Quito, Ecuador - Cotopaxi

Biking a Volcano
Cotopaxi is 30 miles south of Quito and stands 19,345 feet tall.  The only mountain in Ecuador that is taller is Chimborazo, another volcano 40 miles further south and 1,000 feet taller.  On a clear day you can see Cotopaxi from Quito.  It's almost perfectly conical and capped by a glacier that starts at 16,500 feet.  We signed ourselves up for a day tour - one in which you drive up to the edge of the glacier in a 4x4, then bicycle down into the valley below.  We were to ride approximately 25 miles.

Unlike the ascent we made in Cali, this was a much smarter idea, especially at 16,000 feet.  We were instructed to drink lots of water the day before, not to eat a heavy breakfast, dress in layers and be at the meeting point, a cafe in Quito, at 7am.  In the photo below, we'd be starting out at the reddish part of the volcano and cycling north, down into the valley, which is shadowed by two other volcanoes.

We met our guide, Alex, right on time at 7am.  He asked us to sign a waiver.

Then we hopped in the 4x4 and headed out.  It took us about an hour to get to there.  There were to be 4 of us on the tour but Alex told us the other two people canceled at the last moment.  When we arrived at the edge of the park, Alex picked up a local guide, Antonio, who'd cycle with us while Alex drove along behind.

The drive south was along the Panamerican highway - relatively smooth and downhill.  Dodo was ready - she had a backpack of all kinds of clothing.

While it had been sunny in Quito and we were hoping for the best, Cotopaxi was shrouded in cloud when we arrived.

We slowly zigzagged up and at about 15,000 feet all vegetation disappeared.  It looked like the moon.  We pulled off the road at 16,000 feet and got ready.  It was about 45 degrees with a 30-40 mile wind.  Absolutely freezing - and worse - the dirt and sand was swirling about.  Alex, a downhill mountain bike racer (nope, never heard of that either until today) gave us tips on how to descend this "technical part" of the ride.  He gave us tips on braking, on cornering, on keeping our weight evenly distributed.  We were to go down about 5 miles on a winding, sandy, rocky road.

While I was fiddling with my phone to get some shots, Antonio and Dodo took off. 

I had to chase to keep up.  I wanted to take in the view while riding but was afraid of hitting a rock or a patch of sand and going over the handlebars.  I stopped from time to time to try to take photos.

We hadn't been promised total downhill.  Alex told us that after the first five miles, we'd be crossing the plain in the distance and there would be some short uphills mixed in with the flat.

Antonio sped ahead of us, stopped and took photos of us flying by. 

At the end of the 5 mile downhill portion, we stopped for photos.  

That is Alex in the back - he is half American (Dad) and half German (Mom) but was born and raised in Quito.  He has been a downhill mountain bike racer since he was a kid.  He explained the sport as follows: "You line up with your fellow competitors at the top of a mountain and when the gun goes off, you barrel down, as fast as possible, trying not to die.  It's mostly dirt paths, with rocks and trees."  He laughed as he explained.  "To be really good at it, you kinda have to be crazy."  I'd noticed yesterday on the Teleferico that the gondolas had bike holders on the outside of the pods.  "Yep, that is one of the places we race down" he said.  Absolutely crazy.

We began a ten mile ride through the "valley", which isn't exactly a valley.  I forgot the technical term he used but essentially, this is where the glacier ice, lava, mud and boulders flow like a tsunami when Cotopaxi erupts.  This valley is 30 feet higher than it used to be before the previous eruption.

As you can imagine, cycling through this is interesting.  There were small ravines to navigate and rivers to splash through.  At one point, we turned into the wind and went slightly uphill.  That was the first moment I felt the altitude.  I got it right in the sternum and on my forehead, just above the nose.  It's a different kind of out of breath feeling.  For a moment, no matter how hard you suck in the air, it seems like there will never be any relief.

We were making a slow descent and you could tell by the change in flora and fauna.  There was soon a thin layer of brown grass and some wild horses.

After our ten miles, it was time for lunch.  Alex had pulled the truck over and offered to drive us all the final kilometer to the picnic site since it was uphill.  Dodo and Antonio agreed but I wanted to see how it felt to climb at altitude.  I made a strong push up the first hill and when I crested it I had my answer.  I couldn't stop coughing for the next hour.

Since we'd finished the first half of the ride early, Alex offered to take us to the lagoon.  It's the same story we've heard all over the world - due to global warming, Cotopaxi's glacier has receded close to a thousand feet.  The resulting ice melt rolled down her southern slope and created a large lagoon.

We took a walk around the edge.

It was the first time I saw something truly green - this moss-like growth on the rocks edging the lagoon.

We then headed to lunch - a picnic of homemade eats.

Even from inside the picnic area, you could see Cotopaxi, she towered over everything.

We gulped down the pasta salad, quiche, brownies and hot ginger tea.  We sat back and tried to digest - it's hard at high altitude.  Alex explained that the second half of the ride would be really quick, on paved road leading down to the park's entrance.

Dodo took the lead.  The pavement felt like silk and we were at the park's entrance in no time.  On the ride back to Quito, it took a lot of effort to stay awake.  I kept yawning the whole way.