Easy day...easy living

November 18, 2007
Barranca to Lima,
The ride from the Beach side of Barranca along the Pan American coastal road of central Peru into Lima was brisk and cloudy with a light mist in the air that did not want to penetrate the sandy desert that lay on the outskirts of our tarmac. Winding through the skirts of the Andes that poked off into the Pacific, we climbed a wonderful dune two hours into the trip, only to find a group of six long boarders (a long board is like a little surf board on wheels, or rather a long skateboard used for downhill) cruising down the Pan American in Peru, with the trailer tucked in position holding a video camera. All of the riders, covered in protective gear and full helmets, gripped onto their surf cruiser, only a half mile off the Pacific coast, tucked in a 50 mile per hour race into the Peruvian dawn. A couple of guys in the group noticed us on our large bikes and stood up from their aerodynamic stance to give a ¨shout out¨ and acknowledge the similar taste for adventure sport in foreign land.
The Pan American took us straight though Lima, to much of our surprise, lacking any congestion. With only two gas station attendants and one taxi driver with a map, we found our house where we are now staying. It is a wonderful couple, who are good friends with the family of my friend Andrea from Lawrence. The house is lovely and their hospitality is more than I could have ever asked for. We have already attended to the much needed services our bikes were do for, and now have a few days before our friend Shawn flies into Lima, and we take off for Cusco.
My beard is growing for the mountains, my mind is growing with each new adventure, and my heart has opened up a little more with each smile. I am accomplishing exactly what I had set of to do.