Spokes and Shoes

Intro The plan was to roll out by 07:00, but the mountains have a way of slowing down even the simplest morning chores. I finally pushed off from Laguna Llanganuco at 08:00, the gravel beneath my tires already transmitting that familiar gritty vibration through the handlebars as I faced a Read more

Intro The morning began at 05:45 inside the ranger’s tool house, the air still holding the deep chill of the Cordillera Blanca. After days of heavy clouds and wet wool feelings in my lungs, the sky finally cleared into a sharp, promising blue, though the 1,000-meter vertical gain ahead meant Read more

Intro The morning started with a quick fruit breakfast and a stop at the ATM in Caraz before the real work of the day began. The sun was out, but the 1,682-meter climb to the lagoon felt like a wall standing between me and the high peaks of the Cordillera Read more

Intro I woke up in Caraz without the usual morning ritual of checking tire pressure or scrubbing grit from my chain. After the steady sun of yesterday’s ride from Huallanca, the sky today was a mix of promising blue and a few heavy, lingering clouds. It was Day 261, and Read more

Intro I rolled out of Huallanca this morning with the sun finally making a steady appearance, though the sky held onto a few heavy clouds. The route toward Caraz promised a mix of smooth pavement and sections where landslides had forced the road back into raw, compacted gravel, all while Read more

Intro I rolled out of Chuquicara this morning with a heavy sky pressing down and my chain finally running silent after a quick clean. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, and the road ahead promised the jagged, narrow geometry of the Cañón del Pato. My mood Read more

Intro I rolled out of Pallasca at 10:00 a.m. under a heavy ceiling of clouds, my lungs finally clear of that wet-wool feeling but my legs wary of the 80-kilometer trajectory ahead. The day promised a massive 2,700-meter descent into the Tablachaca Canyon, beginning on a treacherous mix of mud Read more

Intro The sun over Pallasca today was mostly sunny and lacked the aggressive bite of the previous week’s climbs, providing a necessary reprieve for my lungs. After days of hacking through high-altitude air that felt like wet wool, the paved streets and stable ground of town offered a chance to Read more

Intro I pulled away from Santa Clara de Tulpe at 8:15 AM under a sun that felt far too sharp for mid-April. The morning air was dry, and the initial 3km gravel climb to Mollebamba quickly coated my skin in a layer of fine, dark grit that turned my sunscreen Read more

Intro I pulled out of Cachicadan at 9:45 AM, my lungs still feeling like they were lined with wet wool after a week of hacking through this high-altitude cold. The sun was out and aggressive for mid-April, turning the steep gravel of the 3N national road into a shimmering, dusty Read more