2015 - Adventures

2015 has been a whirlwind of a year.  I biked through 17 countries on two continents.  I pedaled for almost 12,000 miles (yes, I said miles not kilometers).  I put more miles on a bike than many people put on their car.  I pedaled up hills/mountains totaling over 320,000 feet of climbing.  I enjoyed experiencing the world as I never have before.  It was a year of wonderment, experiences, fantastic scenery, beauty beyond belief and hardship to be overcome.  It was fantastic and grueling.  It was a year to be remembered and cherished.  I met so many people along the journey.  So many people added to the experience and helped me accomplish the epic journeys. Thank you to all for adding to the journey and helping me through the good times and the bad.

And soon on to 2016...  It is exciting thinking about what lies ahead!

Day 35 - Dec 19

I did it!!!  I finished the Ruta Maya.  A grueling five week, 1,700 mile bike ride through Central America.  It took me through five countries, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize.  I climbed almost 140,000 feet which is like riding your bike up Mt. Everest just about five times.  It was a very hard test of mental and physical endurance.  And I am proud to say...

I achieved EFI!  I rode Every F...ing Inch of it.  Through sickness and health my not so appropriate bike and I cranked our way through all sorts of beauty, wonder and hell.  It was a fabulous experience that I will treasure.

Day 36: Dec 20

This is the sunrise this morning.  It is the dawn of the first day that I don't have to climb on my bike and pedal for extended periods.   :)

Day 34 -Dec 18

What a fantastic day of cycling.  We rode for 109 kilometers and did just under 1,000 meters of climbing.  But you would not even know that we did that much climbing.  We formed a 20 person peleton early in the morning and rode pretty much in formation most of the day.  The rolling hills and the efficiency of the grouping pretty much smoothed out the hills into just an easy stretch of the legs.  The scenery was gorgeous although when in a tight group like we had there is not much time for gawking. 

Early on we came upon a lake that went on for a good while.  There were fields and meadows in the foreground and forests on its far side.  The water was calm and its surface as flat as glass.  This made the lake like a mirror.  You could see the forest and hillside reflected on the waters surface with the contrast of the green of the meadows.  It was strikingly beautiful like a painting in a gallery.

Later on the landscape with the rolling hills took on a wonderful patchwork of fields carved out of the rough natural growth.  Their bright green colors contrasted with the darker greens of the natural vegetation to paint another beautiful image.

After the lunch stop I took the lead of the peleton and cranked us into the border crossing to Belize.  My pedal strokes and determination were so good that I rode us right passed the Guatemala exit crossing and right up to the Belize entry point.  We had come up to a group of armed guards but I motioned forward with a gesture and they moved aside and waived us through.  When we came up to the Belize entry spot we were met by the tour guide.  He said wow you got through Guatemala customs very fast.  That's when we told him we thought that was Guatemala exit, pointing at the building.  He could not believe we got through without going through customs.  So we had to re enter Guatemala to exit properly and get the stamp in our passport.  :)

I had told the group they did not want me to lead because I could take them to places they might not want to go.  :)   And get them there faster than they wanted, too!

Well we are down to one day left.  Tomorrow we cycle into Belize City for the Grand Finale.  Five weeks of cycling will come to an end...

Only a couple of photos today:

View this morning just after sunrise of an island in the lake.

Another lake scene.

View of the city of San Ignacio where we are staying tonight.

Another view of how flat it will be for the ride tomorrow.  :)

Close to the end...  In Belize poised for the final ride.

Day 33 - Dec 17

Today was a rest day but I did a trip to see the Mayan ruins at Tikal.  It must have been an impressive civilization.  They say at its height it was home to over 200,000 people.  It filled the valley as a city.  As you see it today it is a dense jungle.  They had a system of designed to catch and maintain a flow of water to meet the requirements of the city.  It is hard to believe that a civilization that advanced just ceased to exist.  The jungle simply swallowed all evidence that it ever existed. 

Here are some photos of the day:

And lastly, one of my favorite times of day... sunset!  As seen from the waterfront at Flores where we are staying.

Only two more days of riding.  I have managed to maintain EFI through thick and thin.

Day 32 - Dec 16

Unfortunately the heat of the day or maybe I really didn't get rid of the sickness like I thought, but it was another grueling sick day on the bike.  I lost what little dinner I had last night when the pesky food staged a full scale rebellion.  And the stomach was not up to even thinking about breakfast or lunch.  So I am now on almost 48 hours without fuel. As someone commented, it is a highly effective weight loss program!  Don't eat for two days and cycle over 130 miles.  Works every time...

But on a more positive note, the scenery was beautiful.  It is more rolling hills and palm trees than tropical jungle.  We started the day with a river crossing.  This time we needed to be ferried across instead of fording.  

This is a picture of our ferry boat.  Not your typical ferry.

The locals have taken to yelling, Gringo, as we cycle by.  Not sure if they are meaning it as a positive or not.

Update:  the lady who had the bike crash is scheduled for surgery as soon as the insurance company works it out with the hospital.

And one gentleman who left the tour a week ago and went back to Canada has been diagnosed with Dengue Fever.

This was the town we stayed in last night.  It was a bit of a rough and tumble type hamlet.  Didn't want to be walking alone after dark.

This was a coke stop along the route.

A couple of local girls amazed at seeing a group of cyclists.

Day 31 - Dec 15

Today had a little bit of everything in it. 

 

To start with, I got about 4-5 hours of sleep last night.  The hotel/motel we were in did not have A/C.  It was so hot and so humid that you laid spread eagle on the bed and didn't want anything touching because it would be just massively sweaty.  But then the other element of fun injected itself (literally), the mosquitos.  They were ravenous.  So I had to put a sheet over me to close the Michael buffet that they were feasting on.  Oh and lest I miss the other component of a good nights sleep... the giant black ants.  As you finally get to sleep you feel something crawling on you.  Yes, your friendly black ant in search of a meal as well.  The tour people told us they had to change hotels and we were getting upgraded because the original hotel was not up to standards.  How could the other one have been worse?  Was it the Bates Motel?

Oh well, on to the day...

It was a good day of riding.  120 kilometers of rolling hills with 950 meters of climb.  We started the day in a tropical downpour.  The skies were so full of moisture that they could not hold it any longer.  It poured for about an hour.  And then you could see the moisture rising from the ground and coming up as fog from the valleys.  It instantaneously recreated 100% humidity.

But the scenery was awesome in how it changed through the day.  We started out at above coffee growing level and then descended to the tropical rain forest level.  That section was gorgeous.  The dense jungle was exactly like what you see in movies.  It had the added eerie feel of the mist rising out of it.  You expected to see Indiana Jones come bounding out of the brush.  Then we came to the plantation and cattle ranch areas.  And now we are in the hot and steamy river/swamp section.  It feels like Memphis in July.  You begin sweating profusely when you just blink.  That's how much effort it takes to break into a healthy sweat.  I can see why a siesta is a requirement.

This is where I am at now:

No photos today as I believe the morning tropical down pour has trashed my back up iPhone.  That is Central America has scored two iPhones on this journey!

Only three more riding days remain.

Day 30 - Dec 14

Today was a good day with a bad event clouding over it.  It was a 90 kilometer day with 1,400 meters of climbing and 2,600 meters of downhills.  Just the kind of day that warms my heart, great downhills!

It was a day of sweeping descents followed by some climbs to reclaim the altitude.  But if you worked the downhill correctly you could eat up most of the coming hill.  It was as much fun as a roller coaster ride at an amusement park.  Many people were taking advantage and flying down the hills.  There in lies the cloud darkening the day.  Several of the ladies from Canada were having a blast taking the downhills at good speeds.  But on one curve the smooth pavement turned into rough patches of tarmac.  One of the ladies didn't negotiate the curve and flew off the road.  She literally flew off the road into the jungle.  I came upon them and saw one calling down into the jungle.  When I heard the other answer I was shocked.  I looked into the jungle, it was very dense.  I saw her bike stuck up in a tree four feet in the air.  I then saw her laying all crumpled up about 50 feet down the ravine.  We both rushed down.  The rider was laying there in a good deal of pain.  She had difficulty breathing and had pain in her lower back.  Her friend was a nurse so she triaged.  It was not a good scenario.  Some locals had come up through the jungle and we tried to get across that we needed a board.  Finally one of them a woman got it and shouted at the others.  They came back with what looked like a piece of siding from one of their houses.  We managed to get her onto the board and we carried her up out of the ravine and to the road.  After a good bit of time the tour vehicle came with the medic.  They loaded her on board and rushed her to the hospital.  She was diagnosed with a couple of cracked vertebrae in her lower back.  She was transferred via ambulance to another hospital in Guatemala City for further evaluation.  

It put a somber mood over the group and the day.  We are still waiting for further news.

On another note, one of the other riders got a message from his bank that his card had been compromised.  Someone had cloned his bank card and was draining his account.  Since many of us have used the same ATMs, I decided to check my account.  And yes, in Antigua my ATM card had been cloned and they had already taken almost $2,000 out of my account.  They were making charges in the Dominican Republic and taking money out of ATMs in Quito, Ecuador.  They even did a balance inquiry to see how much they could take!  It was a delight (sarcasm!) calling back to the states and talking to my bank to shut down my accounts.  Twenty five minutes on the phone, transferred to four different departments and spoke to six different people.  

