Intro Day 246. After weeks of pushing pedals through the Andes, today was about a different kind of friction. The sky over Cocachimba was finally clear, a mostly sunny canopy that revealed the full 771-meter drop of Gocta in two distinct, silver ribbons. I traded the bike for hiking boots, Read more
Intro The overnight bus dropped me into Chachapoyas at 6:30 AM, leaving me standing on the pavement with a head full of static and a body that felt like it had been folded into a suitcase. The morning was mostly sunny, but the air at the terminal was thick with Read more
Intro I spent the morning in the hostel kitchen in Cajamarca, my mind already halfway to Chachapoyas but my body tethered to a laptop and a pile of damp clothes. The sky was a non-committal grey-blue, partly cloudy and indifferent to the fact that I was trading my pedals for Read more
Intro Cajamarca is holding me still today, and for once, I’m not fighting it. My legs are still humming from the relentless 1,000-meter climbs of the past week, and a stubborn headache meant the bike stayed leaned against the hotel wall while I navigated the city on foot and by Read more
Intro Good Friday has draped a strange, heavy quiet over Cajamarca, a sharp contrast to the brutal 1,000-meter climbs of the previous days. The sky remained mostly sunny and indifferent to my exhaustion, reflecting off the paved streets and polished cobblestones of the historic center as I swapped my cycling Read more
Intro I left Yanacancha this morning with a stomach full of nothing but four small, over-sweet bananas and a handful of dry biscuits. The sky was a heavy, unmoving grey, and the road immediately turned into a steep, loose gravel grind that forced me into my lowest gear before I’d Read more
Intro I’m writing this by the light of a single bulb in Yanacancha, my legs still humming from the 1,081-meter climb. The morning in Bambamarca was heavy and overcast, the kind of grey that makes the decision to take the unpaved 3NB route feel like a serious roll of the Read more
Intro I’m writing this from a hotel room in Bambamarca, my skin still humming from a 34-kilometer day that felt twice as long. The morning in Chota began with a heavy, overcast sky and the realization that the Andes don’t care about my planning, whether it’s for today’s 821-meter climb Read more
Intro I’m sitting on a balcony in Chota tonight, watching the light fade over the Plaza de Armas while my quadriceps twitch in a slow, rhythmic protest. Today was only 39 kilometers on paper, but with 1,290 meters of vertical gain, it felt like trying to scale a skyscraper made Read more
Intro Chancay Baños is a quiet pocket of heat and sulfur after yesterday’s 1,300-meter vertical grind. The sky was mostly clear today, and for once, the bike stayed locked in the hotel room while I navigated the gravel side-roads on foot and by moto-taxi. The air here feels heavy with Read more