Slept great at hotel but awoke about 3 am with difficulty breathing. Not difficulty but just seemed I could not get a full breath. Realized altitude was affecting me, even after nearly 4 weeks. Talked with others at breakfast and all seemed to have similar experiences. No matter if acclimated there is still a shortage of oxygen here.

So got on bike at 8 am and proceeded to climb 800 meter climb over 13 kilometer. What a way to start the day. But the day proved great. As one said every once in a while the ride of the day is great. Up the hill, the across the big hills at 4185 meters and a descent down the other side of the peninsula through the eucalyptus trees. Beautiful lunch spot over looking town where we caught the 15 minute ferry ride. Vessel was a wooden thing carried a bus and about 20 bicyclists. Push off and land via poling, then a 35 hp motor pushed the we meter long boat. No charge to board but 5 BOB (about $.85) to get off. Then another climb and descent. Road great with smooth pavement and few cars, none aggressive. Beautiful riding, a bit chilly to start but ended warm after 68 kilometer along shores of Lake Titicaca. Inca Utamaro Hotel & Spa. Rooms not ready but bike dreams had soup and birthday cake for Bridgit outside while we waited. Then, less than an hour after eating I could not help it and went swimming. Not coming this far and not swim in Lake Titicaca. Very nice although only went about 50 meters, temperature not bad low 20’s maybe, although every one else said way to cold. I thought great, but immediately after did take a hot shower to clean off.

Several folks rather sick and took truck today. Explosive diarrhea. Ugh. Hoping I can avoid, but eventually probably will be hit.

And after a week feel like I am am beginning to integrate. Folks learn me and I learn them. 35 people who have been through hard times is a hard group to join, but it is happening. Feels good. Each of them said even at the beginning they had a week or two to coalesce as a group. Some very fascinating people.

A and new tidbit about the Incas. Apparently at the what is here the winter Soltice In mid June, they would look to the stars in search of a 15 star cluster known now as the Pleiades. If it was clear the following planting season was to be good. If the cluster was not really clear they held back planting a bit, recently an American scientist looked at this and the events correlated with El Niño years. In other words they could predict El Niño 500 years ago and change crops accordingly.

Beautiful hotel here at side of southern end of lake, the Cordillera Real is visible with its big snow covered peaks, which six are over 6000 meters in height. Once again I am discovering the Andes are big. A fisherman was out on his reed boat this evening. A nice afternoon. And not the least bit frustrating as I did not even try to find wifi and internet. Hence no crashes and timeouts and such. Technology, maybe best to enjoy the moment,,

Writing this as a continuum as seems appropriate, but more important as internet wifi allows. Everywhere advertises wifi restaurants hotels etc but when more than two people log on system crashes and none. Yesterday I just wrote the blog and did not even try to post. Felt good to not be frustrated.

But today the 26 of September stage 44 to LaPaz. Diarrhea twice last night and seriously considering going in truck but felt ok this morn although hotel did have eggs for breakfast which I could not resist. Resisted other usual, fruit salad, jam, etc. figured 84 kilometer day and only 225 vertical. One of the easiest days one would figure. Wrong. Started out ok although I was not pushing only doing about 20 k/h back of pack. For 20 k we rounded the last southern bit of lake Titicaca and waved goodby to this huge lake. Then just gradual uphill climbing from 3825 to eventually 4100 on outskirts of LaPaz.

I was slow and ended up by myself. The daily map made no sense to me and gps would say turn right then would say off course. Basically ended up lost, even going through a pedestrian market which was quite chaotic with the bike. On a street which GPS said was arrival destination, but no bike dreams. Finally Carmen and Julie came out of a hotel after checking in there, one we are at did not meet there standards I guess.

Was the hardest ride of the trip yet for me. Numbers wise it should have been easiest. Again on the fourth floor huff puff huff puff up the stairs. Why am I always on the fourth floor. Last nite there was an elevator supposedly highest in the world, also the slowest and creakiest. Arrived at hotel I was going to take a shower but only Luke warm so just went to bed. So the diesel fumes remain.

