Thu, Jan 23, 2014

1/23/2014

Es posible que no es posible, pero vamos a ver. (you'll have to make it to the bottom for a translation)

It's been a tough couple of weeks for us on this Long Road South. There will be a full new post coming shortly, but for now here's the skinny... We're currently in Tulcan, Ecuador. After escaping the heat of Mexico and spending a fantastic week getting to know Bogotá, we descended out of the mountains right back into the same conditions that we left behind, only worse. Neither Schwan nor I had ever experienced temps in the mid 90's on a cloudy day. We never want to again. It took only two days of riding in Colombia to confirm that my body simply cannot handle that kind of heat and humidity while riding.

We holed up in an air conditioned room in the steamy town of Girardot to try and decide what to do. At this point it had been over a month since I had a good day on my bike, over a month with Kelly having to take the extra burden of nursing me through the heat. The heat had broken our resolve and we decided we needed to reevaluate the whole trip. After some heartfelt consultations with friends and family over Skype, we came to the conclusion that we needed to consider all options - calling it quits, changing our mission to be one of outreach rather than continual riding, changing locations to somewhere more feasible to ride on our own. We were within a hairsbreath of calling the trip all together.

One option was to bus to Ecuador, where we could stay at elevation for nearly the whole country, thereby eliminating most of the heat, while adding mountains and high altitude riding into the equation. Ecuador, we thought, was possible. The rest of South America, we're still not sure. Was it worth it to ride for another month and then find we could go no further? Eventually we decided that yes, it was definitely worth it. When would we ever have a chance to ride through the high Andes again? Missing out on such an amazing opportunity because of the chance of future failures was counter to the whole mission of our trip.

We got on a bus (three actually) and rode for 24 hours through the spectacular landscape of Colombia. We hate bus travel but it got us to where we needed to be. So here we are, in the high mountains of Ecuador. It kind of feels like we're starting all over again. We still have no idea how we're going to cope with the incredible terrain that lies ahead. One pedal stroke at a time, I suppose. It's possible that it's not possible, but we're going to see.

5 Comments

Roxanne

1/22/2014 10:44:22 pm

Anything is possible. One very important concept you both have already proven, is that it "is" "possible." Slow down, maybe? Is there a time crunch or time that you must be in Patagonia? Does it help to pedal slower? I do believe that in the event that you stop, you do not roll all the way back down the mountain, stop at this point of your ambitions, but continue on if you have to take the bus all the way. Then, you can pedal around Patagonia casually in your leisure. If it were not for the climate, these two young people would have been already there. Climate and climate only is slowing them down - nothing else.

Desiree Daniels LeFave

1/24/2014 01:37:28 pm

Praying for you both. Safety, encouragement, enjoyment, etc. From one Alaskan to another, we are not made for heat like that. Take care, both of you.

Geoff Babb

1/25/2014 01:06:18 am

Each pedal stroke takes you that much further south. Each pedal stroke inspires. The Long Road South, one stroke at a time. Adelante!

Greg Milano

1/30/2014 01:42:52 pm

Wow. You two are amazing. Whatever you decide, it will be great; but if you keep going, here's some encouragement/ideas. Riding across Peru you're right that the choice is either the hot coast or the brutal mountains. But if you can give yourself an ego pass on riding all the way, and can get yourself to Cusco (24 hour bus from Lima), the ride from there to Titicaca is awesome and a breeze compared to what you've done. It's paved, basically a rolling multi day downhill, multi-day uphill, and then down again. And gorgeous. Small towns the whole way And never that steep. I rode it several years ago. From there you can go on to Bolivia, or descend out of the Andes back to the coast at Tacna, and you'll be out of the tropics. On to Chile! Email me if you want specifics and contacts in Peru and Cusco. There's awesome riding out of Cusco. Think 3 day downhills to Inca ruins. Enjoy.

Erin Neff

2/19/2014 12:39:52 pm

One of my most memorable moments was a night spent in the cloudforest near Tulcan in 1998. I went outside in the freezing cold to use the outhouse in the middle of the night and saw the most amazing night sky, I felt I could reach up and touch the stars. I stayed out as long as I could possibly stand it. I have never seen such beauty in a night sky as I did then. Hope you have the chance to enjoy the stars when in the high altitudes in Ecuador. Loving your entries as always.

Thu, Jan 23, 2014

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