July 28 & 29 2017
After tackling some of the hardest cycling we have done yet, we headed into a big city for some much needed downtime.
Cycling Stats
July 28, 2017
Start Point: La Oroya, Peru
Destination: Church camp, Peru
90.8 km, 21.4 km/h average speed, 51.4 km/h maximum speed, 4:14 time on the bike
878 meters gained, 1284 meters elevation descend, 3761 meters maximum elevation
July 29, 2017
Start Point: Church camp, Peru
Destination: Huancayo, Peru
39.2 km, 17.8 km/h average speed, 36.8 km/h maximum speed, 2:12 time on the bike
358 meters gained, 489 meters elevation descend, 3342 meters maximum elevation
Route Description:
July 28, 2017
Leaving La Oroya you stay on the paved highway for the entire day. There are restaurants and the occasional store along the entire route. The whole day is a nice downhill.
July 29, 2017 Again the entire day is on a paved highway with a bit of a shoulder in areas. As you get closer to the city of Huancayo there are suburbs and stores and restaurants. The road also becomes a bit more undulating. As you enter the city there is a small hill to climb to get into town.
Accommodations:
The first day there many small towns along the way and you could likely find a place to stay. We camped in front of a church just off the highway on the first night with the permission of the home owner next door. There is a small community called Mutuiyauyo on the left 5km before we stopped and it had a couple of hospedejes. In Huancayo there are hundreds of places to stay. On the second night we stayed in Huancayo at the Huancayo Hotel for 60 soles per night for a private room with private bathroom, hot water and wifi. I had pre-booked this place based on wifi reviews so I could work. It is a fabulous hotel and great value. There is a wonderful rooftop terrace and it is a 2 sole cab right to the centre of town.
What happened…
Amanda writes: We left La Oroya and knew we’d catch Nici and Philip on the road up ahead. We had texted with them the night before and knew their hotel was a few kilometres ahead of us. We hopped on the road and within an hour caught up to them on the highway. It was great to see them again and we all quickly fell into a good rhythm with the easy slightly downhill and paved roads. On the first day we were able to cover so much mileage with the easy terrain which was so welcome after the Peru Divide. The traffic was a bit heavier but I don’t mind so much. Mostly cars are pretty courteous. It was interesting to see how other cyclists deal with the occasional vehicle that gets a bit close for comfort. My theory is there is bound to be a few assholes amongst the mostly courteous cars and no point in getting too fussed over them. I’m sure there equally as many asshole cyclists out there. And while Andrew and I try to just keep an eye out for the drivers who clearly dislike cyclists, Philip really likes to let them know how he feels. I’ve seen him kick a car and throw rocks at cars. I normally reserve my rocks for the dogs but it was interesting to see how we all deal with things differently. In the end we all made out just fine. We strolled through a town off the highway on the first night and the hostels were pretty crappy so we decided to just keep heading down the highway in search of place to camp. We came across a nice church and the neighbouring house said it was fine if we pitched our tents out front. And so we rolled up and everyone made themselves comfortable. The boys started dinner and Nici and I started setting up our tents.
In the process of pitching the tent and setting up our sleeping gear, I was walking down the steps of the church and on the last step I came down on my ankle wrong. Must have been uneven ground or something but I went down like a sack of potatoes. I’ve suffered a lot of injuries in my life as I was always into sports and was one of five kids in my family; so bruises and breaks are something I’m familiar with. The pain was instant and a bit concerning. I couldn’t put any weight on it and stayed down for a few minutes. After Andrew helped me up I receded to our tent to have myself a good pity party and cry as I was concerned about it. We still had 35 kilometres to ride to the next town and on a longer term picture; I didn’t know what this injury held for the future.
The next day Nici and Andrew helped me with my bike down the gravel road from the church to the highway. With the help of the e-bike motor and some pills I was able to pedal the couple of hours into town. After checking into the hotel Andrew and I got in a cab and headed to the hospital. I was so relieved to hear after x-rays and an examination that it wasn’t broken which bodes well for the long term. Just a good sprain and rest required. The severity of which only time will tell.
The aerial view of our rides: