Yesterday I got up early but was out on the road somewhat late out of Tulcan. I stopped out on the edge of town at a restaurant and went in side and said to the guy ‘deseuno’ which means breakfast if I got that spelled right. He said ‘completo?’ and I said ‘Si’ and sat down and waited what ever might come my way. Well he brought me a big glass of fresh juice a big platter of rice with French fries, a fried egg, a piece of thin sliced meat that was tougher than leather almost, but tasted good, a cup of coffee and a big roll. After eating almost all of it and paying the exorbitant price of $1.75 I walked outside to find my bike surrounded with motorcycles. It turns out that it was Sacha (the guy I rode into Panama and shipped our bikes to Bogota) and four guys and a gal from Medellin, Colombia on their way to Quito. They asked if I wanted to ride along and what the hell, sure if it isn’t too fast and crazy. It turned out that they were really nice to ride with. They are all young but look out for each other and were safe to ride with. They might have traveled a bit faster than I would travel on my own but I felt ok with them. The scenery coming into Ecuador was similar to Colombia and just as nice.
Ecuador-farms X
As we were riding along we came to a place where we all stopped to take photos of the first snow I have seen since leaving the North Country. One of the Colombian guys asked me if I have ever seen anything like that and I told him I was from Montana…Ha, ha, ha. He says that there is a place up near their home but they have to ride three hours to see snow.
First snow X
As we were heading down a nice straight stretch of road we came across this section of highway that I think was being used to dry some hay. There was a policeman on a motorcycle there talking with some guys but he didn’t seem concerned. As we proceeded down the road the ‘hay’ was piled along side the road I guess after it was cured.
Road hay X
We stopped to have lunch and I got a photo of all the bikes in a line. This was the first real chance I got to talk with the guys and they are really a nice bunch of guys. They speak some English and some of them very well.
Lunch bikes X
We stopped at the point where the equator crosses the road and of course that is a photo op for sure.
Bike at equator X
Ah, for my flower friends, a flower that I found on the equator.
Equator flower X
After the equator it was not far into Quito. One of the Colombian guys had a list of hotels that a friend had given him and we charged off into this huge city to find one. We stopped and asked directions several times until a guy on a bike like a couple of the Colombians ride came up and asked what we needed. He then proceeded to lead us downtown and right to this really nice hotel/hostel in the older part of town. There were a lot of gringo people walking around and the place was clean and fairly cheap so we claimed a couple of rooms and settled in. I walked out and found the two Colombian guys that I had met the day before outside the hotel. They were looking for a room but I think they need something a little more plush. Not long after that a couple more guys pulled in and I got to talking with one guy riding a KLR from Canada and we seemed to hit if off well together. Some gray hair, his name is Jim and he is a tour guide in the Banff Lake Louise area in Canada. The other guy was riding a 950 KTM and I was saying that I saw a tire changed on one of those bikes in Creel, Mx at the horizons meeting and if I had a bike like that I would sell it rather than change a tire on it. Hell it turns out he was the guy that owned the bike and changed the tire in Creel. I didn’t recognize him as I hadn’t talked with him at Creel but just watched the tire change. He is from South Africa and had just shipped his bike to San Francisco and rode down to Creel, his name is Mike and he is really a nice guy. Not long after that Jim and Mike met a guy that they knew from Mexico who was taveling with his girlfrind/wife?? I am not sure where they are staying but near here I think or might even be staying here, I don’t know.
So it turns out that in this huge city some bikers from all over the world come to the same spot and we have been having a great time.
We went out to eat last night at a restaurant and after went over to a place to have a beer. It turns out that Jim and Mike had gone in there the night before and been greeted buy the owner who is Canadian. I stayed and had one beer and called it an night and went back to the room and sacked out.
This morning thing sort of got rolling slow and sometime after lunch we all hopped on our bikes and headed out to the Equator spot that they have developed near town. The guys got out their GPS units and found that the spot is actually near here but not quite where they have this big theme park built. I think that they just had a piece of land or bought it and built it here for convenience. It is close so good enough I guess. We all had our photos taken of us straddling the line.
Rx equator
Ok
I took a photo of another flower at this equator spot too.Flower X
It appears that we all are going to stay here in Quito for New Years eve and will be rolling out soon after. I think Sacha is going to have to stay longer as his 12,000 mile service is due on his bike. He is really chomping at the bit to get going but the service is required for the guarantee to be good. There are a lot of foreigners here as it is a good place to seek out eco tours, white water rafting, hiking, the Galapagos islands and lots of other stuff. There are lots of outdoor gear places and several internet places right near the hotel. It is nice here and lots of bars for the guys to hang out in. they got in last night between one and three. Some of them didn’t look so good this morning. It could be the elevation too, yuck, yuck…..