 Our route sheet indicates that there are a few gas stations in this small town, which we originally believe to be La Mana. When we ask for "Gasolina", we are directed to this gas station. Seem strange to anyone else? Now we don't really need but a gallon between the bikes, so hopefully this isn't too dreadful. Since you should never siphon gas by mouth, this lad does something ingenuous. He puts the hose in the bottle, then covers it will his hand as he blows into the bottle. This creates a positive pressure and starts the siphoning. We pay $6 for this one gallon. Beggars and choosers apply to this situation. | I always love the riding in a longer trip at the end of the first week. And today will be no exception. The Olympia hotel has slept us well, and we are ready for the homeward trek. We have a long day (KMs wise) ahead of us, so we are eager to get riders up by 0800. We head down to breakfast, with our first load of kit. We noticed that Jack and Marty have arrived sometime in the night, and to our delight are already partaking in some Ecuadorian chow. Marty is full of colorful adjectives describing their previous days adventures. He and Jack will be taking to longer road option back to Quito, while Bruce and I will tackle the steep elevation changes in Illinizas National Park.  |
While I never grown this many watermelons, I've never also needed to use a telephone pole to prevent them from rolling down to their own deaths
See that road at the bottom of the valley. It the elevation drops and rises on this day are no joke. We'll descend in less than 2KMs to that point.
Crazy how fast the topography and landscape changes around these parts
We are having a hoot of time, and I do have to say the photography is coming along splendidly as we get more and more artsy.
 | Then I notice that the sidewalls of Bruce's Terra on riding square to earth. What could be more fun that a flat rear tire at 7500 ft? We take off our outer gear, so we don't overheat, as we are clearly going to be here for a while. Perhaps, this was the first of many things to go wrong in the next hour. I end up the most terrific sun burn on my shoulders! As flats are fairly common, Freedom Bike Rentals fills all there tires will Slime. If we are fortuitous enough to find a nail, sometime removing it, then spinning the tire will be sufficient. Nope, our leak is at the base of the valve core, so off the tire comes. We haven't past a vehicle in over an hour, and we won't pass one for another 2 hours. This is when we realize that the 1) Only the Dr200 has a 12V power plug, and it seems inoperative 2) Even after direct wiring the pump to a battery, the compressor will only twitch. |
It seems one should never pack emergency kit where it can get smashed in a crash. While the air compressor case was cracked, it took us 20 minutes to realize the cooling fins were also pushed down the centering rod, thus preventing the motor from spinning.
With the compressor back in action, it was off to change the tube. Freedom Bike sent us off with 4 tubes, so no worries that getting back on the road today. No shortage of rocks to prop up the bike
With the compressor back in action, it was off to change the tube. Freedom Bike sent us off with 4 tubes, so no worries that getting back on the road today. No shortage of rocks to prop up the bike
Another cobblestone road. Notice the 3 alignment rows for your cart?