The day was full of diesel fumes, traffic, potholes and was as advertised. On the morning briefing we were told to be careful coming into LaPaz as it has a steep descent into the city center where we are. Informed of potholes curbs, cars manholes without covers and they were all there. Plus trying to navigate.

LaPaz is a metropolitan city of 2 1/2 million mostly which nestled into this steep valley. From above it looked pretty, but once in its clutches another crowded city.

Just went out and found a vendor for crackers and some yogurt. See if that will stay in my system, rather than just pass right through.

And again as soon as we showed up the wifi internet system crashed. On way for crackers found a Internet cafe and will try and post this. Unsure about pictures, that may be too much.

Arrived LaPaz to 2 days of scheduled rest. Rest has not happened yet. We arrived Friday afternoon, now Sunday morn and continue to pile on the activities. Hence have been unable to post my impressions. Have been down with continuing diarrhea and have not been eating in restaurants where I can get a wifi connection. Whenever 40 of us hit the hotel internet it crashes and is getting extremely frustrating.

But LaPaz is in a mountainous area, the city nestled very tightly into a steep valley. The roads are steep and have not seen a flat one yet. Outside of town up one of the valleys is a road leading to the northern sections of Bolivia. Up until 2006 when a new road was finally built it was acknowledged to be the most dangerous road in the world. Google “death road” or “most dangerous highway in the world” and this road comes up. It is built into a cliff and at places is only 3 meters wide and is a 2 way road. Rules of the road changed so one drives on the left instead of the right, as in England, Australia, and several,other countries. Only on this road is it done so that drivers have a better feel of where their tires are. Sometimes in passing tires will overhang. Up to 330 people a year died on this road, and it is still open and used for traffic because the new road is over three times longer. It is so steep and has big drops there are sections that have been used for BASE jumpers. (Parachutist who jump in this case from land)

I find that most places would find such a thing appalling. Bolivia has turned it into a tourist attraction and is now a destination mountain bike road. We hired one of the local mountain bike companies to provide guides (generally one per five riders, but being experienced we got 2 for 20), full suspension bikes, and two busses to take us on the 67 kilometer death road. Departing our hotel at 8 am we worked our way through LaPaz and up to the hills above, finally achieving an altitude of 4725 meters (15,500 feet) where high alpine conditioned prevailed. It was snowing but turned to sleet and rain with foggy condition limiting visibility to barely a hundred meters. The company provided rain gear but acknowledged it had been used so many times it leaked. We became rather wet and cold stopping at a roadside vendor and getting hot coffee and snacks while paying our road tax for the death road.

So with a blessing of the bikes for our safety with an offering to Pachamama ( an Inca god). We poured rubbing alcohol on our tires, on the ground and a sip for us. Whew I have massive amounts of hair on my chest now.

I have ridden harder mountain bike rides but never one with the exposure of this one. At first we questioned our sanity, but as we descended through the rain and waterfalls biking was fun. A 67 kilometer high speed descent. Wow. Our guides were great stopping us every few kilometers to relay a bit of history. The worst was a bus passing went down with 130 people. Now it is inattentive mountain bikers who die, as I remember about 9 a year although I could be off on that. Looking around is not an option except when stopped. It is a steep, rutted, gravel road with water running down it.

We dropped down at one point measuring 60 kilometers an hour. The vegetation turned to rain forest and reaching the bottom having stopped and shed many layers we were in jungle with banana trees, papaya, parrots, and monkeys. Elevation 1100 meters (3600 feet) a 3600 meter descent (12,000 feet). With minimal pedaling.

A few beers to celebrate and a hot shower. Why hot showers down there and not up here in LaPaz I do not know but it was nice. Then the 3 1/2 hour bus ride feeling the decreasing oxygen as we returned to the hustle and craziness of LaPaz. A great day.

