July 29-August 2: Tulcán to Quito via bus

July 29, 2022 to August 2, 2022

At 10am, Thomas, Lou, Matheus, Brian, his dog Playa, and I all boarded a bus in Tulcán bound for Quito. The driver was none too happy about having to load up 5 bikes and a trailer but with enough finessing we were able to make it all fit. It was a slow trudge to Quito, with frequent stops and vendors constantly passing through to sell everything from hamburgers to perfume to tropical fruit. But damn if it wasn't a beautiful ride. We crossed through enormous valleys with snowcapped volcanos dotting the horizon in every direction. I'm suddenly very sad that I won't be joining Brian and Girish for the Trans-Ecuador Mountain Bike Route. That will just have to wait for a different summer.

We made it to Quito at 4:30 after 6 hours of sleepless jostling. Our hostel was 15km away, and we decided to ride there since it was primarily downhill. After loading up our bags we hit the road, I for the final time navigating into a Latin American metropolis. There's something comical about how hectic the riding can be when entering a city. You find yourself flying downhill, dodging potholes and Kia Picantos and motos all while lumbering buses are on your tail, spewing smoke as they rocket pass. It's objectively terrible riding, but sort of fun after-the-fact.

Drone shot of the Centro Historico from the roof of our hostel.

We made it to our hostel safely with about a half hour of daylight to spare. What we hadn't realized was that it was at the top of five flights of stairs! The physical challenge was not over yet, but we managed and settled in. It was finally time to relax, eat, and decompress.

Over the following two days we ran a number of errands, including unloading our bikes and hauling them back down the stairs to a local bike shop. There were about 20 shops within five blocks of our hostel, so I chose one at which to get my bike cleaned and to grab a bike box. Avianca Airlines requires quite a small box for flying, so I had my work cut out for me packing everything down. I was certainly glad to have a few days to do so!

We found Quito to be eerily quiet for such a large metropolis. Walking around the centro histórico at dusk was particularly unnerving, almost post-apocalyptic in a way. We found other livelier parts of town to the north when exploring on bike on our third day.

Enjoying a small bici-cafe. I ordered a small beer and I still got this gargantuan beverage! Ecuadorians clearly like their cerveza.

Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 2,212 km (1,374 miles)

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