| Distance | 45.61 kms | 28.58 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 1,075 meters | 3,527 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 4.94 | - |
| Avg speed | 9.2 kph | - |
| Avg climb | 3% | - |
| Max grade | 10% | - |
| Distance | 11,032.34 kms | 6,854.96 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 118,688 meters | 389,396 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 872.63 | - |
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
I got up none too early then went for a coffee next door. I was in no rush to get going this morning. When I finally did get the bike packed up and out the door, I headed down to an area I had ridden through yesterday that had a lot of hardware stores. I went to 5 of them until I finally found Bencina Blanca for the stove, 2 dollars for a half liter.
Cajamarca is a pretty good sized city. It took a while to get out of the urban sprawl onto the big climb towards Bambamarca - the climb consisted of 968 meters over 30 kilometers but with good pavement and fairly gentle grading. It was hot to start the day, then it rained hard which had me putting on all the rain gear, but then the sun came out and it got hot again. I stripped everything off only to get more rain an hour later... this time I left everything on because at the higher altitude it was cool even without the rain. After the summit came a 10k descent past an enormous mining operation. The road started heading back up - I was near 3,500 meters - and I could see that the treeline was close. Knowing that there would be no cover higher up plus menacing skies made me quit early and set up camp in a thick pine grove. As soon as I got the tent set up it started pouring rain. I made a spartan dinner (I hadn't picked up many supplies in Cajamarca) and spent the rest of the evening in the tent with my book. The pine needles made for a nice comfy sleep...
