May 14, 2025
Day 1: Pig or Dog?
Our first day of biking! And a beautiful one at that. We packed up the bike, ate breakfast and drank coffee and headed out around 7:50am. We started the ride by visiting our favorite friends, Steve and Koos. They gave us an extra dehydrated meal and took photos of us as we started our journey. Koos reassured us that the dogs wouldn’t be too bad going out of town. They even gave us a goodbye hug!
With that, we were off! Navigating the streets of Huaraz on our tandem. Weaving through busy streets and alleys, we eventually found ourselves on the main road headed out of town. Unfortunately there were dogs. Lots of them. Some chased us and barked. We got off the bike a lot and practiced the rock strategy (pretending to throw a rock) which seemed to be effective. On one switchback we came across other bikers! They were a very nice couple from Austria doing a loop version of the Divide. They were carrying a stick for the dogs—smart! Our eyes were frequently scanning for dogs, and there were multiple moments where we thought we spotted a dog in the distance, but alas it was just a pig! Lots of pigs on leashes along the side of the road.
We continued biking up the nice graded road (3% baby) and made our way through cute towns. The dogs got better as we left Huaraz Adrenaline and smooth road riding carried us through the first half of the day. And then things started feeling hard when the route detoured off the main road and onto chunkier, slow moving gravel. We were around 12,000 feet at this point. Megan shed a few tears (likely the first of many). Altitude is hard! And so is maneuvering a tandem on chunky gravel! Erin is the world’s best stoker and she validated that yes, it is hard! And it’s going to keep being hard, and that’s okay.
Things got better after that as we returned to smooth road and transitioned between road and gravel. The views of the mountains were incredible!
We got a minor tire puncture (glass on the side of the road?) but it sealed quickly. We made our way into the town of Conococha (50 miles into the route). We thought we could make it there today but didn’t want to put pressure on ourselves. The town was so cute! There was some sort of celebration happening, with the sound of a live band echoing through the town and lots of people walking around. People typically look at us as we bike by, usually sporting a huge grin (and sometimes a confused look). We wave, and they wave back. Everyone, including us, is smiling big. These small moments of connection feel so meaningful. After stocking up on water, we biked another 4 miles to our campsite - a flat spot behind some dirt mounds, with gorgeous 360 views of the valley and surrounding mountains. We got to camp just in the nick of time, as it started raining right when we put up our tent. Luckily, the rain passed quickly and we were able to cook dinner outside, with a pink sunset as our backdrop.
This is our first time using an alcohol stove, which was recommended for this route given the limited availability of small propane canisters. It’s certainly a learning experience! Plus, our lighter didn’t light - maybe the altitude? Our back-up lighter worked, thank goodness (even after Erin dropped it in the alcohol), so we were able to have our warm pasta dinner. A good reminder to buy and carry matches just in case.
We cuddled up in the tent around 6:45pm, wiped and ready to sleep! Elevation: 13,800 feet. Overall, a great first day. Hopefully we can get some sleep tonight (and no Charlie’s horses from our tired legs). We are excited for the miles to come!
Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 55 miles (89 km)
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