Day 25 (4/17)

Today was the effectively the final day or our ride. I say ‘effectively’, as officially, we have one more day of riding tomorrow, but it will simple be a 2.5-3 hour run on the main road north to Cusco. As last days go, this was one to remember. In many ways it was a culmination of our trip. We rode on dirt for the better part of the day, crested two 16,800+ foot passes over the course of the 200 KM (140 miles) and took in more spectacular vista’s in one day than in any 4-5 previous days combined.

We departed Macusani around 9:30, and for the first 20 miles we were on a beautifully paved road that headed straight for the snow capped peaks (i.e. Ausangate Peak), we’d seen in the distance the day prior. At 20 miles in, our plan was to pick up a section of one of the ‘bikepacking’ routes I had earmarked during the planning of the trip. As we looked at the route on the map and calculated the distance and time, we figured we’d need to stop for the night midway. As it turns out, we ended up doing it all in one day.

Once we turned off of the pavement, we quickly dropped and crossed the Macusani river and then proceeded to climb for the next 40 minutes or so up and over a 14,400 foot pass. From this pass we dropped a bit and wended our way to the town of Corani, where we picked up a road that ran up the Rio Corani river valley. We continued up the valley to the headwaters at around 15,000 feet and then further onward gradually for another 5-6 miles to the first of two 16,800 foot passes. From the pass we quickly dropped 1500 feet. During this section of the ride, at our most remote point, we felt very fortunate to be on motorcycles. In fact, had we not been on motorcycles we might not have made it through. Specifically, we came to a river crossing, where the road had fallen away. We considered our prospects briefly, but we were looking at crossing 50 feet of rapidly flowing water that looked deep. Maybe in a four wheel drive or high clearance vehicle, but on the bikes we didn’t like our chances. Fortunately, we spotted a small foot bridge a little ways upstream that we were able to cross on the bikes. 

Past this point we rode on to the town of Phinaya where we arrived around 2:00. Our original thought had been to spend the night, but we quickly decided otherwise once we had a look at what was an empty and pretty desolate Pueblo. At this point, knowing that we had another 60 miles (100Km) to reach our final destination of Pitumarca, we ‘got on it’ and covered the next 20 miles without stopping as we gradually climbed to 15,800 feet past a series of lakes. Shortly after, the road kicked up and we climbed the final 1000 feet up and over our second 16,800 foot pass of the day. From this point on it was a long downhill ride for the remaining 30 miles to Pitumarca. While the details of the days ride may seem overwhelming, if not a bit tedious, the point is we covered a lot of ground at very high altitude… AND the point of that is, not to pat ourselves on the back, but rather to provide context for the series of spectacular vista’s that we witnessed throughout the day. 

You may recall from the day prior that in the photo’s there was ostensibly one massive set of peaks at 20,000 plus feet (i.e. Ausangate). What we discovered once up and in the mountains was that, in fact, this region, referred to as the Vilcanota mountain range, consists of a half dozen or more 20,000+ peaks together with couple of glaciers. The experience of riding through this area was that every 8-10 miles we were presented with an altogether new, but equally spectacular view of yet another set of peaks (and/or a different view of a peak previously seen). We were blessed with a relatively clear day and so time after time we found ourselves overwhelmed both with the beauty and also with the sheer magnitude of what we were witnessing. I’ve been lucky enough to have spent time in Nepal when I was younger, and if any of you have ever travelled there, it is the only place I’ve ever been to which these mountains are comparable. For the last time… I’ll offer up again, I hope that the pictures (and video’s) do some justice to what we experienced, (I’ll warn you there are a lot of images that I took from today, but if you have the time, I think you’ll find it worth it to go through them all to get a sense of the day).

The final note to my account of the day involves the last 15 miles of the ride into Pitumarca. By this point in the day(around 5:30) we were running down a river valley (river to our left) at around 12,000 feet on a single lane dirt road, heading directly into the fading sun, while passing through a series of small towns. Claudio and I were both numb from all that we’d seen and fairly exhausted from the long day of riding. At the same time, the end of the day was in sight and so we put our heads down (figuratively speaking) for the final push. Fortunately it was the evening of Easter Sunday and so the road was relatively empty of traffic save for one truck that kicked up enough dust to account for a dozen cars. Anyways, I took the lead with Claudio off my left rear flank, both of us standing on the pegs and we rode hard for 30 uninterrupted minutes. Somehow, it seemed appropriate to end our ride this way… just riding… in the zone…no stops for photographs… no breaks… focused but relaxed… and moving at speed towards our destination.

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From Claudio

Plat du jour 

Soup first, always. Caldo -broth- de gallina, de carne, de vegetales. Usually lukewarm, ladled on a deep dish from a replenishing cauldron. Very tasty. Chunks of unknown meat -liver, heart, tongue, tail?- float about. No need to find out, just push them aside. Curiously, the spoons are all shallow, making the conveyance of liquid from plate to mouth a treacherous act. I always end up dripping soup down my chin. Then comes the main dish: fish, chicken, beef, pork on a bed of ubiquitous rice. The plate is garnished with potatoes, yes rice and potatoes. If you prefer to order chaufa (Chinese rice) you are served an overflowing mountain of rice with bits of meat and veggies. Really hungry? They throw a fried egg on top of it all. No matter how careful, I always spill rice all over the table. With the plato del día comes agua frutada -don’t ask what fruit- or tea. Never are you given a knife, and if you ask for one, be ready to receive the look of you’re an idiot. Flavors are generally mild, simple, not adventurous, carrying the natural taste of the main ingredient accented by the cooking method: fried, grilled, stewed. A fiery salsa is placed next to you, with a smile. They serve your food with pride and are eager for you to enjoy it. A mamá grande is always around, giving orders, welcoming customers, cooking. Often a young girl waits on you. Curiosity leads me to ask What is this ingredient? And this? After a few times I am given the idiot look. A wholesome experience. 

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Morning Shots

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360 video from our first 16,800 foot pass

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Afternoon Shots

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A couple of video’s that attempt to capture the scope of the landscape

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Bonus Footage

Here’s a compilation of clips from the day spliced together…

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