What happened…

Andrew writes: We decided to wait, and hope, that Gareth and Jean would catch up with us, so we really took our time just sitting on the bed in the hotel room using the agonizingly slow Internet. Sure enough, at 1130hrs there was a knock, knock, knock on the door and the four of us were reunited. I was really surprised at how both Jean and Gareth enjoyed the climb and descent that Amanda and I had done yesterday. Gareth was raving about how great the light was for photos, and how perfect the weather is. I guess it’s just one of those things that each experience is different for everyone. I was even more surprised when they told us to pack up our stuff as they wanted to keep riding and find a camp site out of town; I guess I’ve just gotten used to short Days of High Adventure.

So we packed up and started to ride out of town, up ahead of me I heard Gareth and Jean having a bit of a tiff, because Gareth wanted to check out the Centro Historico and Jean just wanted to ride. Amanda broke their stalemate by saying that we should all go check it out. For about two hours, Amanda and I ate lunch, and sat in the main plaza just hanging out. Nearby was a “blind” man, playing a recorder with one hand, and holding out his palm for money in the other. I decided to be a jerk and compete with him on my tin whistle, and then Amanda got out her guitar and we sat and sang and played for everyone around us. It wasn’t until Gareth and Jean returned that Amanda finally remembered to throw out her hat for spare change. Maybe one day we’ll have enough songs in our repertoire and courage in our loins to be able to busk in a town plaza for money.

The rest of the afternoon was spent slowly cycling through the farm fields of this valley that we’re in. Even late in the afternoon people were still out working their fields, as they had likely been doing since early in the morning. Seeing people working the land with horse and plow reminded me of Cuba, where we were exactly a year ago.

There were many opportunities for a wild camp, and finally we pulled in to a small burnt-out field behind a fence and some bushes. In my haste to get setup, I rushed ahead and put a hole in my tire from some stray fencing. So I spent some time repairing the damage, while Amanda setup our tent, and Jean and Gareth broke their fast. Did I mention how strange I find it that they pretty much just eat once a day? I don’t know where they find the energy to do what they do all day, when they aren’t eating until 1600 or 1700hrs. Amanda and I talked about trying it, but quickly dismissed it as something we just aren’t suited for.

Sleep would be hard to come by tonight because we didn’t put the fly on our tent, leaving it open to the stars, and a wicked bright moon ball which illuminated everything.

Amanda writes: We knew today was going to be pretty chill. While we enjoyed an evening by ourselves to recharge and be intimate, we were eager to see Jean and Gareth again. While we had all talked about reconnecting today based on our previous miscommunication I was a bit nervous it wasn’t going to happen. We made sure the front desk knew we were expecting friends, we had scoped about possible accommodations for them in anticipation of them wanting to rest after the hill and we just sat back and relaxed. Needless to say I was super happy and relieved when they knocked on our door – yippee! Not only were they in good spirits they didn’t find the hill nearly as hard as we did and were open to continuing to ride. With that being said Andrew and I started to pack up while they replenished their supplies.

We reconnected at started to ride out of town when Gareth caught a glimpse of the town center with its historic looking buildings. He seemed pretty keen on checking them out and after seeing yesterday how he can be pretty firm in his needs, I figured what the hell; let’s check it out. That was until I realized it was a steep cobblestone climb up to it. I climbed as high as the park central and then sat my but down. I let them know I’d be waiting there for them. Andrew stayed with me and found some lunch, which was a good idea anyway because we were hungry. It worked out just great. Gareth got to take some pictures which I can’t wait to see as he’s pretty good with the camera and Andrew and I got to eat, play some music and enjoy the shade.

When Gareth and Jean returned we headed out. We found a flat spot to camp after not too much riding and as Gareth tried to clear the path of thorns Andrew decided to forge ahead impatiently and in the process punctured his tube. Not only did he puncture the tube, he blew a hole in the side-wall of the tire. I must say I’m not a big fan of these new tires we bought recently. You may recall my sidewall blew out about a month ago too. Hopefully it doesn’t cause us too much grief. Anyways, back to Andrew. I love him dearly and we talk pretty candidly; the same way we write and blog. Just the day before I was sharing with him my ‘woman’s perspective’ of the power struggle with men. In the Let’s Ride Bikes team of us, Andrew is the leader (aka alpha male). With the Days of High Adventure team, it is my impression that Gareth is the leader (aka alpha male). What happens when you put two alpha males together who want to lead the pack? Well occasionally you see little actions or phrases of men being men; a few comments of my way is better than your way. Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with it; it’s just cute to watch when they both want to lead or be the first to the top of a hill or the first person to come up with an idea. So when Andrew pushed ahead of Gareth as he was so kindly clearing the way for us, I didn’t need to say a word. Being on the heels of me sharing with him my observation of power struggles, we just shared a little knowing smile of this being a prime example.

Today’s Photographs