After reaching Ayacucho in Peru by bicycle, I decided to take a day off from cycling in order to plan for the road ahead. Here's what I got up to in Ayacucho.
Bike Touring Errands
Blog post written September 2nd 2010 as part of my Alaska to Argentina bike tour.
Note: A few days previously, I had met another cyclist on the road, and we teamed up for a few days, hence the use of the word ‘we' in this post.
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 on a bike tour, 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.
- Breakfast
- Information
- Laundry
- Get bicycles sorted
- Lunch
- Buy supplies for the road ahead
- Get extra items of clothing
- Internet
- More food
- Even more food
Ongoing bicycle maintenance
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 at a bike shop 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 rack of any description. I hope to get this problem finally solved in Cusco, assuming the front rack lasts that long of course.
Sightseeing in Ayacucho, Peru
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.
And so from here, the rough road will take me over three passes above 4000 metres as I cycle towards Cusco. Apparently, it has just snowed (unusually) in Cusco… should make those mountains a bit interesting!