I had only used ATM machines at bonafide banks.  Which would lead you to conclude either the banks were in on it or key employees were.

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.

Day 27 - Dec 11

Today was a day that will live in infamy.

I started the day with a choice.  Do I ride the bike in illness or ride the bus?  It certainly was the choice that is faced many times in life.  A choice of the lesser of two evils.  To spend agony in riding the bus through weaving, pot hole strewn roads and swaying side to side, to and fro?  Or strap myself on the seat of my bike and pedal my merry way through the throws of illness plaguing the group?

I chose the lesser of two evils, riding the bike...

It was a day which started out with a monstrous 20 kilometer climb.  The first 10k was the worst with steep grades and the second was of lesser torture.  I believed that if I could manage the first 20k, very specifically the first 10k, I could do the day.  

Did I mention that it was a 105 kilometer ride with 3,100 meters of climbing?  As I said, it was a tough day.  I started the climbing for the day and quickly discovered that I was not going to have a great deal of cooperation.  My legs felt like iron weights, my bike quickly threw the chain in defiance and the road reared up in daunting elevation almost from the start.  But on I endeavored.  I was passed by one rider after another until it was only I and the sweep rider.  That is an occurrence that never has happened on this trip.  I cranked and I cranked kilometer after kilometer and hour after hour.  I finally reached the top of the 20k climb with an average speed of 7 kph.  Yes, at one point there was a snail who called out:  passing on your left!

But that was all I could do.  Once upon the top I rejoiced:  only 85 kilometers to go!  Then I did the math.  OMG, I'm going to be out here all day until it's dark.    So I decided that it was better to ramp up the speed and give it all I had for as long as I could rather than slug it out like I had been.  I shifted gears, literally and figuratively, and began the pace to the lunch stop.  I stopped three times to slug down a coke, I know that it was not the brightest of ideas, but I needed something to gain momentum on the day.  It did work to a degree.  I slugged it out til I pulled into the lunch stop.  I literally let the bike fall where it may, stumbled to a chair and said... for the love of god I made it.  I sat there in a stupor for a good while trying to whip up the courage to eat.  But eat something I could not.  

So off I pedaled to tackle the last 55k.  I pulled into the first coke stop I saw and guzzled a cold beverage.  I astonished the poor locals.  As soon as I put the coke in, it roused a serious rebellion and mustered a mass exodus of anything I had partaken of.  It was something akin to the exorcist.  But I looked upon it in a more positive light.  Heck there was that much less weight to carry along and up the hills!

A group of riders had stopped at a coffee shop a good ways down the road.  I needed a break and was feeling a bit more settled by then and decided a bit of fuel was required since the tank was certainly empty.  A bit of cake and a coke was just what I needed to get me going again.  Or at least to get me 10 more K.  I stopped at the top of a long climb for a bit of water.  Then the pesky stomach rebels posted another mass exodus all over the side of the road.  But as you guessed, that just meant that I was lighter and it was going to be less weight to propel the last 35k.

Once again I did the math and came to the conclusion that I was going to be out there for three plus hours or more.  I knew there was no way I could last that long on the sun drenched torture highway.  So I decided that if I went for maximum effort, I could double the speed.  And that was what I did.  I squeezed every ounce of speed out of the downhills and maximized all momentum to eat up as much of the coming hills.  I cranked as hard as I could and pedaled as if my life depended upon it.  And I did it!  I finished the day in a little over an hour.  I walked into my room and collapsed on the bed.  It was an accomplishment that I have written lightly about here.  But that is because I am looking back upon it.  At the time it was certainly up there with the worst days on memory.

Some pictures that I took so that I could stop and get off the wretched bike:

A waterfall on the 20k climb.

The top of a volcano sticking above the clouds.

The lake as viewed from the climb.

Day 26 - Dec 10 Rest Day

I spent the rest day pretty much in bed.  Ate when I could but that was it.

Beautiful lake town...

Day 25 - Dec 9

Today was a good day with a couple of tough climbs of course.  We were treated to roads that were paved, torture tracks that were designed to test the limits of a 4X4 Jeep, goat tracks and washed out roads.  Here is a picture of the bridge that is no longer that we had to find a way across the river.

As you can see the road leads up to it.  But the bridge is no longer there.  The bridge was washed away with the spring rains.  We had to go down to the river and ford through.  The road on the other side was almost taken away as well.

