South America

JB · South America

John Brown here from Argentina, thought this would be easiest way to let members of the club know how i´m getting on, I remember promising Hilary at my party I would, but I couldn´t remember her address. Guess everyone knows coxy went his own way, it was his choice, its seems funny looking back, but last time I saw him he was marching off into the distance across some wild desert grassland shouting and swearing. We never had an argument he just seemed to crack up.

That was way back in December, since then i´ve been going at a steady pace, I had a couple of weeks over christmas in Chile where its never seemed to stop raining and the road was quite bad gravel. Sometimes I had to drag my bike out of the gravel and try again, it got really hard sometimes. But since new year i´ve been in Argentina, i´ve biked through amazing scenary with lakes and mountains everywhere, ran half way up a volcano, they wouldn´t let me go any further in my puma racers which now look like flip flops.

The roads have improved and I plan to stay in Argentina all the way to the Bolivian border. Its much cheaper than Chile, you can have an enormous steak and beer in restaurant for around a fiver.

I´ve seen a bit of wildlife too, a condor flew right over my head in Chile and the other day I was cycling late looking for place to camp by the road when a hairy trarantula looking spider the size of a small dinner plate just missed my front wheel. Camping that night was a bit scary.

Well done to Jones for retaining his northern title.

See everyone soon, don´t put me on any relay teams for a while when I get back my legs are looking more shirehorse than racing horse these days.

JB

roadrunner

Hey Browny, great to hear from you. Keep posting on this forum with updates. Its good to follow your progress.
Northerns was a tough race. Some loevly mud and hills to run up and down. Enjoy the rest of your trip and catch up with you when you return home.
Andi

John123 · South America

John
Glad to hear you are okay and keeping the tarantulas at bay.
Keep up the good progress.
It's the Wheelers' Dinner on Saturday, so I'll let them know where you are.
We had one member cycling across USA from East to West with a small trailer behind. He wrote a good article for the Journal afterwards. Perhaps you can do the same about your South to North trip in South America, when you've rested and contemplated what you've done!!

Cheers for now.

Take Care

John123

duncanjak

found this photo on the web

roadrunner

Bloody hell, he's the best looking one out of them other three as well!!!

Mancitymonkey

Funny to see that despite everyone else looking like they need a good shave/ haircut/ wash, John's head is still nice and clean!

John123 · John Brown

I presume the photo was taken after Coxy had 'split' and before the other three became 'two' and before John left them all in his wake, as we would have expected him so to do!!!
We have a saying in the Wheelers - "You're a hard man, Curly", which would apply to John, were it not for the absense of hair!!

Further news awaited.

John123

admin

I checked the statistics the other day for the website.

There have been a few viewings of the website recently from Uraguay.

Is it possible that this is where John has moved on to?

JB

Hi Again,
I´m now in a place called Humahuaca, still argentina, but this area is more like Boliva, which is now only 100miles north of here. I arrived on friday, it was a hard day climbing all the time to the height here at around 3000m. I thought I would stay the day, to try and get acclimatised to the altitude which I have to say i´m finding very hard, I hope I feel normal again soon, cause right now its quite hard to breath well. I feel at bit nervous about the next month as I don´t think I´ll go below 3500m.

This is a bit of a crazy town, I arrived on festival weekend. Yesterday everbody squirts foam from cans and throws talc everywhere, I got covered. I was fortunate to camp next to 2 young chicks, wait for it, a swedish and french girl. The frenchie used to live in manchester and drank in the castle pub near piccadilly. How much of a coincidence is that! They took me to a special ceremony where we ate steak cooked on hot ashes on the ground. Then the most bizzare ritual of throwing beer over flags. I was given a flag to wave. It felt quite a privilege as we were the only non locals there.

Thanks for your good wishes from my first post. The photo was taken back in early december. I had just carried my bike 6k on track that led to Chile. The only advise I got was from the argentine police just follow the horse shit, it will lead to Chile. I met those guys the day coxy had his breakdown. They were fun guys to be around and they really helped me lift my spirts when I knew I would be spending the next 5 months alone.

Please write back some replies is great to hear how everyone is.

John.

roadrunner

It's sounding exciting John. Far more adventuroues than my recent trip to Snowbasin in Utah, USA. A month t altitude should be fun for you.
Enjoy it.

John123 · South America

John
Good to hear from you again. Glad you are still progressing well. I hope the next few weeks at altitude will not be too demanding. My son Chris and I found one day in the Alps, quite searching when we did L'Etape du Tour in 1998. We crossed the Col de la Croix de Fer. the Telegraph and the Galibier, before finishing the Stage up Les Deux Alps. All at altitude, but I think the Andes will top that lot.
Have you seen any other travellers since thos in your Photo?
Finally, just to cheer you up. Your Wheelers' subs are due!!! I will pay them for you ( for now! )
Cheers

John123

JB

John Brown Again. Thanks John, Is that 20 pounds I owe you.
Think last time I wrote I was still in Argentina, just climbing up to the Altiplano, I remember feeling pretty awful as I was trying to remember what my password was to get on this forum. I was probably around 3000m then. It was the start of 6 weeks where I don't think I dropped below 3500m. Riding the bike seemed a whole new experience. The slightest rise in the road would leave you panting like you'd ran a pb for 400m. Once I entered Boliva the nature of the whole trip changed completly. I was use to drinking a nice coffee and crispy croissants for breakfast. I entered Boliva in the morning, stamped in the country by a man in rags, and took breakfast sat on a tool in the street eating fried dough. Done by a fat woman in a bowler hat. The riding was then on pretty bad gravel roads. It was hot, but I could still get pop, sold from peasants in mud huts.

Right now i'm still in Peru. I've dropped from the mountains down to the coast. It was 50 miles of continuous downhill. I started in a hailstorm, where the hail stung my legs and finished in the driest desert you could imagine. So that's where I am, I've rode about 1600k up the coast. Including a 220k stint without a town or place to buy a drink. I was thinking of camping somewhere that day, but halfway through I met a tricycle motortaxi, the driver had ran out of petrol, so I gave him mine I use for the camping stove. That meant I was definately not camping. The scenary rarely changed, sand dune after sand dune. But tomorrow I should reach the Ecadourian border. From there i'll start the climb up into the mountains again.

I Know about what happen to Coxy, and it spooked me a bit. But to be honest i've been impressed by the warmness of the people. When I was on the altiplano going through villages of mud huts. My arm got knackard from all the waving at people who wanted to run alongside and say hello as I rode along.
I did have one idiot though who wanted to rob me in Lima but I was too shrewed for him and I gave him the slip.

John

John123 · South America

John.
Very glad to receive your first message since early March.
Looking at the map you seem to be three quarters of the way up to your goal. What a ride!!!
I hope all your experiences will now be good ones and you will keep your wits about you in case some are not.
Last Sunday was the Northern 12 Stage at Sunderland. We were 5th, with solid runs from everyone. We could have done with you though.
Next Saturday it's Sutton Park. Andi won our 10km at Littleton Road yesterday in 29.40. Tarus and Rob backed him up for 1st Team. There were nearly 600 runners.
Still aghast at your progress. Take care of youself.

John 123

roadrunner

Hey John,
Andi here. Boy you have mssed te fun of the 12 stage in which we could do with you. Talking to Croasedale on Frday. Make sure you are back in time for Europeans!!!! Also speaking with Barlow last night. (Team manager of GM fell team not ex chairman of FRA!) Told me you were expecting to be back for IC Fell which is 15th May, but seems very early for you to return. If you are back, are we going for a Greater Manchester clean sweep again? Its on the Crowden Horseshoe course, so I am sure you will know the route. Just up road from my house.
You bike ride puts the ones I do up and down the country pak to shame!!!!! One question I do have, have you got any good at wheelies since spending so ong on your bke?!?
See you when you get back in UK.
Andi

John123 · South America

John
Just another quick note in the hope you will catch it whilst you are in Equador.
I have been looking at the route through the high ground and it looks as if it passes close to Cotopaxi 5897m which is the world's highest active volcano. I remember it from Geography at school and have just had it up on Google. Stunning views from distance. I hope you see some of the same. Your altitude training will be legendary!!!
Keep battling.
Cheers for now.
John123

duncanjak · Quito

Hi all John has arrived in Quito, spoke with him tonight, hes now got a three week break before flying back, Anna is arriving tonight.

He had a great time and looking forwards to a relaxing three weeks...... YEAH, I'll believe that when I see it!

John123 · South America

Very relieved he has arrived at his destination.
Must admit I'm glad he didn't attempt Columbia!!

Thanks for the info, Duncan.

John123

JB

Hi Everyone, well the boy made it. When I last wrote I was still in Peru, but heading to the border on Ecuador the next day. I had enjoyed fast riding in Peru for around 1600k up the coast. Flattish but with a wind that gathered as the day went on. Sometimes i'd cruise along at 40k/h. As soon as I crossed the border the climate changed to humid sticky sweat your bollocks off in 5 minutes type of weather. The worst thing was the road though. For 850k I never had a single meter of flat road. I was constantly climbing and dropping between 3500m and 2000m, some of it ridiculously steep. I'd go from boiling to freezing in minutes. Some days I finished the day and just crawled knackard into bed.

The last couple of days felt easy, it was great to finally arrive in Quito, yesterday I rode out without any bags out to the equator. I wanted to get the photo of the bike next to the equator sign. It just felt like the obvious place to finish. It was hard to describe how I felt. Ushuaia seemed so far away. It was a 30k ride back to Quito. I decided to use the bus lane as the road was so busy. I had to race the buses so not to get run-down, I was speeding along at 50k/h just feeling so fit without any bags on the back.

John D put me in some races for the wheelers. Let me see how I do over 25mile.

John

John123 · South America

john
Just seen your latest posting. Glad you are feeling so fit. I'm not surprised!
Regarding races, we have club events out in Cheshire every other Thursday evening, starting on 10thMay. They are only 10milers, although we have a Hll Climb up the Cat and Fiddle in July. Should be up your street now, its only 6mles!
Open events you will have to enter on your own although I will give you the nod how to go about it. Entries have to be in two weeks before an event, but you have to enter individually. You choose your own preferences from a Handbook which has races in Cheshire and all over England. The Wheelers also promote a 50 which is on a Saturday evening 5pm start in early June. If you don't ride it you are expected to marshall!!
Something to think about.
Have a good few weeks holiday.
See you when you get back.
John123

John123 · Club Events

PS
Club Events enter on the night £1.50.

roadrunner

Congratulations John. You should be really pleased with your trip. The sights you have seen will stay with you forever. Now get home, get them running shoes on. We need you on the team!

JB

Don´t worry Andy lad, been doing some running these days. I've left the bike in Quito and are now travelling around the country. A few days ago I went over to the Cotapaxi national park. I stayed in a luxury mountain hut and did some running at 4000m. It makes training feel like a whole new experience. Its only possible to jog, and it feels like you're lungs are as small as 2 peas. Me and Anna hired a guide and we set off at midnight to climb the volcano. Anna could only manage to get to 4600m before falling down and vommiting a lot. Luckily she could stay in a refuge while I continued to the summit at 5897m. Got there as it was getting light. It was a scary experience, climbing on such steep icy slopes, but I never felt any effects of the altitude. I'm thinking of climbing Chimarazo this week. Thats 6300m.

I won't be back for intercounties fell, but hopefully I'll be fit when it comes to the euro trial. Training for that, today i'm hoping to run up volcano where I'm staying. Just to the last hut, at 3800m, i'm staying at 1900m, its an active one, and last night it was smoking.

See everyone soon, flying home on the 20th. Then pedalling up to manchester from Brighton.
JB

John123 · JB

Brighton to Manchester. A mere bagatelle!!
See you soon, John
Cheers
John123.[/img]

roadrunner