Distance: 138.99 km
Ride time: 7.57.34
Average: 17.46 km/h
Max speed: 51.68 km/h
Total: 32238 km
I was on the bike early as I wanted to try to make it to Quito today. Whether I would make it depended on the amount of climbing on the way…
The highway towards Quito was busy but what made the ride special was the views towards the beautiful Cotopaxi volcano to my right. This is indeed the Volcano Route.
After a couple of hours of riding I met Jonathan from Maimi cycling in the other direction. He said he had been waiting several days in Quito to get a clear view over Cotapaxi – today was the first day he could see anything. Once again I’m lucky with the weather!
After 90 km of cycling it felt like I had been climbing the whole day. Not steep climbing, just steady uphill all the way. My map showed 125 km between Ambato and Quito, but as I passed this distance there was still no sign of the city; all I could see was green hills and a few villages scattered around the valley. “Where the hell is Quito” is what I started to think…
I made it over another steep ridge and finally I saw Quito down there in the next valley. Now I could mostly roll downhill right into the southern suburbs. On the way I talked to a friendly Argentinian juggler working at a traffic light. He recommended a cheap hostel at the San Fransisco square, so that was where I was heading. The sun was setting as I made it through the spectacular old city center. It had been a long day in the saddle, but I was very excited to have arrived in Quito.
Great view on Cotopaxi! After having driven these roads a couple of times (but by car – hi), I can imagine how your legs must have burnt 🙂 Take care my friend!
Indeed Toby, no easy kilometers in Ecuador although I really loved the place. HK-land is also not too bad 🙂 Greetings from Cali!