Leaving Huancayo was pretty simple, although I had to ask for directions in a couple of places. There then began a 3 hour uphill ride.

 

 The road went uphill through a valley of farmland. 

 I cycled by friendly people and through small villages as I reached the top. There then came a great 31 km long downhill section, made all the better by a wonderfully smooth road and virtually zero traffic. 

 The road followed a river flowing downstream, on the opposite side of which were some thermal pools. When I reached the bottom at the town of  Izuchaca, I met another cyclist, who was having some quick repairs done on the side of the road. 

 Agusti is from Barcelona,and is cycling from Lima to at least La Paz in Bolivia, and possibly further to Argentina. I found myself in the unusual situation of my knowledge of another persons language being better than that of their knowledge of mine. It had to happen some time! 

 

The road from Izuchca turned into a dirt road, which it will continue to be for the next few days. Not that it mattered as we cycled up and down the valley, chatting as we went. 

Stunning views, and good company made the afternoon fly by. Coming up to four, we neared a small village, and Agustis chain snapped. As luck would have it, this small village had three places to stay at, although actually getting a room proved to be a long task, only solved 2 hours later by a kid breaking into a locked hostal for us. Sharing a room, at 7 soles each makes it the cheapest lodgings so far!I’m not sure precisely how far we cycled today, although I believe I am at least 20 kms ahead of where I thought I would get today.

Another day of cycling through the amazing Peruvian landscape, as Agusti and I headed out of the small village we never quite got the name of, and cycled for Mayocc.  

 

 It had rained overnight, and whilst there were some muddy puddles first thing in the morning, for the most part, it had done us a favour, leaving the hard, unsealed road almost spongy. 

It wasn’t all smooth riding, however. Shortly after this picture was taken, Agusti got a puncture, which then turned into a slightly bigger problem. Apparently, he never had any problems with his bicycle before meeting me. Sorry mate! I cycled on, and he caught me back up at lunch time in La Esmerelda.  

 The dirt road followed a river as it flowed through a valley. The views were spectacular.

 It seems that every time you turn a corner here, the next view is more incredible than the last. Amazing to think that a week ago, I was cycling past snow capped mountains, and today I was cycling through an almost sub-tropical valley, with flocks of parakeets flying overhead. There were, however, a ridiculous number of quite vicious mosquitoes. I got eaten alive! 

It had rained extremely heavily overnight, and when we left in the morning, the dirt road was thick with mud and puddles.

 

 Keeping a straight line was difficult, especially going up the steep climb right at the beginning of the day. 

 The views were amazing, as I have learned to expect from cycling through Peru!The day was an overcast one, with an on off drizzle throughout. The initial 40 km, saw us cycle from Mayocc and to the town of Huanta over roads which were quite bogged down with mud. The conditions exposed one of the most negative aspects of cycling with the Bob Yak trailer, namely that cycling through the mud with it, is like ploughing a field.   

After the quite tough cycling between Huancayo and Ayacucho, a day of rest was in order, as the road ahead to Cusco promises to be even tougher. A day of rest is never a day of nothing, however, and there was a list of jobs to get done. A touring cyclist day, whether cycling or in a town, is very similar, and Agusti needed to do almost exactly the same jobs, which ran something like this. 

1. Breakfast

2. Information

3. Laundry

4. Get bicycles sorted

5. Lunch

6. Buy supplies for the road ahead.

7. Get extra items of clothing

8. Internet

9. More food

10. Even more food 

On the bicycle front, I have continuing issues with my rear hub. If it is tightened too much, the wheel does not turn freely, and if it is loosened to much then the rear wheel wobbles. A half hour, 2 sole tinkering session achieved a reasonably happy balance. My second problem, is still my front rack, which is in pretty bad shape. Being made of aluminium, there is no welding solution, and unbelievably, in a city this size, with 5 bike shops, none of them sell a rear rack of any description. I hope to get this problem finally solved in Cusco, assuming the front rack last that long of course.

Wandering around Ayacucho, I cant help but be impressed with the city. The centre retains its colonial design and architecture, with reportedly 33 churches within a 7 block radius, and the plaza is big and quiet. The most noticeable thing, however, is how clean the city is. The dust and rubbish which are such a major feature of other villages and towns are absent in the mile square centre.

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