Cycling The Globe

Distance: 54.27 km
Ride time: 3:26:04
Average: 15.80 km/h
Max speed: 41.50 km/h
Altitude: 1617 m
Total: 28920 km

It was with a rather massive hangover that I was meeting Aldo at the beautiful central square in Arequipa for lunch. I had just picked up my Bianchi from the bike store, and with a functional bicycle, I could feel that the day had finally come. It was time to leave Arequipa.

The last time I had used my Bianchi bike was the day I cycled into Auckland, New Zealand a long time ago. Now I was quite excited to see if everything was still working.

Back at the hostel I said goodbye to Aldo and the friendly people there. It was now one and a half month since I had first time arrived at the hostal. Back then I had just come down from the cold Altiplano, today I was wearing shorts and T-shirt on a very hot Arequipa spring afternoon.

It’s always interesting to get cycling again after a long break; will be bike still work, will the legs still work, will I be able to find a place to sleep? Then after a few days everything is once again 2nd nature, but this first day back on the bike is always filled with questions.

I climbed my way out of Arequipa, saying my goodbyes to the Misti Volcano and the Chachani mountain as well. Wow, so many good memories from those places.

Back down on the other side of the climb I was feeling tired as I went into a restaurant for dinner. At first I thought I was just tired, but then I noticed I was wearing my down jacket and everybody else was wearing T-shirts. When I couldn’t finish my dinner plate I knew I was probably going to be sick.

I rolled a few kilometers further down the Panamericana Highway, into the small town of La Joya. Luckily there were a few hotels to choose from – for once I didn’t feel like camping out.