Dave's Travel Pages

Greek Island Hopping | Greece Travel Itineraries | Bicycle Touring

Travel Tips, Itineraries and Guides to Greece, Europe and beyond!

  • Greece Travel
  • Greek Islands
  • Athens
  • Santorini
  • Mykonos
  • Bike Touring

Last Updated On December 28, 2022 by Dave Briggs Leave a Comment

Cycling from Zamora to Loja in Ecuador

Ecuador is a beautiful country to cycle in, but certainly challenging as I found out on this day's ride between Zamora and Loja.

A view out over Zamora in Ecuador

Challenging cycling route in Ecuador

Blog post written July 2010

An early start was in order, as I knew that today would turn out to be a long, tough one. So, out by 07.15 and the uphill work began.

 

The road was paved for the most part to Loja, but there were quite a few sections of roadwork’s which made an already hard cycle even more challenging, laborious and mucky.

Faced with a day of over 2000 metres of ascent over a distance of 65 km is pretty daunting, especially when the combined weight of bicycle, trailer and luggage equals nearly my own body weight.

The key is in pacing, regular breaks, eating well and the carefully applied use of Slayer and Slipknot.

At about the halfway mark, luck also kicked in when the small village of Sabanilla had a couple of restaurants which meant that I could fuel up on rice and chicken before hitting the road again.

Cycling into Loja

A waterfall I noticed when cycling to Loja in Ecuador

 

There were a few distractions along the way such as the waterfall pictured above.

The weather stayed good for me, which certainly helped, but the last hour or so of ascent was a bit of a struggle.

Bikepacking Loja Ecuador

 

After peaking at about 2800 metres, the descent began into Loja, which would have been a lot more enjoyable if I hadn’t had to disconnect my rear breaks as they were so worn that metal was scraping on the rim when I used them.

This meant that I only had the front breaks, and after a while, these also became worn, whereupon I had to start using my feet cartoon style in an effort to stop some rather speedy descent.

With my feet still smoking, I arrived in the centre of Loja pretty tired, and booked into the first place I saw. At 11 dollars its more expensive than usual, but it does have a fridge in the room, which is handy for a little light refreshment.

Talking of which, the Dave Briggs Patented Muscle Relaxant of 4 ibuprofen and 3 beers needed to be brought into play in the evening. A day off tomorrow has been well earned !

Read more about cycling from Alaska to Argentina

  • Previous day of bike tour
  • Next day of bike tour
  • Bike Touring in Ecuador
 

Filed Under: July 2010 Travelogue

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Dave’s Travel Blog

Dave Briggs, writer at Dave's Travel Pages

On this travel site, you'll find detailed guides and tips on traveling to Greece, as well as bikepacking blogs about cycling around the world. Dave's Travel Pages is an essential resource for planning trips to popular destinations like the Greek islands as well as preparing for adventures in off the beaten path destinations.

Find out more about Dave Briggs and this blog by clicking here

Recent Travel Posts

  • How to get from Santorini Airport to Oia
  • How to get from Santorini Airport to Fira in Santorini
  • 2 Days in Athens Itinerary 2023 – Perfect for your first time in Athens Greece
  • Acropolis Guided Tour In Athens 2023

Dave’s Travel Pages has a number of affiliate links placed within the travel blog. If you decide to buy items through these links, you will be helping Dave to fund this site and perhaps the next adventure. More importantly, it doesn’t cost you anything extra. Win win – we like that!

Dave’s Travel Blog Privacy Policy

Read our privacy policy here

Choose a blog page for more travel inspiration and practical tips and insights:

  • Travel by Bicycle
  • Travel Quotes
  • Travel to Athens
  • Greece Travel Guides
  • Dave’s Santorini Travel Guide

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Europe Travel Blogs
  • Asia Travel Blogs
  • Americas Travel Blogs
  • Air Travel Tips

"Copyright Dave's Travel Pages (c) 2005- - 2023 "