As you can see, there is only enough left of the road for a cyclist to get by.  Cars cannot traverse this section.

We were treated with a wonderful view of Lake Atitlan as we finished the second big climb of the day.  The views were astounding.  The pictures don't even come close to the awe that it inspired.

This is the Lake with a view of two of the volcanos that ring the area.

From this vantage point we had a wonderful descent to the town of Panajachel where we are staying.  It is so beautiful and serene that we have another rest day.  This is getting to be the kind of bike tour I could enjoy.  Ride one day then get a rest day!  

Here is a picture of the sunset that I just saw.  The sun was going down over the volcanos and the clouds were gathering across their tops...  

And lastly, this is where we are.  We have ridden the length of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and now are meandering our way around Guatemala 

Day 24 - Dec 8

Rest Day!

After 4 tough cycling days it is great to take a break from the bike.  There is an illness that is going through the group though.  So far a good number have succumbed.  It lasts only a day or two.  I have been lucky so far. :)

Today started off with another show by Mother Nature.  Yesterday was the earthquake.  Today one of the volcanos that surround the city, La Auroros, sent up plumes of smoke periodically.

Might be the beginning of the end?!

With that kind of a start to the day you would think it would languish with mediocrity.  But no, it got even better.  I am sitting eating the most delicious piece of cheesecake that has ever been made on this earth.  I bought it from a little shop on the plaza.  These old cities have it down so well with the central plaza being the center and heart of the town.  The one here in Antigua is so vibrant and beautiful.  It is anchored in the middle with a large fountain.

Antigua is a beautiful city.  So much character, fantastic architecture, ruins, stately churches and breathtaking courtyards.  It is hard to describe, so I will show you some photos:

The outside of the cathedral to Santa Maria.

The inside of a cathedral to Santa Maria.

An old monastery.

The ruins of what once must have been a very ornate and beautiful cathedral.

Local woman on her way to market.

Local women selling their wares on the street.

The courtyard of our hotel.

Sunset over the volcanos. Awwww what a wonderful day.

Day 23 - Dec 7

Ok, this will appear to be redundant but it is far from it.  My description for today is WOW.  Today took WOW to another level.  So I guess I should say today was WOW+!

Let me start with the conclusion with which I started the day...  As I tried to rouse myself from bed, I was racked with a bit of pain from my fall yesterday.  So the conclusion I came to and the effort that I am dedicating to for the balance of the trip is... I will no longer leave my bike while it is still moving.  I have become aware that leaving the bike prior to it coming to a stop injects an unacceptable amount of pain into the body.  I know that many of you that are reading this will think that should have been a universally accepted concept.  But I somehow have not mastered that as yet.  But hence forth I will endeavor to stay fully connected to my bike while in motion.  :)

Now on to the day...  We had a beautiful morning ride out San Jose Pinula through Guatamala City.  It was even cold when we first set out.  We traveled through fairly heavy traffic at times.  It was supposed to be a short day of about 50 kilometers and all downhill into Antigua.  But at the morning riders meeting they announced the day would be 74 kilometers and the additional route would be up over a volcano.  No explanation for the additional miles but I surmise that the hotel not being ready until 2 pm factored in.  We would have been there by 10 am with the regular route.  But routing us up a goat trail of all loose gravel and rock with an additional 1,200 meters of climb would solve that.  We didn't get in until 1:30 with the new route.  So the problem was solved the TDA way...  just send the riders out to the middle of nowhere on a road the locals wouldn't go on and climbs that would make a goat cry!  That will take us a good deal of extra time and the hotel would be ready for us when we got in.  :)

But the views from the ride were stunning.  The climbs were grueling.   On the ride I passed a lady who was carrying a large and apparently heavy bundle up the steep rock strewn road.  As I passed her I noticed she was traveling this gruesome road barefoot.  She was carrying her load up to the garbage dump that was about half way up.

Gives a whole different level of difficulty to taking the trash out.

After several hours of climbing we came to the top and entered a village.  I got a coke and a local cake that was different but really good.  The inhabitants of this mountain top village looked more Peruvian than we have seen.  Their dress was different and more colorful as well.  Then the downhill from the mountain top village was spectacular.  I went flying down and twice came upon trucks that would have impeded my progress.  So I blew right around them to their astonishment.  

We rode into Antigua Guatamala.  It is an absolutely charming city.  It has a vibrancy to it.  We were treated to a 5.7 level earthquake that made the ground shake so hard and rattle anything not tied down.  But the piece de resistance was the La Quema del Diablo, the burning of the devil.

