot!
On the road again and we were now in the last bit of the journey up to Tulcàn. Essentially my ride would be to the left of us and I looked over there. As we went up, the area became greener, all became a little cooler. The hills here didn't look so bad, like a slightly lumpier Brecon, until I remembered that it was up at nearly 10,000ft! We drove past a monument to cycling and Alex kindly stopped to get a picture. There was also a crowd at the top of this hill looking downwards on a motorcross event. The cycling monument was in tribute to Richard Carapaz, this year's Giro D'Italia winner, who happened to grow up in Tulcàn. Pics taken, we went and looked at the motorbikes throwing themselves down the hill for a few minutes, obviously a popular sport here as there were loads of people there. Of course from this point on, every cyclist we saw was Carapaz. It became a bit of an in joke, with two people that dont speak the language of the other.
In this area, close to the Columbian border, we saw quite a few people walking with families and suitcases. Alex informed me that they were migrants, on their way to Peru or Argentina... on foot. Wow. It was pretty sad to see this with my own eyes but also put my little journey in total perspective, something I will try to remember as I am sweating up the climbs... this is my holiday... that is their life.
Our final part of the journey into Tulcàn passed quickly and before I knew it we were drawing up at the hotel. Alex kindly hauled my bike up to my room.
I had enjoyed the journey today immensely. It had given me an idea of the challenges ahead, given me more confidence in my meagre spanish (with the help of google translate), shown me the kinda food I could expect and already had given me a love for this country...
The taxi, compared to a bus had been an expensive way to get to Tulcàn, but it meant I had got there quickly and easily. The hard work will start tomorrow.
As you might have worked out, I fell asleep before I finished this blog. The evening consisted of wandering up the street to find food, only to find that most were closed. I ended up buying some meat, corn, potato mix from a street stall. The meat was really just fat so that went in a bin but the rest was pretty good, I may well be veggie here!
I went back to my room with the intention of sorting stuff but my body had other ideas and I crashed, leaving me to finish the blog and pack up this morning. Day 3... and I can feel the nerves bubbling in the pit of my stomach. My plan is to pack up, try and sort my wheel, have breakfast, then go to the bike shop up the road, to buy a pump and if my wheel isn't sorted, see if they can. Then all I have left to do is switch on the GPX and start to follow the track.
Looks and sounds like you enjoying yourself. I expect there are a lot of places where you can stand on the equator. The main one built by the French is quite a way off, but not too bad considering they did not have GPS. You are in Ecuador, the coffee is bound to be great. Hope you get your wheel fixed. Take care of yourself. Love Dad.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Lid! Hope all is sorted with Bike. Pura vida.xxMum xx
ReplyDeletesounds like you're settling in to the big adventure. don't forget those feelings of nerves are just excitement ( or it could be that meal from the street stall???). Thinking of you. mx
ReplyDelete