Peru with Richie and Robbie - day 1

Ride Guide TV in Peru with Richie Schley and Robbie Bourdon
Day 1 - Lima, Peru

We got into Lima at 1 o'clock in the morning. Customs once again tried to charge me for the used bikes I was bringing to San Pedro de Casta, but a smile and little sweet talking got me through with no duties to pay. After that, 'customs' consisted of walking up to a button and pushing it and hoping it doesn't show red. This time, it was green. Success.

Robbie Bourdon had been up since 3 am, catching a flight from Kelowna to Vancouver at 6 am, then Vancouver to Toronto, then Toronto to Lima. He looked like he was going to fall asleep in the customs line. Richie Schley looked like he'd been sleeping all day, courtesy of an upgrade to 1st class. The 6 foot something Cory - Ride Guide's producer - and I barely managed to squeeze into our tiny seats on Air Canada.

We met my Peruvian partner Wayo and headed to our hotel. Conversation was at a minimum when our heads hit the pillows at 2 am.

Breakfast the next day consisted of generous helpings of mate de coca - coca tea - and some sort of strange but delicious omelet cake. After breakfast we began to build our bikes and it became quickly apparent to me that I was missing my derailleur hanger: a small, innocent piece of metal that is completely integral to the functioning of the bike. F@#%!

We headed off to Willy Pro, a local bike shop. Willy stocked about 10 different hangers, but no Rocky Mtn hangers. Plan B: we headed to a local machine shop, where for $28 they agreed to make me a new one. This meant I would miss the day's riding, but by this time it was already 2 pm, so we hit the road and I left my bike.

After piling back a massive seafood lunch, we hopped back in the truck and started gaining altitude, heading toward an area known as Amancay. This is the local downhill spot for the freeriders of Lima - big mountains all around, green hillsides, and a fantastic-looking run that featured a whole lot of built-up stunts. Impressive! We met up with a group of the locals at the top of the run and after waiting for us for a while, they took off down the run. These guys had obviously ridden this trail a few hundred times - they handled the jumps with ease and pretty much rocketed down the trail. Looks like the locals may be putting up some competition over the days to come.

The fellas did 3 runs on the course, hitting all the gaps with style and generally showing why they're pros. I could only sit back and salivate at what I was missing. On our last run, at 6 pm, the sun sank below hte horizon, and as it disappeared, a rainbow appeared on the other side of the valley. Perhaps a good omen...

Tomorrow we are heading up to a 10,000 foot downhill that ends at the Pacific Ocean, and my derailleur hanger is fixed. All is right again.

I'm full of Pisco Sour now and ready for bed. Hasta pronto, amigos. I'll get some more photos and videos up tomorrow.

Mike