June 26, 2017
After some rest we head back out on the road again.
Cycling Stats & Travel Stats
Start Point: Huaraz, Ancash, Peru
Destination: Catac, Ancash, Peru
40.3 km, 12.3 km/h average speed, 41.3 km/h maximum speed, 3:15 time on the bike
823 meters gained, 328 meters elevation descend, 3569 meters maximum elevation
Route Description:
This entire day is on a paved road. Traffic starts off a bit busy and then thins out the further you get from Huaraz. The climbs are very gradual and you climb about 800 meters in elevation. There are many stores along the way and Catac has stores and restaurants.
Accommodations:
In Catac there are two hotels. We paid 30 soles for two people and the room included hot water with a private room. The hotel advertised wifi but it didn’t exist.
What happened…
Andrew writes: Oh yeah! I love that feeling of anticipation that builds up inside of me when it’s time to get on the road after a few days off the bike. My restless energy just turns into regular old-fashioned biking energy. On our way out of Huaraz, while waiting for Philip to use the bank, Amanda, Nici and I were interviewed and filmed for some sort of news article. I’ll see if I can dig it up somehow and everyone can laugh at the funny Spanish sounds I make with my mouth.
The ride today was pretty swift all things considered. Amanda and I enjoyed a lovely lunch in the shade of a building along the highway, and we had a cute pooch who kept mooching for some of our bread. We somehow ended up detouring through Recuay, which is a decent sized town between Huaraz and Catac. Turning a corner we met two Belgian cyclists, Thomas and Ludwig. We chatted them up for a bit and then agreed to all meet up in Catac for beers later.
Reaching Catac, we arrived ahead of Nici and Philip and I scouted out the three or four available hostels. Nothing really stood out as being amazing, so we just waited and let Philip choose. After the aforementioned beer, and some food from the restaurant downstairs we called it a night.
Amanda writes: As far as first days go when back on the road this was a good one. I really enjoyed the pavement as we don’t often cycle on it in Peru. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we basically had the road to ourselves. We seemed to have figured out a groove of cycling with Nici & Philip and we cycle ahead and then just usually catch up with each other later in the day. It seems to work well with everyone. Also meeting the other two cyclists from Belgium was really nice. They were two young men who were very polite and easy to chat with.
The aerial view of our ride: