Cycling from Logrono to Limon in Ecuador
Each day of my bike tour from Alaska to Argentina, I wrote a blog post. This one is from Ecuador, and the day I cycled from Logrono to Limon.
Cycling in the rain in Ecuador
Blog post written June 25th 2010
It had rained heavily overnight, and when I set out in the morning, the road was still wet, and clouds covered the sky.
It drizzled for most of the day, with one enormous downpour which I managed to sit out in a restaurant at the junction town of Bella Union.
The road into Bella Union itself was quick and easy, and along the way, I saw the biggest snail I have ever seen.
That's a big snail. A very big snail !
Working out the route through Ecuador
In Bella Union, I asked around about cycling onward and avoiding going to Cuenca, and yes, it was indeed possible. That was a result, and opened up a little cycled route for me.
The map that I bought in Quito must have been quite out of date not to have shown that piece of road.
In fact, as I left Bella Union and the day went on, I decided that the map for this section wasn't even good enough to wipe my bum with (too shiny, non-absorbent and the edges were a bit sharp).
What I thought were quite detailed topographical markings may as well have been drawn by a blind drunk man using his feet, and the major town of Gral. Leonidas Plaza Gutierrez I was heading for actually turned out to be called Limon.
Although there were downhill sections, any time that I had to turn the pedals, was to go uphill, and the finish by 12.00 that I had in mind was extended until 14.30, as the final 43 kms took nearly three and a half hours to complete.
Still, its all part of the challenge, and now I've had a little moan, I feel a lot better!
Tomorrow, I have between 90 and 100 km to cycle to the town of Gualaquiza (if its called that when I get there).
My map seems to indicate two possible routes - One over a mountain range, and one down through a valley. I'll have to stop and ask a few people along the way to get a better idea of which one to take.
(Personal note - R.I.P Gary. 15 years. Fucking unbelievable - Still)
Read more about cycling from Alaska to Argentina
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Dave is a UK travel writer living in Athens since 2015. With 20 years of firsthand travel experience and over 80,000 km of bicycle touring across six continents, he's been blogging at Dave's Travel Pages since 2005. Every guide is based on places he's actually been.
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