Now lying in bed in hotel my roommate Buck just said this is like a climbing trip. Each of us waiting for the other to get up and start the stove.
OK just waiting for breakfast at 7:30

Arrived late evening (well for us) at 5:30, an hour later time change in Bolivia. Hotel at first seemed awesome large entry, staircases going to various places. Beautiful woodwork and artwork. Stairs to our third floor with a railing ready to breakaway. Room with Buck has large 2 double beds, beautiful wood floors and a view out onto beach. Bay filled with boats. Ok that is the good side.

Shower was luke warm, the room cold, and internet crashed shortly after arrival. Can’t have everything. But bike dreams had hot soup for us downstairs in the restaurant.

After cleaning up, unloading trucks, and usual chores, Buck and I went wandering. I had changed money at the money changers at border so we were ready. Took a bit but found the tourist street with restaurants and reported back to hotel. Numerous restaurants to choose from, pizza being the primary desire, and good wifi. Chose a Mexican one which seemed to meet the criteria. As soon as password was passed around for wifi it crashed. I ordered chicken enchilada with guacamole and a beer, others there pizza and some wine from Chili.

Took almost an hour for food to come but reasonable taste although my enchiladas were vegetables mostly onions. No guacamole. And no pie or ice cream for desert. Ended up getting ice cream sandwiches from vendor down the street.

Copacabana seems a tourist town and numerous backpackers. Streets not as busy as other towns, maybe because it is off the main routes a bit. One street in particular is main tourist central where we went to breakfast of a good omelette looking primarily for wifi which they said they had, but even though 4 bars it was the circle of death and nothing not even a simple text.

After a walk 50 meters down street where Internet cafe for 18 Bolivianos (about $2.00) let me sit and upload pix and talk to Jeanne via face time and have a wonderful time communicating with friends and family. Most of us agree internet more important than hot water.

A walk down the beach and getting warm. Just watching people laying out, washing cars. One taxi was about 40 meters from water and he had plastic bags he would fill, carry to his car, and wash till water evaporated. Women with their long black hair to waist in two braids tied together with hat, colorful skirts, sweater and apron, often carrying the colorful blanket tied over shoulder for a load of anything, baby, water, food, reeds, sticks, whatever.

Just a nice day lounging about. Lunch, beer, desert, pondering Bolivian existence. A tourist town and a rest day for us.

Tomorrow we head for LaPaz a two day journey with hotel enroute. La Paz will be busy two rest days there but much planned. Bike ride on death road and a football game Friday. Have never been to a real football game (soccer), should be interesting. Not sure about pictures due to internet.

The legs on the bike go round and round making
The wheels on the bike go round and round

Depart Puno with a police escort. Originally James and I took off but called back as we were following our written directions, and police had a better route. I felt like a King or maybe Sarah Palin; traffic stopped and we flew on through.

Shortly we were on road south along Lake Titicaca and a peloton formed after a few kilometers, then as road narrowed we went into a nice pace line cruising along at about 27-28 kilometers an our. Toos was out front.

For those not bicyclists a pace line is a line 2 to 3 or more riders following one after the other. The first rider breaks the air and creates a draft for the following rider to follow. When I was a teenager my friend Brent Cook and I would play with techniques and found when really going you could detect the draft effect almost a hundred yards back. For full effect generally one rides with wheels inches apart. It is great and it can increase your speed significantly. The problem is you are inches apart and riders must be aware of each other. The line becomes its own organism.

A peloton is similar except instead of a line, riders not only ride front and back but side to side. This works well with not only headwinds but crosswinds as it protects riders downwind..

Thus was the theme for Puno to Copacobana. The first 20 k was long pace line of maybe 20 riders. Too much traffic, but was nice just cruising alongside the lake. After a bit I figured Theo needed a break and I felt good so I broke from my 3rd or 4th position and went up front, but quickly found myself leaving the pack behind. I had rested up and felt good. Theosophy wife Toos came up and said best to stick to around 27 k. I dropped back although difficult for me to maintain constant speed. Then a little hill came up and those that could did and I felt like my lungs were going to explode. A hill climber I am not. The pack separated into varying pace lines.

