12 Apr 2002 – 18 Apr 2002
Peru
Lima - Huancayo - Huancavelica - Castrovirreyna - Pisco
The modern week-by-week edition
So Lima was the swapover.
Boxy reluctantly handed back Jamie’s bike and headed off for London, and Jamie was back in the saddle. It was a baptism of fire as we headed south of Lima with a bunch of motocross lads, only to get left behind. Still, over the next week we’d find those sorts of tracks again — and win.
Goneriden
This week’s route
Approximate route using modern roads · OpenStreetMap contributors · route via OSRM
Week 24 in the full journey
The preserved 2002 maps provide full-trip context while the modern interactive journey map is developed.
Memorable moment
After meeting a local rider at a KTM shop in Lima, we decided to join a group of local riders who meet and ride out into the Peruvian desert and mountains every Saturday.
With Boxy reluctantly handing back Jamie's bike, Jamie and Martin set off to meet the crew. As the group gathered, the number of lighter and more powerful bikes caused a moment of uncertainty as to the nature of the ride ahead. But the question, 'Have you done any hill climbing before?', seemed of marginal importance.
By the time we made it to the first hill, Martin had made close contact with the dirt twice. The local guys took off up a hill which appeared to be on a 60 degree slope and at least 150m to the top. Seeing our hesitation, we were directed to a not-so-steep side where we took off. Jamie, 2/3 of the way to the top, Martin about 20m behind. It even looked tough to go back down, Martin minus one gear lever, which broke off.
After being told this was amongst the easiest, we said bye to the locals and, with bruised confidence, decided more practice was called for. 2 hours and numerous successes later, with no watching locals, the initial hill was taken... well, at least by one of the GoneRiden crew (jetlag is a killer).
Original Week 24 accountPictures of the week
Quote of the week"That was ******* embarrassing!" - Martin after falling off for the 4th time before getting up the first hill.
"It feels like we are on top of the world." - Martin, when we stopped to admire the scenery across a 10km stretch of flat valley at about 4300m in the Andes.
"She must have given me the wrong number" - Boxy, after trying to phone a local girl he met the night before.
CompetitionWho could make it through South America the fastest? We are unlikely to run out of winners, as our competitor is Jean from Montreal, Canada, who is walking around the world. Check out his trip at www.wwwalk.org. We hope to see him in Oz in about 8 years.
Good luck, Jean.
HighlightA day of extremes: starting at 8am at 4000m, riding along a mountain valley track with jungle-like surrounds, racing along winding limestone roads, unloading at the hotel, and then 3 hours riding around in the Paracas Reserve (dunes and hills on a coastal peninsula with sheer cliffs dropping to the sea).
Unreal day.
Risk activityApparently Martin was at risk of falling off while following Jamie, as he was a little slow after weeks off the bike. However, Jamie decided to speed things up a bit in the dunes and nearly led both of them over a cliff.Risk factor9/10
LowlightAfter over 6 hours of winding up and down mountain roads, passing snowy mountain peaks and 4800m passes, and mostly in sunshine, we encountered inclement weather only 10kms before our destination. The hail added an extra sting.
Road tallySeveral pairs of underwear nearly became an addition to the tally this week after numerous near misses with the buses and taxis in Lima.
Only one road rule here: use your horn as much as possible.
Week 24 photo diary
The mosaic follows the numbered sequence in date-and-time order. Select any image for its full-screen view and comment.