Day 28 - Dec 12

Today was as the director said, to be the hardest day of the tour.  It was a 104 kilometer ride with what strava said was a 4,400 meter of climbing.  In any world that is an unbelievable amount of climbing.  There were three large climbs for the day.  The first was a never ending zig zag out of the valley we stayed in.  It was on pavement which added to its do ability.  I got up in the morning and felt a million times better than yesterday.  I fueled up at breakfast and took on the mountain.  I felt good and the legs were strong.  I ate up the hill but it was pretty tough.  Made it over the first hill and took on the magnificent downhill before the next climb.  I flew down the hill at over 80 kph.  Fantastic!!!

The second climb was a bit steeper but much shorter.  It also had a good bit of rock and gravel sections.  But I took this one in stride and felt strong as well.

The third hill was another story.  It was all rock, gravel and dirt.  It was very tough and slow going.  This section showed how you can't just build a road any where you want.  Mother Nature reclaims what and where she wants.  There were so many sections where an avalanche had come down and erased the road.  There was one where you rode up to a section where there was just a mountain. It looked as if the road disappeared into solid rock.  The locals built a path that could be navigated but gingerly.  If you made a mistake, you would end up rolling down into the valley via a sheer drop.  Additionally, the sun made the ride an excruciating experience in heat exhaustion.  It was soooo hot and humid.  The sweat poured off and I began to fade back into the feelings of the prior day.  But I rode with the German and Aussie and we helped each other make it through.  And finish the ride we did.

The three of us took a Tuk Tuk up into the local town to get dinner.  We were treated to a thoroughly amazing show in the town square.  The square was filled with locals and there was music blaring.  In the middle of the square there were two dozen people dressed in all sorts of costumes and wearing characature masks.  They were dancing in rhythms  to and fro.  They danced for over a half hour without stopping.  

Then a procession of local women came through carrying the Virgin Mary on a platform.  The procession circled the town square and then entered the local church.  It was something to see.

What a day!

The view from the first climb.

The view of the town we spent the prior night in.

A trash dump on fire.  The locals just take their trash and heave it over the side of the mountain.  You can see the smoke from the trash burning.  All of the light colored material under the area of smoke is trash.  There had to be tons of it.  We had to ride right through the smoke.  I put a kerchief over my face to breathe.