Adventures in Peru - High Altitude Mountain Biking

One day, James, a friend of mine here in Cotahuasi, Peru, to me and asked me a favor. He said he can put around a great mountain bike at the beginning. He asked me to help control a possible way to the plain Charcana as I was familiar with some 'of the path. I had a 16-hour walk through the area with Max, another friend of projects, a government official working visit of many. At that time he was looking for an area ofto maintain a high level is used for a vicuna. Vicuña are wild animals in danger of extinction, with reference to the lama, whose wool is very valuable, and poaching is a big problem.

Back on the bike, at 3:15 Saturday morning, a horn sounded in front of my house and I came Julio and Daniel in a truck for the three hour journey to the starting point at 14,000 feet above sea level. Along the way we stopped three times, each time we were shooting a horse and a number of people who go that wastoo. Fortunately, we were kept in the back of the truck cab in the cold with the horses to ride. There are no public transport, which leads to the high level, despite the fact that many people live there. The villages are small and distant, so that would not be economically feasible for Combi (mini bus) service. After what seemed like an eternity we were finally allowed to fall into the middle of nowhere on a sign for the school in "Laxa" with an arrow on the leftthere was nothing in sight, except a small trace.

It 'was the light of time brings us to 6:15, after a very rocky road and Max had wandered. Of course, the bike is very different from that walk. The road fell into a deep ravine and climbed steeply up the side. It 's been too steep to ride, so we had to push our bikes. Julio soon had a flat tire on the path of thorns. We went through the school, which was a room next to a couple ofHomes, but otherwise the center of a large vacuum level. We were on our way to Lacsa reached a point where I'm pretty sure we head in another direction to go because we need Charcana Andamarca had walked the previous trip. Fortunately, we saw a woman walking in the distance, was able to travel to go to her. It was on the right side of the track we were and we could see, has shown the way on foot along a ridge on the opposite side of the plane.And to think that it would cross, and how poor we came, we headed in that direction.

This was not a big decision, but we had almost reached the line, when he broke the strap on my backpack. Here we are at about 14,000 feet without needle and thread, how to repair a broken belt? The brake cable on my bike when it needs more, but I had cut off the excess, let it stick out the end. We left a lock of this and Julio usedThe wire to sew the strap back on the box! Crisis averted, and we were back on the road.

Now we are finally on the main road Charcana, who was an old Inca Trail. We walked among the ruins of the ancient village Lacsa, bypassing the current village. We followed the trail over the plains for miles, up and down on many deep gorges on its way. At one point there were a couple of stone towers, about six feet, near the road. Of course we had to stop andPictures with our bikes on top of one of the towers.

In typical fashion, was my fellow bikers and a bag of bread and a liter of water between them, and I'm sure laughed my complete package. But at noon, after changing my water, trail mix, cheese, an apple and cookies with them, they were probably happy that I had brought more than they are.

We were on a track that was new to me, and I was the leader, we all knew that we are in the right directionCharcana. We passed some houses and buildings, it was all of stone as the only building material in air. Even a lot of llamas and sheep, which in some way to eat the grass that grows very rough and sharp there to survive. We could not see because it was in a ravine somewhere Charcana in front of us. After many false sightings of what I hoped was the right canyon, we finally reached the extreme limit of the plateau, and I could see the other side of CharcanaCanyon. It seemed so close that we are not concerned about the passage of time and shots for too long on top of a couple of large stones that were on the edge of the rim.

Finally, realizing that he was late, we started to follow the path that led down the throat to Charcana. But the road soon turned off and the canyon instead of down, also facing Charcana. There was also a very ugly, and covered in bad shape, nothingas the main street had been. After a while, 'we decided that we are on the wrong track. But there was no apparent cross and this time we decided it was better than continuing to go back and try to find the right way, especially because we had no idea where to look. We could see a path to Charcana on the opposite side of the throat, so we decided to continue to climb the throat that seemed to catch the TRAIL deep river to cross, if we goimmediately.