A word on the altitude. Even though most have been at altitude for 7-8 weeks it still affects them. There just is not enough air. One person said “I feel good and think I am ok then bend over to tie my shoes and am out of breath”. For myself I feel good but do feel exhausted from little tasks. Like walking up a flight of stairs. Lake Titicaca is at 3810 meters (12,500 feet) above sea level. 40% of the earths atmosphere is below us. The locals have developed over time greater lung capacity and blood counts so they can live here over a lifetime.

At about 25 kilometers I decided some pictures would be great, as carrying my big Nikon today. So again I broke away and sprinted ahead till about 500 meters ahead. I felt like a biathlon, where you exercise greatly then do a task requiring total stillness. I did not catch up the 500 meters I fell behind for 11 kilometers when they stopped for construction. But it was great fun. Made lunch stop about 70 k and 11 am. Flying!

Lunch was about 1/2 hour and time to move on. Buck said he was dropping as first day he had ridden in two days due to illness and wanted to not push too hard, I said I was going to try and keep up with the line again as it was fun. Buck said to ride at my pace and not do more than I can. I thought of Joe, who did the divide and said ride my own ride. A peloton of 6-10 people was formed and great but after my lead I could not maintain and dropped out. I was pooped an decided to just enjoy the day. Stopped and took pictures, enjoying he scenery. Locals out preparing fields for planting sheep llamas feeding at side of road. The traffic had diminished greatly.

It was a great day although I was totally exhausted at the end. 145 Kilometers, cross winds, head winds, severe sun, some hills totaling 745 meters of climbing (2400 feet) and crossing the border into Bolivia all played a part in tiring everyone out.

Peru is done and a rest day in Copacabana, Bolivia.

Internet very bad here off and on.

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The work is the same.”
Carlos Castaneda

The Bike-Dreams folks arrived past Tuesday afternoon, today being Friday, and all were exhausted. They had had a rough past few days. Looked like I feel after pushing hard in a race. All they wanted was to wash the mud off from three days riding and camping, communicate with the world outside, and have a three day rest.

Well 40 people quickly overloaded all systems. Water shut down in the entire area, hence not only no hot water but no cold water either. Not just the hotel here (Carlos V) but several nearby hostels. A few people went looking elsewhere for alternate habitations. For me not much of problem all though I had to remember not to flush the toilet as it would not refill. (I had a bit of diarrhea, my roommate Buck waiting in the hallway saying I smelled like a barnyard). Water returned that evening.

The previously very slow internet was quickly a very sporadic affair with everyone catching up on emails, blogs, texts, phone calls and the necessities of modern life. At home am used to 15 GByte downloads and 10 GByte uploads, whereas here under best of circumstance 8 Megabit upload and 0.8 Mb download. And when all connected with a minimum of two devices (phone, tablet, computers), well I
shall say it became unreliable. Apparently Max as a hobby comes in and straightens out the wireless mess in the hotels helping it along. He cannot improve the hardware speed, but can clean it up a bit, making it work better.

Folks are definitely nice people. Languages flowing, Dutch, German, English, Spanish, French, and I suspect others I did not recognize or hear. All outgoing and welcoming. But tired and they were on a mission to get themselves and clothes clean.

The laundromats here are numerous and advertise 2 or 4 hours, but I have not understood the 2 or 4 format. I think what it means is 2 and 4 together means 24 hours, although sometimes it can mean the same day if brought in early. But the important part is clothes come back clean and folded, costing 4 sols (about $1.20) per kilo.

Most folks left for two days to sacred valley and Machu Picchu. Jeanne and I had done that tour last week, hence I did not repeat. I had two days here pretty much alone to wander about Cusco. But I have been wandering about Cusco for two weeks now and for me getting anxious to ride. Did a nice ride up in hills to town of Q’ orea. The spent time sitting in park thinking of the memory of Joe Molitor. His funeral was Tuesday and Wednesday.

