Lima, a city of 8 million
We flew in late and booked the expensive hotel next to the airport. In the morning we ate our included breakfast, built the bikes and hit the road. Immediately we were warned to be wary of Peruvian drivers and stay off the main roads. Navigating out of the airport complex and onto the road we immediately felt out of place. The horns sounded from every car and bus that passed us. We made for quieter roads and a moment to catch our breath. We needed to find a bike shop that had a headset spacer for Alexander, he had a wobble. On a bike path above the pacific ocean we made a plan to peddle a few blocks down and over to a bike shop we could see on google maps. Next we would find a camping store that sold isobutane fuel for the jetboil. After that we’d get some food and kill time until our 7pm bus departure. The bus would take us and our bikes south for 200 miles, over night to the mountain town of Huancavelica. We found the bike shop and quickly located a spacer of the right size. The shop owner didn’t want any money for it. So we high fived and I took his photo.
We found lunch at a restaurant selling Peruvian Japanese fusion. It was delicious. Late in the afternoon we made our way to the bus terminal. On the way we found a super store, a Walmart meets home depot. Alexander ran inside to look for gas that would work with his stove. One last chance before we left the city. Plan B was to use my stove that could burn gasoline but two stoves would be ideal. I stayed with the bikes, admiring our rigs. I was riding the titanium hardtail of my dreams and Alexander was riding a steal frame he had welded himself. Quite the pair.
Alexander’s search was successful and he returned with gas in hand. Our day of city errands was done, all that was left was to board our overnight bus. At the terminal we arrived early and confirmed our tickets. We relaxed for a moment, drinking coffee from the little cafe. A half hour passed before the employee approached us. I knew she had bad news. Quickly she informed us that the bus tonight was too full to fit our bikes. Our options were to travel without the bikes and ship them as a parcel the next day. or wait with our bikes and hope there was room on the next bus, 24 hours later. Leaving our bikes was out of the question. So with tickets stamped postponed, we left the terminal and rode into the night looking for a hotel and dinner.
Rolling Wheels 
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