After about an hour the way the river has come, and there was a suitable place to cross, for which we were very grateful. We were to discover even more grateful that we had seen how the other side was a great track for cycling, with gentle ups and downs and lots of fun curves. We had a great ride, but we were hungry, thirsty and tired when they finally arrived in the afternoon at about 4.15 Charcana clock. We were local heroes, when we hearddriving our bikes on the plateau but confirms that there are "spot" when we do, we would remain after Cotahuasi instead he said. The locals tried to convince us to spend the night there, but we had to make any plans for activities in the morning and said that we needed to go Cotahuasi tonight. Is there a telephone in Charcana so we called to see Max in Cotahuasi if he could get his truck and meet us part way and give us a ride. We wereAble to speak directly with him, but he left a message for him. We bought a big bottle of mineral water and biscuits, and passed after a short break after the way Andamarca and Cotahuasi.

This was a way I was familiar with and it was a good way, so we were able to make time for a good couple of hours before the beginning of the dark. I have a good set of bicycle lights in the morning, but before leaving I was not clear if the batteries have been accused of not bringingwith me. I've only had my small LED lights and batteries are fully charged, and had no spare batteries. Daniel had a small wheel slightly, but the batteries were not fresh either. Over time it grew dark, we reached a dirt road again. It 'has just been built and was not in the package, but was not great for cycling. So here we were, three bikers go with two lights as fast as we dared, a very twisty mountain road, trying to get as far aspossible before our lights went out.

We had ridden at night for about two hours with our dimming of lights and crossed Andamarca to a better and safer, when we saw some lights on us. We soon realized that it was the police Cotahuasi but the thought of going to some emergency measures as they had their lights flashing. Until then, our lights were worthless, so we went, pushing our bikes. We met the police at 8.15 am, 14 hours after we started running,truck and found that Max was sent to save them to us because it did not gas his own. We offer our bikes in the back of their pick-up and went back to Cotahuasi with them, save even a few 'hours a bike ride "in the dark.

Adventures in Peru - High Altitude Mountain Bike

One day, James, a friend of mine here in Cotahuasi, Peru, approached me and asked a favor. He said he was beginning pose a great mountain bike ride in. He asked my help in the review as possible over the plateau Charcana as I was familiar with some of the tracks. What I did here a 16 hour walk this area with Max, another friend of the project is a government official working in many. This time, investigated the area of the WASPlateau vicuna continue to use. Vicuña are wild animals facing extinction, related to llamas, whose wool is very valuable, and poaching is a big problem.

Back to cycling, at 3:15 Saturday morning, a horn sounded outside my house and I came Julio and Daniel in a truck for the three-hour drive to our starting point at 14,000 feet. Along the way we stopped three times, each time took a horse and a number of people who had beenas well. Fortunately we got in the cab, instead of going on the back of the truck in the cold with the horses. There is no public transportation that goes to the plateau, despite the fact that many people live there. The villages are small and distant, probably would not be economically feasible for combi (minivan bus) service. After what seemed like ages, we finally left in the middle of nowhere a sign for the school "Laxa" with an arrow pointing left,There was nothing in sight except a small trace.

It was clear by the time we started, watch 6:15 to go after a very rocky road Max and I had previously migrated. Of course the bike is much different than hiking. The road fell into a deep ravine and climbed steeply back to the other side. Was too steep to ride, so we had to push our bikes. Julio soon had a flat tire with the sharp track. We went through the school, which had a room next to a fewHomes, but otherwise the center of a large vacuum level. We were on our way Lacsa but reached a point where I was pretty sure we need to go in another direction to head Charcana, since we had hiked Andamarca during the previous trip. Fortunately, we saw a woman walking away in the effort to obtain general information from her. She was on right side of the track we were attracted, and we could see the way on foot, on a mountain ridge across the floor.The thought of a reduction would be good to cross the road as poor our arrival, we started in that direction.

