This was a long day of 130 kms cycling between Puyo and Macas in Ecuador. Part of my 18 month Alaska to Argentina bike tour.
A challenging day cycling in Ecuador
Blog post written 22nd June 2010
It was always going to be a tough 130 kms cycling from Puyo to Macas, what with the added heat of cycling at a lower altitude.
Add onto that, a total of over 1200 metres of height cycled (the lay of the land was not as flat as I thought), and a broken spoke at the halfway stage, and the day turned into a feat of endurance rather than an enjoyable day in the saddle.
That’s not to say the day didn’t have its highlights, like looking out onto a stunning view over the Amazon, just that I prefer to end my cycling day not completely wiped out.
The broken spoke was a bit of a pain, as it happened just before the bulk of the days uphill cycling, making it all twice as hard.
I could have repaired it by the roadside, but that would have taken anything up to an hour, which was time I couldn’t afford to lose if I wanted to make Macas.
Still, I made it, and it's always good to know I can pull a big day out of the bag if I need to. My legs were still aching well into the night, and I actually couldn’t sleep they were aching that much. A beer and 4 ibuprofen soon sorted that out !!
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