They were selling these piñatas everywhere but we could not figure out why until we got to Antigua.  On December 7th at precisely 6 pm the custom is to burn the effigy of the devil to give the devil his due.  We were treated to a spectacular and extremely dangerous show.  In one of the plazas of Antigua that had the ceremony.  There was a life size figure of el diablo.  

They doused it in kerosene and flammable liquids and after a huge production set it on fire.  There were thousands of people packed into the plaza.  It was shoulder to shoulder people, young and old alike.  People came very early to get a front row position.  Little did they know the folly of their ways.  As the diablo figure became engulfed in flames it began exploding!  The figure was hollow and filled with firecrackers and bottle rocket type devices.  It had all the markings of a really bad idea put into action.  As the firecrackers and rockets went off they flew out into the crowd.  As they went off and the diablo fire intensified, the crowd surged back and back.  Remember it was already shoulder to shoulder with no room to move.  We were about fifteen people/rows back and we could feel the intense heat from the flames of el diablo.  With the crush backwards we ended up with a front row view with people virtually in our laps.  

There was a platform for the local TV station that had three anchormen doing a live broadcast.  As Diablo became engulfed he put off a thick black smoke that blew right over the three.  They were coughing and brushing off ashes as they tried to maintain their composure.  The spectacle was certainly something to see.  It certainly would never happen in the USA or as the Canadian, Australian and German chimed in...  no way could something like that ever be allowed there.

Only in Central America...   But WOW what a show.

Today we had a great ride, a strong climb, spectacular views, phenomenal descent, quaint village, beautiful city, a 5.7 earthquake and a burning of the devil.  It can't get much better than that!!!

More photos of the great day:

A woman carrying her bundle up the mountain.

The road less traveled.  

A VW decked out for the burning of the devil.

The volcano on the way that we would traverse...

Day 22 - Dec 6

Today, the only thing I can say about today is WOW!  Wow in every sense of the word.  Wow was the day fantastic.  Wow was the climbing today tough.  Wow was the day brutal.  Wow was the day beautiful.  Wow was the scenery breathtaking.  Wow was the experience memorable!

Today had so many experiential components.  We rode 86 kilometers which is about 54 miles.  We climbed 3,999 meters or about 13,120 feet!  That is an amazing amount of climbing in one day.  There were three seperate large climbs for the day with almost all being on dirt.  But even with the massive amount of climbing today was not the toughest day we have done so far.  There are several others that were harder.  It might have been that I was mentally ready for the day.  The head tour director built up today as the hardest day of the tour.  So I got my mind right to take on the day.  And it did not seem so bad.

Yes the climbing was tough with some stretches of steep grades and long runs. But they were doable and took us to some very out of the way locations.  The max elevation we got to was 2,630 meters or over 8,000 feet.  This was on the first climb.  In that climb we just kept ascending and ascending.  We ended up climbing up into the clouds.  We even climbed to a point where we were above the clouds and back into the sun shine.  When we were in the clouds you could not see the rider in front of you who was about 100 feet away.  You could hear a car coming but you could not see it until it was right upon you.  It was also very cold up that high.  All the locals had jackets and stocking caps on and scarves over there face to stay warm.  We were in our sweat soaked cycling jerseys and freezing!  The clouds were moving about us like ghostly mists.  It was amazing.  

On our second and third climbs we could see fantastic vistas.  At one point I stopped to take in the site and just had to stand there for awhile.  The view was so stunning.  You could see for miles and miles.  There were fields and meadows and mountain range after mountain range.  It is something I will remember and have a mental picture of forever.  There was another point were you could see a cemetery on top of a hilltop surrounded by peaks.  The cemeteries are mostly comprised of mausoleums above ground.  They were painter bright vibrant colors.  There were purple ones and green and pink and red.  I took a picture of it but it did not turn out.  

At lunch a group of boys were playing a soccer match on a converted basket ball court.  They were quite good and it was great entertainment.  

I rode with the German and Australian guys again today.  All three of us went down on the gravel dirt road at different times during the day.  I left a bit of flesh and blood on Guatamalan soil.  :(

The Australian guy was run off the road by a bus and crashed in the ditch.  

The dirt roads we rode today were about as wide as a single car but these buses come flying down the road and just lay on the horn for us to get out of the way!  It is fairly scary...

Here are some pictures from today:

Beautiful vista of the mountain ranges and valleys and meadows.

It is a shame but you can't really see the cemetery on top of the hill with the multi colored mausoleums.

 

The view that went on forever.

The meadow where I stood to take in the unbelievable beauty of the view that lay before me.

The clouds that were being blown across the sky at astonishing speeds.