We awoke to another sunny day, and one of the clearest, though maybe that was because it was also our earliest start so far, leaving the hotel at 6:30. We jumped on a blue bus to get to our meeting place – more satisfying than taking a taxi, a tenth of the price, and a tad more exciting since we don’t actually know where the buses are going.
Our group for the day comprised 2 Dutch girls, 3 Aussies, and a Zimbabwean – all relatively fit and fun to be with.
After half an hour or so driving, Cotopaxi came into view, shining white and magnificent! Unfortunately, by the time we started the drive up the dirt road to the mountain it was hidden by cloud, but at least we had seen it. Maybe it was cheating to take the jeep to the highest point, and just cycle downhill. We saw that Swedish Armed Forces cycled up the hill too… But hey we’re on holiday! And we did manage a 12 min walk straight up the steep hill from the car park and run down again before we set off on the bikes. We reached 4700m and it felt much better than last time.
As we rode downhill it started to hail – sharp bits of ice that were rather painful when they hit you on the nose – but it didn’t last for long and soon there were glimpses of sun again.
The views were great, it was easy riding and we held a good pace. We stopped for lunch by a building and were soon glad to shelter under the edge of the roof as it started to rain. It was a real downpour, interspersed with more hail. Here the group split, four retreating to the jeep whilst four continued by bike into the thunderstorm, although the rain had eased off a little. We flew down the last hills and were pleased we had chosen to finish the bike ride.
Back at the hotel we were quick to check the internet – information about the race logistics has been published! Now we can really start our planning.
More pictures from the trip:
English
Norsk 
