The queen stage
https://www.strava.com/activities/10815788103
This was supposed to be a very long and hard day in the saddle. I had doubts if I could do it.
Due to the planned length I wanted to get started at 4 in the morning to reduce the risk of arriving after dark in a small mountain village. I got off at 4:25 (I consistently got away ca 25 min after I planned most days), it was dark and raining, so I was in the rain jacket. Temperature was ok, but as usual potholes and missing road sections was an issue.
On the outskirts of the city, a car passed just as there was a big pond of water and I got completely splashed – it would have been a perfect clip for TikTok/Instagram and the likes. Anyway, still in the tropics and comfortable temperature, so no need for panic. I would dry later in the day.
Again the terrain rises from km 0, but it was not until ca 33 km the climb started for real. Again nothing out of the ordinary wrt gradients, only the length and the poor road conditions. The first part was really bad, with multiple long sections of (wet) gravel. I am not sure when, but at some time the gravel sections ended and one could get into a good rhythm.
Once in the rhythm it went ok, but not great. Despite the lower altitude i had problems keeping the power. It could be because of a saddle sore. The saddle and my position is certainly something I need to address.
The top of the climb at 2700 m was reached after 76 km and about 4:50 hrs:min of riding. That was the first 2000 m of the day, total planned ca 5000 m.
I descended into Huánuco, through the cloud forest (at least that is what I call it, officially I doubt that is the correct term).
Huánuco is a bigger city and navigating traffic, although not as bad as Lima, is not relaxing, nor easy. A often overlooked fact (I certainly always forget to take it into account), is that you often loose more time crossing a city than a mountain pass.
Anyway, made it through and out on the other side. Had a small lunch break in Katosh before starting on what should be the next big 2000 m climb of the day taking me from 2000 m to 4000 m.
500 m after my break, the problems started.
The road disintegrated into gravel. As this was not the first time, I kept going, but the section was somewhat longer than all other sections of gravel. I started to loose faith in the plan, the day etc and getting really annoyed as it would be difficult to reach the destination before dark. So I stopped, stopped a Mototaxi and asked how long the gravel section lasted, 8 minutes was his response, then nice asphalt. I figured 8 min in Mototaxi would be around 15 min for me on the bike not at all geared for gravel riding.
I pushed on, and eventually made it through to the tarmac.
And what amazing tarmac it was. Looked almost new, smooth as butter and despite 30C and headwind, I started to get the optimism back – hey, I had done night riding before, I could do it again, so just relax and enjoy the moment. If I arrived 1 – 2 hrs later than planned, so what.
After a few km’s on the new tarmac, the climb proper started, with some steeper 7-9% sections.
And then….. the tarmac stopped. And the gravel started again. CRAP 💩💩.
Again, I figured it would be temporal so I continued. The gradients were quite steep, and getting traction was an issue. After 500 – 1000 m I gave up and decided this was the end of the road. Literally and I had to return.
I stopped a taxi and asked for how long more it would continue, a couple of km’s was the answer. Asking about the rest of the road to La Union, there would be gravel sections all the way. That made the decision easy, return to Huánuco and reconsider.
I had some snacks, some water and then got back on the bike. However as I had pushed up some steep gravel gradients and also had to get down, and that almost caused my first crash and broken wheels. Luckily the wheels survived and I did not crash.
I rolled lightly back down to the initial 3-4 km gravel section. Passed it and went to the Plaza de Armas do consider my options. It was still early, so I could in principle embark on an alternative route.
The only alternative route would take me up to Cerro de Pasco and from there there would be two options via Canta or via La Oroya and Ticlio (where I came from). My preference was via Canta, partly as I wanted to go where I hadn’t been before and partly to avoid the Ticlio pass again.
I checked into the same hotel I had used on the outward journey, cleaned myself, clothes and the bike. Went out to find out more about the route via Canta. In one of the local bus companies, I guy told my the road to Canta was only partly asphalted. That made the decision easy – La Oroya and Ticlio it was. However to add some variation I wanted to stay overnight in Junin a small village giving the name to the region of the high mountains.
A side note: The whole missing road thing was annoying. I knew beforehand the road might not be asphalted, so I had spent a lot of time traversing the road with google maps, to ensure it was asphalted. I somehow felt I had done what I could to prepare. What I had not done, check the date of the google street view footage. After the fact is was from 2013. So that is something to consider. Also I noticed the road in the real world, did not follow my map. I therefore suspect the old road was replaced, partly, by a new road, but they never finished the new road and left the start and end unfinished. That is Peru.
Anyway, I did the planning and for once went for a beer in the evening before bed. Next day would be hard, but nothing extraordinary.
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