This was not a big decision, but we had almost reached the line, when the tape broke my backpack. Here we are at about 14,000 feet without a needle and thread, how can we fix a broken belt? The brake cable on my bike was more than necessary, but I had cut off the most, I left protruding end. We've broken a few blades of this and Julio usedThe cable for sewing the strap on the back pack! Crisis averted and we were back on the road.

Now we are finally on the main road Charcana, who was an old Inca Trail. We walked through the ruins of the old village Lacsa, bypassing the actual village. We followed the path through the plateau for miles, down and many deep gorges on its way. At one point there were a few stone tower, about six feet, near the runway. Of course we had to stop andpictures with our bikes on the Twin Towers.

In typical fashion, my fellow bikers had a bag of bread and about a liter of water between them, and I am sure, laughed my backpack full. But at noon, after the release of my water, trail mix, cheese, an apple and cookies with them, were probably glad that I had brought more of them.

We were on a path that was new to me, and I was the leader, all that we knew we were in the right directionCharcana. We spent some houses and buildings, all made of stone, as was the only building material for the layer. Many lamas and sheep that somehow survive the food very rough and sharp grass that grows there. We could not see because it was in a canyon somewhere Charcana before us. After several false sightings than I hoped was the right canyon, we finally reached the extreme limit of the plateau, and I could Charcana across the s.Canyon. It seemed so close that we are not concerned about time and long shots at the beginning of some large stones that were on the edge of the rim.

Finally, it is clear that it was late we started following the path down to the gorge Charcana. But the road soon and head off further down the canyon toward the Charcana instead. There was also a very bad road, covered and in poor conditions, nothingas the main way that we had. After some time we decided that we will be on the wrong track. But there was no clear and crossing at this time we decided it was better to go back and try to find the right way, mainly because they do not know where to search. We could see a path towards Charcana across the throat, so we agreed to continue to climb the gorge TRAIL intercept, as the river seemed too deep to cross, if we gojust down to it.

After about an hour the way the river has come, and there was a suitable place to cross, because we are very grateful. We were to discover even more thankful that the road we had seen on the other hand, was a great track for cycling, with gentle ups and downs and lots of fun curves. We had a great trip, but we were hungry, thirsty and tired when we finally arrived in Charcana 04.15 an hour in the afternoon. We were local heroes, when we hearddriving our bikes on the plateau, but then confirmed that we were "spot" when we said we wanted to continue with after Cotahuasi instead of there. The locals tried to convince us to spend the night there, but we had to make any plans for the events of the morning and said let's go back to that night Cotahuasi necessary. There is a phone, so we called to see Max in Charcana Cotahuasi if he could, and his pick-up coming a part of our way to meet and gives us a ride. We wereAble to speak with him directly, but has a message for him. We bought a big bottle of soda and some biscuits, and after a short rest along the way and headed Andamarca Cotahuasi.

This was a way I was familiar and had a fairly good, so we were able to make good weather for a few hours before it started to get dark. I have a good set of bicycle lights in the morning, but before leaving I was clear that the batteries are not charged, had not yetwith me. I had only my small LED lights, and batteries not fully charged, and I have spare batteries. Daniel had a small light bike, but its batteries were not fresh either. Over time it became dark, we reached a dirt road again. It 'has just been built and has not yet been set so it was not the richest bicycle. So here were three bikers go with two lights as soon as we venture into a very twisty mountain road, looking foras possible before our lights went out.

We rode for about two hours into the night with our lights dim and had crossed Andamarca a better and safer if we could see some lights on us. We soon realized it was the police, but the thought Cotahuasi going to emergency, since he had his flashing. had no value at this time our lights, so we went for a walk, pushing our bikes. We met the police at 8:15 am, 14 hours later we started to run,and discovered that Max had sent to save us, because it was not any gas for his truck. We like our bike in the back of their pickup and went back to Cotahuasi with them, you save a few hours' more than a bicycle ride "in the dark.