Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

With all the bikes crammed in to the courtyard and only a relatively short ride ahead (200 miles) there was no rush this morning, so I went about my usual chores in a very leisurely way. When done there was only Simon and Late Guy apart from me left to depart – and Jim, who's bike was being worked on as it had cut out several times during the ride to Abancay yesterday. They both needed fuel, so I decided to ride alone for a while and see who I met en-route. The first challenge was getting out of town as the route notes said to go up the hill then turn left, when in fact they should have said right, but I soon realised and found the right road (checking with some road-workers to ensure I was right). I saw Max & Christine and Ozzy Andy and Nigel ahead, so they must have found it too, but I was in no hurry so hung back so I had some road-space to myself. The road itself wound its way high up into the mountains again, but the surface was slippery and at first I thought I'd a puncture in my front tyre, as it kept slipping in the corners. When I stopped to take a picture of the fantastic view over to the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the others all stopped too (I'd passed them as they stopped to take pictures further down) and confirmed they too were finding the surface slippery. But it wasn't a problem and the views were stunning...





I rode on alone for quite a while, as the road wound its way high up and over the mountains, regularly over 3,000 metres, passed small villages and fields of crops, waving to smiling children and past old ladies bent double under the weight of large bags they were carrying up the mountain. Past what looked like wooden storage sheds in small allotments of crops but turned out to be home to a family of happy but poor looking indigenous people, surviving with nothing but a one-roomed “home” and a small patch of land. Images of lives so different to my own flickered by my eyes as I struggled to take it all in whilst at the same time concentrating on the road ahead. I simply love travelling this way, but the downside is the images so often remain in my head rather than in my camera, as stopping to capture them would be impossible, the very act of trying would destroy the moment...

After a couple of hours riding I reached the junction in the road that leads up to Urubamba and the Sacred Valley, a deviation from the original route recommended as it only adds 80 miles and provides a good spot for lunch. Kevin, Julia, Nick and Al were in the petrol station, so I pulled over for a chat and to see if Nick was feeling any better, as he'd been ill again the previous day. He was still suffering, so Julia and he were taking the direct route to Cusco. I hooked up with Kevin and Al and we rode as a threesome up another mountain where we got a spectacular view over the town of Urubamba, before heading into the town and onto the valley road up to Ollantaytambo (or Olly as its affectionately known).





Ollantaytambo had been recommended for a lunch stop as it has a beautiful square and a large Manco Inca fortress, it being a stronghold in the resistance against the Spanish conquistadors. But on arriving, we found the square was a building site, with rubble everywhere as they were obviously in the process of rebuilding it. We had to ride over the rubble to get to where we could park, and then went and sat outside a café for a bite of lunch whilst watching the fun and games going on in the square. These involved a large truck, laden with pallets and large wooden boxes, which was trying to negotiate its way into a narrow street at the side of the square, but had got stuck as there was a large trench, some 3ft wide and 6ft deep right where its driving wheels needed to go. After much standing around, the large group of builders eventually put some large logs in the trench and the truck driver managed to manoeuvre his vehicle into the small alley, a process that took as long as it took us to order and eat our coffee, soup and chocolate cake... We did get sight of the fortress on the outskirts of town, but dressed in full motorcycle gear I was in no mood to go hiking up to take a closer look...





After lunch we rode out of town, our little group joined by Pertti, Tony and Phil, and we rode all the way up the Sacred Valley to Pisac. The valley was named Sacred Valley by the Inca, who lived all along the valley right up to Machu Picchu at the head of the valley, where we're going tomorrow. Pisac itself is also the site of Inca ruins, as here was the entrance to the valley and the citadel stood on the top of the hill overlooking the town – just visible in this photo as a line of terraces on the mountainside...





From here we road over another mountain and past the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman, or “Sexy Woman” as its known, riding down the hill into Cusco. We rode directly into the main square and parked up right in front of the main building, where Karen to take some photos (we'd lost Tony and Phil en-route as they dropped off the back of the group). This caused quite a stir, the square full of tourists and backpackers here for the trip to Machu Picchu and locals trying to sell them stuff...





Then it was off to the hotel just off the main square to drop off our bags before taking the bikes to the secure parking area a couple of blocks away. Returning to the hotel I showered and changed, then sat downstairs on the Internet trying to find a likely cause for Jim's bike problems. His Suzuki V-Strom (the only none-BMW on the trip) had cut out again on the run over from Abancay and this time wouldn't restart, so was in the van (the first bike to go in the van as a result of a breakdown). Jeff, Peiter and Alan were all trying to find a solution, and with a couple of days off in Cusco, hopefully they'll succeed.

Later that evening I went out and walked round the square, before going to the “Norton Rats Pub”, run by an American called Jeff and a place frequented by all adventure motorcyclists travelling through Peru. It's a strange place, just off the square, with flags of many nations on the ceiling, dartboards, pool table and … English ale on draught!





Suffice to say that the Globebusters Trans Am pub crawl continued well that night, with a pint of Green King IPA being followed by a couple of Old Speckled Hens (on draught), a cheeseburger (very tasty) with fries and then off to the Kamikase bar near the hotel for a couple of Pisco Sours. The beer was cold and not exactly as good as it is in the UK, but a little taste of home was most welcome. The Pisco Sours were strong and not as good as the silly night in Chiclayo, and when the live band started it was time to retire to the hotel and my bed, especially as I need to be up at 5am in the morning to go to Machu Picchu, and have been nominated by Julia as the “responsible person” to look after the group for the day... (no sniggering at the back, please...).