Author: neil

Every pair of pass-and-valleys in these enormously-folded Andes is unique, but our days have definitely been following a pattern. This day was another one where we would finish with a big climb out of a deep hole, and thus needed to get to that bottom as early as possible, before the heat and the bugs…

Inside the tent in was 48°F when we woke up, significantly warmer than the 42°F when we went to sleep. Climbing out revealed that the once-clear sky had clouded over (and under), so it presumably was a genuine overnight warming, and not just our bodies cranking up the thermostat. We had no disturbances once the…

Our day began with a climb, ended with a climb, and in the middle, had a climb. The nonstop climbing meant that we accumulated 4500 feet, tying our record set just a couple months ago. But it really began with a climb, where we had to heave our bikes for a couple blocks up a…

The good shower and good dinner last night in our Huancarama hotel room had lulled us into a false sense of civilization. Because at 4am this morning, nothing came out of the bathroom faucet regardless of how many times we reflexively turned the knob. Shit. I knew I should have filled up our 10L bladder…

Our wild campsite was near-perfect: easily accessible, yet with essentially zero chance of anyone else visiting our overnight home. So it was a bit of a surprise on our ride back down to the highway (we had walked on the way up), a light work truck was parked about 2/3rds of the way down. It…