I forgot to publish this post! It was originally written February 15th, we have long since passed Huaraz. See our Strava here: https://www.strava.com/athletes/markandnic See our Google photos album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8sK1ryrupSjneZ9BA Despite the title of my last blog post, we are indeed waiting in Huaraz. We arrived well before our tires are expected to show up, hoping that they would arrive early and we might be able to keep moving. No such luck, however, and we are instead expecting to wait for five days for them to arrive. We are a little anxious being off the bike, but excited to take the opportunity READ MORE
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Highs and Lows
Peru has quickly become one of our favorite countries. Since we left Huaraz we have enjoyed many more incredible mountain vistas, good ají, met lots of friendly people, and been blown away by some of the best riding we have had on this trip. We have arrived in Cusco, excited to get some new bike parts and enjoy some of the luxuries the tourist city has to offer. While we have been reveling in the beauty of these incredible places, we have had to put in quite a but of effort to meet our physical needs here in the rainy READ MORE
No need to hurry up and wait
See our Strava here: https://www.strava.com/athletes/markandnic See our Google photos album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8sK1ryrupSjneZ9BA *I had trouble loading photos onto this post, so check out the link above for all our most recent photos!* After hours of WhatsApping bike shop owners and searching online for weeks, Mark found a bike shop that was willing to order us tires. We are expecting to show up to the shop well before the tires, so we’re taking it easy on our way to Huaraz, Peru. Our first few days in Peru were challenging: getting eaten by flies, I caught another stomach bug, and we found READ MORE
Funny stories
We are unfortunately sick again. We are very unclear what the culprit is, but some sort of stomach bug or food poisoning took me out for the count last night. I slept only two hours in between the stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Mark too has been hit with some gastrointestinal distress this morning, and with nothing but a big day of climbing ahead of us on our route, it was an easy decision to take the day off. We stayed at a cyclist specific accommodation last night: a spare room in a housing complex with a clean bathroom, shower, READ MORE
All the way through Ecuador
We crossed through Ecuador in just 8 days, but enjoyed our time there greatly. After an overload of fried food in Colombia, we were happy to find the markets in Ecuador well stocked with delicious fruits and vegetables. We stayed in several hostels with well equipped kitchens, which we took advantage of to cook ourselves some much needed nutritious meals. On top of that, we found the restaurant food, although similar to much of what we have eaten in all of Latin America, to be higher quality than we had seen for the past few months. Rice, beans/lentils, eggs and READ MORE
The Gates of Lodore
** This is an old post from last summer (June 2023) that I never got the chance to share. Since I had the time and space today I figured I would update it and get it out to the world.*** I had spent a handful of days on the river when I first saw the Green River running though Dinasaour National monument. I had gotten into a free program in college in which a non-profit flew myself and few other students around Colorado in small planes to see Colorado’s rivers and talk to locale interest groups about their work on READ MORE
The Dolores River
** This is an old post that I just took the time to finish** After my ski mountaineering plans fell through, Noel, Mac and I rallied for a trip to the Dolores: a true gem of Western Colorado that boasts only a short season most years due to high water demands from the upstream reservoir for agriculture in the area. Mac had been hoping to run the popular stretch while it was up, and had gear and boats ready when the opportunity arose. He and his wife Sarah kindly let me borrow her boat, and Mac brought along nearly all READ MORE
Frying Pan or Fire: it is Hot
After leaving the cool temps of Nevado del Ruiz, we spent the day coasting downhill into the Magdalene river valley. As we dropped in elevation the temperatures climbed and by the time we were ready to end our short day (not wanting to push it with Mark’s stomach on the fritz) we were back into a hot and humid climate at only 200 meters elevation. Given the heat and the sensitivity of Mark’s bowels we opted to stay in hotels to be close to a bathroom as well as to enjoy a fan or a/c on our way to a READ MORE
Code Brown
Despite our best efforts to “really get up and after ‘em, tomorrow,” we have found many more reasons to keep our slow pace as we meander through Colombia. In the last 5 days we probably visited 12 bike shops as we searched for the perfect replacement tire. We have not found our dream tire, and instead decided to carry a spare (an added weight that we are not taking lightly, ha). It’s not exactly inline with our usual packing routine, but it does provide significant peace of mind. Beyond our hunt for tires, we have chosen to trade in some READ MORE
Big Slow Down in Colombia
Our usual pace has taken a serious change here in the northern portion of Columbia. A combination of national holidays, mechanical issues, route choices and sickness, has forced us to change up our normal schedule. We are certainly enjoying ourselves however! The riding has been fun, the food has been great and we have met so many kind and friendly people in the last week! January 1st, Necocli, Columbia: Kilometers ridden: 0 We rung in the new year in the touristy town, lazily drinking coffee while we waited for the bike shops to open the next day. We enjoyed rich READ MORE