Picked up laundry for folks gone on the two day tour, and created little errands for myself. Yesterday went to find a new rear bike light as one I brought does not work. The shops here seem to consolidate a particular type of shop in same area. Printers, office supply, etc., discos are in the area where our hotel is. Found the bike shop in area of chain saw shops. Turns out it was a great shop with a full variety of parts. Had my choice of four different lights.

Helped Lucho (the mechanic) with bike repairs. He is Peruvian and was once the national champion of Peru on bicycles. He lives on the coast which the group visited earlier in trip. I guess he threw quite a party, when they stayed at his village. He is famous for opening his house and helping bicycle riders. His English is very limited so was interesting helping and learning from him. My Spanish leaves a lot to be desired. He rebuilt a couple of bikes including wheels which the hubs were done for. Brakes, cleaning, tires changed, derailleurs adjusted, new cables as needed, the list potential repairs goes on and on. And a variety of bikes including some 27.5 and 29 inch. Had been advised against those due to availability of parts. Apparently the 29 inch tires were available in past weeks but the tubes were exceedingly difficult to find. Interesting to see the number of bikes and kinds, full touring, cross, front fork type suspension or not, handlebars, disk or caliper brakes. Full variety. Folks are changing tires because leaving the big mountains and gravel mud for more developed highways, at least for a while.

Again I have not met a bike which could not teach me something new, and the same goes for a mechanic. Very interesting watching and helping Lucho work. Even changing tires I learned new different techniques for setting a difficult bead. (Involves a door). Always something to learn no matter how basic.

Dinner with Max at a Polloria out of the tourist area. Choices were 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 or a full roasted chicken with potatoes. (French fries). About $3.00 for a 1/4 chicken with lemonade. And more perspectives from another person on “the ride”. Everyone has their viewpoint, especially the race part. I will have to decide for myself.

Officially this is a stage race. 107 stages with me joining in at stage 39. Turns out only about 10 folks are really “racing” with only 1 “James”really going for it. The numbers of people racing vary. Remainder not really racing, but still I suspect faster than me. Steve Aberle said in a comment recently to remember the reason we ski raced. “To make the others look good!” Somebody has to do it.

The sag wagon is available for a ride but one must decide prior when to taking the truck, morning or afternoon. Ride in morn, then get out at lunch and bike, or bike in morning and get in truck for afternoon. Important thing is finish by about 4 as dark at 5:30-6 and sunrise same. Tomorrow’s ride is 122 kilometers with 1086 meters of elevation gain, and day after is 159 K.

Breakie this morn, actually twice, once at our hotel of the usual rolls, jam, butter, coffee and fresh juice. Then off to a proper breakfast (as we Americans like) with eggs, bacon and the previous breakfast ingredients repeated. I understand the food on this ride is like our first continental type with the addition of muesli. Then all were off in varying directions; James for bike parts, Michelle and Liz to explore Saqsaywaman, another good Inca site just up the hill from hotel which Jeanne and I visited on one of our first days here, Rein to hospital for his second rabies injection from dog bite earlier in trip. ( Two thus far to hospital on this trip).

And as Buck says amazing how fast the time goes. I am enjoying the downtime, although I do not really need it now, but the next months are going to be full and tiring. Talked with Michelle who is also staying in Ushuaia at end for a few days. She says she feels she will want to just sit and do little in the days after this ride. My thoughts also, but also thought I will not be getting to Ushuaia very often, so best see it while I can. Hence I am staying 4 days longer than necessary. Michelle is heading for a 12 day tour in Antarctica. She went to Galapagos prior to start filly utilizing vacation. Me, I will be headed for Christmas in Dallas.

Thus tomorrow my riding begins. We have two what they call bush camps then two nights of hotel before reaching Copacabana, Bolivia and our next rest day. Bush camps are just us camping, as opposed to an official campground. Looking forward to it. Concerning this blog I will try and write keeping up, and posting as Internet allows.