Ride Days is a category that concentrates on the days I ride from a city to a city. I talk about where I have come from, where I am going to and what I see along the way. I also talk about gear and gadgets I use on my journey.
After spending a full day and night touring Machu Picchu, Peru I was fortunate to tour the Sacred Valley with Peru Moto Tours! I started the tour at 8 am and was back in Cusco by 5 pm. Christopher and I went high up into the Andes and swept along single tracks in and out of villages through the Sacred Valley.
After spending a day touring Cusco, Peru and organizing my trip to Machu Pichu (which took some time), it was Machu Picchu Day! I left my home at 7 am and rode to Poroy Station where I would embark on my journey to Machu Picchu with Belmond Hiram Bingham train and tour. The ride was mostly through small towns and was a lot of fun, even though I had some weather on the journey.
After spending a rough night in Abancay, Peru I had a nice slow ride into Cusco, Peru which is where I would base myself for a few days for my trips to Machu Pichu and the Sacred Valley. It would take me over 4 hours to get to Cusco, Peru taking in around 128 miles (192 kilometers) mostly on the paved roads and hugging the Andes.
After spending one night in Nazca, Peru I had another long day riding to Abancay, Peru which is where I would spend only one night and make my way onto Cusco to use as my base for going to Machu Pichu, Peru. It would take me over 9 hours to get to Abancay, Peru taking in around 290 miles (462 kilometers) diving deep into the Andes again and then across the high plains.
After spending five nights in Lima, Peru I had another long day riding to Nazca, Peru which is where I would spend only one night and make my way onto Abancay before my next major destination in Cusco, Peru. It would take me over 7 hours to get to Nazca, Peru taking in around 278 miles (442 kilometers) mostly on the paved roads and hugging the west side of the Andes.
After spending only two nights in Trujillo, Peru I had another long day riding to Lima, Peru which is where I would spend only one night. It would take me 10 hours to get to Lima, Peru taking in around 375 miles (586 kilometers) mostly on the paved roads and hugging the South Pacific Ocean.
After spending only two nights in Jaén, Peru I had a long day riding to Trujillo, Peru which is where I would spend only one night. It would take me a massive 13 hours to get to Trujillo, Peru taking in around 400 miles (625 kilometers) mostly on the paved roads. The biggest feature of this ride was going from the dense lush rainforests into the barren mountains and windswept deserts of Peru.
After spending the New Years in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, I readied myself with the border crossing at La Balza on my way to Jaén, Peru. The trip would take me more than 10 hours and 200 miles (313 kilometers) across mostly on off-road dirt tracks through the Andes mountain ranges. A friend of mine, Chris, had taken this journey less than a week earlier.
After spending only one night in Cuenca, Ecuador, I had a long trip to Vilcabamba, Ecuador via Guayaquil.Vilcabamba is a small town nestled in a valley surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Vilcabamba is where I would spend New Year’s Eve and get myself ready for the border crossing to into Peru.
After spending 4 nights in Quito Ecuador, I needed to get back on the road and the 290+ miles (487 kilometres) to Cuenca, Ecuador. The ride would take me deep into the Andes Ranges and would take over 8 hours. It was so great to get on the road again and driving high up mountains and then deep into the valleys through some spectacular villages on my way to Cuenca was a treat I had been missing for a while.