I haven’t ridden in a few days. The fact of the matter is that it’s been hard to go through Medellin, Carti or Quito without a bit of partying. I haven’t fessed up to this before, but now I can, because I’m comfortable that ‘it won’t happen again‘ because there seems to be a big social blank ahead on the map for quite a long way, like thousands of miles. Maybe.
This morning Lucinda and I headed off into the mountains, alone together for the first time in awhile. The track
Quito is at 9300 feet and we’re rapidly over 11000 feet passing through small villages. Lucinda’s happy to be the focus of attention. This is someone’s driveway
The mountains are lush but steep sided and the riding requires concentration
The trees are high canopy
We arrive at Mindo, a town that’s famous for being in a reserve with one of the highest concentration of birds in the world – over 450 species. But I’m doing an out-and-back, shaking cobwebs out and do a u-ey through the eco industry town so don’t stop
Back down through the mountains
To here.
I’m trophy hunting for something in this valley, the reason we headed NW this morning
I’ve set my GPS earlier in the day with a waypoint crossing the equator.
But we’re out by 97 feet
I find the exact hit, mas o menos about 2 feet, just a bit away around Moraspungo street
Here we are exactly, at the side of the road, the equator, 0 00.000. I sit on the opposite road side and look at her for a while, appreciating our many miles together, how pretty she is, how she listens quietly to every trouble I have, how she carries me through when I’m finished and have nothing left, and I wonder if she knows I’ll never leave her for another
A detail from the day’s track
We’ll be crossing 0 00.000 the other way together, with luck, on the other side of the Pacific, in about 10 months. But that’s just an idea, who knows what will happen.
Comments
Re “I wonder if she knows I’ll never leave her for another”… one day when you’re back on land, a Ducati will pass by and flip up her red skirt at you. And in a shot, you’ll be off in hot pursuit.