Day 2
Over the pass to Tarma
Distance: 125 Km 78 miles
Climbing: 1,700 meters 5,600 feet
Ending elevation: 10,000 feet
Road Surface: Paved
Today we started out with a continuation of the climb to the highest pass of our trip. We rode past some small towns, some large mines (silver and copper) higher and higher as the air got thinner and thinner. The mountains got larger; here are a couple shots looking back down the hill; you can see the road we came up, as well as the train track hugging the hillside with many tunnels (if you look carefully).
We saw many roadside shrines to commemorate crash victims; many with new flowers from Dia de los Muertos which was just a couple days ago. Here are a few (must have been a bad stretch), with the road in the background far below.
Here's a little lake as we approached the top:
And finally we reached the pass - 4,818 meters, 15,806 feet elevation. The world's highest railroad passes thru here. The air was thin; I was quite lucky that I felt no altitude sickness, but I certainly felt the lack of oxygen. Usual symptoms some had were headaches and nausea. The grade we were climbing was not steep, likely 5-6%, but it felt like much more, and it kept the speed slow. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to make the climb. Here's the requisite photo-at-the-top, the railroad sign, and another lake just past the summit.
After the top, we had a gradual downhill for a while, going thru small towns, working in small pacelines - something I'm not used to doing on a mountain bike. I was riding with Rick and James when we reached the lunch stop, but the lunch truck had not yet arrived. Lon joined us after a bit, so we went into the small town, and found a restaurant. The lunch truck eventually made it, but we had already ordered our food.
After lunch we started climbing again, more gradually, until we eventually hit the top of the climb. After waiting for Lon to fix a flat, we started an amazing descent into the town of Tarma, dropping 3,000 feet with some fun hairpins. Tarma was a beautiful area; many fields of flowers and terraced farms:
A nice hotel was waiting for us; the shower felt great after camping last night. And, the elevation was "only" 10,000 feet, so it was easier to sleep. Some of us headed into town for dinner - it was a very pleasant town. Below is a shot of the hotel, and some alpacas hanging out on the grounds. The last picture was taken at the town square; didn't come out great, but I was trying to capture the topiary tree in front of the church; if you look closely you can see a little animal on the top of the tree.
Day 3 - 2 more passes to Maria's at night