Rest Day - Huanchaco

Having spent the last seven days consecutively on the road and with a couple of days bush camping in a row, today was spent:·

•            Getting some laundry washing done
•            Doing a bit of bag reorganization;
•            Having a bit of a feed. There's a couple of good cheap restaurants in town.

Unfortunately some of the Bike Dream organised meals haven't been up to scratch in terms of replacing the calories burnt off on the road or of an appropriate nature to replenish our protein needs (well mine at least) and as a result the opportunity to restock them on rest days is something I try not to avoid doing.....

In the evening we all piled into a load of little taxis and headed into Trujillo.

It’s the third largest city in Peru and located on the banks of the Moche River, close to where it runs into the Pacific Ocean. 

Apparently it has great historic significance being home to the Moche and Chimu cultures which predate the Inca conquest and subsequent expansion. The reason for heading into Trujillo however was not to learn about its culture & history necessarily but rather because it is the city which our bike mechanic Lucho hails from and he & his family had decided that we the Bike Dreams mob, should enjoy some local hospitality. As a result had gone to great lengths to put on a party.

There was copious amounts of food and drink available, enough strobe lighting to put the MCG to shame and a DJ set which contained both seventies & eighties hits with which most of us were familiar, along with a good variety of Peruvian music.

I’ve got to say, Lucho is a very interesting, very friendly chap.

I just wish I could communicate with him better. My Spanish, though improving, is definitely able to cope with an in-depth conversation about the Pro Tour scene, his knowledge about what’s occurring in Peru, etc.

If you are ever in the area, on a bike, then make sure to head to Casa de Ciclistas, (essentially his home) which he opens up to long distance cyclists from around the world, for free, to give them an opportunity to share their stories and rest their weary bones…..