peru mountain biking
A VERY SACRED VALLEY
Curious kids that greet riders in small mountain villages of the Sacred Valley.
Riding through settlements where time has stood still on ancient Inca singletrack in the high Andes.
PHOTOS CHRIS CHRISTIE
Up early after sleeping like the dead. Three coffees and a heaping plate of huevos and I’m beginning to feel normal. Don’t forget to hydrate, I think to myself. Cusco sits at 3400 meters, definitely high enough to feel the effects of altitude. Add some strenuous days, jet lag, a dry climate and a few too many pisco sours last night. Our guide and our driver are loading up bikes in Cusco’s main square, reminiscent of a grand plaza in Spain. The sun is climbing in the sky and getting more intense by the minute. The anticipation is mounting for another amazing day ahead as members of the group trickle into breakfast.
We load up the van and start driving on old cobble and bumpy streets that soon turn to dirt. 45-minutes later we arrive in a small village with houses built with red clay and hay bricks. There are pigs strolling about freely and groups of curious kids with colourful knitted tuques greet us and marvel over our bikes. Women wear traditional brimmed hats and everyone’s skin is leathery and tanned with strong rough hands. Life is simple here but clearly people work hard to exist, very hard. They are quiet and curious with intense eyes and I’m not sure if they understand my few words of broken Spanish.
Shuttles to high places and descents that last most of the day.
We’re above 3800 meters now and I don’t feel the altitude, yet. Our guide lets us know that today’s ride starts with a 1.5 hour climb with several switchbacks. I get my bike and check it over, fill my hydration pack and bottle with recovery drink. Off we go. Within five minutes we leave the tree line and continue up a doubletrack road. I am in my granny gear and moving as slowly as possible yet breathing heavily, at times feeling like I’m nearing my max. I can barely keep going by somehow I keep the wheels turning. The road’s grade changes – one switchback is nearly flat, the next steeper, great for resting and trying to get the heart and lungs to rest up. Three local kids hike past me nearly running – they are bringing up a bag of energy drinks and some snacks. For some strange reason im starting to feel better with every pedal stroke.
The landscape is reminiscent of Scotland’s Highlands or Mongola or the South Island of New Zealand – except higher, way higher. Grassy mountains in all directions with shepherds and their flocks of sheep in the distance. We gather at the top and thank the locals that worked so hard to bring us snacks. Time to drop the saddles and start a multi-hour descent on another amazing historical Inca trail.
Peru, is amazing.
Join us on one of our Peruvian mountain bike adventures we have trips running in April and from September to November.
Rider Andreas Hestler sharing technology with local kids.
One of the highlights of this trip are the cultural experiences. Meeting the strong and proud locals in very remote places that only a mountain bike can take you to.
49kms down, 7km to go. The famous Olleros trail from 14,000 feet to the seashore. Truly epic.
That time we used grizzled mountain horse-donkeys to access the trailhead. The place they took us to was unbelievable.
Dreamy rock slab playground near an ancient Inca village.
Memories that seriously last a lifetime. Last ride, last light near Lima.
So much singletrack.
Ah, what mountain biking looked like in 2009. Narrow bars, long stem, baggy shorts. And yes, one glove?!
