August 8 & 9, 2017
We’re now firmly planted in glorious paved roads and enjoying covering some distance.
Cycling Stats
August 8, 2017
Start Point: Izcuchaca, Peru
Destination: Ancos, Peru
84.4 km, 16.8 km/h average speed, 48.1 km/h maximum speed, 5:02 time on the bike
1194 meters gained, 1653 meters elevation descend, 2905 meters maximum elevation
August 9, 2017
Start Point: Ancos, Peru
Destination: Huanta, Peru
65 km, 13.5 km/h average speed, 57.7 km/h maximum speed, 4:48 time on the bike
1244 meters gained, 1068 meters elevation descend, 2630 meters maximum elevation
Route Description:
August 8, 2017
This day is on a paved road with a small shoulder. It is undulating hills all day with light traffic. There are small towns every 10-15 km. At the 19 km point you hit Quiches. There are 3 hotels, stores and restaurants here. After this, it continues to be undulating all day. There is water available from feeding streams all day beside the big river. There are stores and restaurants in Ancos.
August 9, 2017 The road again is mostly paved aside from a small washed out section from a landslide. The route follows the river almost the entire day. The river water is not suitable for consumption, but there are plenty of feeding streams. There are lots of towns along the way for food. To reach Huanta it is a steep climb into the town which is quite big with restaurants, hotels and stores.
Accommodations:
On the first night in Ancos there are 4 hotels. We could not find anyone at 3 of them and stayed at the one on the right hand side that simply says hotel. It was 25 soles with cold water and a dirty shitty room with no wifi. On the second night in Huanta there are loads of hotels to choose from . We stayed at Hostal Aventura for 30 soles. It had a private bath and advertised not water and no wifi. On both of these days there are plenty of opportunities to wild camp and you don’t need to stay in a town.
What happened…
Amanda writes: In the morning as we were preparing to leave Izcuchaca there was a landslide on the highway just beside the town. It was clearly something that was happening regularly and often as no one seemed surprised. They immediately closed the road to all traffic which made for a great day with next to no cars. The route follows the river and it was paved. It was so great over the two days to cover so much mileage. That sense of accomplishment is something we haven’t experienced in a long time. While the scenery wasn’t as drastic and magnificent as our recent travels; it was still beautiful.
At one point we were going around a corner where the river runs over the road (not uncommon in Peru). The water must pool near the edge of the road because it was super slimy and my bike just came right out from under me. Again I went down and my natural reaction was to try and plant my foot. Of course it had to happen on the same side as my ankle, but what was almost worse was Andrew was right behind me and did the same thing. So there we are both lying on the road with our bikes beside us. The good thing was we didn’t fall into the river. We both jumped up checking to see if we were both okay. I think adrenaline had us being grateful we didn’t end up in the river and we didn’t feel any worse for the incident. Later we did feel a bit sore but still glad we were fine. The worst of it was my coffee mug which sits on my handle bars went flying into the river, never to be seen again. I’ve had that mug for 3 years! Oh well, time for something new.
The aerial view of our rides: