Cedric and I decided to start together and see where we end up. The climb starts very steep and takes us up to 4800m. A rough ride but we made it up. The descent is thrilling and by the time we are down we get a hailstorm on us. We wait it out a bit and continue riding after that to find a good place to camp higher up. The next day we take our own rhythm, but meet again in the same place to have dinner and some conversations. The third day of cycling together Cedric stays in the place we have lunch and I carry on.
Do you understand?
It was nice to have some company and great to be meeting other cyclists.
It’s nice to meet other cyclists on the road, I’ve met an Australian couple, an English cyclist and Cedric by now. The thing is, I like to give an insight of what it’s like to be doing things like this. But it’s hard to feel really understood. Except for these cyclists. I see them and they see me, we all know we’re going through the same hassle. A couple of days ago I met Marina for just 10 minutes. She had a broken brake, she was tired and had a long climb ahead. She started to cry. I immediately understood why, it’s something that happens to me once in a while too here. You’re tired, cold, sick,… and it just gets too much. It’s just very important to show those emotions and not keep them constantly to yourself (in the right place of course). Things like this help me not to feel lonely or go crazy when I’m alone on the road. The same goes for those times at home…
Alone at the top
After Cedric and I split up I get going up again, this time for the highest pass I’ll be cycling on this trip. After a full morning of cycling uphill I reach 4910 m. I enjoy the view, the calm weather and appreciate the downhill a lot! A recent call with Nicky helped me remember how I keep myself going on projects like this. I’m not going to lie, this is hard and after 12 years, sometimes I’m sick of it. I’m struggling more to find motivation, and although I will finish this, I wanted to get my joy back. She asked me to think of something I could look forward to in the near future (instead of missing her). It made me think and realise that usually I focus on small progress. Small things to be grateful for, like food, a place to sleep, a shower… But sometimes I’m trapped in this tunnel vision looking at details and small things. Then it helps me to zoom out, what am I doing here? I’m cycling in Peru! In all this beauty, looking around! I’m fulfilling my dream! Talking about this helped me find my motivation back and enjoying this more. So then again, grateful for that conversation.
Gratitude
I took a couple of longer days in the mountains and I got rewarded with the most amazing views! The diversity of this country is beyond words and I’m finding myself getting emotional again from time to time. Just to be able to see all this beauty and be able to experience that is so special.