Jenn bought me a trip to the Galapagos Islands for my graduation present. As a special treat, she tacked on a day at the beginning to visit Cotopaxi, one of the largest equatorial volcanos, and take a mountain bike trip down it and through the surrounding countryside. We woke up very early after our long day of travel, both feeling like we hadn't had enough sleep, and headed out to meet our guide and the one other person coming with us. The company is known as the Biking Dutchman and our guide loaded us up in his beat up Toyota and drove us to Cotopaxi National Park.
The way up was beautiful, lots of great views and small mountain lakes:
Cotopaxi was shrouded in clouds, but began to peek out as we got closer:
We got to the top and suddenly all the clouds went away, the wind stopped, and it got clear and warm. The guide looked confused and informed us that this never happens, it's usually frigid and cloudy. Who are we to complain, though?
Unloading the gear and getting ready:
The beginning of our trip:
The first part was an exercise in control. The road was loose, dusty and steep - getting out of control would have meant no chance of stopping. Jenn did awesome, at first being terrified that this was her first real ride in 10+ years (nice way to be reintroduced - going down the side of a volcano) but as her confidence increased, so did her speed and we were crusing after a little while.
Despite it being labeled as a "downhill ride" the second half of the trip was primarily rolling hills and flat areas. Let me tell you, biking up hills at 13,000 ft. is no easy task. Even the small hills had us breathing heavy when we crested them. Amazing how little oxygen is available. The trail wasn't much of a road anymore, more like a doubletrack.
We eventually reached more grassy areas where the trail virtually disappeared in sections and we were just cruising through the volcano valley. Absolutely beautiful.
Fantastic trip. Jenn is to be commended on how quickly she picked up some skills, even hitting a little jump towards the end. I had stopped, saw where she was headed, and shouted "DON'T BRAKE" - she faithfully trusted my suggestion (not always a good idea), zipped over the jump and landed without a wiggle
Full trip report from the Galapagos can be found here.
The way up was beautiful, lots of great views and small mountain lakes:
Cotopaxi was shrouded in clouds, but began to peek out as we got closer:
We got to the top and suddenly all the clouds went away, the wind stopped, and it got clear and warm. The guide looked confused and informed us that this never happens, it's usually frigid and cloudy. Who are we to complain, though?
Unloading the gear and getting ready:
The beginning of our trip:
The first part was an exercise in control. The road was loose, dusty and steep - getting out of control would have meant no chance of stopping. Jenn did awesome, at first being terrified that this was her first real ride in 10+ years (nice way to be reintroduced - going down the side of a volcano) but as her confidence increased, so did her speed and we were crusing after a little while.
Despite it being labeled as a "downhill ride" the second half of the trip was primarily rolling hills and flat areas. Let me tell you, biking up hills at 13,000 ft. is no easy task. Even the small hills had us breathing heavy when we crested them. Amazing how little oxygen is available. The trail wasn't much of a road anymore, more like a doubletrack.
We eventually reached more grassy areas where the trail virtually disappeared in sections and we were just cruising through the volcano valley. Absolutely beautiful.
Fantastic trip. Jenn is to be commended on how quickly she picked up some skills, even hitting a little jump towards the end. I had stopped, saw where she was headed, and shouted "DON'T BRAKE" - she faithfully trusted my suggestion (not always a good idea), zipped over the jump and landed without a wiggle
Full trip report from the Galapagos can be found here.
Last edited:
