Friday, January 12, 2001 - I rode after school today. It's been a rainy week, but the rain has ocurred mostly in the early morning hours. Despite all the rain, it hasn't been very muddy. That truly has been a blessing which I didn't expect - the lack of mud in a place with twenty-two feet of rain a year.
     I passed a lady carrying a baby with her breast hanging out, a couple pigs, two kids riding on a small horse (or maybe it was a donkey, I couldn't tell), several cows tethered with ropes around one leg, a man on a bicycle carrying a chainsaw on his back, two boys lying on their stomachs as they tried to catch fish in a stream, and on the way back I breathed fumes from a very smelly car. It smelled like gas fumes, which was unusual because most vehicles around here belch burned oil.
     My cyclometer didn't seem to be working at first, and I suspected it needed new batteries. About half way through the ride it began to work again. Don't know what is going on with that, except it got very wet when I rode with it on Wednesday. I don't think that should have bothered it though; it's been through the washing machine before.

Monday, January 8, 2001 - The falling rain almost kept me from riding today. It wasn't raining hard, but just enough to make me think twice. By the time I had changed, the rain had stopped. I put my camera in my CamelBack and went out for ten miles. The ride took me down the dirt road to the little village of San Jose. This is actually part of the 'Dog Loop', but instead of riding the loop, I turned back at San Jose. Along the way I rode through spots of rain. Nothing hard, but enough to keep me cool.
     I rode very little over the break. I wish I had ridden more, only because I've lost some of the fitness I had gained in previous months. I still plan to ride up to Baños and back, and that seventy mile will require me to be in good shape. Maybe spring break would be a good time to try that ride.

Sunday, April 1, 2001 - This was no April Fool's joke. I finally made the ride to Baños. I had hoped to do it as early as last Thanksgiving. I kept putting it off until now.
     As I began the ride I was concerned with how my legs did not feel strong, but a little tight. I hadn't ridden since Tuesday, and had spent three days in Quito. About an hour into the ride I began to loosen up. By the end of the ride, I was still feeling strong, with no hints of cramps. I wasn't expecting that.
     The ride took five hours and twenty minutes, and I covered seventy-two miles. A little over half of that was on pavement; the rest was on mostly dry dirt. By the time I rode back down to Shell, the road was quite dusty. On Friday when I came back from Quito, I was worried that the road might be too wet. I didn't want to ride mile after mile on wet, muddy road. The roads dry out so quickly here, I think because of the large amount of evaporation. Thankfully it didn't rain on me as I rode. I was prepared to ride in the rain, but I didn't want to. By prepared, I mean mentally, because it would be crazy to ride in the rain here with a rain jacket. It's much too warm. Riding in the rain here is often like riding in a lukewarm shower.
     I rode on a semi-slick 1.95 tire in the rear. This wasn't great on the loose dirt as I descended, but since so much of the ride was on pavement it was a good choice. The tire worked well for climbing on the dirt; it was on the descent as I cornered that it became a little sketchy.
     The elevation in Shell is 3400 feet, and I climbed to about 6400 feet in Baños. That's a gain of about 3000 feet in 32 miles. The rie to Baños took me 2:50, and the return was 2:10. I was in Baños only twenty minutes, buying some syrup for Ellyn, and some Coke, water, and a piece of bread for me.