Look at the jaunty angle of my bicycle as it casually rests against this mountainside wall. This picture speaks volumes of the terrain I am now riding through.
Glutton for punishment that I am, from Loja, Ecuador I decided to push on to San Ignacio, the first town across the Peruvian border in two days. Little did I know the challenge this would pose to me!
Spectacular scenery, some of the best I was to encounter in Ecuador. My photos don´t really do the landscape justice but trust me, the downhill road you can see across this mountainside was a dream to ride on. It passes through the pristine Podocarpus National Park which, aside from the road, showed no sign of human development.
Riding up to the highest point the slopes were brutal and in some stretches I was managing just 4 mph and taking breaks every 20 minutes. These mountains just weren´t designed for roads.
A common problem between Loja and San Ignacio - landslides and mud slumps. Credit to the Ecuadorian authorities, bulldozers were on-hand ready to clear the debris along most of the route. I got a bit muddy at times but on a bike you can soon nip through and I was rarely delayed for more than a few minutes.
Last stop in Ecuador, the sleepy village of Palanda where for only the third time in three weeks I had to pay for accommodation. My hotel room cost me the princely sum of $5 and, to be honest, I got what I paid for. Still, exhausted, I didn´t really care that my room resembled a prison cell, I just needed a quiet place to lie down. 9,500 ft of elevation gain in the days ride.
Riding on from Palanda I was absolutely single-minded in my desire to reach San Ignacio by the end of the day. This days ride made the previous one look like child´s play! Despite the pouring rain I knew I had to get started early and was on the road, getting drenched at 7am. Pretty soon I couldn´t see a thing through my specs and had to put contact lenses in. Not only were there more landslides on the road to the border but it was mud tracks all the way.
Road or river? To think that three weeks ago I entered Ecuador near Tulcan on a three lane paved highway. What a contrast, this road had a remote, rural feel that, with the steep slopes, was a challenge to ride. I was certainly getting my money´s worth from my new 2.25 inch tyres. 
What a slog it had been but, seven hours later and with the weather improving, Peru was finally in sight. In this picture it´s the territory on the far side of the river.
2:30pm. Stamped out of Ecuador and I just needed to cross the bridge to get my entry stamp for Peru and I´d be away. Four hours before nightfall, just enough time to ride the final 30 miles uphill to San Ignacio. If only the immigration post was open! Every afternoon the ´24 hour´ border post closes between 2-4pm which means I was stuck, frustrated, waiting for 1.5 hours before I could ride on. The immigration officer was very friendly and said I was welcome to camp there for night. But it was humid and sticky, I was being bitten by flies and when he told me it probably wasn´t sensible to ride on to San Ignacio, well, it was like a red rag to a bull. So stamped in at 4pm I jumped back on the bike, ignored all my aches and pains and made a beeline for San Ignacio. It was an intense ride! More downpours, I got drenched to the bones as made my way up the endless uphill curves. I knew I wouldn´t make it in daylight and I hate riding in the dark but, as I said, I was utterly inflexible in my desire to reach San Ignacio this day. There were many moments when I regretted riding on but I saw the ride through and rolled into San Ignacio at 7:30pm, after an hours night riding in the rain. Pretty miserable really! At least I have good lights (and a sense of humour).
Market in San Ignacio. My 15 soles low budget hotel room, another prison cell, felt palatial. As always with these mega rides, I was absolutely elated to have made it in one piece and vowed never to put myself under such pressure again. Until the next time.
In two days I´d covered 150 miles with an elevation gain of over 21,000 ft. I later realised that on this second ride I´d made a new elevation record of over 11,000 ft in one day.
It was Good Friday in San Ignacio, nearly all the shops were closed up and there wasn´t much going on so I decided to have an easy day riding on. 
First proper days ride in Peru was a beauty, descending from into a river valley lined with rice paddies. Expansive landscapes, more sparsely populated than most of what I´d seen in Ecuador and Colombia.
After stopping to take this picture I met two English cyclists, Jules and Nicky Anderson, heading north. Nicky was also riding an Oxford Bike Works touring bike! I could have chatted to them all afternoon, great to feel a bit of solidarity on the road. They had a great piece of advice for me - two miles up the road, in a small village, Perico, lives a guy called Milton who lets cyclists stay at his house.
So with just 33 easy miles on the clock I stopped for the day and gratefully accepted the wonderful hospitality of Milton, Daisy, Hamilton and Jack (two sons). Unlike in Ecuador and Colombia I just don´t have a network of contacts to depend upon on the road ahead so I was delighted, second day in, to have this contact with the local people.
A very peaceful afternoon, Milton took me up to his plantation where we drank coconut water and ate the sweet flesh from cocoa bean fruit - delicious. Milton is not part of Warm Showers or any other cycling network but has helped hundreds of cycle tourists over the years purely through word of mouth. Flicking through his visitors book it was great to see entries from cyclists I´d met in Mexico and Central America.
Moving on, more fantastic scenery.
Local knowledge is invaluable and Milton was able to show me a route that would take me off the main road, cut a corner and save a days riding on the way towards Chachapoyas.
Including a fun river crossing.
Fat tyres or not, this was too big to ford...
I spent the night in Bagua Grande before embarking on another mega ride, 80 miles uphill to Chachapoyas. The lesson learned two days earlier was already forgotten, another tough day in the saddle!
Nevertheless, the scenery did distract and the reality is that I´m in Peru with some of the world´s toughest riding. My fitness levels are sky high right now, if I can´t ride these roads now I´ll never be able to. Honestly, with just two months to go, there are moments when I think I should just store the bike in Lima and see out my time backpacking around Peru and other parts of South America. That would be easier. And a cop out. And guaranteed that I´d be missing out on incredible experiences and memories.
No option but to ride on. Dan, you can do this!
Riding up the river valley towards Chachapoyas the landscape narrowed to a spectacular gorge.
Chachapoyas, a pretty little Andean town that attracts its fair share of tourists.
Though today was a bright, sunny day I felt no guilt whatsoever in spending most of my time relaxing in the backpackers hostel, my first rest day after 12 arduous days in the saddle. I´ve spent the day reading, eating, drinking coffee, sharing stories with other travellers, it´s been awesome!
Oh dear, I hope I don´t look as tired and run down as my shoes! Taped up, these shoes will just have to make it through the next two months, I don´t think I´m going to be able to find a new pair of cleated shoes in rural Peru.
This trip has been an object lesson in making do. I rode for 6 months with a completely mangled pannier rack - it worked out. The protective coating on my glasses flaked off in the States - I can still see. My sleeping mat regularly deflates by the middle of the night - I just have to blow it up again, I can still sleep.
These things do get a bit wearing if I´m being honest but this trip has taught me how to endure petty annoyances and made me realise how comfortable my life is. Water, food, shelter and social contact, what else do you need?
Chachapoyas market.
Well dear reader, this is where I´m up to. I go to bed tonight with slight trepidation about the road ahead, three tough days on to Cajamarca from where I´ll be riding south towards the spectacular Cordillera Blanca.
Remember, you can motivate me and contribute to a wonderful cause by making a donation to OXFAM. Big or small, I appreciate any sponsorship in the fight against global poverty.
Click here to find out how Peru has cut its poverty by half in 10 years: Cutting Poverty in Peru
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